A Match For Addy (The Amish Matchmaker Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

Especially after last time.
    But first things first—her good leather shoes that she’d left behind the tree two days ago. What if they weren’t there? It hadn’t rained, but the dew had been heavy the previous morning. What if they’d gotten mildew on them? Replacing the pair would be an expense that she couldn’t expect her parents to pay. And she’d be mortified to show up at church in her old sneakers. She’d have to use two weeks’ wages to replace the shoes, if they were ruined. And all because she hadn’t wanted to put up with a blister or two.
    Of course, the condition of her shoes and getting over the fence were small concerns compared to the nervousness she felt about seeing Gideon again. What must he think of her? Did he know that Sara was seeking a husband for her? Had he known before she did?
    Her mother said she hadn’t told her about the matchmaking agreement right away because she didn’t want Addy to feel self-conscious or to make a fool of herself on her first day of work. She had done that anyway.
    Addy couldn’t decide whether to be pleased or annoyed that her parents had contacted the new matchmaker about her. She
did
want a husband, and she’d had no success in finding one on her own so far, but...she wished that her
mam
and
dat
had talked to her first. She might have been more careful to make a good first impression on Sara and Gideon. Not that Gideon would be interested in her—a good-looking, smart, sweet boy like him—but maybe he had a friend or a cousin who was seeking a bride. Maybe he even had an uncle whose wife had passed away, a settled man with a trade, who might be willing to make a match with a woman nearing thirty. She didn’t want Gideon to think that she was immodest because she’d allowed him to carry her across the field. It hadn’t been prudent, but at the time...
    Addy sighed. Whatever had possessed her? She’d thought she had better sense, but he’d just taken over the situation. And she couldn’t deny that she’d been thrilled by the experience. Nothing like it had ever happened to her before. Not that that was an excuse for her inappropriate behavior. She’d have to be cautious so as to not find herself in a compromising position with a boy again. Any boy. She was a respectable member of the church, and she was expected to follow the
ordnung
, which forbade certain behavior between men and women. While there might not be a concrete statement concerning girls letting boys carry them across fields, she knew full well that it wasn’t acceptable.
    Nearly to the stile, Addy peered behind the tree where she’d deposited her shoes. To her relief, the black leather oxfords were exactly as she’d left them. She picked them up and brushed away the spider webs. Then she lifted the dress that Sara had loaned her from her split oak basket, put the shoes on the bottom and carefully replaced the folded garment on top.
    When she turned to the fence, to her surprise, she saw that the old fencing and stile were gone and the briars had been cleared away. In their place were solid new posts, shiny, five-feet-high stock wire and a sturdy set of steps with a handrail. Someone, Gideon, she supposed, had been busy. At least twenty feet of fencing had been replaced, and there was a pile of new wooden posts waiting to be put into the ground.
    Addy climbed up and over the new stile with ease and then strode purposefully across the pasture toward Sara’s outbuildings. Two sorrel mules that she hadn’t seen before grazed on the lush grass. The first animal paid her little attention and kept eating, but the second lifted a big head, twitched its long ears and stared curiously at her as she passed. She felt like it was staring at her—the girl who needed a matchmaker to get a husband.
    Which was silly, of course. Lots of Amish girls needed the help of a matchmaker to find a good husband. There was no reason for her to feel embarrassed. Sometimes it was just a matter of fitting the