A Simple Vow Read Online Free

find happy lives with suitable husbands.”
    Who would marry me anyway? Edith thought sorrowfully. I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell a potential husband that I’m unable to bear his children . . . because Dat didn’t take me to the doctor soon enough. If only my appendix hadn’t burst. If only the infection hadn’t attacked my female organs...
    Edith bit her lip against a sob. It wasn’t right to dredge up her past resentment—not after she’d forgiven her father years ago, at Mamm’s insistence. Dat was standing close enough behind her that she could feel the disapproval radiating from his body as he awaited her compliance. She dared not mention the vow she’d made to that strikingly handsome stranger.
    Promise me that you’ll mother these kids—and that you’ll hear me out when I return, all right? His voice still echoed in her mind, mysterious and compelling.
    Asa Detweiler had no idea how desperately Edith longed to be a mother—or that she’d agreed to care for these twins to satisfy her own selfish desires. She’d believed him to be sincere and compassionate, but she dared not mention that to her father, either. Cornelius Riehl had lost a large part of his heart and soul when Mamm passed away, but that didn’t mean he’d lowered his expectations for his three daughters. If anything, he held them to higher standards now that Mamm wasn’t around to buffer his gruffness, his moods.
    “You know how it’ll be, Edith,” Dat said softly. “Every day you allow these babies to stay will make it that much harder for you to give them up. They belong with their family. Surely Will’s wife’s mother will wonder where her grandchildren have gone—”
    “She’s not speaking to him!” Edith blurted, knowing it was the wrong thing to say. “She was there when Molly passed from cancer, breathing another man’s name. The shock of it sent Molly’s grandmother to the hospital with a heart attack, so the whole family’s in an uproar. I can’t just—”
    “Once again, we see that Will has alienated those who might’ve helped him in his time of need,” her father pointed out. “Any man worth his salt would look after these helpless babies rather than dumping them on someone else. But he knew you’d relieve him of his parental responsibilities, didn’t he? Knew you were too kindhearted for your own gut .”
    “Is it really such a sin, being kindhearted?” Edith protested. “Had we three girls been little when Mamm passed, you would’ve found another wife—”
    “That’s a lie, and you know it!” he blustered, grasping her shoulders. “Your mother was the only woman in this world for me. Don’t you dare presume to understand the depth of my love—and my grief—for her!”
    Edith swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I—”
    “I’m leaving this room because I can’t stand the racket—or the smell—any longer,” he muttered beneath the babies’ wailing. “Find a way to quiet them. When your sisters get home, we’re packing up these detestable dirty diapers and supplies, and we’re returning the whole kit and caboodle to Gingerich. I don’t want to hear another word to the contrary.”
    Edith held her breath until her father’s heavy footfalls had gone down the hallway and stairs. As she burst into tears, she held the babies tenderly, still swaying with them, wondering how they would survive without a stand-in mother to care for them. Will was caught up in his own troubles, understandably wounded by his wife’s final words—by her betrayal of his trust—not to mention being overwhelmed by the cancer that had claimed her when she should’ve been experiencing the joy of motherhood.
    She had to convince Rosalyn and Loretta to help her with the twins while they sought wisdom and aid from the women of Willow Ridge. If the three of them put their heads together, surely they could find a way to change Dat’s attitude. Surely they could keep the twins quiet enough that Dat could work on his