Free A Miracle of Hope (The Amish Wonders Series) by Ruth Reid

right words at the right time will turn away wrath, but the wrong words at the wrong time will feed the fire . These handed-down words of wisdom had worked for her mother. Growing up, Lindie had heard her mother quote the saying under her breath often. Lindie repeated her mother’s words aloud. “It’s better to hold your tongue than to say something you’ll regret.” This wasn’t the time to be confrontational. She needed to try to fix things.
    If her mother were alive, she would know how to advise her. Then again, she wouldn’t want her mother to know what her life had become. Lindie sank down on the chair. So much for trying to make the kitchen more functional. She looked around the room. It would take hours to put everything back. Time she didn’t have if she was to have the meal ready when Josiah and Simon ended their workday.
    Lindie scanned the recipe card for chili, then collected all the ingredients except hamburger. Josiah had said the meat was in the icehaus, and hopefully she would find a pound or two of ground beef. At the door, she slipped on her cape, then remembered Hannah. Lindie didn’t want her to be confused if she came out of her room and found the house empty. She wasn’t sure howto convey to the girl that she was running out to the icehaus for meat, but she had to try.
    Hannah sat on the floor, huddled in the corner, with a pad of paper on her lap. She didn’t look up from her drawing as Lindie entered the room, or when she crouched down beside her. Lindie studied the picture, speechless at what she saw. Hannah had drawn a deer standing near a cluster of birch trees. The shading detail was thorough. No one would believe a child had drawn the picture.
    She tapped Hannah’s arm, then pointed to her picture. “That’s beautiful.” Even though she spoke slowly, Hannah’s eyes narrowed.
    Lindie pointed to herself. “I”—she smiled wide at the little girl—“like”—she pointed at the drawing. “I like your picture.”
    Hannah’s despondence unnerved Lindie. Behind those dark brown eyes was a lonely child. Lindie understood that emptiness too well.
    The girl pretended not to read lips, and Lindie wasn’t about to let the child think she was frustrated. Lindie smiled again. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She stood and turned for the door, not expecting any response. The hem of Lindie’s dress caught and she looked over her shoulder. Hannah was holding on to it.
    The girl released the dress, pointed at the picture, then made a few hand gestures Lindie couldn’t decipher.
    She certainly didn’t want to discourage Hannah. She looked again at the picture and smiled. “ Jah , it’s beautiful.”
    A slight lift at the corners of Hannah’s mouth encouraged Lindie, but as she squatted next to her, Hannah stuck her thumb in her mouth and turned away. Not wishing to pressure Hannah, she stood back up. If she gave Hannah time, she hoped the girl would warm up to her eventually. Later, when she had a fewextra minutes, she would spend more time with the sign language book. But right now, giving her space was more important. Besides, she still needed to find the ground beef. Before leaving the room, Lindie glanced again at Hannah, who hadn’t changed positions. Lindie had made some progress. That should please Josiah. Maybe it would even lighten his mood.
    The cold air nipped at her face as she crossed the snowy driveway. Next to the long pole barn stood a small shack. Since the other small outbuildings had firewood stacked up along their sides, she figured this was the icehaus . She unlatched the door and used her hip to nudge it open. The dark room would hold only two or three people. Frozen water jugs lined the walls. A few blocks of ice surrounded the food packages on the bench top. She wished she’d thought to bring a lantern since there were no windows. The opened door didn’t allow much light. She wouldn’t be able to read the markings on the brown paper packaging. After a