The Silent Order by Melanie Dobson

Author:Melanie Dobson [Dobson, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780824905415
Publisher: Summerside Press
Published: 2010-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Jonas pushed the porch swing back and forth with his boots as Katie and he watched the colors of the sunset seep across the sky. Her bare feet were tucked under her skirt, and in the quietness, she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her chin dropped to her neck, and she jolted back up, blinking her eyes. Trying to stay awake.

Jonas glanced over at her. “Are you cold?”

“No.”

He pushed the swing again. “Thirsty?”

“I’m fine,” she said with a sigh. “Just tired.”

“You should go to bed.”

She shook her head. “I want to wait until Isaac comes home.”

Days ago, she had been driving to see Jonas to tell him the truth about her past and to tell him that she had decided to join the Amish church, but now she didn’t know what she wanted. Marriage was forever, and she wasn’t certain that an Amish life was what forever should look like for her and Henry.

Her gaze wandered to the road below the house. Isaac would be back any minute now, without Rollin Wells. It was good that Rollin was gone from their lives, but he still left behind a vacancy that she couldn’t explain. She didn’t want to feel this vacancy nor the thrill that Rollin brought to her heart. She wanted to stay contented with the life she’d built for her and Henry in Sugarcreek.

She closed her eyes again, leaning back against the swing.

When she left Cleveland, she didn’t have many options. The Amish lifestyle was the only choice she’d had at the time, the best escape from the people who wanted her dead. Isaac and Erma welcomed her and Henry into their home with open arms.

Now she was no longer Nikki Cardano. She was Katie Lehman. Even though she was plain in her dress, she felt like she had come alive as Henry’s mother and Isaac and Erma’s niece. People needed her, and they loved her. And she loved the people in her community.

Still, she wasn’t convinced that she should join the Amish faith. Some days, when she visited the village, she dreamed about what it would be like to live on the outside again. As long as she didn’t go back to Cleveland, she could be free from the strict rules of her family and the Amish community.

But if she married Jonas Miller, she would trade any hope of freedom for security.

She rubbed her hands over her bare arms. Freedom was overrated. She needed security for her and for Henry.

Jonas scooted closer, and she opened her eyes again. The bright colors of the sunset rained down on her.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“All my blessings.”

“They are many. For both of us.”

“How are the Yoders?” she asked.

“They are well.” He pushed the swing again. “Whoever was chasing Rollin Wells has left them alone.”

“They are afraid,” she whispered.

He turned to look at her. “The Yoders aren’t afraid.”

Biting the side of her lip, she didn’t respond to him. She hadn’t meant the Yoders. She meant the men chasing Rollin were afraid—of losing their prey and of being exposed.

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