Amish Promises by Leslie Gould Page A

do.”
    â€œOh,” Eve said, “I’m not doing it for him. I’m doing it for Abra. She—”
    â€œShani.” Lila stood in the doorway of the kitchen, the empty box in her hands. “Oh, sorry to interrupt.”
    â€œNo problem,” Shani answered. “Are you done with the towels?”
    Lila shook her head. “We ran out of room in the cupboard.”
    â€œStack them on the counter in the bathroom for now,” Shani said. Rose wiggled her way into the kitchen too. If she sent them to put the books on the shelves in the living room next, they might wake the baby. And she didn’t want them in the way of the boys. “When you’re done you two can help unwrap the dishes,” she said. “Then we’ll put them in the cupboard.”
    Shani didn’t want to ask any more questions about Abra when the girls would be right back. She opened the cupboard on the other side of the sink. “Wow, someone put down new shelf paper.” When Eve blushed, Shani knew it had to have been her. “Did Dad ask you to clean up this place?”
    Eve nodded.
    â€œThank you.” She couldn’t figure Eve out. She seemed so capable yet reserved. Humble but complex too. “You must have seen the quilt in the downstairs bedroom, then.”
    Eve nodded.
    â€œI don’t remember it from the last time I was here. I’m guessing my grandmother must have bought it before she died. I can’t imagine Grandpa buying it.”
    Eve blushed.
    â€œWhat?” Shani asked.
    â€œI’ll tell you about the quilt later,” Eve said, unwrapping another glass and placing it in the cupboard.
    Shani raised her eyebrows but decided she’d just have to wait until Eve was ready. Obviously the quilt had come from her.
    â€œSo where are you and Joel from, originally?” Eve asked.
    â€œI grew up near Seattle, and Joel’s from Wisconsin. We met my first year of college through a mutual friend. Joel was stationed at Fort Lewis.” Shani picked up several plates. “We married when I was nineteen and he was twenty-two. My dad about blew a gasket.” She smiled at the memory as she put the plates in the cupboard.Joel had been so certain of his love for her from the beginning. Not in a scary sort of way, but in a steady, strong way.
    â€œWhat did Joel’s parents think?”
    â€œThey didn’t come to the wedding. We don’t see them much . . .” It was hard to explain. Joel’s little brother, Johnny, had died at the age of twelve, when Joel was seventeen. It seemed his parents blamed him. He’d left home the next year, right after he graduated. Try as she might she couldn’t get him to talk about it through the years. And now after he almost died in Iraq, it was the last thing she’d bring up.
    Eve stared at her. “Are you okay?”
    â€œFine.” Shani picked up a stack of dessert plates.
    â€œWell,” Eve said, “family relationships can be tricky.” She glanced toward Rose and Lila coming through the door and lowered her voice. “I think everyone has something difficult they’re dealing with.”

 10 
    A fter a few terse directions from Tim, Charlie turned on the road to the lumberyard. He flipped the truck visor down against the early afternoon sun. Fields of silage gave way to a wooded area. Maple trees, their orange leaves fiery against the cloudless blue sky, stood interspersed with evergreens.
    â€œTurn right,” Tim said.
    Charlie pressed on both the clutch and the brake, downshifted, and swung the truck wide. He bounced down a driveway.
    â€œWhat kind of horsepower does this have? Three hundred forty-five?” Tim held onto his hat.
    â€œYeah, that’s right,” Charlie answered.
    â€œI usually only have one,” Tim said. “Although out in the field, I sometimes have six.”
    It took Charlie a moment to realize the guy had cracked a