Read A Simple Hope: A Lancaster Crossroads Novel for Free Online

I’m itching to get back to work, back to climbing trees.” James forced a smile, trying to lighten up the conversation. He didn’t want to be handed any orders from his father or the bishop today. He didn’t want to bebound by their decisions. “And Doc Trueherz thinks it’s possible—that I might walk again—because I didn’t lose the feeling in my legs. There’s a new therapy. Something that wakes up the spinal cord. I’m supposed to meet with a man named Dr. Finley.”
    “And how much will that cost?” Dat asked.
    “If I get into the study, I won’t have to pay anything. I just need to get to the clinic in Paradise.”
    Jimmy folded his arms across his chest, a gesture that told James he was closing his mind. “And if it’s not free, I reckon there will be more bills.”
    Crinkly lines grew deep around the edge of Samuel’s eyes. “Ach! Medical bills can be sky-high.”
    “They tell me that Dr. Finley’s program has no charge.” James did not expect his father to bring up the money issue in front of the bishop. “But even if it costs money, I want to do the treatment. You just said that we’re caught up on the hospital bills.”
    “We’ve paid for a lot more than the hospital and doctors,” Dat went on. “Don’t forget the money for the two wheelchairs. The one with the fat wheels cost nearly a thousand dollars. And the ramp we built for you. And so many car rides to the hospital and rehab center. Even if this Doc Finley is free, there’s the matter of getting there. It’s a busy time in the orchard and no one can be spared to drive you.”
    “Gott has given you a heavy burden. Sometimes, all we can do is accept the load, and accept the familiar road.” The bishop faced James. “Listen to your father. He is wise when it comes to falling in with the Englishers. And you know your parents can’t keep pouring out money. Who could? And the Englishers, I’ve seen them advise medical tests and exams that amount to nothing but a lot of debt.”
    “But they have therapies that can help me walk again,” Jamessaid, keeping his voice respectful. “By the grace of Gott, they might have a cure for me.”
    Disappointment burned in Bishop Samuel’s eyes. “Did you not hear anything we’ve said? Doctors might help, but it’s Gott who heals. It’s time to accept His will.”
    “But there’s still hope …” James insisted.
    “Hope is a good thing, ya?” Samuel said coolly. “The Bible says ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’ But the main thing is to trust in the Lord. You do that, and the other things will fall into place. For now, you’d best listen to your dat. Find ways to pitch in with other things while your brothers work the orchard.”
    “There’s a lot for you to learn in the office,” Dat said. “Get to know the business end of the orchard. I’ll be happy to have you working side by side with me.”
    And I’ll shrivel up and rot, like a fire-blighted apple
.
    As the bishop put on his hat and headed out to his buggy, James felt sick inside. He reminded himself to stay strong, keep pushing himself toward recovery, but when the bishop’s words replayed in his mind, he felt frozen in place.
    Dat and Samuel wanted him to give up, and they wouldn’t be satisfied until the last flame of hope inside him was snuffed out to a charred, sizzling wick.

“ I sn’t today Friday?” Shandell Darby asked as the car whipped past green fields of corn.
    “I guess. Where’d I put my sunglasses?” Gary pulled the visor down against the sun as he steered with one hand. There was a harsh quality in his normally handsome face when he squinted that way. “What’s it matter? When you’re on a road trip, you don’t have to worry about what day it is. We got the wind in our hair and the open road in front of us.”
    “Yeah, but I thought you said we’d be home by the weekend.”
    “What’s your rush?” Agitation prickled in his