A Mother's Secret Read Online Free PDF

she crossed her chubby arms over her wide dress and nodded in agreement.
    “Sounds like a gut plan.” Mamm suddenly smiled. “Did you see the new maedel at service today?”
    Joshua shook his head while he finished hitching the horse. “No, I didn’t.”
    “Her name is Lena, and she’s Anna Mary Esh’s older schweschder. You know Anna Mary. She’s Lily’s teacher’s assistant at the schoolhouse. She started helping Lily out at the school a couple of months ago.”
    Joshua tried not to frown as his mother talked on about things that didn’t really interest him. “I know Anna Mary.”
    “Oh, gut . Anyway, her older schweschder Lena just came back to Paradise after living with her cousins. She wound up joining the church out in Sugar Creek, but she wanted to come back here to be with her mamm and dat . She’s almost thirty. She’s working at the Esh family’s bakery, and she likes to bake and cook. You should meet her.”
    “ Mamm ,” Joshua began, doing his best to keep his voice even despite his growing agitation, “please don’t start trying to fix me up with someone. I told you already I’m too busy to date. I have a business to run.”
    “Listen to me, Joshua.” His mother gripped his sleeve. “It’s not natural for you to be alone. You need a fraa to run your household for you. You can’t do all the cooking and cleaning yourself. I won’t be here to take care of you forever. You need to stay strong and healthy so you can run your farm. You need a fraa to cook gut food for you.”
    Joshua gritted his teeth to bite back disrespectful words. “ Mamm , I take gut care of myself, and I don’t expect you to cook or clean for me. I can handle it all on my own. I’ve done pretty well since I moved into the haus on the farm. I haven’t starved yet, have I?”
    “No, no, you haven’t. You look healthy so far.” She waved off his rebuttal. “Just give me a chance to tell you about Lena. She’s perfect for you. She’s young and schee . She’s just what you need.You’ll get to know her, marry her, and you’ll have a houseful of kinner . Don’t you want what Gideon had?” She sniffed, and her blue eyes misted over with tears when she mentioned his late brother. “Gideon was such a gut dat . I know you can be one too. Hannah has taken two of mei grandkinner away from our community. You can bring us more grandkinner . You can help repair my broken heart.”
    Joshua looked at his father, hoping he would change the subject and stop his mother from ranting about the painful subject of Gideon, Hannah, and the children they all missed. Instead of chiming in, his father looked resigned to his mother’s determination.
    “Just go to a social and meet Lena,” his mother continued. “You’ll like her, Josh. I’m certain you’ll want to get to know her better.”
    “Fine,” Joshua said with a sigh. “I’ll go to a social and meet her, but don’t start planning my wedding just yet. I never said I was desperate to get married. You’re just desperate to get me married.”
    “ Wunderbaar! You’ll finally go to a social!” His mother clapped her hands. “I know you’ll be froh to meet Lena.” She looked past him and gasped. “There she is with Anna Mary. Look toward that group of maed . They’re standing with Lily.”
    Joshua looked toward a group of young women talking by the pasture fence and spotted a young woman standing with his niece and her friend. The young lady was average height and had light brown hair. She laughed while Anna Mary and Lily seemed to be talking nonstop beside her. She angled her face toward Joshua, and he noticed her delicate features. Lena then smiled at Lillian, and her face seemed to light up. Joshua had to admit shewas attractive, but what did he know about dating? He’d pined for Hannah for nearly half of his life, and she’d walked away from him and the community without looking back.
    “You should go talk to her now, Joshua.” Mamm nudged him with her