Free A Hopeful Heart by Amy Clipston Page B

check on his parents last night after supper, and when his mother asked what was
     wrong, he spilled the news about the
Englisher
Hannah had brought home. His mother was appalled, and she insisted on coming with
     him this morning to tell Hannah what a poor example she was setting for her children.
    “
Onkel?
” Andrew studied him from one of the stalls. “Did you come here to work or stare at
     the
haus
?”
    Josh shook his head and grinned while crossing the stable. “You sound just like your
dat.
”
    “Oh
ya
?” Andrew flashed a toothy grin. “You didn’t do your chores when you worked with
Dat
either?”
    Josh laughed. “You’re lucky I like you, or you’d be in trouble.” He grabbed a shovel
     and gloves and then began working in the stall next to Andrew.
    “You should’ve come earlier. Mr. Peterson brought us donuts.”
    Josh stopped shoveling and wiped his sweaty brow with his arm. “He brought donuts
     this morning?”
    “
Ya!
” Andrew’s voice radiated with excitement. “They were so
gut.
I should’ve saved one for you, but I couldn’t help myself. I ate most of them. I
     love the ones filled with cream the best. Although, the chocolate covered ones are
appeditlich
too.”
    Josh’s stomach churned as it had when he’d seen the
Englisher’s
car in the driveway. Was the man using food to try to bribe the children into liking
     him? Jealousy stabbed him in the chest.
    “Lillian said I shouldn’t eat so many because I’d get a stomachache, and she was right.”
     Andrew’s words carried over the neighboring stall. “But I couldn’t let them go to
     waste, you know?
Mamm
is always watching her weight, so I knew she wouldn’t eat any. I was doing her a
     favor by finishing them. And a little stomachache was worth it. How often do we get
     fresh donuts for breakfast?”
    Josh smiled despite his disgust with the
Englisher.
“You’re a smart
bu
, Andrew.”
    “I’m just like you.
Mamm
says I look like
Dat
, but I think I look like you too. I bet some people think I’m your son, right?”
    “Right.” Josh began to shovel again while thinking about his nieces and nephew. He
     longed to fill in as their father, and even more, he wanted to be their stepfather.
     If only he could distract their mother from the
Englisher
who was trying to worm his way into her life.
    Trey set his car keys and phone on the counter in the hotel room’s kitchen area and
     dropped onto the leather sofa. He lifted the television remote and scanned the channels
     without giving much thought to the content. He settled on a police drama and stared
     at the screen while contemplating his day.
    After the unwelcome encounter with Hannah’s mother-in-law, he’d left the farm and
     met his realtor at another home. Although it was a beautiful house with six bedrooms
     and a vast amount of land and barns, he still liked the first house he’d found better
     than the rest of them. The other homes were nice, but they didn’t have the charm or
     character of the first home he’d found.
    The first home had appealed to him from the moment he’d laid his eyes on it. He was
     drawn to the sweeping porch that spanned the front of the house, the row of red barns
     behind it, the fenced-in pasture, and the little pond at the back of the property.
     Suddenly it hit him—the first house he’d looked at reminded him of Hannah’s and his
     grandparents’ farms. Perhaps he was searching for the warmth and comfort of his childhood,
     when everything was easy and he didn’t have to worry about the future.
    His iPhone began to ring. He pushed up from the sofa and grabbed it from the counter
     where he’d left it. “Hello?”
    “Hey, little brother.” Christy’s voice sang through the speaker. “How are things in
     Amish country?”
    “They’re fine, thanks. How are you?” Trey fetched a can of Coke from the little refrigerator
     and popped it open before returning to the sofa.
    “I’m fine. Brett’s at a conference in