Hannah's Joy by Marta Perry Read Free Book Online Page A

teach me how to make them. I haven’t worn one since I was nine, and I certainly don’t remember how to make them.”
    She touched the clasp that held her hair at the nape of her neck. Would an Amish woman find it odd that she proposed to wear a prayer covering? Or even be offended? In the face of Aunt Paula’s enthusiasm, she hadn’t even considered that.
    But Katie didn’t seem to find it odd, and Rhoda was already pulling out a bolt of white fabric.
    “Ach, that’s right.” Katie led the way to the counter. “I was forgetting that you were once a part of the community. You are coming home, ain’t so?”
    “I guess I am.” That was certainly how her aunt thought about it.
    Hannah wasn’t so certain. She remembered this life more and more, the longer she stayed. But it still seemed distant to her, as if the sometimes bitter years that followed had created an impassable barrier.
    Katie was measuring the fabric with a practiced hand. “How many kapps were you wanting to make?”
    “Just give me enough fabric for three.” If she needed more, she could come back. And if she found wearing a kapp too uncomfortable . . . well, that would disappoint her aunt more than if Hannah had never brought it up.
    Trying to distract herself, she glanced around the shop while Katie cut the fabric. Colorful quilts and table runners glowed from every available surface, and the rows of fabric bolts tempted even someone as inept with a needle as she was.
    “The shop is wonderful. I love your quilts.”
    Katie’s cheeks flushed with pleasure. “Denke. My mother has a quilt shop back home, and this was always my dream.”
    “You’ve certainly made your dream a reality. Back home? You’re not from Pleasant Valley, then?”
    Katie shook her head. “Columbia County. I’d been here a number of times to visit my cousins, and when the opportunity came to open my shop, I thought I’d stay. And then I got to know Caleb, and that was even more of a reason to stay.” Katie’s face seemed to glow with love as she glanced toward the shop on the other side of the archway.
    It was dark, Hannah realized. “Caleb isn’t working late, like you?” Or did she really want to ask about William?
    “Not tonight. Rhoda and I went to have supper with him and his mother, but we needed to clear up a bit once we got back.”
    “Katie has several quilt groups and classes that meet here,” Rhoda said. “Do you like to quilt?”
    Hannah smiled, taking the bag Katie held out to her. “I’m afraid I don’t have time for it, with my work at the bakery and a baby to take care of.”
    “Katie said you have a little boy.” Rhoda’s eyes sparkled. “I love babies. If you need anyone to watch him sometime, I’d love it.”
    “Thanks. That’s good to know.” Though where she’d go that she’d need a sitter, she couldn’t imagine. Even if she could afford to hire one.
    With an inward shudder she thought of the last sitter she’d hired to watch Jamie while she worked. The woman had come with wonderful references, but Hannah had quickly discovered that she left Jamie to cry in his crib while she watched daytime television. Hannah still had nightmares about Jamie crying and no one coming.
    “Anytime,” Rhoda said. She glanced at her sister. “I’ll finish the back room, ja?”
    “Sounds gut.” Katie waited until her sister had disappeared through a door at the back. “She really is fine with kinder. You could trust her. But I think you did not come just to buy fabric or to talk about my sister.”
    The kindness and understanding in Katie’s eyes were reassuring. Hannah nodded.
    “You’ve guessed, then. I was worried that I had offended William earlier. I thought you would know.”
    “Ja, he told us about your offer to help him with his stammer. That was ser kind of you, and I don’t think he was offended.”
    “But he didn’t say yes,” Hannah pointed out.
    Katie hesitated, as if choosing her words. “It seemed to me that