Read Online A Promise of Hope by Amy Clipston - Free Book Online Page A

floor.
    “Eli does some nice work.” Luke ran his fingers over the finish. “But you’ll need a second cradle. Maybe I can make it for you.”
    Raising her eyebrows, Sarah met his gaze. “You want to make me a cradle?”
    “Why not?” He tilted his head and shot her a crooked smile.
    She noticed for the first time that Luke was handsome. Due to the strong family resemblance, she assumed he was Peter’s first cousin. Perhaps their fathers had been brothers.
    It didn’t matter if they were first cousins or even distant cousins. How could Sarah even know for sure? What if the whole Troyer family was full of liars?
    She headed for the door. “The guest room is here.”
    He stepped into the small bedroom and glanced around. “This is perfect.”
    Sarah moved to the bed and idly straightened the quilt. “It’s nothing fancy, but it’s functional.”
    “I’m Amish,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t need fancy.”
    She lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. “Ya, that’s true.”
    He lifted the dark-green shade and glanced out the window. “Who lives in that house across the field?”
    “Timothy.” Sarah held her stomach as the twins performed summersaults. “He built that house a few years ago.”
    “Is he engaged?” Luke straightened the shade and leaned back against the wall. His lanky physique filled the room, and she guessed he was taller than Peter by at least an inch.
    “It was three years ago, but his girlfriend, Miriam, changed her mind a month before the wedding and left the community.” She absently smoothed the quilt.
    “She left the community?”
    “Ya.” Sarah glanced up, meeting his surprised look.
    “I guess she was shunned, ya?”
    She shook her head. “She was going to join the church before they were married, but she left abruptly. Timothy was crushed. They’d been together a long time, and it took him a few years to work up the nerve to ask her to marry him. She’d always toyed with the idea of going to college, and she said she had to try to fulfill her dream. She longed to be a pediatric nurse.”
    He shook his head. “I’m sure he took that hard.”
    “He was angry for a long time. But he finally managed to move on by focusing on the furniture store.” She hoisted herself up. “He works long hours and always takes on the larger projects at the shop. Dat tells him he’s a workaholic, but that doesn’t stop him. I think that’s how he deals with his broken heart.”
    “He never met anyone else?” Luke asked, standing up to his full height, which meant he towered over her by at least six inches.
    “No. I hope he does someday. He’d be a gut husband and dat.” She studied Luke’s face and tried to guess his age. “How old are you?”
    “Twenty-nine,” he said.
    “Two years older than Peter,” she whispered.
    “Ya, that’s right.” He rubbed his clean-shaven chin.
    Studying his mocha eyes, she wondered who Luke Troyer was. Part of her wanted to stay distant from him and not get to know him, but another part of her wanted the truth—the real truth. Yet she worried Luke would reveal even more painful deception Peter had left behind without explanation.
    “Why haven’t you married?” she asked before she could stop the words.
    A grin turned up the corners of his mouth. “You get right to the point, Sarah Rose.”
    “I’m sorry.” Her face burned.
    “It’s fine.” He waved off the thought. “I did have someone special back before my pop got sick.”
    “Your father was ill?”
    “Ya, he had a stroke several years ago, and he died about eight months ago.”
    “And your mamm, is she living?”
    He shook his head. “She died in an accident when I was young.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that. And you took care of your father alone?”
    He leaned back against the wall again. “That’s right. I split my time between work and Pop. My girlfriend got sick of waiting for me, and she moved on.”
    “Waiting for you?” She tilted her head in question.