Forsaken Read Online Free PDF Page A

alone. When you get to Pennsylvania, look up my friend, Father Roberto Hellman. He’s in—”
    â€œHell-man? You’ve got to be kidding, right?”
    â€œHe’s in Philadelphia. Retired now from serving the church, but he serves God in other capacities.”
    Roc stuck his Glock in his hidden shoulder holster and the stake through the belt loop of his jeans. “Take care, Anthony.”
    â€œI’ll be praying for you, Roc.”
    â€œPrayers won’t help me, Father. Not anymore.”

Chapter Three
    Hannah’s stomach shifted and stirred the same way wheat swayed and sighed in the fields, but instead of a sky-blue summer day she faced a hazy autumn dawn, her mood drifting toward gloom as the clouds shrouded the first rays of daylight. This day should have been much brighter. May it be so, for Rachel’s sake. After all, this was a goodchange, happy in its trappings, and yet this day awakened emotions lurking deep within, feelings dark and forbidding.
    A match flared with a tiny whoosh and pushed the darkness in the room aside as Hannah touched the flaming tip to the wick inside the kerosene lamp. Light wavered over the whitewashed walls of her bedroom. She lifted the green shade, then raised the window a notch and in blew a cool, gentle breeze, which stirred wisps of hair around her face. The sun peeked over the horizon and cast an array of pinks and reds upon the immense trees, the pint-sized shed, and the stalwart barn.
    She bowed her head and whispered, “Dear Lord, forgive me this selfishness.”
    When she stepped toward the bed, a sharp pain bolted through her foot. She jerked her toes back and turned her leg to look at the bottom of her foot, where a straight pin stabbed the pad between her first two toes. With girls in the house, there were bound to be stray straight pins, and this wasn’t the first time she’d stepped on one. With a quick yank, she removed it. The wound was of no consequence, yet a tiny red dot welled up with blood. She swiped it with her thumb but moved more cautiously to the side of the twin bed, placing a hand on her older sister’s shoulder.
    Rachel’s eyes opened at once, and for a brief second she seemed far away, her pupils dilating with fear then contracting with awareness. “Hannah?”
    â€œCome on, sleepyhead.” Hannah smiled. “You don’t want to keep your bridegroom waiting.”
    Rachel tossed back the thin quilt and sheet. “Josef is already here?”
    â€œNo, not yet.” Hannah moved across the room and smoothed a hand over the plain dress hanging on the wall. “But there is much to be done before he arrives.”
    The bride-to-be shoved her hair out of her face, rubbed a hand over her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose as if trying to push away the last bits of sleep or the fading remnants of a dream.
    Hannah poured water into a bowl. “How do you feel on this, your wedding day?
    â€œHappy.” Rachel’s pink lips curved upward, her eyes sparkling with secrets, and she hugged her knees. “Nervous too.”
    â€œAs nervous as you were for your baptism?”
    â€œJosef isn’t as serious as Bishop Stoltzfus.” She covered her mouth and hid another smile.
    Hannah joined her sister on the edge of the bed, smiling with her, and pressed her forehead to Rachel’s, her blue eyes looming large. Hannah’s heart swelled within her chest. She would miss her sister, but she would also rejoice, for Rachel loved Josef as no other. A pinch of jealousy she didn’t want to acknowledge pressed in upon her, and she pushed away before Rachel could see it too.
    But Rachel reached for her.
    Hannah kept moving, rising from the bed. “You must hurry.”
    â€œWhat about you, Hannah?”
    â€œMe?” She forced a laugh. “I’m already dressed.” Her hand fluttered against her stomach, mimicking the feeling inside and ignoring what her