Amish Heart (Erotic Romance) (Amish Heart Trilogy) Read Free

with a tyrannical hand.  The three oldest children were subdued around her but when not under her hawk-like grip were likely to be unruly at best.  The eldest boy, age fifteen, had a somewhat cruel streak of playing practical jokes on younger children and animals.  The youngest girl, age four, when not under the thumb of her grandmother, proved to be only high-spirited, preferring to join the bigger boys in their games, rather than play with the little girls her age.  The children, Rebekah had drily observed, were ill-kempt like their father, never looking washed and neat: even on a Sunday. 
    There had never been a reason for Ezekiel and Rebekah to speak except when he came into the store and then his words were clipped.  Yet, his gaze was anything but short.  In the past six months, she had often felt him looking at her, his swine-like eyes almost cutting through her.  She didn’t know what she had done to deserve such attention.  It made her uneasy, thinking she was possibly doing something wrong.
    “We only speak when he comes into the store.”
    “And how does he speak to you then?”
    Tears welled up in Rebekah’s eyes once more.  “Not rude, but not like a friend would.”
    “But you don’t know each other well enough to be friends yet, yes?”
    Rebekah nodded glumly.
    Leah clasped her sister’s hand.  “You see?  You don’t even know each other yet.  When you do, you will be friends, and you will see.  He will like you very much.”
    Yes, but will I like him?   It was a question that she dared not voice.  Rebekah looked down at her embroidery resting in her lap.  Is he as much of a toad of a man as he seems?  Then, she felt instant shame for having such judgmental thoughts.  Her sister squeezed her hand and Rebekah looked up to meet her eyes. 
    “Give him a chance.  Give both of you a chance.”
    Rebekah nodded again, this time not as dispirited.
    She walked home before twilight, pondering their conversation.  Maybe Leah was right.    Possibly all Ezekiel needed was a chance to show her his heart.  Maybe he did care and was only shy.  Perhaps he had some spark inside of him that she could not yet see.  Maybe he could recognize the brightness in her, value it, and wouldn’t suppress it.  It could be all that his children needed was someone to love and look over them.  She chewed her lip in thought.  If only these things were true it might make life bearable.  
    Then again, it was a lot of “maybes.”
    She again thought of his hard eyes and shivered in the warm evening air. 
     

Chapter 3

Rebekah’s mother and sisters fairly buzzed with activity in preparing for her wedding.  Her mother wrote all the family and friends near and far.  Shopping lists were made for the tremendous amount of food it would take to feed all the guests, known and unknown.  Not atypical of Amish weddings and funerals, one did not have to receive an invitation or be acquainted with the hosts in order to go.  Any excuse to come together to socialize and eat was reason enough. 
    Rebekah thought of her cousin in Wisconsin, who was to be married in less than two weeks.  She was about Rebekah’s age and had worked until just recently as a schoolteacher.  Did she have the same apprehension about her marriage as Rebekah did her own?  Surely there must be someone who was as abhorrent as she was at the thought of waking up each morning next to a man whom she didn’t even want touching her.  And it will be like that forever .  There could be no escape.
    She was braiding her long copper hair for the third time.  Nervousness was making her fingers thick and stupid, unable to work properly.  Wishing this evening was already over, Rebekah took a deep breath and tried to take her mind off the source of her anxiety.
    “Rebekah!   Hurry!  He will be here any moment.” Her mother’s voice came from downstairs.  The petite Amish girl pressed her lips together in a grimace and finished the