Forever Amish Read Free Page B

me.”
    â€œYou’re Lizzie?”
    She bobbed her head. “Yah, Lizzie Zook.”
    I felt what Pop would call bamboozled, like last winter when my tires skidded on a patch of black ice. Out of control, I’d fishtailed, pulled a one-eighty, and ended up headed in the opposite direction.
    â€œAre there many Zooks in Lancaster County?” I asked.
    â€œOh, yah, ’tis a common name.” Her gaze took in my skinny jeans and suede loafers.
    â€œAnd probably a good many Lizzies, too,” I said.
    â€œYah, my aunt on my dat’s side and two cousins. Why do you ask?”
    â€œBecause I’m Sally Bingham.” I held my breath, half-hoping her face would remain placid because she’d never heard of me. She must be in some kind of trouble, because she didn’t look like any pedigreed dog fancier I’d ever met.
    â€œSally!” Her hands flew up to cover her cheeks. “Ya came? I can’t believe it.”
    â€œThat makes two of us.” I didn’t put faith in coincidences and happenstance. I felt disoriented, my world rotating in the wrong direction. This couldn’t be the person who’d emailed me because I didn’t believe in flukes. I refused to.
    â€œâ€™Tis an answer to prayer.” Lizzie’s voice rippled with elation.
    I was stunned to find her standing before me. Knock me over with a feather, Pops might say. He’d also caution me to beware. “Things are seldom as they seem,” he’d occasionally sung, a line from an old Gilbert and Sullivan musical.
    â€œWillkumm!” Lizzie said, harpooning me to the present. “I can’t tell ya what this means to me.” Her oval face beamed like a kid opening a birthday present.
    â€œSo you’re Lizzie?” I tried to make light of it, when in fact I felt as if I might topple over a cliff. I was tempted to dive into my car and take off. But how could this young woman do me any harm? Yet she seemed to possess enough gumption for both of us.
    â€œI’m that Lizzie Zook,” she said. “Ever so glad ta finally meetcha.”
    â€œHappy to meet you, too.” No, I wasn’t. I didn’t like surprises. My words marbled out. “So you’re in some kind of trouble or what?”
    She put a finger to her lips. “I can’t talk in front of mei Bruder —my brother—Jeremy.”
    The sky was fading, the world turning monotone. The temperature was dropping. Chilly air traveled up my jacket sleeves. What alternatives did I have? I’d at least check out their accommodations.
    As I watched Jeremy adjust his hat, I formulated a plan to exhume Lizzie’s scheme—my hunch was she’d devised one. “Is it okay for you to ride in my car?” I asked.
    â€œYah.” She bounced on her toes. “That would be ever so nice.” She spoke to Jeremy in Pennsylvania Dutch. He jiggled the reins and the horse lugged the buggy forward.
    â€œI told him to go ahead,” she said. “We’ll probably pass him.”
    I stood for a moment, marveling at Lizzie’s lack of sophistication—or was it a theatrical act for my benefit?—before opening the passenger door for her.
    â€œYou ready?” I was glad she couldn’t decipher what lay behind my cheerful facade.
    â€œDenki,” she said as she got in. “Thank you.”
    â€œSure, no problem.” I bopped around the hood, slid behind the wheel, and started the engine while she buckled her seat belt. The tires bit into the gravel parking lot as I backed up, then maneuvered the car toward the road. Jeremy and the buggy were nowhere in sight.
    â€œOkay, Lizzie. Where to?” I switched on the headlights and rolled forward.
    At that moment, a horse pulling a carriage came cantering in our direction. A spike of fear shot through me. I slammed on the brakes and skidded. The horse stopped short and reared, its front legs pawing the air. The driver, a