The Way to a Man's Heart (The Miller Family 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

used to the idea that you can’t wait until the last minute to leave.” She heard the sternness in her voice and immediately felt ashamed. He was trying so hard. Perhaps she should learn to be more patient, especially as he was head of the household. A wife shouldn’t chastise a husband…at least, not very often.
    Emma stretched up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’m going to refill the ice in the cooler while you bring the buggy around. When we get there, we’ll be there. The Lord knows we love Him in our hearts…our tardy hearts.”
    As she walked back to James’ childhood home, Emma stewed about more than sneaking into preaching services during the first sermon. Her mother-in-law still treated her like a guest—a favored summer visitor who was vacationing from another country—and not like the wife of her son.
    His mom still invited James to social events at her English church. And she often still looked surprised when he came downstairs for breakfast wearing his solid plain clothes—as though he were playacting for a historical exhibition that soon would end.
    It had been almost three years since James had been baptized and committed his life both to Christ and to a simpler lifestyle. Did Barbara Davis resent Emma? It didn’t seem so, but how hard it must be for her to accept the fact that her son had left the world she and her husband had raised him in.
    Emma crept quietly into the kitchen, but she found Mrs. Davis sitting at the table sipping coffee. Her Sunday school materials were spread out for last-minute review.
    “Hello,” she said. “You two are still here?”
    “Jah, we are.” Emma’s answer was succinct and unnecessary. An uncomfortable silence spun out in the tidy room while Emma filled the cooler from the automatic ice dispenser. She hoped she didn’t sound curt, but she didn’t want to criticize her husband by mentioning their tardiness.
    Her husband. A warm sensation filled her every time she remembered his tender proposal, his conversion to Amish life, and their joyous wedding. James had worn his old Levis for weeks with solid dark shirts, suspenders, and either a black felt or straw hat along with his work boots. After Emma had laid several new pairs of pants she’d sewn herself around their bedroom, he’d finally taken the hint. James had held one up, complemented her sewing, and then said, “But I’ll look exactly the same as everybody else.”
    Emma had snaked her arm around his waist. “That’s the point…not to set yourself apart or above anyone else. You will be known to God by what’s in here.” She’d placed her hand on the spot above his heart.
    “You’ll still be able to find me in a crowd, right? Like when you wander off on auction day?” He sounded only half joking.
    “Without a doubt, I will always find you.”
    “All right, then.” He threw the pants over his shoulder and headed off to change. That day, ten pairs of good Levis had gone into the charity bag, and he never went back to English clothes again.
    When Emma walked back outside into the yard, James pulled up with their new standardbred horse properly hitched. “Your carriage awaits,” he said, offering his hand for assistance.
    “A one-seat buggy is too small to be considered a carriage,” she said, settling herself beside him. “Carriages are even bigger than two-seat surries.”
    “I know, but I just like saying it.”
    Fortunately, a three-hour service meant that plenty of church still remained when Emma and James slipped in and found seats in the back. Only a few pairs of eyes turned in their direction, and only the retired local schoolteacher looked peeved. James smiled and tipped his hat to her.
    He still listened to learn-to-speak-German lessons on a small CD player with earphones while he farmed, so it would be a while before James understood everything said during the service. The Amish read a High German Bible but spoke a colloquial Deutsch. Their language must be heard to be