Plain Proposal Read Online Free

brown eyes met with Miriam’s, her smile broadened a bit.
    John kicked his rocker into motion, his blond bob in need of a trim. “Do you have a cell phone?”
    “Yes, I do.” Shelby turned to Mamm . “Is that okay?”
    “ Ya , I think so.” She paused. “If you wouldn’t mind, we’d prefer if you use it outside. We have a phone in the barn. You’re welcome to use that also.”
    Shelby nodded, then fumbled with the straps of the brown purse in her lap and bit her lip. Miriam wanted her to feel comfortable in their home.
    “Do you want to see your room?” Miriam stood up from the rocker and smiled.
    “Sure.” Shelby rose, draped her purse over her shoulder, and waited for Miriam to motion toward the stairs.
    “You girls get settled while I finish supper,” Mamm said as she rose to her feet, then walked across the den toward the kitchen.
    “We’re the third door on the right at the end of the hallway.” Miriam let Shelby walk in front of her, and her cousin’s dark hair bounced against the middle of her back as she started up the stairs. Miriam’s hair was just as long, although bound beneath her prayer covering. She thought about Saul again. He’ll see the length of my hair on our wedding night .
    Shelby stopped at the third door on the right. “This one?”
    “Ya.” Miriam reached around her and pushed the door wide. “Your bed is that one.” She pointed to the bed on the right side of the nightstand. “I put fresh linens on it just this morning.”
    Shelby sat down on the bed and ran her hand across the quilt. “Thank you.”
    “I also cleared two drawers for you and made room for you to hang your clothes on those hooks over there.” Miriam pointed to a dozen hooks running along a two-by-four on the far wall.
    Her cousin glanced in that direction, then hung her head before she looked back up at Miriam. “I’m sorry you have to share this small room with a stranger.”
    Miriam sat down on her own bed and faced her cousin, unable to ignore the sadness in Shelby’s voice. “I don’t mind at all. I’ve been looking forward to your visit.” Miriam glanced around her room. She’d always thought it was a nice-sized room. “And you’re my cousin, so not really a stranger.” She smiled, and Shelby did so also, then quickly looked down.
    When the silence grew uncomfortable, Miriam spoke again. “Tomorrow is church, but maybe Monday I can take you to town after we do chores.”
    Shelby nodded, then stood up and walked toward the window. She leaned her nose close to the screen and peered outside for a moment, then spun around. “Would we go in a buggy? Do you drive one of those?” Her eyes lit up, and Miriam silently thanked God at the glimmer of happiness in her voice.
    “ Ya . I drive the buggy. I’ve been driving by myself since I was twelve, but mostly on the back roads. I was sixteen before I started taking my little brothers and going to town.” She paused as she walked to where Shelby was standing by the window. “Have you ever been in a buggy?”
    Shelby turned to face her. “No. I’ve never even been in an Amish town or been around an—an Amish person.” She bit her lip again as her eyes grew round.
    Miriam recalled her mother’s earlier comments but assumed Shelby must not remember her visit here as a young child. She leaned closer to Shelby and whispered, “I promise we don’t bite.”
    Finally, a full smile. “Good to know.”

    Shelby sat next to Miriam at the large wooden table in the kitchen. It felt like eating at a luxurious picnic table with a long backless bench on either side, and the breeze blowing through three different open windows in the kitchen only added to the picnic effect. At each end of the table was an armchair. Aaron was already seated in one, and Rebecca was standing at the counter pouring glasses of iced tea. The boys waited patiently on the bench across from Shelby and Miriam. Shelby surveyed the offerings already on the table as her stomach