Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

Author:Karen Ann Hopkins
Language: eng
Format: mobi, pdf
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2012-06-26T05:00:00+00:00

Rose—Please meet me in my buggy. It’s the last one parked behind the school—look for Rumor.

Don’t let anyone see you! Noah

My breath caught in my throat, and my heart pounded so wildly I thought I’d have a heart attack as I read it. Sticking the note into my pocket, I made my way through the school, heading to the back door. Unfortunately, the door was guarded by a group of old, scary-looking Amish men who stood rigidly, with not the hint of a smile on any of their tight, lined lips.

The rattle of the auctioneer’s fast-moving and unintelligible words began, and I paused for a minute to watch as hands shot up to purchase a blue-and-burgundy quilt. The material was beautiful, but that’s not really what stalled me. Instead, I needed time to work up the nerve to walk through the throng of long beards ahead of me. The auctioneer was a middle-aged man with a chestnut beard. He was a cheery-looking man, and he was speaking English. Yeah, I wished the group of men at the doorway looked as friendly.

The bidding was still going on for the quilt when I started to move again, determined to get through the bearded obstacles to reach the door. Before I got far, though, I was stunned when Noah’s mom appeared at my side and gently touched my arm. She was a little shorter than me and had dark hair and eyes, like Noah. I could definitely see the resemblance between the two. She was an attractive woman, except that her forest-green frumpy dress made her look older than I figured she actually was. She also had a nervous twitter about her, reminding me of a rabbit.

“Rose, isn’t your father here with you tonight?” she asked kindly, with the words rolling out of her mouth slowly, almost as if she was translating in her head before speaking.

“No, he’s working a shift at the hospital,” I replied timidly, wanting desperately for her to like me but terrified of her at the same time.

“I worry that you’re all alone there in that big house, and without a mother to care for you. Are you doing all right, dear?” she said.

As I gazed up into her dark eyes that looked so much like Noah’s, I saw that they were glistening with moisture. She pitied me. The realization that Mrs. Miller wasn’t the judgmental woman I’d first thought her to be rolled over me in a wave of understanding.

“I’m doing okay” was all I could get out of my mouth before a stupid teardrop formed in my right eye; I rushed to wipe it away before she saw it.

“Oh, I’m sorry, child. Have I upset you?” she asked, putting her arm around me.

I knew I had to get out of there before I started crying in front of the entire community. The mother-hen behavior coming from Mrs. Miller was too much for me to handle right then. I think I liked her better when she was scaring the crap out of me.

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