Noah's Sweetheart Read Online Free PDF Page B

Hannah. It was a lovely piece of stitchery.
    Noah’s mother studied the family tree for a moment before turning slowly to capture Rachel’s gaze. “Mae and I are close, almost as close as sisters.”
    Rachel waited, sensing the woman had something to say.
    “Rachel, I hope you can begin a new life in Happiness.” She glanced back at the frame on the wall. “It is sometimes difficult to start over,” she said. “Are you doing well?” Her brown eyes found and steadily held Rachel’s attention.
    “ Ja. Everyone has been welcoming.”
    Katie smiled. “ Gut. That is how it should be.” She seemed to hesitate a moment. “You are feeling well?”
    Rachel frowned, uncertain of what Katie meant. “I am fine.”
    “Your accident. I read about it in The Budget. ”
    She must have looked upset, because Katie patted her arm. “No one knows but you, me and your aunt Mae. It is my relationship with Mae that made me understand what happened.”
    How much did she know? Rachel wondered fearfully.
    “You spent weeks in the hospital.”
    Rachel nodded. “I was walking out with Abraham Beiler. We were in his courting buggy with my brother Moses as chaperone. It was winter and the road was icy. We were managing fine until a car came speeding around the bend and forced us off the road. I was on the right side and I fell into an ice-water-filled ditch. The buggy fell on top of me. Abraham and Moses were injured only slightly. I was hurt the worst.”
    Katie’s eyes softened with sympathy. “It must have been terrible.”
    “ Ja. It was a dark time, but I had the Lord to guide me until the darkness lifted.” If it hadn’t been for her faith in God, she would never have survived her injuries and the time that followed.
    “And Abraham?” Katie waited as if she already knew but wanted to hear Rachel’s version.
    “He decided that I was not the girl for him. He began courting Emma Mast, my best friend, before I even got out of the hospital. They were married in September.” Only six months after he’d asked to court her…and not Emma. They hadn’t even waited until the time most couples married in their Ohio Amish community.
    “It must have been awful for you,” Katie said. “But I can see that you are well and doing fine. You are a schoolteacher and in our village of Happiness! I think you will like it here, Rachel. The Lord works in ways we can’t always understand, but I have a feeling that you were meant to come here…that Happiness was God’s plan for you all along.”
    Rachel could only nod. “Katie—”
    “I will tell no one of what happened to you in Millersburg, Rachel. Your secret is safe with me.” She gestured toward the door to the kitchen. “Let’s have a cup of tea. If we don’t stand watch, there may be no pies and cakes for Sunday. My sons are big eaters.”
    Relieved at the change of subject, Rachel gladly accompanied Katie Lapp into the kitchen, where two neighbor women were rearranging Sunday’s desserts.
    “Shall we put this in the refrigerator?” Agnes Troyer asked of Rachel’s chocolate-cream pie.
    “ Ja, it will keep better,” Katie said.
    “I’ll take it,” Rachel offered, eager for a few moments alone after her heart-to-heart talk with her aunt’s friend Katie. She picked up the pie and went into the other room, where a gas refrigerator and separate gas freezer were located. She opened the refrigerator door, her hands shaking slightly as she rearranged a few items to make room for the pie. When the pie had its own place, she shut the refrigerator door and leaned against it. Her heart was beating rapidly. There was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t like to remember the accident that had changed her life and taken away her sweetheart.
    Thank You, Lord. I praise You, Lord, for all Your goodness and grace. Thank You for not allowing anyone to realize just how much the accident changed me. Thank You for being there whenever I need You.
    She stood for a moment,