Read Online A Simple Hope: A Lancaster Crossroads Novel by Rosalind Lauer - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rosalind Lauer
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living Plain with your family.”
James gripped the arms of his chair, longing to push himself up and stand before his father.
Look at me, Dat
, he wanted to say.
I am here, living Plain, and I’m not going anywhere, trapped in this chair
.
Anger tasted sour on his tongue, and James worked hard to swallow it as he relaxed his arms and sank back. If he was going to be stuck in this chair, half a man forever, he would shrivel and dry like a fallen leaf.
But he could not say this to Dat, who already thought that James was acting fancy. For now, James had to swallow the bitterness, and hope that, in time, Dat would see his oldest son in a new light.
T hey had been driving in circles.
Gary was still trying to make it sound like they would be turning toward home any minute, but Shandell had figured out his game.
He wanted to stay in Lancaster County because it was so easy to steal from the Amish. Both Gary and Shandell knew that Amish people wouldn’t fight him or get violent. The Amish were pacifists; fighting back went against their beliefs. That made them an easy target.
So far they had spent the day driving from one Amish town to another so that Gary could snag things while vendors were looking the other way. He had stolen a brick of cheese and popcorn and a leather belt. He had made off with a quilt that had to be worth a lot, and a wooden cradle that he had absolutely no use for. When she’d asked him about it, he’d told her that he would sell it off, just like the flowers. While they’d been parked at a rest stop, he had traded some lady the entire carton of hyacinths for five dollars.
“This is found money,” he’d told Shandell.
More like stolen money
.
The cherry pie filling stolen from the roadside stand had been his dessert last night. Watching him pluck out a fat cherry with a long white plastic spoon, Shandell had felt sick about how low he had fallen and worried about how she would extract herself from his crime spree.
“We could be just like Bonnie and Clyde,” he had said last night. “Except that instead of robbing banks, we rob the Amish.” He’d laughed at his own joke. “I just wish we could come up with a way to get free food from that Amish diner in Halfway. They’ve got good eats. I would dine and dash, but it might attract too much attention. You never know if there’s a cop nearby.”
A cop … that would be a relief. Shandell could turn herself in and ask for help getting home. Right now, she was beginning to doubt that Gary would make good on his promise. Even worse, when she had asked him to drop her at a bus stop, he had squinted at her as if she was the crazy one.
She had almost called him on it.
Oh, I’m not allowed to go home? I can’t go off on my own? What, am I a prisoner? Is this a kidnapping now?
She thought that Gary might back down if she confronted him, but she wasn’t sure. And what if he didn’t? Would he stick her in the trunk, along with the stolen quilt and cradle? Fear shivered down her spine, despite the warm sunshine streaming into the car. She didn’t know how low Gary would stoop, but she wasn’t going to stick around to find out.
He turned off Halfway’s Main Street and pulled in to a parking lot shared by the library and the ice-cream shop.
“I’m gonna hit the restroom in the library,” he said. “You coming along?”
He was giving her a choice. This was her chance. “Nah. I’ll wait here. All those books remind me of school.”
Gary snickered as he slung the car door open. “I told you, you don’t have to go back to school at all. You’re eighteen now.”
But she wanted to go back to school. Even with all those floating, angry equations in algebra, even if she had to go back over the summer to get her degree, school was better than the guilt and shame of tearing through these peaceful hills and valleys to rob the Amish. She would spend hours sprawled on her bed, studying. And then hug her pillow and slip under the comforter
James gripped the arms of his chair, longing to push himself up and stand before his father.
Look at me, Dat
, he wanted to say.
I am here, living Plain, and I’m not going anywhere, trapped in this chair
.
Anger tasted sour on his tongue, and James worked hard to swallow it as he relaxed his arms and sank back. If he was going to be stuck in this chair, half a man forever, he would shrivel and dry like a fallen leaf.
But he could not say this to Dat, who already thought that James was acting fancy. For now, James had to swallow the bitterness, and hope that, in time, Dat would see his oldest son in a new light.
T hey had been driving in circles.
Gary was still trying to make it sound like they would be turning toward home any minute, but Shandell had figured out his game.
He wanted to stay in Lancaster County because it was so easy to steal from the Amish. Both Gary and Shandell knew that Amish people wouldn’t fight him or get violent. The Amish were pacifists; fighting back went against their beliefs. That made them an easy target.
So far they had spent the day driving from one Amish town to another so that Gary could snag things while vendors were looking the other way. He had stolen a brick of cheese and popcorn and a leather belt. He had made off with a quilt that had to be worth a lot, and a wooden cradle that he had absolutely no use for. When she’d asked him about it, he’d told her that he would sell it off, just like the flowers. While they’d been parked at a rest stop, he had traded some lady the entire carton of hyacinths for five dollars.
“This is found money,” he’d told Shandell.
More like stolen money
.
The cherry pie filling stolen from the roadside stand had been his dessert last night. Watching him pluck out a fat cherry with a long white plastic spoon, Shandell had felt sick about how low he had fallen and worried about how she would extract herself from his crime spree.
“We could be just like Bonnie and Clyde,” he had said last night. “Except that instead of robbing banks, we rob the Amish.” He’d laughed at his own joke. “I just wish we could come up with a way to get free food from that Amish diner in Halfway. They’ve got good eats. I would dine and dash, but it might attract too much attention. You never know if there’s a cop nearby.”
A cop … that would be a relief. Shandell could turn herself in and ask for help getting home. Right now, she was beginning to doubt that Gary would make good on his promise. Even worse, when she had asked him to drop her at a bus stop, he had squinted at her as if she was the crazy one.
She had almost called him on it.
Oh, I’m not allowed to go home? I can’t go off on my own? What, am I a prisoner? Is this a kidnapping now?
She thought that Gary might back down if she confronted him, but she wasn’t sure. And what if he didn’t? Would he stick her in the trunk, along with the stolen quilt and cradle? Fear shivered down her spine, despite the warm sunshine streaming into the car. She didn’t know how low Gary would stoop, but she wasn’t going to stick around to find out.
He turned off Halfway’s Main Street and pulled in to a parking lot shared by the library and the ice-cream shop.
“I’m gonna hit the restroom in the library,” he said. “You coming along?”
He was giving her a choice. This was her chance. “Nah. I’ll wait here. All those books remind me of school.”
Gary snickered as he slung the car door open. “I told you, you don’t have to go back to school at all. You’re eighteen now.”
But she wanted to go back to school. Even with all those floating, angry equations in algebra, even if she had to go back over the summer to get her degree, school was better than the guilt and shame of tearing through these peaceful hills and valleys to rob the Amish. She would spend hours sprawled on her bed, studying. And then hug her pillow and slip under the comforter
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