The Miting Read Online Free PDF Page A

ball against the headboard. Her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe.
    He sneered, running a look over the shape of her legs in the tight jeans. “ Shenna bee, ” he motioned.
    Leah covered her legs with both hands instinctively. His comment forced another shiver down her spine.
    Abner turned and sauntered arrogantly to the door; his last glance at Martha hate filled and evil. “I’ll be back,” he said, his tone carrying unspoken threats as he left.
    Martha struggled to her feet, ran to the door, and slammed it behind her stepbrother. One side of her face was already an ugly shade of red, and she turned her eyes away in shame before crawling into a corner and burying her face in her arms.
    Leah trembled on the bed, afraid to say a word. Finally, she got up and carefully peeled off the jeans. She quickly pulled her dress and apron back on, and then sat uncertainly on the edge of Martha’s bed.
    At last Martha looked up and began to wipe her nose and eyes with her apron, her face a tight mask of humiliation and wrath.
    “Martha?” Leah whispered, unspoken questions swirling about the room.
    Martha shook her head as she carefully pulled her hair back under her kapp , squared her shoulders, and averted her gaze.
    Leah was amazed at her friend’s ability to hide what had happened so quickly, but she would not soon forget the look on Abner’s face, nor the terror his violence created. Though he didn’t touch her, imagining the kind of touch his eyes conveyed as he looked over her legs made her shiver anew.
    And Martha—she glanced at her friend. How could she endure such treatment? How often did she have to put up with that from her stepbrother, and what else was he capable of doing to her?
    Martha’s maem , Anna, stood at the bottom of the stairs, eyeing the girls warily as they descended. Her face wore a hard, spiteful look, and she turned to watch as the friends walked to the front door. Martha frowned but did not stop to talk with her. Leah’s heart pounded harder than ever at the strange expression on Anna’s face. It wasn’t right. Or am I just overreacting from the fright Abner gave us?

C HAPTER T HREE
    L eah clutched the reins tightly, the leather chaffing her palms as she held Sparky back from an all-out trot. She was going to town with Sara Wengerd, Daniel’s fiancée, to buy fabric for Sara’s wedding dress. Sunlight reflected off the tops of the few cars traveling this back road to Ashfield, and she worried over Sparky’s tendency to dance to the right as vehicles zoomed past. The ditch was dangerous, but pulling the horse to the left too far could cause a crash, as well. The road rolled and twisted, making driving unsafe since cars were liable to pop over a rise unexpectedly.
    Leah licked her lips, launching into small talk to ease her nerves. “Sara, what color blue are you thinking of wearing?”
    “Light blue looks best on me. Daniel likes that color, too. I hope we find something the Ordnung will allow.” Sara flushed and pressed her feet against the buggy floor. She fingered the edge of her cape uneasily. Conversation lapsed.
    Sparky’s hooves kept time with the swaying buggy. He flicked his tail from side to side, shooing away flies that zeroed in on his haunches. Farmland dotted with corn, soybeans, and cows sloped gently away from the road. Boys and men tended to animals in barnyards and shoveled manure into wheelbarrows, which they then trundled off to add to compost heaps. The rural scents were common enough for Leah and Sara to ignore, and the beautiful scenery offered an enjoyable ride, if they didn’t have to watch traffic.
    “How is the house coming along?” Leah tried again to stretch a chatty string between herself and Sara, but her future sister-in-law was shy and didn’t talk much.
    Sara’s family had moved to the area only recently, so she hadn’t grown up with the Amish girls in her church. Daniel had spied the timid girl at her first singing. It hadn’t