Free A Promise of Hope by Amy Clipston Page A

She’d rather be with her sisters, contributing to the family business.
    Lindsay appeared with a glass and placed it in Sarah’s hand. “Here’s your water, Aenti Sarah.”
    “Danki,” Sarah said, lifting it to her lips. The icy liquid was just the refreshment she craved.
    While running her fingers through the cool condensation, she wondered what Luke had been doing since he’d arrived at Bird-in-Hand. Truth be known, she’d avoided him as much as possible, worried if she spent more time with him, she’d find out about more lies from Peter, crushing her already-broken heart.
    Timothy insisted Luke would only hurt Sarah, and he encouraged her to avoid him. But while she wanted to stay away from Luke, Sarah still couldn’t stop her mind from wondering about the questions Peter had left unanswered. The biggest was why Peter had left Ohio.
    As curious as she was, she was afraid of the answers.
    “Sarah Rose,” Kathryn said, stepping into the kitchen through the back door. “You have a visitor.”
    Moving to the doorway, Sarah smiled when she found Norman standing outside.
    His lips formed a tentative smile as his gaze met hers. “Sarah Rose. How are you?”
    “Gut. Danki.” Sarah wiped her hands over her apron. “And you?”
    “Gut.” He nodded.
    “I’ll let you talk,” Kathryn said, moving into the bakery.
    “Have you had lunch?” he asked.
    Facing him, Sarah shook her head.
    “Would you like to go to the Bird-in-Hand Restaurant?” he offered. “I’m sure you’re very busy, but I promise I’ll have you back soon.”
    Sarah blew out a sigh of relief. Getting out of the bakery and away from her overactive thought processes would be a blessing. She needed a nice distraction. “I’d love to join you for lunch.”
    Sarah studied the menu while sitting across from Norman at the Bird-in-Hand Restaurant and Smorgasbord. Stealing a glance over the table, she found Norman’s attention fixed on her. She smiled and wondered what was going through his mind.
    “Have you decided?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “You?”
    “I think I’ll have my usual.” He closed the menu and slapped it onto the table in front of him.
    The server appeared with their glasses of ice water. Sarah lifted hers from the table and took a long drink while Norman gave his order—the Lancaster County Baked Ham.
    “And you, ma’am?” the young Plain Mennonite woman asked.
    “I’ll have the same, thank you.” Sarah handed her menu to the woman and sat back in the chair. “The weather has been nice, ya? I bet your herd is doing well.”
    He nodded, though his eyes seemed to be concentrating on something other than her words.
    Enjoying the mundane conversation, she continued to babble. “My dat says it’s hotter than usual this time of year. I really don’t remember how hot it was last year this time. It seems normal to me.” She drew imaginary circles on her glass. “An English customer the other day asked me if it was always this mild in October. I told her I thought so.” She snickered. “Don’t we always have a mixture of mild and cool weather in autumn? I guess she must’ve been from somewhere cold, like Alaska.” She smiled. “You want to know something gegisch? I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska.”
    Norman took her hands into his. “Sarah Rose.”
    Glancing up, she met his gaze, and the warmth of his eyes caught her off guard. “Norman? Are you all right?”
    “Ya, I am.” He gave a sad smile. “I asked you here for a reason. I wanted to see how you’re doing. I remember clearly the first half year after I lost Leah. I felt as if I were on a roller coaster. Waves of grief would drown me one moment and then the next moment I’d be remembering the happier times and laughing so hard my stomach hurt.” He squeezed her hand. “How are you, Sarah Rose? How are you truly?”
    Sarah licked her lips and sniffed back sudden tears while she wondered how Norman could understand her so well. The answer was