The Wish by Patricia Davids

Author:Patricia Davids
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2019-02-13T18:46:40+00:00

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THE FOLLOWING DAY Laura Beth’s heart gave a happy leap when she saw Joshua coming up the lane shortly after noon. She was glad he had the chance to work with Thomas and make friends.

Laura Beth left the lower pumpkin field and followed Joshua to the side of the barn, where she watched him back her buggy into place. He handled the reins well. It had been a long time since he had driven, but it didn’t show. With his borrowed straw hat set low on his forehead, the pale blue shirt Abigail had given him and his dark pants, he looked like any other Amish man in the buggy, only without the suspenders.

If only he was Amish. Then these feelings wouldn’t be wrong. She brushed the thought aside. “What did you work on today?”

“A baler for Martin Stultz. We figured out what was wrong and put it back together. It runs.” Joshua got out of the buggy and began to unharness Freckles. Laura Beth gave him a hand unbuckling the straps on her side of the mare.

“I thought you might have lunch with them.”

“No one mentioned it.” He pulled the loose harness off Freckles. “What has Caleb been up to?”

“The usual. Sleep. Eat. Babble and try to crawl for twenty minutes and then go back to sleep again. He is the best baby I have ever taken care of. He has a wonderful personality.”

“He didn’t get it from me.” Joshua slung the harness on the peg where he’d found it.

“Then he must have inherited it from his mother.”

“Maybe it skipped a generation or two. Neither one of us were very friendly with others. What are you doing?” He gestured toward her dirty hands.

She dusted them together. “The ground has dried out enough for me to plant pumpkins.”

“Need some help?”

“I can manage this first field if you keep an eye on Caleb. Sarah has gone to volleyball practice with some of her girlfriends. They have a game coming up against the boys. Caleb is asleep in his basket on the quilt over by the apple tree. Anything he should need is in the diaper bag.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Nope. I can do the rest.”

Joshua’s eyes narrowed beneath the deep shadow of his hat brim as he studied her. She skimmed a hand over her hair and kerchief. What did he see? She stood taller. She wanted him to see a woman determined to plant her own field. Not one who couldn’t stop thinking about the way his shirt hugged the muscles of his chest and the way his sweat made his hair curl at the nape of his neck. Her hands itched to feel it tangling around her fingers. She plunged her hand into the bag of seeds she wore over her shoulder to keep from reaching out to touch his face. She hurried back to her place in the field.

It wasn’t long before she heard hammering. She shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked toward the house. Caleb’s basket sat on the porch.

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