Read An Amish Family Reunion for Free Online Page B

offered no response, one word or otherwise, he asked softly, “And what would your name be?” He leaned closer, as though anticipating the revelation of a secret.
    At that precise moment the bus window slid open and Rebekah Glick’s face appeared. “Phoebe Miller! Why are you still standing there like a goose? Get on the bus so we can start the fun.”
    “Ah, Phoebe Miller. A name at last,” he said.
    Phoebe felt her five-foot-nothing height lose an inch or two, but the knowledge that Rebekah and her sister were watching from the window galvanized her into action. She hurried toward the steps, where the last travelers from Holmes County were boarding.
    The verbose young man followed behind, right at her heels. “And a lovely name at that,” he said, close to her ear.
    She had no idea how to react to such a flagrant, unexpected compliment, so she tripped on the first step. This wasn’t an everyday occurrence—meeting a boy around her age who was a stranger to her. Most Amish youths reached courting age with at least a passing acquaintance of each other.
    No one grabbed her arm to prevent her fall. Rather gracelessly she fell forward, scraping her palms on the dirty stair treads and dropping her purse.
    At last the tardy young man intervened. “Wow, that’s a lot of junk to carry around! Let me help you.” While Phoebe brushed her hands on her apron, he picked up her purse and began retrieving items, announcing the name of each: “Sunglasses, tissues, pen, Rolaids, Jolly Ranchers, aspirin. Goodness, are you
moving
to Niagara Falls, Miss Miller?”
    Phoebe’s voice miraculously returned. “Give me that purse and stop making a scene!” She yanked it from his grasp. “And stop following me!” She stomped up the steps, pausing by the driver’s seat.
    The Amish man stood on the curb with his hands in his pockets, resembling an overlooked puppy at the dog pound. “But then how do I get on the bus?” He feigned a sincere tone of voice.
    Her face grew very warm. “I meant later, during the trip.” She turned and hurried down the aisle.
    “Sit here,” called Rebekah, tapping the back of the seat in front of her. “We can’t fit three back here, so now you’ll have room to spread out and draw.”
    Phoebe flounced down, putting her back to the window so she could talk to her friends. They were both eyeing her a little oddly.
    “You hardly speak to anyone in all the years I’ve known you,” said Rebekah. “And then you strike up a conversation with
him
?”
    Phoebe had no chance to inquire what that implied because the subject of their discussion slipped onto the seat across the aisle. With forty or fifty different bench seats on the bus, he chose the one next to hers? She exhaled through her nostrils nosily.
    “Don’t ruffle your feathers, Miss Miller. There aren’t any other seats left except in the back, and I don’t like being there due to car sickness.” He patted his black vest where his belly might be.
    Phoebe craned her neck to scan the rows. True enough, the only empty seats were singles toward the back. “Would you like some Nabs?” she asked in a voice she didn’t recognize.
    “What are those?” He shook that ridiculously silky blond hair from his eyes.
    “That’s what my
mamm
calls these peanut butter sandwich crackers.” She produced a packet from her purse. “I don’t know why. It doesn’t say ‘Nabs’ anywhere on the wrapper, but she says motion sickness is worse with an empty belly. So maybe you should eat a few.” She shyly extended them across the aisle.
    “
Danki
, I will.” He accepted the gift, ripped them open, and proceeded to devour all six while the bus pulled out of the charming but touristy town of Berlin.
    Rebekah leaned over the seat back but addressed the unfamiliar man, not Phoebe. “That was more words than she has spoken since Christmas. Who are you?”
    Phoebe’s heart nearly stopped beating. It felt as though it were seizing up in her chest like a