Fraying at the Edge Read Online Free PDF Page A

finished. “She’s made it clear that she’s not leaving.”
    “Why is she so stubborn about this?” Elam lowered his head, looking weary.
    “Apparently only she and God know why,” Dan said. “But we can’t stand for freedom, helping the Amish leave if they believe that’s right for them, and then pressure Mamm to move because it’s what
we
think is best.”
    “So what do we do?” Elam asked.
    Three of his four older brothers looked at Quill.
    It dawned on Quill that their looking to him said something about his nature. He was a planner. A schemer. He hadn’t started out that way, and when he stepped into that life, it was because he saw no other way to finish what his Daed had begun. But in every decision, he’d put his personal beliefs and mission above Ariana.
    Sounded ethical.
    Felt very different.

A riana couldn’t figure out what was going on. Once the man was at the front of his car, he returned to the driver’s side and reached in for something. Blue flashing lights came on, disturbing the serenity of the night. A cold wind sliced through her thin sweater. How had she not noticed before now the sharp drop in temperature?
    “Ma’am.” Despite the numerous lampposts along the sidewalk, he shined a flashlight in her eyes, and she couldn’t make out his face. He then lowered it a little. Evidently she’d stepped in front of a police car. Was it a coincidence, or had Nicholas sent for the police? Did police routinely ride through neighborhoods looking for signs of trouble?
    For a brief moment he swept the light from her head to her feet. “Is everything okay?”
    “I’m turned around.” Her heart palpitated, and a surge of confusion seemed to numb her mind. Looking at the maze of sidewalks, she couldn’t recall how she’d gotten here.
    “Have you been drinking?”
    “What?”
    “You walked in front of a car and stumbled when retreating, ma’am. You’re clearly confused. And you look underage. Have you been drinking?”
    “No.”
    “It’s the time of year for parties. Maybe some friends had a costume party nearby, and you—”
    “Costume? These are my clothes.”
    “Do you know where you are?”
    She shook her head. “I’m from Summer Grove, three or so hours from here, and I…I only arrived here on Saturday.” Did she sound as terrified as she felt? “And I wasn’t in this subdivision until last night.” She studied the street. “They were arguing. So unkind and…” Tears threatened, and she dropped the rest of her sentence. It would be best to focus on concrete issues. She cleared her throat. “I hardly know them, and I went for a walk, lost track of time, and now I don’t know how to get back.” Her voice trembled.
    He studied her for a moment before nodding. “Okay, I can help you with that. I assume you don’t have a cell phone.”
    She took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves, but it seemed as fruitless as trying to stop the wind. “I don’t own one.”
    “Not a problem. Do you know the address of where you were?”
    “No.” A gust of wind made the pleats in her dress billow, and she shivered.
    A robotic voice mixed with static came through some device attached to his shoulder, but she didn’t catch what it said. He grasped the thing and responded, “Lost pup at Richland. Should be walkin’ the dog in twenty.” He released the device. “I wasn’t calling you a dog. ‘Walking the dog’ means going on break. But you were the pup, so…I guess…” He cleared his throat and went to the passenger’s side door and opened it. “Let’s get out of the wind.”
    Her whole body shook, and she needed to sit. Maybe it would help her to regroup her thoughts. She got in, and he went around and sat in the driver’s seat.
    “How about the homeowner’s name?” He pointed at a computer. “I can look it up and drive you there.”
    She should know this, and her heart moved to her throat. “Quill told me Nicholas’s last name, and it should’ve