Free SummerHill Secrets, Volume 2 by Beverly Lewis Page B

on.
    Receiving your letters has been very much enjoyed by me, and I must say that they have helped me learn about writing my own thoughts more expressively.
    I miss your laughter, Merry, and your bright eyes. If it is not too much to ask, would you mind sending me a photo of you? You see, now that I am not going to join the Amish church, I feel it would do me no harm to carry your picture in my wallet.
    I reread the last paragraph. He wanted my picture for his wallet!
    Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of loss came over me. I don’t know if the sadness was triggered by a delayed reaction to the dire situation with Chelsea’s mother or what. But a hard, dry lump sprang up in my throat. My vision blurred, and I reached for the blue-and-white striped tissue box on the nightstand.
    Why was I crying over Levi’s letter? This was the boy I’d grown up with. His Amish culture was as familiar to me as the palm of my hand. When he had struggled with his decision to leave the Amish church, I’d tried to be patient and listen to his reasons. I’d worried about the consequences. But Levi wanted God’s will above all things, so who was I to regret his leaving SummerHill?
    Of course, my loss was nothing compared with that of Levi’s parents, Abe and Esther. They’d always had high hopes for their next-to-oldest son. Like any faithful Old Order Amish mother and father, they longed to see each one of their children follow in their footsteps.
    But Levi had sometimes been rebellious as a child, pushing the limits. He loved learning and books and constantly asked questions, too. None of that set well with traditional Amish society. Being obedient and submissive to the rules laid out by the Ordnung —the agreed-upon blueprint for Amish life—was the top priority in the Plain community.
    And here I was, missing Levi Zook. Missing him and wishing he were home. Drying my eyes, I continued to read his letter.
    I hope you will not be very disappointed to know that I am planning to go overseas to help build a church. Because I have not been assigned to a country yet, I cannot tell you where I will be working. I suppose all those years of raising barns in a single day will help me assist other Christian carpenters.
    My eyes drifted away from the letter. Building a church overseas? This meant that Levi would not be coming home at the end of the first quarter as planned. I wondered when I’d see him again. Thanksgiving? Christmas, maybe?
    I was eager to know.
    You must please forgive me, Merry, if this news comes as a surprise. We will have many other happy times together, I trust.
    But when? If Levi went overseas and got involved in building projects, maybe he’d never want to return home.
    I finished reading the letter, hoping against hope that he might explain further his decision not to come home in two weeks. But there was no additional explanation.
    Feeling empty, I put the letter in my desk drawer and headed over to the Zooks’ dairy farm. Maybe Rachel, Levi’s younger sister, could explain things. Besides, a visit to my Amish neighbors was sure to do me good.

Chapter
16
    Through the willow grove and past the white picket fence, I flew. The sun cast angular shadows over the meadows as it played peekaboo through a fleeting cloud.
    Rachel was outside beating rugs with her sisters, Nancy and Ella Mae, and they stopped to wave to me. “Hullo,” they called in unison as I sprinted across the meadow toward the old white farmhouse.
    The girls wore long brown work dresses with buttonless gray aprons over the top, fastened in the back with straight pins. The strings on their white-netting prayer Kapps flapped in the breeze.
    “Looks like someone’s having house church tomorrow,” I said, running up to the long front porch.
    “ Jah , it’s our turn,” Rachel said. “Wanna help?”
    “Sure.” I picked up a multicolored rag rug and beat it against the porch railing. “Have you heard from Levi lately?”
    “Only that he’s not