A Heart Made New by Kelly Irvin Page B

a year. She should be used to the idea by now. “My parents passed away. I live with my brother and our family. We have lots of children at our house. One more won’t make a difference.”
    Charisma chewed a ragged fingernail.
    “Mommy, I want PBJ. PBJ.” Gracie rapped on the seat with the fork. “PBJ.”
    “PBJ?”
    Tears rolled down Charisma’s face. She smeared them on the sleeveof her T-shirt. “Peanut butter and jelly. She wants a sandwich.” Charisma choked back a sob as she tugged Gracie from the car. “She’s hungry and I can’t feed her. All right? I can’t feed her.”
    “I happen to be a very good cook.” Annie took the bag Charisma had draped over one arm. “You’re going to love my sandwiches.”
    Now she just had to convince Luke this was a good idea.
    Luke…and Leah.

Chapter 12
    I s it true?” Bishop Kelp’s harsh tone scraped across Josiah’s ears like sandpaper. “The Kauffman girl is here in Bliss Creek?”
    The stares of every man in the room bored into Josiah. David shifted next to him. Josiah took a breath and let it out. He had done nothing wrong. He forced himself to straighten. Ignoring Luke’s furious face, he met Bishop Kelp’s gaze head on. “It’s true, but—”
    “You saw her?” Luke stood. “Why am I just hearing about this?”
    “Luke, sit.” Bishop Kelp pointed to the bench. “Sit quietly.”
    Luke subsided.
    “She arrived yesterday. I didn’t talk to her before she decided to come here.” In the silence as the men waited for Josiah to explain, David cleared his throat. His breathing sounded ragged. “I didn’t know she was coming, and I didn’t ask her to come.”
    “Did you advise her to return home?”
    Josiah wiped sweaty palms on his pant legs. “I did, but she…she seems to have other plans.”
    “Other plans?”
    “She’s coming to see you.” Josiah took a deep breath. “She says she wants to join our community.”
    Bishop Kelp leaned back in his seat and exchanged glances with Deacon Altman. No one spoke for a moment.
    Luke squirmed on his bench. “That’s just—”
    The bishop held up a hand. “Luke, we will have no further discussion about this until the girl comes to me.” His gaze whipped back to Josiah. “You will have no contact with her at all. Until we know what her true motives are, nothing has changed. This girl brought you nothing but trouble. You’ve come a long way, Josiah, but the road back is short.”
    “This wasn’t my doing—”
    “But you said nothing to us. That leads me to believe you were considering your options.”
    “I…” Had he been considering his options? Despite the urge to storm out, Josiah forced himself to stand still. A rustling sound made him glance toward David. His friend had slipped past Mark and was angling for the door. Some friend. Probably didn’t want to be associated with the black sheep of the community anymore. Fine. “I told her she should go home.”
    A true statement. But had he meant it? Josiah’s gaze caught Paul Yonkers’s. Miriam’s brother’s stare made his skin turn icy. Josiah forced his gaze back to Bishop Kelp. “She said she’s spending the summer with her cousin over on Voelcker Lane.”
    “Then we’ll not see your buggy on Voelcker Lane this summer.”
    Josiah forced a nod. “I have plenty of work to do.”
    “See to it that you do it and nothing else.” Bishop Kelp stood. “These are difficult times. Circumstances force us to spend more time doing business among the Englischers. We must not lose sight of the Ordnung. Each one of you is responsible for making sure your families remember that. They look to their husbands and fathers to set the example. To follow the Ordnung.”
    His gaze traveled to Luke, then Josiah. “Don’t let them down.”
    He strode from the room and the deacons followed close on his heels. Silence reigned for a long moment. Then men began to discuss the situation among themselves. No one looked at Josiah, for which he was