Her Brother's Keeper Read Online Free Page B

they visited. She was just thankful to be off the highway. “ Ya , that would be . . . gut .”
    She stepped out of the buggy and waited in the small parking lot while Hannah tethered the horse at the hitching post. Around them were several buggies and a few cars. She took hold of the opportunity to really study the woman beside her. She was tall, several inches taller than Charlotte. And slender. Her hair was dark as coal, and her face lightly tanned. Even without makeup and her hair tucked underneath her cap, she was truly beautiful. On the outside , Charlotte reminded herself, and an uneasy feeling swept over her again. In Ethan’s last letter to her, he said he was worried about his relationship with Hannah. He hadn’t shared any details, but Charlotte wondered if maybe Hannah had called off the engagement. Had she broken Ethan’s heart?
    â€œThis is where the locals shop for books and school supplies.”
    Charlotte nodded as she got in step beside Hannah. She knew the Amish only went to school through the eighth grade, and she couldn’t help but wonder how they got away with that. In most places, children were required by law to go to school or be homeschooled until they turned seventeen. What keeps the officers in charge of truants away from the Amish community?
    The store was obviously owned by Amish people: no lights, no air conditioning. Large skylights streamed natural lighting into the store. A lanky, older man behind the counter greeted them when they walked in. In Pennsylvania Dutch. Charlotte’s chest tightened as she recalled her visits with the Amish women in Beeville. They spoke almost entirely in English. This was going to be a big problem if these Lancaster Amish people constantly reverted to this other language.
    Hannah replied to him. In Dutch, of course. Then she turned to Charlotte, folded her hands in front of her, and seemed to be waiting for Charlotte to respond. “Uh, gut . . . gut to meet y’all,” she finally said. She cut her eyes in Hannah’s direction, and her brother’s ex-fiancée nodded, then spoke to the owner in their language again. Based on Hannah’s expression, Charlotte’s response must have been okay. When Hannah started to walk around the store, Charlotte took off in another direction. She needed a few minutes to gather herself, and she’d already seen several Amish women where Hannah was headed. She didn’t want to face having more conversation she wouldn’t understand.
    Right then, she laid eyes on a book she needed to have. Pennsylvania German Dictionary: English to Pennsylvania Dutch . She looked over her shoulder to make sure she was alone, then she picked up the book and thumbed through it. Perfect .
    She tucked it under her arm, turned around, and headed toward the counter but stopped dead in her tracks, did an about-face, and went back to where she’d found the book. She placed it back on the shelf and stared at it. Stupid, stupid . Hannah and the owner would wonder why she was buying a book about a language she was presumed to know and understand. Glancing over her shoulder again, she pushed her purse up on her arm and had a thought.
    Charlotte had never stolen anything in her life, but if she was going to pull this off, she needed that book. One more glance behind her, then she grabbed the book and stuffed it into her purse. But the moment she’d safely gotten away with it, her stomach began to churn. She reached back into her purse and pulled out her wallet. The book was $12.99, so she pulled out a twenty and placed it on the bookshelf before she turned to leave the scene of what was almost a crime.
    She ran into Hannah on the next aisle and was happy to see that she was alone. When Hannah wasn’t around other Amish people, she mostly spoke English. Charlotte had no idea why, but she was thankful just the same.
    â€œWould you like to go to Bird-in-Hand next?” Hannah smiled, and for