Promise Lodge Read Online Free

though,” Roman remarked. “Looks like you’ve eaten a few.”
    â€œ Jah, they were a peace offering. But once the sugar wears off, you’re only hungrier for something more substantial.”
    Roman chortled. “That’s where these new girls might be just the ticket. But if Deborah has asked you to forgive her, you know Mamm and the aunts will side with her,” he pointed out. “And Preacher Amos’ll be reminding you about that seventy-times-seven thing, when it comes to letting go of old grudges. Even if you don’t want to marry her anymore, he’ll tell you to forgive and forget.”
    It was true. Preacher Amos was an admirable man, even if he’d come to Promise Lodge mostly because he was a widower and he had his eye on Mamm. He was more laid-back than Preacher Eli or Bishop Obadiah Chupp, but he insisted on following the rules Jesus had taught. There would be no wiggling out of forgiving Deborah, no crying foul just because she’d jilted him. Forgiveness was the cornerstone of the Old Order faith. They had both joined the church last year, so he couldn’t ignore Christ’s most important commandment: Love one another.
    But he couldn’t forgive Deborah. Couldn’t let go of the pain that gave him a reason to get up in the morning. If he was hurting this badly, he was still alive, right? It was proof he hadn’t curled up in a ball and rolled into a hole.
    He intended to move on. To love again and marry someday.
    But Deborah no longer figured into his plans.

Chapter Two
    As Deborah hugged Laura and Phoebe Hershberger, her two best friends in the world, the sound of their voices healed some of the pain Noah had inflicted with his tough talk. She had really missed these girls since they’d moved away from Coldstream to make a fresh start with their widowed mother.
    â€œDeborah! What a fine surprise,” Laura said.
    â€œJust yesterday we were talking about you, wishing we could see you again,” Phoebe chimed in, “and here you are! The answer to our prayers.”
    They all laughed as Queenie yipped in agreement, prancing in a circle around the three of them. Deborah clutched the girls’ shoulders, savoring their togetherness. Why ruin this happy moment by telling them the real reason she’d come to Promise Lodge? There would be plenty of time to share the disturbing news of what was happening in Coldstream. “This is quite a place,” she said. “I can’t wait to see it, and to hear about what you’ve been doing.”
    â€œOh, we haven’t had an idle moment, what with planting the garden plots and fixing up the guest cabins,” Phoebe replied. She was twenty, and her slender face and angular body closely resembled her deceased dat ’s.
    â€œAnd you can be our first guest.” Laura, the younger of the sisters, had the sunnier disposition. Her blue eyes glimmered as she gestured toward the nearest cabin. “Mamm’s finished the curtains and we’ve put a new mattress on the bed in the cabin closest to the lodge. You showed up at just the right time.”
    â€œCome on inside,” Phoebe insisted. “Mamm and the aunts will be glad to see a face from back home.”
    As they stepped up to the lodge’s wide front porch, Deborah could tell the building needed some maintenance, yet she knew immediately why her favorite neighbors had fallen in love with the place. Large old trumpet vines grew on either end of the porch, loaded with bright orange flowers. The shade from enormous maple trees felt twenty degrees cooler than the garden, and the homey creak of the screen door welcomed her into a lobby that rose two stories high. Curving stairways framed the spacious room, with sturdy bannisters that joined to form the railing of an upstairs hallway. Above her, a huge chandelier of antlers gave the entryway an aura of rustic elegance.
    â€œLook who’s here!” Laura called