The Amish Widow (Amish Romance Mystery) (Amish Secret Widows' Society Book 1) by Samantha Price Read Free Book Online Page A

Vulture Takedown’ was to begin tomorrow, according to the plan on Elsa-May’s notepad. The first step was for Silvie to visit the vulture’s office, flirt a little and see what she could find out.
    Emma stepped out of Maureen’s buggy and thanked her for driving her to Elsa-May and Ettie’s haus for the widows’ meeting.
    She stood on her doorstep and waved to Maureen as her buggy trotted up the driveway. She was grateful to be home and although she was lonely sometimes, at least it was a place in which she felt safe.
    Emma was grateful to have some new friends who cared about her and her farmland. It was late at night and Emma hated nothing more than to come home to a cold dark haus . Next time she will leave a light on. She turned on the gas lantern just inside the front door and then turned the main gas light on in the center of the lounge room.
    She hurried to the kitchen to boil some water, so she could take a hot-water bottle to bed with her. Maybe she would also sip some lemon tea. Emma did not think that she would be able to sleep. Normally she found it hard to sleep, but tonight with all the surprises at the widows’ meeting she was sure that sleep would evade her even more.
    Emma had just passed Wil’s haus on the way back in Maureen’s buggy and the haus was in darkness. Never being out this late, Emma did not know if that was unusual or not for him. Farmers usually go to bed early, but Wil was not a farmer and Emma was not really sure how he made his money. Maybe he lived on the lease money from his farm as she did.
    She filled up her hot water bottle and waited for the iron kettle to boil once more for her lemon tea. Emma hugged the hot-water bottle as she waited. What would Levi think of all this intrigue? He would be glad I’ve made some gut friends, I guess.
    With lemon tea in hand and hugging her hot water bottle, Emma made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She set the tea on her nightstand and the hot-water bottle in the bed and went back downstairs to fetch her weapons. She remembered she had a hammer in the utility room; that would save her carrying the big pitchfork upstairs. Emma found the hammer and carried it back upstairs and placed it under her bed. She sent up a quick prayer to Gott asking Him to protect her through the night.
    Emma was conscious of the empty space on the other side of her bed. The space had once been filled and now it lay empty. She still kept to her side of the bed even though she could have slept in the middle; somehow it felt right to stay sleeping on the same side. While she sat on the edge of her bed drinking the tea she moved the hot water bottle a little further under the blankets.
    How did Maureen and Silvie cope, living alone? They still lived in the houses that they lived in with their husbands and they seemed to manage all right. Maureen had her bruder to help her with things, but Emma was not sure who helped Silvie.
    That night she could not sleep. Every time she fell asleep she woke up after only a few minutes. She tossed and turned all night mainly due to the bad dream that the vulture was chasing her away from her haus and she couldn’t find her hammer anywhere. Emma woke up with a fast beating heart and her body covered in a layer of sweat.
    She sat up in bed and noticed the teacup on the floor and realized that she’d left half a cup of tea in it from the night before, which was now spilled all over the floor. She must have knocked it to the floor during her bad dream. Emma slumped back under the covers. Somehow she felt safer in the daylight and in some way she managed to drag herself out of bed.
    Elsa-May’s plan was that they would all meet at her haus again at three o’clock. Hopefully by then, Silvie would have some information after she had charmed Mr. McAllister, the vulture.
    As Emma made herself some breakfast, she looked down at the floorboards. They needed cleaning, as did the rest of the haus . It had been sorely neglected since Levi