Landchester Amish Love: Ruth (Amish Romance) (Landchester Amish Love Series Book 2) Read Free Page B

friend! And also how strange that Katie had never mentioned her. But whatever the reason for that, Joseph reasoned, Katie would be able to help him, and surely she wouldn’t hesitate.
    But he found he was wrong. When he told Katie what had happened, and that he had met a very interesting girl who he thought he might like to get to know quite a bit better, Katie had nothing to say. Her answers were curt, and short, and barely told him anything.
    “Is she a nice girl?” he had asked.
    “ Jah, ” Katie had replied.
    “Does she have any interests?” he had asked.
    “Some,” Katie had replied.
    When he called Katie out, and asked her why she was being uncooperative, she stopped answering him altogether. Instead, she left him abruptly, and went to her room. And she wouldn’t answer the door for him, however many times he knocked.
    It was unfortunate, but there was only one thing for it: Joseph would have to wait. And he found the waiting was the hardest part of the entire thing.

Chapter 5
    “ Maemm ,” Ruth asked, “Do you think this dress suits me?”
    Ruth’s mother gave her a long look, intrigued.
    “As well as any other. Why do you ask?”
    Ruth thought to herself now that it was foolish to imagine her mother would not catch on. She had, after all, intended to tell her mother. But now, that she was on the brink of thinking of speaking her mind, it was too difficult. She’d had to be better at this, if she was going to talk to Joseph at the party. It would be harder, Ruth expected, to come up and begin speaking to him that it would be to simply tell Maemm that there was someone she was looking forward to seeing.
    Maemm didn’t press her. She only helped her get reading, and gave Ruth her space. But she noticed a smile on her lips that perhaps she wasn’t meant to see.
    When she reached the barn raising, she looked for him, but didn’t immediately see him. But that was ok, there would be time. She’d gotten there a little bit sooner than most in her excitement, and there were still many people who would be showing up as the party went on.
    She stood off to the side of everyone, watching. Katie wasn’t here, either. They still hadn’t spoken since that day in the fields. It had been preying on Ruth’s mind, and she knew that they would need to make things right between them. But they had been friends for such a long time that it didn’t worry Ruth much. They would find a way around whatever silly quarrel they had found themselves into. They always did. And, besides, Ruth was too concerned with Joseph, and what she would do when he arrived, to worry about a problem that would sort itself out eventually.
    Finally, Ruth saw him. He was as handsome as she remembered him being, and just that thought made her blush. He deep into the party, so she must have missed him coming in. He must have been there a while, because he already had gone and gotten food. How funny it was, Ruth thought, that she had been so busy thinking about him that she had missed his arrival!
    Now was the moment. Ruth gathered up her courage. She did her best to remember how pleased he had seemed with her the last time they spoke. He had said he looked forward to seeing her here. He wanted to talk to her. Surely, that should be enough for Ruth to have the courage to walk up and speak to him.
    So she strode towards him, as confidently as she could. And he saw her! She saw him scanning the room, and stop when he got to her. She was not far from him now. Just a few steps by each of them and they would be speaking to one another. They made eye contact.
    And then he turned away.
    Ruth was at a loss. What had changed? He’d been so amenable at the store. He’d fumbled, and smiled at her. He had seemed…
    She realized she was standing there, staring at his back, dumbly. So she made herself turn around. She needed a mission— something to do so that she wouldn’t dwell and wouldn’t seem to be hanging off of his rejection.
    The picnic had been