Read Online The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Beverly Lewis
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together.
When she rounded the bend of the old mill, she looked everywhere, eager for a glimpse of him. A few couples were already skating on the pond, and their occasional laughter wafted across the millrace to where she stood. She hoped Caleb hadn’t brought his skates, since she hadn’t carried hers. Feeling awkward, even conspicuous, she scanned the area for signs of her beau, in case he’d decided to wait for her off the road.
She squinted through the trees, looking, but when he did not arrive, she circled the stone mill to check the other side. He might have decided to be careful and hide from prying eyes. She hoped she hadn’t misunderstood his letter or arrived too late. Had she lingered too long after supper?
She spied the wrought-iron bench where they’d sat together. The bench seemed to her now a symbol of their courtship, the place where they had shared their first words of endearment and where she had accepted his tender affection. She smiled, recalling the way his gentle kisses had created feathery tickles in her stomach.
Caleb’s fondness for her was evident in the genuinely respectful manner in which he conveyed his love, unlike some boys who pushed the limits. Truly her beau was nothing less than a gentleman.
Turning to face the road, Nellie peered into the twilight, longing for Caleb. Where are you, love?
Though he disliked admitting to harboring any pride, Reuben took pleasure in not being easily ferhoodled. In fact, he was nearly always composed and had refused to be drawn into the too-frequent church debates of late. A good many arguments were flying back and forth between the three Honey Brook Amish groups, despite the bishop’s attempt to keep the peace.
This evening he’d slipped out to visit with his son Eph-ram. The problem, as Reuben saw it, was that Ephram and Maryann had but a few weeks left till the Bann threatened any baptized adults who chose to leave the old church. Where would that leave Ephram if he decided to join Reuben and Betsy in the new church after the grace period was up? While either group of new church folk would surely welcome him, Ephram and his family would be shunned from the old fellowship, many of whose members were blood relatives. If that came about, Ephram’s livelihood would suffer, just as his father’s presently did. Bann or no Bann, there’s no denying times are tough.
Now that Reuben had arrived, he found himself pacing, nervous. “ ’Tis high time we got things out in the open, son,” he said after greeting Ephram.
“I’ll never see things your way, Dat.” His son leaned against the wall, arms folded over his thick chest. “Save your breath, I say.”
Reuben shook his head. “I’ve held my peace long enough,” he said. “I’ve been praying for ya, son.”
“Like I said, Dat, best be savin’ your breath.”
His heart’s closed up. . . .
Lifting his eyes to the rafters, Reuben recalled how unbendable his bishop brother Joseph had been earlier today. Fact was, Ephram and the bishop saw eye to eye—their thinking as skewed as Reuben’s had been for all the years of his life, till now.
“Someone’s been running a newspaper ad for Nellie Mae’s bakery shop in the English paper,” Ephram said, abruptly changing the subject. “The grapevine’s swinging wide and far about it, wonderin’ if it’ll show up in next week’s papers, too.”
“Well, what on earth?”
Ephram’s eyes narrowed. “You mean you had nothing to do with it?”
“Why should I?”
“I just thought—”
“That’s where you got yourself in trouble, son. You’re jumping to conclusions, when you ought to be askin’.” Reuben forced a laugh.
“I’m askin’ now. ”
“Folks wrongly assume things all the time. But what’s it matter if you or anyone else thinks I placed an ad?”
Ephram’s expression turned to one of astonishment. “Matters a whole lot if you’re set on bringin’ in more and more outside folk to Nellie’s bakery shop.
When she rounded the bend of the old mill, she looked everywhere, eager for a glimpse of him. A few couples were already skating on the pond, and their occasional laughter wafted across the millrace to where she stood. She hoped Caleb hadn’t brought his skates, since she hadn’t carried hers. Feeling awkward, even conspicuous, she scanned the area for signs of her beau, in case he’d decided to wait for her off the road.
She squinted through the trees, looking, but when he did not arrive, she circled the stone mill to check the other side. He might have decided to be careful and hide from prying eyes. She hoped she hadn’t misunderstood his letter or arrived too late. Had she lingered too long after supper?
She spied the wrought-iron bench where they’d sat together. The bench seemed to her now a symbol of their courtship, the place where they had shared their first words of endearment and where she had accepted his tender affection. She smiled, recalling the way his gentle kisses had created feathery tickles in her stomach.
Caleb’s fondness for her was evident in the genuinely respectful manner in which he conveyed his love, unlike some boys who pushed the limits. Truly her beau was nothing less than a gentleman.
Turning to face the road, Nellie peered into the twilight, longing for Caleb. Where are you, love?
Though he disliked admitting to harboring any pride, Reuben took pleasure in not being easily ferhoodled. In fact, he was nearly always composed and had refused to be drawn into the too-frequent church debates of late. A good many arguments were flying back and forth between the three Honey Brook Amish groups, despite the bishop’s attempt to keep the peace.
This evening he’d slipped out to visit with his son Eph-ram. The problem, as Reuben saw it, was that Ephram and Maryann had but a few weeks left till the Bann threatened any baptized adults who chose to leave the old church. Where would that leave Ephram if he decided to join Reuben and Betsy in the new church after the grace period was up? While either group of new church folk would surely welcome him, Ephram and his family would be shunned from the old fellowship, many of whose members were blood relatives. If that came about, Ephram’s livelihood would suffer, just as his father’s presently did. Bann or no Bann, there’s no denying times are tough.
Now that Reuben had arrived, he found himself pacing, nervous. “ ’Tis high time we got things out in the open, son,” he said after greeting Ephram.
“I’ll never see things your way, Dat.” His son leaned against the wall, arms folded over his thick chest. “Save your breath, I say.”
Reuben shook his head. “I’ve held my peace long enough,” he said. “I’ve been praying for ya, son.”
“Like I said, Dat, best be savin’ your breath.”
His heart’s closed up. . . .
Lifting his eyes to the rafters, Reuben recalled how unbendable his bishop brother Joseph had been earlier today. Fact was, Ephram and the bishop saw eye to eye—their thinking as skewed as Reuben’s had been for all the years of his life, till now.
“Someone’s been running a newspaper ad for Nellie Mae’s bakery shop in the English paper,” Ephram said, abruptly changing the subject. “The grapevine’s swinging wide and far about it, wonderin’ if it’ll show up in next week’s papers, too.”
“Well, what on earth?”
Ephram’s eyes narrowed. “You mean you had nothing to do with it?”
“Why should I?”
“I just thought—”
“That’s where you got yourself in trouble, son. You’re jumping to conclusions, when you ought to be askin’.” Reuben forced a laugh.
“I’m askin’ now. ”
“Folks wrongly assume things all the time. But what’s it matter if you or anyone else thinks I placed an ad?”
Ephram’s expression turned to one of astonishment. “Matters a whole lot if you’re set on bringin’ in more and more outside folk to Nellie’s bakery shop.
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