An Honest Love Read Free

keeping the paperwork straight—office details. Moriah said you’re gut with numbers.”
    Elisabeth lifted a brow, surprised that Moriah had mentioned that to Gabe. She’d been bored out of her mind in school, and no one had ever been happier to graduate after her eighth grade year than she was. But math had been her best subject and the only one that hadn’t put her to sleep.
    “It’s part-time, only three days a week,” Gabe continued. “But you can pick your days and set your own hours. Are you interested?”
    “I’m definitely interested!” She had spent a good part of the last two years since graduation working with her mother at home, helping with the gardening and canning, and keeping the household running smoothly. Unfortunately, those tasks didn’t give her much satisfaction. During the past year she had decided to go out and find a job, a quest that had been more difficult than she’d thought, as opportunities were scarce. “Did Moriah tell you I was looking for work?”
    “She mentioned it. She said you were having a tough time.”
    “Gabe, I don’t want you to create a job for me.”
    “Oh, trust me, I’m not.” He looked at Aaron. “We were just talking the other day how we needed to hire someone.”
    Aaron nodded. “You’re looking at the current bookkeeper. I’d be more than happy to hand the paperwork over to you.”
    Elisabeth looked at Aaron. “And let me guess, you’d rather be working at the forge than the desk?”
    “Definitely.”
    “So?” Gabe gave her an expectant look. “Do you want the job?”
    It didn’t take long to make up her mind. “ Ya , I’d love to come work for you. When should I start?”
    Gabe pushed his hat back on his head. “I said you could make your own hours, so you tell me.”
    “I’ll come in day after tomorrow. I promised Mami I’d help her can spaghetti sauce tomorrow. We have tomatoes coming out of our ears. I can bring a few jars with me, since we’ll have more than enough.”
    Gabe grinned. “Great. When you get here, Aaron can fill you in on his ‘special’ filing system.”
    She turned to Aaron. “What’s so special about it?”
    Aaron smirked. “You’ll see.”

Chapter 2
    A nna Esh twisted the brand new key in the lock, frowning when it didn’t turn. She reinserted the key and with a little effort, finally got it to unlock the door of Esh’s Amish Goods. With a small shove she forced open the door and peered inside.
    She surveyed the small gift store and let out a long sigh. She and her mother had purchased the shop a week ago, and there was still much to do before it was ready for business. Changing the name for one thing. As of today the store would be known as Esh’s Amish Goods, and the new sign would be delivered next week. The gift shop was in a great location—a small shopping center located next to the Middlefield Market. Business would be brisk, especially on Mondays when the flea market was open. Its prime location a street over from the Middlefield Cheese Shop, another popular destination for tourists, couldn’t hurt business either.
    She walked over to the glass countertop and set down her bag with her lunch and paperback novel inside. The display case beneath the glass held a few cheap knickknacks, part of the inventory the previous owners had left when they sold everything to Anna and her mother and then moved back to their retirement home in Florida. At first Anna had been hesitant about the venture, not only of buying the business but of moving from Maryland to live with her great uncle Zeb, her late father’s much older brother. Leaving the Amish community she grew up in hadn’t been easy. But since her father’s death three years ago and Uncle Zeb’s accident last month, not to mention her broken relationship with Daniel . . .
    She shook her head, sending thoughts of the past away. When she and her mother had made the decision to move to Middlefield, she had vowed to focus on forging a new life, not on