Read Online Promised to Another by Laura Hilton - Free Book Online

frustration. He could feel his lips tightening and a muscle start twitching in his jaw. How could she possibly think he was a player? He forced his fingers to uncurl and then shoved his hands in his pockets, not knowing what else to do with them. But then, he remembered the dirty job he’d been doing earlier and pulled them back out again. He didn’t want to soil his clothes any worse than they already were. He and Isaac had cleaned up as best they could in the shop with some kind of soap called Goop, designed for removing grease, oil, and other grime. At least, that was what Isaac had said. It seemed to work fairly well, but the folds of his knuckles and his fingernails still bore traces of black grease.
     
    He’d arrived in the doorway about the time Annie’s mamm had asked about him, and now he didn’t know where to look, other than at his hands. He glanced up, long enough to meet the older woman’s gaze and nod at her, and then dropped his gaze again. He didn’t dare look at Annie, afraid that all his hurt and dismay would show.
     
    But he still wanted to know why she’d called him a player. His stomach churned.
     
    She had noticed his eyes, and she’d called him “gut-looking.”
     
    That didn’t even begin to negate the bad.
     
    “Lydia, this is Joshua Esh, one of the Pennsylvania buwe,” Isaac said. “He’s been helping with the bees and in the machine shop. Joshua, this is my wife, Lydia.”
     
    “Really nice to meet you, Joshua.” The woman smiled up at him from the wheelchair.
     
    “Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Beiler.”
     
    She waved her hand. “Call me Lydia.”
     
    Isaac glanced at Joshua and pointed toward the stairs. “Bathroom is the third door on the left, if you want to wash up more. Dinner is ready when you kum down.” He turned to Annie. “Is Cathy home yet?”
     
    “I haven’t seen her.” Annie sounded quiet. Subdued.
     
    Joshua chanced a glance at her as he went by. Their eyes met, and the pretty pink coloring of her cheeks flushed a deeper red. He was pretty sure his own coloring had gone in the opposite direction—pasty white.
     
    A player. The label was like a knife to the heart. How could she think that? He started up the stairs. And then, he remembered all the girls he’d taken home from singing—two at once the last time. Jah, he could see how that might look to a girl who was evidently interested. Did his attention to the other girls make her jealous? Hurt? Did everyone else in the community view him in the same way?
     
    Even more important, did he have it in him to repair the reputation he’d made for himself, however unintentionally?
     
    ***
     
    Annie wheeled Mamm into the kitchen and helped her get situated at the table, then double-checked the place settings. Cathy rarely got home from work this late, so maybe she’d made dinner plans. Still, Annie had set a place for her. She wished she had dinner plans of her own. Maybe she could run down the street and eat with her best friend, Becky.
     
    But as fast as that idea had come, she dismissed it. That wouldn’t go over so well with Mamm and Daed. They’d figure out the truth soon enough, if they hadn’t already. And then they’d talk to her about it. If she wanted her crush on Joshua Esh kept secret, she had to stay, smile, and…something. She didn’t quite know what. Yet.
     
    But she’d figure it out. She had to.
     
    She grabbed a couple of potholders and carried the pot of stew over to the table, then went back for the cornbread. As she set it down on a trivet, Joshua came into the room.
     
    “Is something burning?”
     
    Annie stared up at him, and her eyes widened. “Ach, my pie!” She hurried over to the stove and opened the oven, letting out a blast of heat. Reaching inside, she pulled out the pie. The edges were a little black, but that was it. Still salvageable. How could she have gotten so sidetracked? With a grimace, she set it down on the thick towel she’d placed on the