Miriam and the Stranger Read Online Free PDF Page B

donation to the Clarita Relief Fund had been impressive. But he wondered, where did these people find that kind of money to donate? And that wasn’t the only question that niggled at him. Had the funds been collected in small donations from here and there? That was difficult to imagine. The community only had so many members. Still they seemed prosperous enough, and friendly. William Byler and his wife, Fannie, had welcomed him into their home on the slightest of introductions. He could have been a mobster on the FBI’s most-wanted list for all Mr. Byler knew, but his story had been accepted without question.
    Tyler shook his head as he left his motel room and allowed the door to slam behind him. His cell rang on the walk to his rental car. Tyler checked the number before he answered. Ah. Hilda.
    “Good morning, dear,” Tyler said, tossing his carry-on on the backseat.
    “Where are you, Ty?” Hilda cooed.
    “Amish country,” Tyler chirped.
    Hilda was nice enough, Tyler reminded himself, but he had no illusions about their relationship. He was a rich trust-fund kid, which did have an upside in addition to getting dates. For one thing he took on writing projects only when he wanted to—projects he liked.
    “Amish country?” Hilda questioned. “What is Amish country?”
    “You should educate yourself,” he teased. “The Amish are nice people.”
    “I didn’t say they weren’t, but why are you with them?” Hilda probed with tension in her voice.
    “Because I’m on an assignment, and they are the subject.”
    “Oh, yes!” Comprehension dawned, and Hilda said, “I think I did hear about them once. They are a Stone Age people, aren’t they?”
    Tyler laughed. “Something like that. So what can I do for you, dear?”
    “Just wanted to hear your voice and ask when I’ll see you again.”
    “Maybe when I’m back in town,” he hedged. “Don’t know when that will be, though. This might take a while.”
    “What is there to know about Stone Age people?” she pouted. “They can’t be that interesting. Not like me.”
    “No, that’s certainly true,” Tyler chuckled. “But assignments are assignments.”
    “Okay.” She didn’t sound convinced. “But don’t forget to call.”
    “How can I forget, dear?”
    They both knew he wouldn’t have the chance. Hilda was the one who called him, and she would be the one to do so again.
    “Goodbye,” Hilda twittered, and disconnected before he did.
    Tyler slipped his cell phone back into the clip and climbed into the car, the face of the young Amish schoolteacher drifting through his mind. He couldn’t help but compare her simple grace and unadorned face with that of Hilda. Tyler grinned. Now there was a comparison. Hilda was a fully modern, dashing woman. She didn’t step out of the house without her beauty aids. Nor did a week pass without her appointment with the hairstylist. Not that he cared; he did admire the results.
    Tyler shook his head at the comparison between the two women and drove out of the parking lot. In a very real sense, to people like Hilda the Amish were a Stone Age people. Even to him, the Amish world was a foreign world. But he had tasted a sample of their life the other evening at the Bylers’s home, and foreign or not, he had liked it. It was in some strange way… well… appealing. He had seen a genuineness in Miriam Yoder that he liked. Werethe Amish all as kind and peaceful as the ones he had met? Were there no closets with skeletons in them? Perhaps this morning’s interview with Deacon Phillips would be revealing. Maybe a flaw would pop up. He didn’t like the prospect, but the Amish lived with the same human nature as everyone else, even if they tried to hide out in communities. The truth was he hoped the Amish would survive the scrutiny. He didn’t need an additional ring of cynicism around his heart.
    Tyler checked both ways before he drove into Coalgate’s main street. The midmorning traffic wasn’t heavy. He had