Their Amish Secret (Amish Country Matches) by Johns Patricia

Author:Johns, Patricia [Johns, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Claire felt Gloria and Ted’s eyes on her as she eased away from Joel and headed back into the kitchen, her cheeks hot. Somehow, having him leaning over her like that, his dark gaze blazing down into hers, it was like those last five years had melted away out from under her, and the power of her old feelings for him had come back in a rush. That had always been the problem with Joel. Falling into his arms had been too easy.

She walked briskly into the kitchen and stopped at the sink, wishing there was a load of dishes to wash or something to do. It was inconveniently clean! She turned on the water to wash her hands.

“Will someone play chutes and ladders with me?” Aaron asked hopefully.

“I’ll play with you,” Ted said. “And then maybe Joel will, too.”

“Sure, I’ll play second,” Joel said.

She looked over her shoulder, and Joel’s gaze flickered in her direction. He cast her a wry smile and then limped in the direction of the sitting room.

“I have my toy farm, too!” Aaron was saying as he led the way, his voice growing softer and more muffled as he disappeared into the other room.

Claire exhaled a soft sigh.

“If I’m not mistaken, that young man has feelings for you,” Gloria said.

Claire dried her hands and turned to face the older woman.

“I know Joel Beiler rather well. He’s not serious.”

“But he thinks the world of you—you can see it in his eyes when he looks at you,” Gloria said.

“Do you think so?” Claire looked in the direction of the sitting room. “Sometimes men make their feelings appear more than they really are.”

“He looks sincere to me,” Gloria said. “But you’re right. They can.”

“You and your husband seem to have a strong marriage,” Claire said. “Do you mind if I ask your secret?”

“Well, part of the secret is to marry the right man.” Gloria smiled. “And only God can lead you there.”

“That’s the hard part,” Claire replied. “What’s the rest of the secret?”

“The other part is that you have to keep caring for your marriage, over all those bumps that life will cast your way. You never take it for granted. You treat it with the care and attention you’d give a rare treasure, because it really is just that. Ted is such a good man. Even when Royden died, he kept turning toward me, and we kept holding on to each other. We still had our daughter, Ashley, who needed us, and I think that helped, too. I know another couple who got divorced when their daughter died. They just couldn’t find their stability again after that. So I don’t take my husband for granted. Ever.”

“Is that part of why you came basket weaving?” Claire asked.

Gloria nodded. “Yes. I’ve been going out of my way to find things Ted and I can do together...especially with this painful anniversary. Maybe I go overboard with it. I signed us up for ballroom dancing lessons last year, and we took some swimming lessons together.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.