Faith and Hope in Lancaster (The Amish of Lancaster County #1) Read Online Free PDF

have gone anywhere you wanted. I still would.”
    Annie blinked rapidly. “I don’t—I don’t know what to say.”
    “Annie, if you still want to go to New York City and become an actress, I’ll come with you,” Jacob said in a rush. “I love you, Annie. I always have.”
    Goose bumps rose all over Annie’s body. A thrill ran through her. He loved her?
    Before she knew what was happening, she had leaned forward, and Jacob, who still held her face in his strong hands, also leaned forward, and their lips met. It was as sweet as it had been beneath the tree, and Annie’s heart pounded wildly, deliciously.
    “Annie!” a horrified voice called. “Annie, what are you doing? Stop that right now!”
    Annie and Jacob jumped apart, and time rushed back in to fill the void. Her heart now pounding painfully, Annie took a deep breath and met her mother’s disappointed eyes.
    * * *
    Hannah didn’t even look at Jacob. “Go home,” she told him, and he at least had the sense to do that much, departing without a word. Her attention was for her daughter, who stared at the porch floor with a defiant look on her face.
    Hannah pulled Annie into the house and shut the door firmly behind them. She ran through and discarded three different approaches, all of them too angry to be of use.
    “Why?” Hannah asked finally. “Don’t you realize how lucky you are I was the one who found you and not one of the other ladies in the village? Or anyone at all?” Her hand flew to her mouth. “What if Stephen had caught you like this?”
    The color drained out of Annie’s face, leaving her frail and ghostly. Like a spirit , Hannah thought. “Oh, Mamm , I don’t know what I would have done!”
    “Well, be glad you didn’t have to find out,” Hannah said sharply. Fear for her daughter’s future left her breathless. “This is the kind of silly nonsense you might do during rumspringa , but you’re a woman now. Do you really want to be shunned for immoral behavior? For leading on a man any young woman would be lucky to have?”
    Annie’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not leading anyone on!”
    Hannah threw up her hands. “Then what do you call it, daughter?”
    “I don’t know, Mamm , I swear! I just . . .” Annie abruptly dropped to the porch in a crouch, her hands covering her face.
    Hannah knelt beside her daughter and laid a hand on her shoulder. “You just what?” she encouraged.
    “I just . . .” Annie wrung her hands. “Part of me wants to marry Stephen, but—”
    “Yes?” Hannah squeezed Annie’s shoulder. “You can always confide in me, my daughter. Whatever’s wrong, we’ll figure it out together.”
    “Part of me thinks he’s so boring!” Annie gasped as the words left her mouth. “I didn’t mean that!”
    “Yes, you did.” Hannah sighed. “You did.” She took hold of Annie’s arm. “Into the kitchen. There’s a noontime meal to prepare yet.”
    Together, they assembled a chicken corn soup, sliced and roasted beets, and spread thick slices of fresh bread with apple butter. Hannah kept one eye on her daughter the entire time. Cooking seemed to help Annie ground herself; her color returned to normal, and she even smiled once or twice.
    When Hannah was satisfied Annie had fully collected herself, she asked her next question. “Are you sure Stephen is what you find so boring?” She swept an arm around the kitchen. “Or is it something else?”
    Annie’s tentative smile immediately disappeared. “What do you mean, Mamm ?”
    Hannah washed her hands, then pulled the postcard Annie had given her out of her apron pocket. “Are you feeling envious that it’s Miriam’s turn to be out in the world, while you’re here, living a Plain life?”
    Annie’s mouth twisted into a strange expression, a cross between a smile and a frown, but she didn’t reply.
    Hannah put her arms around her daughter. “You don’t have to answer me right now. In fact, you don’t have to answer me at all. What I would like for