Read Online Sisters of the Quilt Trilogy by Cindy Woodsmall - Free Book Online Page A

since his roommates were all out enjoying the evening with a group of girls. The alarm on his watch sent out an elf-sized rendition of reveille. He pushed a button, silencing the tinny music. It was four o’clock and finally past all chance that his grandmother was still down for a nap. Now he could call her. Of course his true goal was to speak with Hannah.
    If they could instant message each other, e-mail, or talk on the phone, their separation would be much easier to deal with. Conversing only through letters in this day and age felt like trying to send for help by carrier pigeon. His chance of catching Hannah was minimal since her scheduled time at Gram’s was a bit irregular, shifting as the needs of the Lapp household altered. But it was worth trying, repeatedly.
    He picked up the cordless and punched in Gram’s number.
    The phone was on its tenth ring when the slow, rustling noise told him his grandmother had picked up.
    “Hi, Gram. It’s Paul. How are you feeling today?”
    They spoke of the weather, her aching joints, and how often she’d walked to the pond to feed the fish. Paul had to ease into the subject of Hannah, or his gram might get defensive. In the past she’d minced no words explaining her feelings about him and Hannah. She wavered between accepting the ever-growing friendship between her Mennonite grandson and her favorite Amish girl and detesting the heartache that lay ahead for both of them—whether the relationship lasted or not.
    “Gram, I haven’t gotten any letters from you.”
    “More to the point, no letters from Hannah.” Her tone sounded cheerful. That was good. “Sarah’s been comin’ here in her stead. I’d like to say she’s been doing Hannah’s job, but that’d be a lie.”
    That piece of news bothered him. He hoped his extra time with Hannah the day he left hadn’t caused her to get into trouble. Then again, whenever life became hectic at the Lapp household, they kept Hannah at home and sent Sarah in her place.
    “I can let you talk to Sarah next time she comes,” Gram said with a bit of mischief in her voice.
    Paul chuckled. This was the grandmother he’d known growing up—before the aches and pains of old age made her irritable with life and everyone around her. “You offer that every time the Lapps send her. Why can’t you do that when Hannah’s there?”
    “Because ya need no encouragement when it comes to her.” Silence filled the line for a moment. “Paul, are ya sure you’re doing the right thing … for Hannah’s sake?”
    The concern in her voice echoed his own anxiety. But his grandmother had no idea how far he’d let his feelings for Hannah take him. She only knew they cared for each other. There was no way she could miss that.
    “She’s of courting age, Paul. She needs to be going out with her own kind. Is she doing that? Or is she waiting for you?”
    Jealousy and guilt nibbled at his conscience. He couldn’t bear to think of her seeing anyone else. That was why he had asked her to marry him before he left—that and his concern that she might join the church this spring if he didn’t give her another option.
    “Paul.” His grandmother’s firm tone brought his thoughts up short.
    “Yes ma’am.”
    The line fell silent again. He had no desire to try to answer her question. Fact was, he had no answer that she’d care to hear.
    “There’s no sense in you looking for letters from Hannah or sending any here for her, not for a while. Sarah says it’ll be weeks before Hannah returns. In the meantime, you’d better think this through. Let this space clear your thoughts.” She worded it as a suggestion, but her tone made it more of an order, one he’d better follow if he didn’t want the wrong people to learn of this relationship.
    “Were you able to give her the letter I sent?”
    “I haven’t received any mail from you since you left for school last.”
    “You must have. I sent a manila envelope with a letter to you and a thick