Rachel J. Good - His Unexpected Amish Twins

Micah studied Hope. Something was bothering her, but shed been adamant it wasnt finances. Had he upset her by walking so near?

Though he warned himself to move away, he hadnt been able to resist the temptation. And each time his hand brushed hers, he fought the urge to entwine his fingers with hers.

Shed taken his hand several times, and the memory of her gentle touch set his blood racing. His body still held the imprint of her hug that morning. But each time, shed only meant to comfort. If she had any idea of what her kindness had stirred in him, would she keep her distance?

Yet her eyes told a different story. Or had he only imagined what hed dreamed of seeing? Right here, right now, the softness of her gaze invited him to...

To what?

He lost his train of thought as she leaned nearer, and her shoulder rubbed his biceps. If she tilted her head the slightest bit, her kapp would graze his chin. He resisted the urge to tip his head in her direction, but his mind conjured up fantasies of touching his lips to the glossy brown hair peeking out from the front of her prayer covering...

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His Unexpected Amish Twins

R

ACHEL

J. G

OOD

ZEBRA BOOKS

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.

119 West 40th Street

New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2020 by Rachel J. Good

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

BOUQUET Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

ISBN: 978-1-4201-5042-1

ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-5043-8 (eBook)

ISBN-10: 1-4201-5043-X (eBook)

Not again! Hope Graber planted her elbows on the scarred maple table, lowered her head into her hands, and rubbed her damp forehead. She could barely breathe in the sweltering summer air. Squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed that when she opened them, shed find shed misread the letter spread on the kitchen table.

She eased her eyelids open but kept her gaze slightly unfocused. Maybe it would lessen the shock.

Please, please, be wrong.

But the blurry numbers on the sheet before her sharpened. Impossible. The bank must have made a mistake.

Unless...

Stomach churning, Hope stood on shaky legs and headed toward the staircase. Daed, she called.

No answer. Had he known the bank statement would arrive today?

She snatched up the paper and marched upstairs. The scorching heat increased with each step, and so did her temper. When she reached the landing, faint snores issued from Daeds bedroom. Very odd.

First of all, he never slept during the day, except when he was ill. And second, his usual breathing pattern at night consisted of a buzzing chain saw that rattled the windowpanes followed by a series of shrill train whistles.

One hand on the doorknob to her fathers room, Hope hesitated. The Bible said to honor your parents, and she always tried hard to treat Daed as God commanded. But what about in this situation? Would it be disrespectful to accuse Daed of faking?

She needed answers and she needed them now. With a quick snap, she opened the door and barged into the room. Daed, do you know anything about this?

The gentle snores persisted.

You dont fool me, Hope said. We need to talk about this bank statement. She rattled the offending paper to get his attention.

Avoiding her eyes, he groaned and maneuvered his bulk to a sitting position. I wasnt expecting that so soon.

Really? Then why had he been pretending to sleep? Her father never stretched out on a bed fully clothed in midafternoon.

Hope pinched her lips together to control the flow of accusations gathering in her throat. He was her father. The man whod loved and cared for her as a child. The man whod always enjoyed jokes and hearty laughter. The man whod taught her to follow her faith and led by example. The man whod worked hard to build a thriving horse-boarding business. The man whod tenderly cared for Mamm during her last days.

Flashes of that man still flickered through this unkempt, sweat-stained, bleary-eyed stranger, his rotund chest straining his suspenders, the fabric of his shirt stretched taut over his burgeoning belly. Perhaps shed been wrong to take charge of the farm. She hadnt meant for him to stop working completely.

Usually, children gave their fathers the money they earned until they turned twenty-one, but just before she turned nineteen, she and Daed sat down with the bishop and church elders to discuss their financial situation and Daeds problem. Hed confessed to them, but the church leaders had suggested he not handle money for the next year or two.

Rather than accusing Daed or reminding him of the past, Hope held out the bank statement. Unless the banks made a huge error, a large sum of money is missing from the savings account. Should I call them to see if thats the case?

Daed hung his head. No, dochder. His grave words were barely audible.

Please tell me you still have the money, Hope pleaded, praying her dreams and plans hadnt just disappeared.

II cant do that, he mumbled.

Nooo. Hope bit her lip. Taking a deep breath to keep her voice calm and measured, she emphasized each word. That money was to pay the therapist whos coming tomorrow and to pay for start-up costs.

Shed placed ads, bought the signs, purchased therapy equipment... All those bills needed to be paid. Shed offered free horse therapy sessions over the next few weeks to introduce people to the farms services, so shed have no income.