Read Online An Unbroken Heart by Kathleen Fuller - Free Book Online

I just said?” There was an impatient bite in Sadie’s voice. “You
focus on getting better.”
    She nodded and kept the rest of her thoughts to herself. She didn’t want to upset
Sadie or anyone else.
    â€œGut.”
    Sadie gave her an encouraging smile before leaving the kitchen. Once she was alone,
Joanna rubbed her temple. First Andrew’s abrupt change of heart, and now she learned
her parents had kept secrets from the family. Was nothing as it seemed? Her entire
life was turned around and upside down.
    Rejoice in suffering.
    The words intruded into her thoughts. A fragment of a scripture verse. Absently
she touched the scar on her face. How am I supposed to rejoice about this? Or my
parents’ deaths? Or my doubts about Andrew?
    She got to her feet, knowing that she had to keep busy or her thoughts would drive
her crazy. She reached for the crutches and started to clear the table. She paused
as her gaze landed on Andrew’s bouquet.
    Despite herself, she couldn’t resist touching one of the delicate pink rose petals.

    For the rest of the morning Andrew threw himself into his work. Anything to keep
his thoughts away from Joanna. But it was proving impossible. He’d already banged
his hand with his hammer and nearly pinched his finger with the nippers. He hadn’t
made those kinds of mistakes since he’d been an apprentice.
    After lunch he arrived at Freemont Yoder’s. Freemont was the new bishop of Birch
Creek. His roan mare needed a full set of new shoes. Andrew tried to keep his attention
on the work, only to wonder yet again if Joanna had changed her mind about the wedding.
“Ow!” He missed tapping the final nail into a horseshoe and banged the top of his
thigh with the hammer. He groaned. He could shoe horses in his sleep. Apparently
he couldn’t shoe them while Joanna was on his mind.
    â€œEverything okay?” Freemont asked, leaning against the stable wall.
    Andrew gently released the horse’s foot. She was a sweet old mare. He patted her
flank. “Lost mei concentration a bit.”
    â€œUnusual for you.” Freemont straightened and put his hands in his pockets. “Um, anything
you want to talk about?”
    Andrew’s brow lifted.
    â€œSeeing I’m now the bishop and all . . .” He cleared his throat. It was no secret
that Freemont was uncomfortable in his new role. “Anyway, if you need to talk to
someone, let me know.”
    â€œDanki.” Andrew wiped his hands on his leather apron, then put his hammer into his
tool belt. Surely Freemont didn’t know anything about the proposal. And right now
Andrew didn’t want him to, not while Joanna kept pushing him away. “I’ll keep that
in mind.”
    â€œI hope you didn’t think I was, uh, prying. I wasn’t meaning to, anyway.”
    â€œI didn’t think you were.”
    That seemed to put Freemont more at ease. “How much do I owe you for the shoeing?”
    â€œNix.” Andrew led the horse back to the stall. He wasn’t going to charge Freemont,
and not only because he was the bishop. He knew the man had experienced some financial
difficulties of late. Their former bishop, Emmanuel Troyer, had kept a tight rein
on the community fund despite being aware of Freemont’s crop failures and the large
family he had to support. Since Emmanuel had left Birch Creek, everyone in the district
now knew the fund was flush with money. Freemont was also getting back on his feet.
Still, Andrew didn’t feel right charging him.
    â€œI gotta pay you something,” Freemont said.
    Andrew sized up the man, who was in his early forties and had a huge amount of responsibility
resting on his slim shoulders. He could have easily accepted Andrew’s refusal to
charge him. But Andrew understood, probably better than most in their district,
that a man didn’t want something for nothing. It was one thing to get help from the
community