Hanna's Awakening Read Online Free

and proper. How to never draw attention to herself. Taking her kapp off and letting her hair down in front of an English man was an act that would’ve been punished severely. Now it felt wonderful, even more so because she didn’t fear her daat’s fist or cruel words, or having to shamefully confess her sin in front of the bishops.
    “It’s never been cut,” she said.
    “Do you want to cut it?”
    A choice. Mr. Foster was giving her another choice about her appearance. Careful to hide her giddiness, she nodded. “Yes. I couldn’t bear to wear it down when it’s this long, but I don’t want to put the kapp back on.”
    “We’ll get you a haircut tomorrow too. Maybe we’ll spend the whole day in town. I need supplies for the garden and some other odds and ends.”
    Hanna agreed and soon had the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches Mr. Foster had requested ready. She joined him at the table and couldn’t stop thinking about tomorrow’s trip to town. During most of her previous trips to town, she hadn’t been allowed out of the buggy. In fact, she’d only been inside the Dollar General and a quilting shop. After Abram and Jacob had joined the church, her father no longer paid any mind to their travels to town. She’d envied their freedom, and she was jealous her rumspringha had been restricted to nothing more than a few buggy rides with young Amish men to church or a game of volleyball with others her age. She suspected her daat was extra strict with her since she’d been indecisive the first time he’d asked if she was ready to join the church, shortly before her seventeenth birthday. He’d thought shielding her from the English ways would prevent her leaving. Instead, she’d grown more curious over the years. More isolated within her tightknit community. Lonelier. More determined.
    “Hanna, we need to discuss the trip to town,” Mr. Foster said once he finished his lunch.
    “All right.”
    “I get odd looks when I go to town. People think I’m strange because I live out here by myself, and most everyone thinks I’m some kind of crazy survivalist with a bunker, just waiting for the government to come take my guns away.”
    Half of what Mr. Foster said didn’t make sense. She strived to understand his meaning, but her thoughts grew fuzzy. “A crazy survivalist? What do you mean?” Guns terrified her and she hoped he didn’t own one, but fear kept her from asking.
    “A weirdo,” he said. “A man who has secrets. A man who has mental problems.” He tapped at his head.
    “I’m afraid I still don’t understand.”
    “They don’t like me because I’m different.”
    “Ah. I see now.” She could certainly relate to being different. To not belonging.
    “Anyway, Hanna, if people in town find out I’m harboring a young girl who just left the Amish, it might mean trouble for us. They might think I’m taking advantage of you and keeping you here against your will. I don’t want any do-gooders nosing around in our business.”
    “How will we go to town then?” Hanna’s spirits plummeted to her feet. Would he make her wait in his truck? Or worse yet, tell her he’d changed his mind?
    “When we visit town, you’ll pretend you’re my daughter.”
    “You want me to call you Daat?”
    “No, not Daat. No Amish words. Dad or Daddy will do just fine. I’m pushing forty, so I’m old enough to be your father.” His brown eyes darkened further as he stared at her.
    “Yah. I’ll call you Daddy when we go town.”
    “Not yah. Yes . Say ‘yes, Daddy.’”
    Her face heated. “Yes, Daddy.”
     
    * * *
     
    Lingering awkwardly outside a women’s dressing room, Ben waited as Hanna tried on outfit after outfit. The selection had overwhelmed her, so he’d picked out a few dresses, most of them modest in style. From what he could see of her as she modeled the form-fitting clothes, she’d had a beautiful, curvy body hidden underneath those plain dresses. To fight his impending hard-on, he fled