Read Online Plain Peace (A Daughters of the Promise Novel) by Beth Wiseman - Free Book Online

have to go.”
    “ Daadi is pretty strict about the use of cell phones.” Anna shookher head as she stepped out of the buggy. Jacob quickly walked around to where she was standing.
    “Do you, uh, want to do this again? Maybe go to the pizza place for supper sometime?” Jacob pushed back the tip of his straw hat and kept his eyes on hers.
    Anna couldn’t believe it. A real date—one she hadn’t initiated. “Sure.”
    Jacob smiled. “What about Saturday?”
    “Okay.” Anna suddenly felt tongue-tied and couldn’t even look at him.
    “Great. See you then. Four o’clock?”
    Anna nodded. “I better go in.”
    Jacob just stood there, kicking at the ground for a few moments. They’d talked about so much, it seemed like a hug was in order, but she wasn’t sure what to do. She took a few steps backward, keeping her eyes on him, then gave a quick wave before she turned and ran up the porch steps. She was anxious to tell her grandparents about Jacob and his family.
    And she was particularly anxious about Saturday night.
    When she walked in, both of her grandparents were standing side by side in the living room, both frowning.
    “Isaac, you remember what I told you,” Mammi whispered as Anna closed the door behind her.
    Her grandfather moved quickly toward her and grabbed her arm. Hard. He’d never done such a thing. “Where have you been?” he asked, his eyebrows drawn in.
    “I . . . I was at the coffee shop, and—” She blinked a few times, hoping she wouldn’t cry, but his forceful hold told her she was in big trouble.

    “Emma came by looking for you. She said you never made it to the singing, and she was worried about you.” Daadi finally let go of her arm, but he threw his next words at her like stones. “You will not see that boy again.”
    She put a hand to her heart and blinked back tears. “What? You haven’t let me explain. There was—”
    “Go now! Upstairs to your room.” Her grandfather pointed toward the stairs.
    Anna looked at her grandmother, but Mammi’s hands hung at her sides, and she was staring at the floor.
    “There was a reason we didn’t go to the singing, and if you’d just let me—”
    Daadi took a step toward her. He had never hit her except to spank her as a child, but the way his fists were clenched at his sides was enough to send her running to the stairs.
    She slammed her bedroom door behind her, and with the mindset of someone half her age, she said aloud, “Oh, I will see him again. And you can’t stop me.”

    Marianne glared at her husband before she stomped to their bedroom. Isaac was quickly on her heels.
    “Why such a look? Do you want our girl off running wild, going with boys to places we have not approved of? She didn’t go to the singing like she said.”
    Marianne sat down on the bed, slipped off her black leather shoes, and slid her socked feet into a pair of slippers. Sighing, she looked up at her husband. “You will push her away from us, Isaac. You didn’t even give the child a chance to explain.”
    Isaac pulled his hat off and tossed it onto the bed, then stroked his beard as he sat down beside her. “We don’t know that boy. He should have taken her where he said he was taking her, and that’s all. There is no excuse. And I saw how worried you were when Emma came calling and said she wasn’t at the singing.”
    Marianne scratched her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. She’d only had a tiny piece of shoofly pie, but her sugar was surely spiking. She felt a bit dizzy and not in the mood for a confrontation with her husband. Over the years she’d learned to just let things go. But when it came to Anna, she felt inclined to stick up for her granddaughter.
    “ Ya , I was worried, but not terribly alarmed. And Anna came home on time, apparently with an explanation.” She turned to Isaac and frowned. “But you wouldn’t let her speak.”
    “Young people Anna’s age need discipline. You know that.”
    “Now, Isaac . . . if you’ll