A Simple Faith: A Lancaster Crossroads Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

then.” He turned away, the door closing, along with an opportunity.
    “Excuse me,” Dylan said before following the man out through an enclosed porch to a path to the barn. “Adam? Do you have a minute to talk?”
    “Come, and you can talk.”
    “This is quite a farm. Dexters and Jerseys?”
    Adam turned to face him, his stern face softening. “You know dairy farming?”
    Dylan had been to a farm once in his life, but he’d done his research. “Just a bit. But I’ve never milked a cow. I can’t imagine the man-hours it takes to keep this place running.”
    “This farm has been in my dat’s family for years. We got some new milking machines in the last year. That made things easier, but now we’re down a set of hands, with my brother Jonah helping out a neighbor.”
    “If you ever need some temporary help, I’m your man.” The words flew out before Dylan had really processed them, but he had no regrets. A little hard work would do him good while it got him involved in the community.
    Adam grunted. “Thanks. We can manage, but you can help me now. Two make work much lighter.”
    They had arrived at the red barn, where Adam led the way through wide-open doors.
    Stepping into the darkness ripe with the smell of hay and manure, Dylan sensed that he truly had entered another world.
    “Here.” Adam tossed something from the shadows.
    He caught the ball of soft leather—a pair of gloves. A few bales of hay needed to be transferred from the floor of the barn to an open cart.
    “You take one end; I’ll take the other,” Adam said, and they lifted together.
    “I wanted to talk to you about a program I’m starting here in Halfway.” The hay bale was heavier than Dylan had expected. “Counseling services, open to everyone. We’ve got funding, so the treatment will be free.”
    “Mmm. There might be some Englishers who would do it. I can’t speak for them, but Amish? Probably not.”
    “I’m just trying to get the word out. I figure that if the help is available and it’s free, people might take advantage of it.”
    Adam did not waver. “We work out problems on our own. The family takes care of things, or else we take serious matters to our ministers.”
    “I hear you.” Dylan braced his muscles as they lifted anotherbale. “But I’m committed to this program. Everyone needs help at some time in their lives.”
    Dylan had needed therapy, and he suspected that Adam could have used some counseling when he lost his parents … and by such violent means.
    Adam grunted, and Dylan wasn’t sure whether it was an answer or a reaction to lifting the heavy weight.
    “Don’t get me wrong. I respect your traditions and rules.” He admired the culture’s complex social system, designed to deal with matters within the community. “But there’s no rule against getting help from an outsider, right? You wouldn’t get in trouble for getting counseling?”
    “No trouble. Folks just wouldn’t do it.”
    Dylan was not surprised by Adam King’s mild rejection. Maybe the closed Amish community was part of the reason he’d accepted the position here. He liked a challenge, and he’d been getting burned out on the city.
    “You know, back in the city, people would have jumped at the offer of free therapy. I used to do counseling there, and some of my clients couldn’t choose a flavor of ice cream without calling for a consult.”
    Adam’s lips twitched, then he smiled. “I lived in the city for a few years. Providence. People had so many problems, so much to talk about.”
    “But you came back home.”
    “I came back, and I don’t miss the life I had out there. This here—tending cows, working the land. This is how a man should live. Close to the land, close to God, surrounded by family. Not that I’m criticizing what you do. It’s a good thing, being a doctor and caring for others.”
    “No offense taken. I’ve only been here a few weeks, and I don’t miss what I left behind.” He thought of his