Hopeful Read Online Free Page A

if she had done that, it would have certainly spared her the embarrassment. But of course that wasn’t the problem. Her problem was that she’d always struggled with reading.
    “Have you talked to Beverly or Claire about this?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    Hope filled him. “And? What did they say?”
    Kaylene averted her eyes. “That I need to try harder.”
    “Ah.” He was a bit surprised, though he shouldn’t be. Claire and Beverly had always excelled in school and had never been known for their patience. They were wonderful women, and looked out for the rest of their siblings like formidable mother hens.
    But neither was the type to coddle Kaylene or her older brothers about school. Beverly and Claire, like him, had a fairly vivid memory of their parents. Though they’d been very kind and had enjoyed spending time with their children, neither had been especially cuddly people. They’d had high standards for the Beiler children and little patience for excuses.
    And that had probably been a good thing, especially for his four younger brothers, who were a handful even on the best of days. But with sweet Kaylene? He tended to think that was the wrong approach.
    She was different from the rest of them. She was a lot more hesitant. Needed a lot more hugs and gentle words.
    And with school, she needed lots of reassurance; otherwise her doubts and worries got the best of her.
    Though most of his friends growing up would have been surprised, Junior was the one in the household who had a seemingly endless supply of patience with the littlest member of their family.
    “Kay, what do you think we should do?”
    “I got to learn to read better, Junior.”
    “Your teacher can’t help?”
    After another pause, she shook her head. “Miss Mary Kate says I’m just slow.”
    “She said that?”
    “Uh-huh. She said even though I do things a little later than most, she thinks one day I’m gonna be just as smart as the rest of you. That is, if I try real hard.”
    Inwardly, Junior winced. He was surprised Mary Kate would say something like that. Though he was just getting to know her, he would have thought a teacher would be a bit more understanding about one of her students’ reading problems. Or at least a little more tactful. “What do you think about what she said?”
    Clasping her hands tightly on her lap, Kaylene shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever be as smart as Beverly. And I know I’ll never be as smart as Micah.”
    He chuckled. “I don’t think any of us will be.” Micah was the brightest of them all. He’d been reading big books by the time he was eight or nine, and there hadn’t been a math or science problem he couldn’t figure out.
    Years ago, when they’d all been much closer to Kaylene’s current age, their parents had announced that Micah had made them mighty proud. That he could be absolutely anything he wanted to be. He could start his own Amish business or even possibly be a doctor if he didn’t join their faith.
    “Would you like me to visit with Mary Kate? See if she has any suggestions?”
    After a moment’s pause, she gave a little nod. “You don’t mind?”
    “I don’t mind.” Though some outside the family would say it wasn’t a brother’s job to worry about a sister’s reading ability, none of his siblings would be surprised. Kaylene didn’t have parents of her own, and she needed her siblings to fill that role. He would do just about anything to help his little sister. And, well, Miss Mary Kate just happened to be Miss Mary Katherine Hershberger, the woman he was going to ask Miriam about.
    Warming up to the idea, he thought this might give him even more opportunities to get to know Mary Kate. Who knew? Maybe getting to know Mary Kate better would encourage her to be more patient with his little sister.
    At last, Kaylene’s expression brightened. “ Danke , Junior,” she said with a smile. “You really are the nicest one in the whole family.”
    Unfortunately, her