Free Landchester Amish Love: Sarah (Amish Romance) (Landchester Amish Love Series Book 1) by Esther Weaver Page A

quite sure of her friends. At times she felt she just made up the numbers and for them, it was good to have an ugly duckling in the group, they would feel prettier than Sarah. This was all in Sarah’s head.
    She lacked confidence and because she was uncomfortable, she imagined others being uncomfortable around. Now it was becoming a problem. She was getting older and with no sign of a menner on the horizon, she was in danger of being unmarried. Rather than seeing her lack of confidence as something to improve, Sarah focused on her creations. They could speak for her. Even though she had always been quiet, she was becoming even more withdrawn, disappearing into a world of her own.
    She knew she was coming to a crossroads. If her dolls with faces were discovered, she was in danger of being asked to leave the community. Sarah would not be able to live the Amish way and create the beauty as she saw it in her dolls.
    Suddenly there was a strange sound. Rather than asking if someone was there, she turned off the lamp and hid. She had set up her corner in such a way that no one would notice the lamp being on. But she didn’t hear anymore and as she raised her head to look around the barn, she realized it was just the wind. But she was too spooked to continue sewing. The moment had passed. She packed her sewing supplies up and put her doll gently on top. She couldn’t help but smile as she looked at what she had created. She would sleep well tonight. The face was perfect and then she could make another, then another.
    Making sure her secret was secure, Sarah made her way back to the haus and back into bed.

Chapter 2
    “Sarah, Sarah, it’s time to get up,” her mother was knocking on the door.
    “ Jah , Maemm . I’m getting up now.” Sarah called out. She was tired but got up. There were no lie-ins in this haus . It was all hands on deck. With no mann about the haus and Sarah’s bruder , Caleb, married and living in his own home, all the work inside and outside the haus was left to the Moore women. Caleb helped when he could but he had his own home to look after.
    “This smells gut , Maemm .” And it did. Sarah’s mother, Laura, made breakfast for the girls, Sarah and Ruth, every morning. Then they would begin their chores.
    “Sarah, today is laundry day and it’s your turn. Ruth, help your schweschder in the vegetable garden later. The weeds look like they’re everywhere.”
    “ Jah , Maemm ,” the girls answered in unison.
    Sarah hated doing the laundry. She much preferred working in the garden. Her hands and arms were always sore after laundry, using the hand crank washer and then the hand wringer. It made delicate doll work more difficult the evening after laundry and she hated how wrinkly her hands got. They would look old and withered, a further reminder of her getting older and not having a menner and kinder of her own. But she didn’t complain. There was no point.
    As Sarah got the water and soap ready for the clothes washing, yet again she was reminded of the plainness of all things Amish. Their dresses and aprons and kapps all the same color. It was boring and mundane. Life was just routine. The same thing every day, day in, day out. They ate the same foods at the same times every day. Sarah was tired of it. She knew she should focus on what she was doing but her mind began to drift back to her doll and its perfect creation.
    If only she could find a way to sell them.
    “I wonder would I have to leave the community or should I wait until I’m caught.” Either prospect was a scary proposition. What would her mother do without first of all?
    “Sarah, what are you doing? You’ve gone all dreamy.” Ruth had been watching her schweschder . She knew how Sarah has been struggling but Sarah wouldn’t talk to her about what bothered her.
    “Ruth, jah, I was daydreaming. Come and help me.” Sarah needed the distraction. It was annoying her having to think plus it was giving her a headache. Why couldn’t