Pennsylvania Patchwork Read Online Free Page B

it.”
    â€œIs it really true you’re marrying Zach Fleming?” He scratched his head in what appeared to be an exaggerated manner. “I guess I have my facts mixed up.”
    â€œArmin, have you heard what I’ve heard?” Mommy Anna said.
    All eyes pivoted my direction.
    â€œBest not to spread en Gebrummel— arumor,” Nathaniel said.
    I filled my mouth with muffin so I wouldn’t have to partake of the conversation, but it tasted of baking powder and was too salty. Mommy Anna had forgotten sugar and not added enough cornmeal.
    My mouth puckered. I gulped a mouthful of water and struggled to swallow.
    â€œZachary Fleming is a respected veterinarian now,” Nathaniel told Armin. “He brought that ointment for Cookie’s leg.”
    â€œYah, I know him, not a bad fellow.” Armin dished himself a plateful of casserole. “And you’re planning to marry him, Holly?”
    â€œYes, I am.” I considered marching over to Beth’s house to see if Zach were really there.
    Nathaniel swallowed a mouthful. “Armin, it isn’t polite to pry, and you know that. You’ve been living an Englisch life too long.”
    Armin patted around his mouth with his napkin. “Sorry, Holly, no offense meant.”
    â€œI accept your apology.” Armin had a charming personality, not to mention his looks. I bet many women found him irresistible—like hummingbirds hovering around a feeder full of sugar water.
    I recalled being drawn to Nathaniel when I’d first met him weeks ago. How dumb was that? But Armin possessed all Nathaniel’s good attributes plus a feistiness I found appealing. Or would have, if I were not in love with another man. The moment Zach appeared, Armin’s appeal would fade away. Like this nasty-tasting muffin, looks could be deceiving. I set the rest of my muffin aside and hoped Mommy Anna didn’t notice.
    â€œYou’ve come home for good, Armin?” Mommy Anna said.
    â€œFor a while, anyways.”
    My appetite diminishing, I forced myself to consume a few bites of Mom’s noodle casserole; I realized she’d been cooking Amish my whole life, but how would I have known?
    â€œAre you planning to join the Amish church?” I asked Armin, and Nathaniel stopped chewing for a moment, as if to better hear his reply.
    â€œI haven’t decided.” Armin sneaked a glance at Nathaniel.
    â€œAnd what’s keeping ya?” Nathaniel’s terse question came out in staccato.
    â€œI’ve only been home a few days, and already you’re on my back.” Armin set his napkin on the table. “Is this why you invited me in?”
    â€œNo, don’t leave, please,” my mother said. “Let’s all get to know one another.”
    â€œYah, Armin, I wantcha ta stay,” Mommy Anna said. “No bickering at the table, and no more questions.” Her brows—mere wisps—met over graying sage-green eyes. “We’re going to be family soon.”
    As if standing afar, I examined my life in fast-forward. I listened to a car putter by, and a horse’s clopping and buggy’s steel-rimmed wheels on the road out front of the house. But of course Zach wouldn’t be driving a buggy. When it came down to it, every man I’d ever loved had cheated and left me. Not that Dad cheated, but he left me when he hadn’t needed to. Mom said he was a nonresistant conscientious objector and could have avoided military service during the Vietnam War by applying for a farm deferment. I couldn’t fathom why he and my mother didn’t return to the safety of the Amish community, where he could have worked for his father or another local Amish farmer.
    A truck pulled beside the house and shut off its engine. “Zach.” I folded my napkin, set it next to my plate.
    â€œNee, ’tis a delivery truck dropping off a package,” Nathaniel said.
    â€œBut it could