Unbreakable Read Free Page A

away and leave her alone. The tears I’dbeen fighting reappeared, and I shook my head. “No. I’ll ride her home.”
    Jonathon looked at me with concern. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You seem pretty shaken.”
    He was right, but I had no choice. Daisy was my friend and she needed me. I dabbed at my eyes again and forced myself to laugh lightly. “I’m sorry. I was a little rattled at first, but I’m calm now. Daisy and I will be fine.” I climbed out of the truck and stood in the road, trying to put on a brave face. Unfortunately, the dust stirred up by the dueling trucks was still swirling in the air. A spasm of coughing hit me. The warmth of the afternoon added to my discomfort.
    â€œAre you okay?” he asked as he patted me on the back.
    All I could do was hold up my hand to signal I was fine. I must not have been clear enough because Jonathon continued slapping me lightly. Finally I caught my breath.
    â€œI really should be getting back,” I said in a raspy voice. “Papa is probably wondering where I am.”
    He stopped thumping me. “If you insist on riding Daisy home, I’m going to follow behind you.”
    I felt myself flush, embarrassed by his attention.
    I shook my head. “You don’t need to do that.”
    â€œI don’t want to hear another word about it, Hope. Some of the things I’ve heard in Clay Center chilled me to the bone. Maybe the person driving that truck was just trying to annoy you, but what if it was more than that? What if he was purposely trying to hit you? I won’t leave you on this road alone.”
    â€œAll right. I appreciate it.” I put my hand over my eyes, trying to shield them from the sun, which was shining brightly,nearly blinding me. “My friend in Washington believes everyone in Kingdom needs to be very careful right now. Until this happened, I have to admit I thought her warning didn’t really apply to us. But now . . .”
    Jonathon’s expression was grim. “A lot of folks in town are aware of the problem, but like you, I guess we’ve felt it wasn’t a direct threat to us. I have to wonder if what just happened proves we were wrong.” He ran his hand through his thick, dark hair. “If I hadn’t offered to pick up supplies for Noah, I wouldn’t have been here and . . .”
    Even though we were standing in the sun, a shiver ran down my spine. Neither one of us needed to finish his thought. We both knew that the results could have been more serious.
    â€œI-I guess we’d better head home.” I started to walk toward Daisy, who was standing nearby.
    â€œAre you sure about this, Sister Kauffman? You still look a little pale.”
    I smiled. “I’m afraid you can’t use my skin tone as a way to measure my condition. I’m always pale.”
    He chuckled, helping to break a little of the tension. I felt warm at the sound of his laughter. It was deep and genuine. He reached up and pushed a lock of hair from his forehead. I felt my pulse race as he looked at me. The color of his eyes reminded me of the forget-me-nots that grew wild on the side of the road leading into Kingdom.
    Jonathon stirred up emotions inside me that were hard to comprehend, especially in light of my engagement to Ebenezer Miller, the young man I planned to marry at the end of June.
    â€œIt feels strange for you to call me Sister Kauffman.” Iwondered if he realized he hadn’t used the formal greeting until now. “It seems rather decorous for a man who is so opposed to tradition.”
    He grinned. “I’m not opposed to all traditions, just the ones that don’t make sense. Conventions that don’t bring us any closer to God.”
    â€œAnd does calling me Sister bring you closer to God?”
    He chuckled and shook his head. “Point taken, Hope. I’ll work on it, but if I slip once in a while,