Lost in Plain Sight Read Online Free PDF Page B

just anyone kiss her that way—
    Her thoughts broke off when she saw another buggy pulled up at the hitching rail. She recognized the horse, and her heart nearly stopped. Ezra Burkhalter, one of the ministers of their congregation. The strictest of their three ministers, stricter even than Bishop Amos.
    And the one with whom her daad seemed most in sympathy. She couldn’t believe it was anything other than the charge of theft that had brought him here.
    Josiah brought the buggy to a stop. Daad stood next to Ezra on the back porch, and the two men stepped down to the walk to meet her.
    “You’d best go,” she murmured, sliding down from the buggy seat. “Denke, Josiah.”
    But he was already getting down. “I will stay.”
    He shouldn’t. But Leah could think of no way of stopping him.
    “Brother Ezra is here to speak with you, daughter.” The lines in Daad’s face seemed carved even deeper than they had been yesterday. He glanced at Josiah. “You are always wilkom here, Josiah, but just now it might be best if you went over to Abe’s.”
    Josiah didn’t budge. “I know what happened to Leah. I would like to stay.”
    Ezra’s thin lips formed a tight line above his dark beard. “As you will, then.”
    His piercing gaze fixed on Leah, and she felt as if she were wilting. “A grave accusation has come to my ears about you, Leah Miller. Is it true that working for that Englisch woman has led you to steal?”
    “No, no.” She couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “I didn’t take anything from Mrs. Grayson.”
    “But she accused you of this act,” Daad said. “And you did not tell us.”
    Her heart felt as if it would break at the disappointment in her father’s eyes. “I hoped that the ring was just lost. That Mrs. Grayson would find it, and no one would ever know what she said.”
    “I heard Mrs. Grayson’s words,” Josiah said. He stood next to her, and she seemed to feel his support as if he touched her. “She gave no reason for suspecting Leah. Even her husband seemed to think the ring was just lost.”
    Ezra Burkhalter was staring at Josiah, and she began to fear that Josiah’s support, much as she valued it, would put Josiah in a false position. After the way he’d reacted to their kiss, it was clear he didn’t want a relationship with her, and that was probably what Ezra was imagining.
    She stepped forward, reaching out a hand to her father. “I’m sorry, Daadi. I didn’t want to tell you such an upsetting thing if it was going to be cleared up easily. Especially after what happened yesterday.”
    Daad’s face seemed to soften at the reminder. Maybe he understood how hard it would have been to blurt out her troubles on top of the break-in.
    “Omitting the truth is the same as a lie.” Ezra’s words were stern.
    “Has this woman talked to the police?” Daad seemed to brace himself for her answer.
    “No. Not yet,” she added.
    “The Englisch police are not my concern,” Ezra said. “Only the state of your soul. If you come before the church and confess the truth, you will be forgiven.”
    “I’m telling the truth.” The words burst out of Leah, and she fought back tears. “I didn’t take anything. You can’t want me to confess a lie.”
    Ezra’s thin lips tightened. “This is a serious matter. I must take it to the bishop and the other ministers.” He nodded gravely to her father and stalked off to his buggy.
    Leah had eyes only for Daad. Surely he would tell her he knew she wouldn’t steal.
    But he didn’t. He turned and walked toward the barn, moving as stiffly as if he’d aged ten years in an hour.
    “I’m sorry.” Josiah’s voice was soft. “Your daad knows in his heart that you didn’t take the ring. I’ll talk to him later. Tell him how it was.”
    Her breath caught on a sob, and she clenched her fists. “Denke, Josiah.” She choked out the words. “But you’d best stay away. You don’t want folks to start talking about you, too.”
    She