The Forbidden Read Online Free Page A

buggy with us.”
    Fatigued, she had not the strength, nor the gumption, to refuse. She turned and hobbled to the carriage. “ Denki, ever so much.”
    “Ach, Nellie, you’re limping.” Rebekah helped her inside.
    “Did you hurt your foot skating?” one of Rebekah’s sisters asked from the back as Nellie settled into the front seat next to Rebekah.
    David Yoder spoke up before Nellie could respond. “She’s a farm girl—she’ll be fine.” He kept his gaze toward the road.
    Is he picking me up so Caleb can’t?
    “I’m ever so thankful for the ride,” she managed to say, not sure how she would ever have made it home with the feeling all but gone from her feet.
    Rebekah reached under the heavy woolen lap robe and squeezed her hand. “I did something like this once . . . skated too long and nearly lost a toe.”
    “What’d you do?”
    “Soaked my foot in cool water . . . let it warm gradually.” She paused, glancing at her father. “Your mamma will know what to do.”
    Jah. Bet she’d chuckle if she knew why I went in the first place.
    Then, a moment before they crossed the one-lane bridge on Beaver Dam Road, Rebekah leaned over to whisper, “I’ll be tellin’ Caleb I saw you.”
    Nellie Mae let out a gasp, her breath twirling into the air. No question about it. She knows. . . .
    Barely missing a beat, Nellie whispered back, “I’ll tell Nan I saw you, too.”

C HAPTER 4
    Rosanna awakened to Eli’s cries early Saturday morning. Pulling on her old chenille robe, she glanced at Elias, in deep slumber.
    How does he sleep through such howling?
    Hurrying now to the sitting room-turned-nursery, she bent down to pick up Eli. More than Rosie, he was typically impatient to be fed, especially after the midnight hour. She looked at peaceful Rosie and was again surprised that anyone, infant or father alike, could sleep through such hearty cries.
    She gripped the stair railing with her free hand, wishing at times like this they might consider moving to the large bedroom on the first floor. Of course, that would mean having the babies sleep in the same room as they, something Elias would not want even at this tender age. She also cherished their time of lovemaking, especially this night. She’d felt quite vulnerable and ever so put out at Kate for calling herself mamma to little Eli. Couldn’t her cousin guess how Rosanna might feel about that?
    Downstairs, she warmed Eli’s bottle, and when it was ready she watched as he worked his cheeks and lips. Later, when he was burped sufficiently and asleep in her arms, she climbed the stairs. Still groggy, she tucked him into his cradle, only to rouse Rosie to feed her next. Tired as she was, Rosanna treasured these nighttime feedings. Just the babies and me . . . and the dear Savior.
    Rosie nestled her wee face into Rosanna’s bosom, which again made her wish she could suckle both babies—not just Eli, as Kate had chosen to do today. Swiftly she removed the second small bottle from the gas-powered refrigerator, shaking it before placing the bottle into a pan of water and turning on the gas stove. Elias had been wise to replace the old woodstove before the twins had come home.
    “ Ballemol —soon,” she promised Rosie as she kept an eye on the stove, making sure the bottle didn’t get too warm. Rosie burrowed her head into her once more. Oh, dear little one. She wondered whether Eli and Rosie would ever fully bond with her, with her cousin constantly coming around. Did they sense, on some subconscious level, who Kate was?
    When the bottle of formula was warm enough, Rosanna sat in the rocking chair, facing the window and looking at the moon—a wide fingernail in the heavens. And she prayed, asking God questions she hoped He might see fit to answer. Their good neighbor Linda sometimes expressed herself in such a way in prayer. Linda had invited her and Elias to attend a “new group” with her and her husband, Jonathan, some Sunday, and although Rosanna was