An Amish Man of Ice Mountain (The Amish of Ice Mountain Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

for the night. It wasn’t much of a view, but it was a small sacrifice to make while she tried to save and gain stability and safety for them somewhere.
    “I could tell you a story about the stars,” she suggested, recalling a college astronomy class she had taken what seemed like light-years ago. She’d done dual enrollment her senior year, doubling up her last year in high school and her freshman year of university .I thought I knew so much . . . then I met Heath.
    “No story,” Hollie slurred, drifting off. “I like the real stars better.”
    Priscilla frowned in the darkness. In some ways, her daughter had more sense than she did herself. She’d always loved stories, especially the romantic ones. But now, she wished every glass slipper might be smashed before another girl fell prey to the illusion of a prince on a white horse. Against her will, she thought of Joseph and that slimy man, Edmunds. Given another two minutes, she probably would have clawed the boss’s eyes out, but as it was, Joseph had stepped in.
    She wondered what Joseph had done or said in such a short period of time to change Edmunds’s attitude, but she also told herself that it didn’t matter. She didn’t need a hero. She didn’t need anyone—except Hollie. And what about God? Her conscience got the question in before she’d even had a chance to thrust it aside, and she thumped her pillow, feeling the car shake. I don’t need Him most of all . . . And thankfully, she was too tired to refute those words as she drifted off into a fitful sleep.
     
     
    Joseph closed his Bible and placed it on the bedside table. Then he switched off the electric lamp, wishing he had a candle to douse instead, and settled down beneath the crisp sheets. It was hard to relax in the comfortable bed when he knew that Priscilla and Hollie were outside in an uncomfortable, unheated car. He’d wanted to tell Edward about the situation but had gotten sick of being plagued all evening with questions from his bruder about Priscilla as a person . . . nee , as a woman. If he revealed what he knew about Hollie and their homelessness, Edward would have him married off mentally before the conversation was over. And marriage was not something he wanted to consider . . . ever.
    He sighed and sat back up and switched on the light. He opened the bedside table drawer and withdrew a flyer he’d taken down from a telephone pole. The mini poster advertised a local farm that boasted a petting zoo. I’ll still be off for a while . . . I bet Hollie would love it—I bet Priscilla wouldn’t. Still, to give the little girl a chance at some fun, it might be okay to ask. After all, it wouldn’t be like a date; it would be for Hollie.
    Satisfied, he put the paper back in the drawer and lay back down to sleep, reaching for the light once more. A few hours later, he was awakened to the angry slash of lightning illuminating his room and he sat up to listen to the booming thunder and the pounding of rain against the window.
    Immediately, he thought of the station wagon outside. He dressed haphazardly in the dark as fast as he could and grabbed his coat and hat. Then he quietly left the room, not wanting to rouse Edward in the other bedroom of the suite, and made his way downstairs. He slipped out into the terrible din in time to feel small pebbles of hail begin to fall as he made his way through the parking lot until he’d located the station wagon.
    Louder than the din of the storm were Hollie’s screams of terror coming from within the vehicle. He approached the driver’s door, knowing he’d probably frighten Priscilla but unable to see any help for it, and started to bang on the glass window. After a few soaking moments, the window was rolled down halfway and Priscilla’s pale face appeared in stark relief against a flash of lightning.
    “What do you want?” she demanded in shrill tones as Hollie’s cries magnified in intensity.
    “Give me the child,” he said as levelly as