Leah Millerâs peaceful life as a member of the Spring Township Amish church shatters when sheâs accused of theft from an Englisch home in which she works. Even if she is not charged, if the crime is never solved, she will live under the taint of the theft and may never be able to participate fully in her Amish community. Josiah King, friend of Leahâs brother, is drawn into helping Leahâand discovers the âlittle sisterâ heâd always tolerated has grown into a strong, appealing woman.
But what future can they have together if suspicion makes Leah an outcast? As they attempt to learn the facts behind the accusation, danger grows around them. Itâs only through their trust in each other and the support of a faithful Englisch friend that Leah and Josiah can find their way through a tangled, dangerous maze to the truth.
An ebook exclusive novella from Marta Perryâs The Brotherhood of the Raven series.
Leah Millerâs brother had dropped her off at the home of Geneva Morgan to work that morning just in time to keep the older woman from scaling one of the apple trees in her orchard. Unlike the other Englisch women for whom Leah worked, who expected their Amish helper to get quietly on with the cleaning, Mrs. Morgan never ceased to surprise her.
Leah looked with satisfaction at the canning jars filled with applesauce that now lined the kitchen counter.
âThat looks fine, doesnât it?â Geneva shed the white apron that enveloped her small form, revealing a pair of denim jeans and a flowered top that fluttered when she moved. Her face was lit with the same satisfaction Leah felt.
âJa, it does.â Leah wiped her hands on the kitchen towel. âA gut dayâs work.â
âWe deserve a glass of iced tea and a jumble cookie.â Geneva ran a hand over her short gray curls, setting her earrings jingling. She had to be older than Leahâs mother, but she was as slight and lively as a teenager, and despite her age and position, she often dressed like one, too. âDo you have time before your brother comes for you?â
Leah gave the stove a final wipe. Applesauce did stick so when it splattered. âAbe might be late today. He has a lot to do with a new baby in the house.â She smiled at the thought of her first nephew, not even a month old.
âItâs hard to believe Abe is married and a daadi already,â Geneva said.
She nodded. âIt seems only yesterday we were playing hide-and-seek in the cornfield.â
âAnd what about you?â Geneva set a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses on the pine kitchen table. âDo you have a come-calling friend?â
Leah shook her head, not meeting Genevaâs gaze. âNot yet.â
Genevaâs eyes were too sharp, and sometimes it seemed everyone in the township, Amish and Englisch, confided in her. She didnât want Geneva guessing at her secret hopes.
âI hear Josiah King is coming home after all this time out west.â Genevaâs voice was perfectly innocent. âIâm sure your brother will be glad to see his best friend again.â
âJa, he will.â Leah could feel the warmth in her cheeks. Foolish, to cherish hopes that one day Josiah might look at her and see a woman grown instead of his friendâs pesky kid sister.
Geneva was taking hand-size jumble cookies from the cookie jar on the counter when Leah heard the clop of hooves and the jingle of harness, followed by footsteps on the two stairs up to the back door. They both glanced out the window.
But it wasnât Leahâs brother. It was Josiah King.
âWhy donât you open the door, Leah?â Genevaâs eyes twinkled. âIâll get out another glass.â
Leah smoothed her apron down over the skirt of her dress, thankful that sheâd happened to put on the green dress and apron that matched her eyes this morning and hoping her hair hadnât strayed from under the white organdy kapp on the back of her head.
She swung open the door. âAch, Josiah, it is you. I didnât think to see you here at Mrs. Morganâs house.â
She had to look up farther than she used to in order to see Josiahâs frank, open face and his deep blue eyes. Broader and taller than when heâd gone as an apprentice carpenter with his uncleâs construction business in Indiana, he seemed to fill the doorway.