Read Online Rebekah's Quilt by Sara Barnard - Free Book Online Page B

scrutiny; an overwhelming sense of self-consciousness forced her to hug her arms to her chest.
    Joseph bent so that his lips were at her ear. “Why can’t you walk?” His closeness and the warmth, of his breath on her cheek, reminded her she wasn’t alone or on display.
    Rebekah’s gaze flickered to the ever-silent Katie. “I, well, I sort of ” Her voice was faulty.
    The only other contender for Joseph’s affections sat stark still, her hands clasped neatly in her lap as she took in the scene unfolding before her. Rebekah thought the burgundy color of Katie’s handmade dress was remarkably similar to one that was folded in her own drawer upstairs.
    Joseph’s fingers fell lightly on the crook of her arm as she wrung her hands at her middle. The brief, deliberate touch caused her stomach to knot. Allowing her sheepish gaze to meet his, the world in her peripheral vision melted down, down, down until nothing remained except the angular, dimpled face of the man who had stolen her heart.
    In that moment, only the two of them remained, eyes locked together, his fingers still resting on her arm. Rebekah drew in a shudder of breath as Joseph wet his full lips with the tip of his tongue, obviously waiting for the explanation he sought.
    The overwhelming urge to seize the unanticipated moment and pull him close surged through her, leaving her insides feeling weak and guilty.
    Stop it, Rebekah .
    She swallowed hard in an attempt to will the wonderful dizziness back from whence it came. Save these urges for your husband. When you’re married. Not for brief moments such as these.
    “Rebekah.” His voice bubbled into her daydream.
    “Hmmm?”
    “What did you do to your leg?”
    “Oh that.” Rebekah lifted them hem of her housedress a bit to reveal her bare and swollen foot. “It’s nothing.”
    Joseph’s blue eyes widened.
    Shrugging, Rebekah continued. “When I heard something outside last night, I dashed to the window. Realized later, that my foot must’ve found the dresser.”
    “Rebekah, why didn’t you tell me?” Joseph’s voice was hard. “You shouldn’t be up walking on that.”
    As the front door swung open again, Joseph bent and swooped her into his arms. Arms that were lean and muscled from all of the heaving and hauling that came with being an Amish man.
    Katie’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’. “Why, that’s not fittin’ at all!”
    The heat that burned in Rebekah’s neck crept up to color her face, but the warmth from Joseph’s closeness and his fresh, woodsy scent made it hard to focus on anything, especially embarrassment.
    The door slammed shut as Heloise Graber stopped just inside the house. A tiny gasp escaped her lips when she saw her only son standing there in the middle of the room, the delicate Stoll daughter wrapped in his embrace. “What’s all this?”
    “I was about to ask the same question,” Katie chirped. The hurt in her voice was almost tangible. “My ma says such behavior should be saved for marriage and no man should –” Her eyes flickered to Rebekah. “No man should go around touching just any old girl.”
    Heloise raised a hand. “Katie, let Joseph speak.” She shifted her patient gaze to her son. “Joseph? You must know how this looks.”
    Joseph gave Rebekah a tiny squeeze. The embarrassment was beginning to make her insides quake. “I understand how this might look inappropriate,” he began. “But I also know how this looks. Rebekah, show my mother your foot.”
    With a tiny kick, Rebekah revealed her mottled and swollen ankle to the anxious onlookers.
    “You don’t need to be walking on that foot, Rebekah.” Joseph’s voice was stern as he turned his attention back to her. “I’m taking you up to bed.”
    Happy crinkles creased the corners of Heloise’s eyes. “I knew there would be an explanation. Rest well Rebekah, and do as Joseph tells you. He’s good at doctor’n.”
    Rebekah allowed all of her senses to soak up Joseph’s closeness and