Free A VOW for ALWAYS by Wanda E. Brunstetter

where he sat drinking coffee.
     “You look like George when he’s swiped some seed from one of our birdfeeders.”
    “I remember my phone number,” Luke said excitedly.
    “That’s wonderful, Luke,” Norma said, joining them at the table.
    “Are you going to call your wife or just surprise her by showing up?” Anne asked,
     placing a cup of coffee in front of Luke.
    “I don’t know. What do you think I should do?” Luke didn’t know why he felt so confused.
     Everything seemed to be happening so fast, and yet he still couldn’t quite remember
     some details—like how long he’d been gone or what he’d been doing at the bus station
     in Philadelphia. Maybe it wasn’t important. Maybe he should just find a way home to
     Meredith as quickly as possible. But he couldn’t really do that until he remembered
     exactly where he lived. All he knew was that he lived in Lancaster County, and he
     wasn’t even sure what town.
    “I think you should call your wife right away,” Susan said, entering the room. Her
     eyes were red and swollen. Luke wondered if she might have been crying.
    “Are you all right, dear?” Norma asked. “You look as if you’ve been—”
    “I’m fine.” Susan moved over to the desk, picked up the cordless phone, and handed
     it to Luke. “You’d better make that call now, don’t you think?”
    Luke slowly nodded. A chill of nervous anticipation ran through him as he quickly
     entered the number. It rang several times, then a recorded message came on, saying
     the number had been disconnected. He hung up, feeling defeated. He’d thought sure
     the phone number had to be his, but his memory was still sketchy about certain things,
     so maybe he’d been wrong. “All I got was a recording,” he mumbled. “The number’s been
     disconnected.”
    “Maybe you dialed incorrectly or had the wrong number in the first place,” Henry spoke
     up. “Why don’t you try again?”
    Luke dialed the number once more and got the same message. “It’s no use,” he said
     with a groan. “It can’t be my phone number.”
    Norma stood in front of Luke and put her hands on his shoulders. “Don’t worry, Luke.
     Once you remember your address, you can surprise your wife in person. It might be
     better that way.”
    “Let’s have breakfast first,” Henry said. “Then we’ll get things figured out. You’ll
     be home before you know it.”
    The Baileys’ optimism gave Luke a sense of hope. Maybe by this time tomorrow, he and
     Meredith would be reunited. Of course, he first had to remember exactly where he lived
     in Lancaster County.

CHAPTER 10
Bird-in-Hand
    A s Jonah prepared for bed the night before his wedding, he prayed that all would go
     well and that the weather would turn sunny. It could rain all it wanted tonight, but
     hopefully by morning it would clear out and start to dry things off so that his and
     Meredith’s wedding would be perfect. Of course once tomorrow arrived, he probably
     wouldn’t care what it was like outside.
    All Jonah wanted was to begin a new life with Meredith and Levi, and even though the
     house he’d wanted to buy had suddenly been taken off the market, he’d be content to
     live with his folks a bit longer until he found another place. Meredith got along
     well with his parents, so he didn’t think she’d mind living here awhile either. They
     could move into the house Meredith had shared with her first husband, but that wouldn’t
     seem right—at least not to Jonah. He didn’t think Meredith needed the reminders from
     her past, and living in the home she’d shared with Luke might come between them. Maybe
     after he and Meredith were married she would decide to sell the house. After all,
     there wasn’t much point in keeping it. She’d probably make more in the long run by
     selling the place than if she kept renting it out.
    That can all be worked out down the road
, Jonah told himself as he climbed into bed.
What I need now is a good