Shunned and Dangerous (An Amish Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

said, looking at his wife. “You know the one I’m talking about . . .”
    Claire looked up from the bacon distribution she’d silently undertaken and studied her aunt on the opposite side of the table. “There’s
land
on the Amish side?”
    “Technically, it’s not inside the city limits of Heavenly, but it’s still within the school district boundaries and those of all public services,” Diane explained. “Quite a few of the Amish have tried to buy it over the years, but after a slight glitch with the sewers, the owner is confident it’ll make more money being divided and sold for custom homes.”
    “The location is perfect,” Megan gushed.
    “Not perfect enough,” Kyle corrected. “Which is why we’re still looking, remember?”
    Megan set her fork beside her plate and addressed Diane with slightly slumped shoulders. “The Realtor didn’t show us the other two developments. Are they for custom homes, too?”
    At Diane’s nod, Megan turned to her husband with obvious excitement in her voice. “Can we ask Alan to show us those today?”
    “I don’t see why not.” Kyle broke eye contact with his wife long enough to look up at Claire in visible appreciation of the three large pieces of bacon she placed on his plate, all vestiges of fatigue suddenly gone from his otherwise handsome face.
    That settled, Will McCormick pushed his empty plate forward and leaned back in his seat. “I’d like to ask you something, Diane, if I may?”
    “Of course, Will.” Diane took one final glance around the table then surrendered her full attention to the balding retiree. “What would you like to know?”
    “The wife and I went for a ride through the Amish countryside yesterday and noticed two different farmhouses undergoing renovations. Both appeared to be adding an entire room.” Will looked to his wife for confirmation of his observation, her nod letting him know he was on the right track. “What I wonder is whether the Amish have to go through the permit process the rest of us have to go through when we add so much as a shed to our properties.”
    Diane smoothed her hand down the sides of her simple white apron then lowered herself to the edge of an extra chair not far from the table. “If they were truly adding on, with a new bedroom or larger kitchen . . . sure. They’d be expected to follow the same ordinances as everyone else in Heavenly. But, in light of it being nearly November, I think it’s safe to say those were temporary structures that you saw.”
    Will’s brows furrowed. “They were constructing them of wood just like a regular home addition.”
    “At this time of year—known as wedding season in the Amish community—you’ll see additions like that being added to homes all the time. They are, however, temporary, added for the sole purpose of accommodating what will sometimes be as much as several hundred people for a wedding.”
    “They have the wedding in their home?” Carolyn asked around an audible intake of air. “Does that mean the mother of the bride has to cook for all of those people, too?”
    Diane smiled. “Yes, it does. A wedding is a time for celebration within the Amish community. Food and visiting go hand in hand.”
    “Wow.” Callie Claymore waved a hand in her husband’s direction and giggled. “And your mother thought
our
wedding at the club was hard work . . .”
    “So the structure will come back down once the wedding is over?” Will asked. At Diane’s nod, he continued. “And how does the whole farm thing work? Does the oldest son get his father’s farm when he marries?”
    Claire chimed in, the answer one she herself had learned fairly recently. “Actually, it’s the
youngest
son who gets the farm. They do this because more times than not, there are still a slew of siblings at home when the oldest child gets married.”
    “Hmmm. I never thought of that, but it makes perfect sense.” Will motioned to his empty coffee mug and rewarded Claire’s quick