The Matchmaker Read Online Free PDF

Hannah, and Emma was beginning to realize that she was not a part of this conversation. Indeed, she felt like a voyeur, watching a scene unfold before her and, with it, the image vanished of Gideon’ssmiling face approving Emma’s match between Hannah and Paul.
    She listened to the banter between Hannah and Ralph, a frown on her face as she saw the telltale signs on Hannah’s. Indeed, there was a connection between her friend and this young man, a connection that was not one sided but reciprocated by each. Politely Emma excused herself to hurry down the aisle, searching for the hinge that her daed needed. Her mind reeled as she realized that her plans for helping Hannah find favorable appeal in the eyes of Paul Esh might be compromised by this one chance meeting in the hardware store.
    Only after she had paid for the hinge and returned to Hannah’s side did she realize the extent of her friend’s interest in Ralph Martin. They were discussing an article in the latest Blackboard Bulletin and laughing about the writer’s interpretation of a particular Scripture. Emma cleared her throat and forced a smile.
    “We really must get going,” she whispered to Hannah, eager to leave the store. “We need to stop over at Anna’s for help with the pattern, and I need to be certain to return home by dinnertime.”
    “I’ve kept you long enough, then,” Ralph said, obviously overhearing what Emma had whispered, just as she had intended. “It was right gut to see you again, Hannah.” He lifted his hand to wave at Emma before turning around and heading down the next aisle.
    Emma’s eyes trailed after him, and she noticed that he looked up not once but twice to watch as Hannah left the store. Emma quickly decided that she needed to know more about this Ralph Martin and to understand what, exactly, was the extent of the relationship between him and Hannah.
    “How well do you know Ralph Martin?” she asked as they walked down the sidewalk toward the horse and buggy tied to the hitching post.
    Hannah giggled and blushed for the second time. “When I first came out here, I stayed a week at their house. I met his sister, Elizabeth, in Ohio when she came out last year for a cousin’s wedding.”
    Emma’s red flag went up even further. “And what does Ralph do for a living?”
    “He raises pigs,” Hannah replied.
    Immediately Emma’s feet stopped walking and she turned to stare at her friend. “You mean he’s a pig farmer?” Despite her best intentions, Emma couldn’t hide the tone in her voice, a tone that bespoke her displeasure at this occupation. After all, everyone knew that being a pig farmer was one of the most distasteful careers for an Amish man. It was, indeed, a dirty business, with a smell that lingered on the skin no matter how often one showered. “And you stayed at their farm for . . . an entire week?”
    Hannah nodded, too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice Emma’s tone. “They rent it, you know. From your friend Gideon, I believe.”
    This was news indeed. Emma frowned. She had never inquired too much about Gideon’s private business. Most of the times when he visited, his attention was directed at her daed . Of course, as the years had passed and the acquaintance become more familiar, she knew that he owned a large property where storage sheds were built for the Englische . He had upwards of twelve Amish men who worked for him, building the structures, a fact that freed up quite a bit of his time to permit, among other things, his weekly visits to her daed .
    “Why, I had no idea! Gideon never mentioned that he rented out a farm. And all the way in Strasburg?” She made a mental note to inquire about this tidbit of news from her daed . “With all the time that he spends visiting, I should think I would know him better than most!”
    “It’s a small farm,” Hannah said. “I believe he inherited it.” She was quiet as she searched her memory. “ Nee , that’s not it. He bought it when he was