Made with Love Read Free

best friend, Leonard Hooley. Would Leonard still be alive if someone had reached out a helping hand instead of turning their backs?
    Noah kicked at a rock on the ground, wondering if he should take the job alone. No, that would never do. He’d get some money and work within this Amish community, yes, but what would the boys do all day when he was working? He shuddered at the thought.
    It had taken some convincing for his Aunt Verna to let his cousin Mose move down to Pinecraft. And Mose’s friends Atlee and Gerald tagged along. Wasn’t it enough that he offered to help out one boy? Now he had three to watch over. Troublemakers all of them.
    Then again, he knew their wills could be bent with prayer, patience, and hard work—their hard work. He’d learned himself that the best way to learn to believe in yourself was to discover the jobs God gave you to do and work at them with all your might.
    Yet how could he help the teens if no one would give them the chance?
    â€œMr. Hosteler, your shed needs work, and I’m giving you a good deal. I promise, sir, that I won’t leave those young men towork on their own. It’s a training opportunity. That’s why I’ve come down here…to give these young men a chance at a new life.” He wanted to continue. He wanted to add, “…just like I was given a second chance.” Yet the words refused to emerge. Mr. Hostetler didn’t need another excuse not to hire him.
    â€œIf it were up to me, I might try it. But my wife has other ideas.” The older Amish man leaned in close. “It was her sister Merna whose house was broken into just last week.”
    Noah nodded. “I understand.”
    Mose, Atlee, and Gerald hadn’t admitted to breaking into the woman’s home, but Noah had been taking things to Sarasota Salvage at the time—the one time he’d left them alone. And it did seem odd that the only things that were taken were two peach pies.
    Noah took a step back and placed his hat on his head. He’d never be able to convince the man now. Why would you ever invite someone you didn’t trust onto your property?
    He took slow steps as he made his way back to the road and strode toward his uncle’s house. He’d thought God had directed him to Pinecraft, but for what reason? To have the door slammed in his face again and again and again?
    Noah glanced around the streets of the small village. The morning dawned clear, but in the distance, clouds moved in. He kicked his boot against the rock in the street. It shuffled across the road and hit the Lost and Found box. He’d first seen the box after just a few days in town. It represented this place in a way, everyone taking care of each other. Of course, trust like that was given freely until one broke that trust. It was what his nephew Mose had done back home. Was Noah a fool to think he could help the young man? Was Mose a lost cause? He’d caused far more trouble in their hometown of Arcola, Illinois, than stealing peach pies. Then again, so had Noah.
    Noah heard the sound of a bicycle and stepped to the side. A bicycle cruised by slowly, and he smiled at the pretty, dark-haired Amish woman as she passed. Yet her eyes didn’t glance his direction. Instead, her gaze scoured the buildings, as if searching for something. He wanted to call to her. He wanted to see if she needed something or had maybe lost something. Did she know about the Lost and Found box?
    The woman gazed intently at the house at the end of the street. It was his uncle’s house. Does she know my family? Noah wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen her in the two months he’d been here. He would remember if he had. How could someone forget such a pretty face as that?
    Noah quickened his steps and approached his uncle’s front gate. It was only then that he realized she wasn’t looking at the house, but instead the property behind it. It was a large warehouse or