Bethy's Heart's Hideout (Amish Circle Series Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

farm wasn’t far from the one owned by her familye. “I hate to break it to you Mark, but really, there isn’t much here except corn. Well, corn, a store, and a restaurant. Sorry. I hope you weren’t looking for more.”
    They chatted for a bit. Mark seemed disappointed that the town was so small and that there was so little in it. He told her that the town seemed kind of boring and Elizabeth felt like she agreed with him. While it was true that she loved her community and the rules by which they lived she did occasionally wish for a bit more excitement and freedom. Nothing ever changed and sometimes that became a little dull. On an impulse, she did something she never did. She decided to invite Mark to hang out with her.
    As they chatted, they kept stealing glances at one another. From time to time, their eyes would meet briefly and each of them blushed each time it did. Mark loved the way she looked and the sound of her voice. He wasn’t used to her thick accent but he loved the way her voice sounded when she talked. The lilt was most obvious each time she used one of the Pennsylvania Dutch words that were scattered throughout what she was saying. He liked the fact that she kept looking him over again and again. It seemed to him that she liked what she saw.
    “ Ach , this place isn’t all bad. There are a few places where the kinder I know go to hang out. Some are actually kind of... cool?” She hated the way her voice stumbled over the unfamiliar word that she used so rarely. “Can you come back here at seven tonight? That’s when the store closes. If you want, we could walk home together. The farm you are moving onto is just up the road from my parents’. Their farm is the one with the big red haus and the three trees in the front yard.”
    She felt her heart stop as she waited for Mark to answer her. She wasn’t sure what she would do if her invitation was declined. But she didn’t have long to wait and to her happy surprise, he said he would meet her. She felt like she was walking on air and the feeling persisted as she chatted with him a little more. Suddenly, he looked out the window and sighed.
    “I have to go. I can see my parents’ looking for me. I’ll see you later tonight though, okay?” Elizabeth nodded, a bit disappointed that their conversation was at an end. With a wave, Mark opened the door and headed back out to where his parents were waiting. The car roared to life and drove slowly down the street.

Chapter 6
    The store was closed for the day. Elizabeth stood outside on the wide, covered front step and locked the door. The area under the low, sloping porch roof was gloomy as the sun was positioned behind the building. Suddenly, just as she was taking the key out of the lock and putting it in a pocket in her cloak, she felt someone grab her shoulders. She jumped forward and let out a scream, then turned around to see who had grabbed her. She laughed when she saw it was Mark. He had looked worried that he had upset her but when she began to chuckle he did too.
    She looked up and down the street, expecting to see the car but it was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a horse and buggy tied up at one of the hitching posts. He saw her brief look of disappointment and chuckled again but this time it wasn’t a totally happy laugh.
    “Nope, the car’s gone. My parents have fully committed to this going Amish thing. You know, the Ordnung and its rules and all that renouncing the modern world stuff. I get to drive a buggy like a gut Amish man would. Mind you, I haven’t had as much practice with the horses as I had with the car but heck. It’s all about living the gut life, right?”
    “What do you mean, this ‘going Amish thing’? I don’t quite understand what your parents are trying to do. You’re Amish but you’re not? Aren’t you either all Amish or all Englisch ?” Elizabeth shook her head. She had heard about people leaving the Ordnung and she knew that sometimes people either