Lifted Up by Angels Read Online Free

way of life? What good is a sacrifice if it isn’t truly a sacrifice?”
    The screen door opened and Charity’s mother called for her to come inside.
    Feeling guilty for keeping Charity talking instead of doing her chores, Leah said, “I guess I should be going.”
    “Since tomorrow is Saturday, we have many preparations to make for Sunday,” Charity explained. “We don’t work on the Sabbath, soeverything must be done ahead of time. Tomorrow, I will make bread and rolls for Sunday dinner.”
    Leah realized that Charity wasn’t inviting her to join them. “I start work Monday, and I have lots to do before then,” she said, knowing it wasn’t the truth. She had nothing to do.
    Quickly Charity glanced over her shoulder. “Why don’t you come to our Sunday-night barn dance? Amish kids will be there from all over. You can meet them.”
    “But I’m English.”
    “You will be welcomed because you are with us. We will ride together in Ethan’s buggy. We will have a good time.”
    Leah wasn’t sure she should tag along. But Charity’s invitation sounded sincere. “Well … maybe …”
    “Come to the house Sunday around six o’clock,” Charity said hurriedly. “I must go inside now.”
    “Tell your Mom thanks for dinner,” Leah called as Charity returned to the house. She stood in the yard for a few minutes, feeling alone, and wondering if she’d done the right thing by coming to Nappanee for the summer.She couldn’t stand the thought that her mother might have been right.
    And now that Charity had explained about fling-taking, Leah was more confused than ever. Had all that she and Ethan shared in the hospital been part of some lifestyle experiment?
    Leah went to her car. The brightness of her headlights made her squint. She turned toward the road, looking back only once. In an upstairs window, she saw a curtain move. In the window, backlit by a flickering lamp, Ethan stood peering out at her. Her heart ached. She gunned the engine and the tires spit gravel as she left the old road for the highway.
    A phone call from her mother and Neil to say goodbye before they took off woke Leah on Saturday morning. After hanging up, she realized she’d never gone to the grocery store and didn’t have a thing in the house to eat. She showered, dressed in jeans, grabbed her car keys and headed for the closest fast-food restaurant. After eating, she drove slowly around the town that was to be her home for the next three months.Heads turned at the sight of her bright red car and made her feel self-conscious.
    She saw Amish buggies in parking lots and in front of stores. They looked strange, dark and antiquated, amid all the modern cars and pickup trucks. The horses seemed unfazed by the noise of traffic. She pulled alongside a buggy at a traffic light, and the horse never gave her a glance. “Want to race?” she asked the uninterested animal.
    Leah shopped for groceries, put the sacks in the backseat and headed to her apartment. Just as she pulled into an intersection, from out of nowhere, a boy wearing in-line skates zipped in front of her car. She hit the brakes hard. He threw his hands against her fender, careened backward, and landed hard on the asphalt.
    Heart pounding, Leah cried out, turned off the engine and jumped from the car. “Are you all right?” She hurried to where the boy sat dazed on the ground. When she got to him, she gasped. Her car had just struck Simeon Longacre.

F OUR

    “S imeon! Oh my gosh! Are you hurt?”
    He reached for his broad-brimmed straw hat, which had been knocked off. “I am all right,” he told her. But Leah saw that the palms of his hands were scraped and bleeding. His pant leg was torn.
    Leah was shaking. “I’ll take you to a doctor.”
    “No. I am fine. Please, do not worry about me,” He struggled to his feet shakily, and she reached out to steady him.
    “What are you doing out here anyway? And on skates?”
    “I deliver small packages from the pharmacy on