The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis Read Free Book Online Page A

bothered with such a small request.
    Mamma lifted the cool cloth and leaned down to kiss her forehead before departing the room. Then, and only then, did Nellie dare to lift the envelope to her eyes. The letter was indeed from Caleb.
    Despite being so ill, her heart skipped with joy, and she quickly opened the sealed envelope.
    My dearest Nellie,
        I haven’t forgotten you, not for a single minute!
        Christmas was terrible, not seeing you. And for that I’m awful sorry.
        I feel like a bird in a locked cage. And confess that I’m sinning to carry this letter to your mailbox today, Sunday, January 13 th , by pretending to have the flu, which is sadly going around. So while my family is out visiting, I’m “sick” in my bed—well, I’ll soon be out walking to your house, darling Nellie.
        If ever there was a girl for me, it’s you. The times when I think of you, even dream of you, are more than I can count. I hope you don’t think poorly of me, leaving you without the company of a beau for even a while. For certain I despised doing so.
        And now here it is nearly mid-January already, and I still have not solved our dilemma. Daed has demanded that I shun you and your family, yet I yearn to talk with you and be near you once more.
        You musn’t fear for our future, my dear, dear Nel- lie. I will know very soon what must be done so that we can be together.
    With all my love,
Caleb Yoder
    Hands trembling, though no longer from fever, Nellie folded the envelope in half and slipped the letter beneath her pillow. Oh, Caleb, you risked so much to deliver this. How could I have doubted you?
    She hadn’t forgotten his endearing words, the way he held her at the millstream as he kissed her face, though never her lips. To wait was their unspoken courting promise.
    Sliding her warm hand beneath the cool pillow, Nellie touched his letter, wishing she might find a way to get word back to him.
    While Rhoda dusted the Kraybills’ front room, their cat pushed against her leg. Back arched high, he let out a resounding meow.
    “Ach, you’re hungry, is that it?”
    Pebbles meowed again. This pet was always looking for a handout.
    He followed her across the entryway, then through the formal sitting room, with its high wooden mantel and matching gold overstuffed chairs, and into the kitchen. Opening the bag of kitty chow, Rhoda filled Pebbles’s dish and checked his water bowl, too.
    Standing there, she watched the black-and-white cat nibble away at his dinner, knowing her father would never allow something as frivolous as keeping a pet indoors. Then, eager to get back to work, she returned to the living room, as Mrs. Kraybill referred to their cozy and well-furnished front room. Rhoda straightened the coffee table, trying not to glance at the magazines stacked neatly there, especially one periodical that seemed to have strayed from Mr. Kray-bill’s study— Car and Driver magazine. She’d noticed the new issue had appeared last week. Her parents would be chagrined if they knew she was coveting the cars featured within the shiny pages, yet she couldn’t deny to herself that she was ever so weary of horse-and-buggy travel.
    Like some of the church boys surely must be.
    Several from the old church had purchased cars and hidden them far from their fathers’ houses, sowing disobedience before eventually becoming baptized church members. Some of those same fellows had given her the cold shoulder at Sunday night Singings. Not caring to admit it, even to herself, Rhoda realized she was on a path to show them just what they’d missed.
    Even so, she would wait to investigate the pages of the most current car magazine until she knew she was truly alone here—till Mrs. Kraybill, wearing a wine-colored suit and black heels, left for her ladies’ auxiliary meeting in New Holland. She glanced at the clock. How much longer must I wait? she thought.
    Of course, she was expected to thoroughly clean the first