A Miracle of Hope (The Amish Wonders Series) Read Online Free

difficult.”
    “Denki.” Lindie smiled. Her first genuine smile since arriving. Rebecca’s hug felt maternal. Maybe she would find someone in this foreign land who would make her feel at home.
    “I’ll put the kettle on for kaffi and we can have pie while you tell me a little about yourself.”
    Josiah cleared his throat. “Perhaps we can visit on church Sunday. We need to get Lindie’s bruder back to the bus station.”
    The weight of his words hit Lindie like a cast-iron pan. It wouldn’t be long before her brother would leave and she would be alone. Hundreds of miles from family . . .
    A hand touched her shoulder. “We need to go,” Josiah said. “Eli’s bus leaves in an hour.”
    His face was distorted by her blurred vision. She didn’t see him as her husband, but as a stranger.
    Rebecca walked them to the door. “We’ll get together for kaffi soon.”
    Lindie blinked a few times before facing Rebecca. “I’d like that.”
    She caught a glimpse of Josiah’s frown in her peripheralvision. She hoped he wouldn’t disapprove of her eagerness to form a friendship.
    Neither Josiah nor her brother spoke on the way to the buggy. Once again, she climbed into the back. This time, before they reached the steepest hill, she closed her eyes until the road leveled. It was snowing when they reached the bus station. Not the pretty, fluffy flakes she liked to catch in her mouth. This was sleet. Cold and wet, but at least it would disguise her tears.
    “I’ll miss you,” she said.
    “Send me a letter once you’re settled.”
    Normally her brother rejected showing emotion in public, but he held her like this was their final parting.
    Eli peered over his shoulder at Josiah standing a few feet away. “Let me have a word with your husband before I leave.”
    Your husband . . . The words rolled over in her mind as Eli lumbered over to where Josiah stood. Josiah Plank’s fraa . . . Josiah’s Lindie . Her new identity would take getting used to.
    The men talked in low voices. Her brother said something and Josiah nodded. Then Eli dug his hand into his pocket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Josiah.
    Lindie’s breath caught. Before leaving home last night, Eli had made a comment that he couldn’t forget the cash for the trip. She foolishly assumed the money was for travel expenses.
    The men shook hands, their business transaction completed.
    Her arranged marriage had come at a cost.

Chapter Three
    A chill settled over Lindie’s bones. Her brother’s bus rounded the corner on Elm Street and she sniffled as it disappeared.
    Josiah offered her his hankie.
    “ Denki ,” she squeaked. She dabbed the soft cloth against the creases of her eyes, then used it to wipe her nose. The overcast sky added another level of dreariness to her mood. So did wearing clothes soaked from the icy rain. She couldn’t recall any woman who had cried tears of grief on her wedding day.
    “I have some things to talk about with you, but we can do that on the way to the haus if you’re ready,” he said.
    She wasn’t ready. But standing any longer in the sleet wasn’t the answer either. They would both catch pneumonia. She dried her nose with the hankie again. His eyes followed her hand as she shoved the hankie into her cape pocket.
    “I’d like to wash it before I return it,” she said before thinking. Of course she would wash it. From now on, she would be washing all of his clothes.
    He motioned to the parking lot. “Let’s go before the roads get too slippery.”

    Her stomach seized up as they approached the buggy. Please, no more hills. She’d already made a public spectacle of herself when she hung over the trash can at the bus station. She didn’t want that embarrassment repeated.
    Neither spoke again until they were inside the buggy and heading out of town—in the same hilly direction as the bishop’s house. She sucked in a breath and secured a hold on the side of the bench.
    “Don’t be surprised if the church