Read Lorie's Heart for Free Online

responsibilities.”
    â€œI’m not shirking anything.” Lorie wanted to rise to her feet and stamp one in frustration. Never before had she been this upset over nothing. But it wasn’t nothing. She was about to find out the truth. Had her father been lying to her—to them all—all these years?
    â€œI can’t imagine what else you would call it.”
    Lorie slouched back in her seat and stopped cutting the tops off the strawberries. “I just need a little time away, that’s all.”
    Maddie’s voice softened, though her expression remained stern. “We all do.”
    Lorie slowly exhaled and started trimming the berries once again. Now all she had to do was get out of the house and in the car with Luke Lambright without any of her family seeing her. Oh, how many lies would she end up telling in order to discover the truth?
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    Lorie was shaking by the time she got everyone out of the house. Mamm, Sadie, and Melanie headed to the restaurant while Cora Ann went off to school. The bus stopped by shortly after that and picked up Daniel for his day at his special school.
    She peered at herself in the mirror above the bathroom sink and tried to tell herself she was doing the right thing. She had to know the truth. She needed to know. Mamm might want to forget about it and bury her head in the dirt like the ostriches Lorie had read about in school, but Lorie couldn’t let it go. And frankly she found Maddie’s attitude confusing. The woman had been married to Henry Kauffman for nearly twenty years, how could she not want to know about the car the police had told them about or the address on the driver’s license?
    The sound of a car engine floated in through the window. Luke was here.
    As if to prove her words, she heard a car door, followed by a knock.
    â€œComing,” she called, smoothing her hands down her black dress. She had wanted to wear something different, maybe the pale purple one she had worn to Emily and Elam’s wedding. But tradition dictated the immediate family should wear black for the year following a loved one’s passing. Black dress, black apron, black walking shoes. Was this what she would wear to face her destiny?
    She shook her head. She was being overly dramatic. She was only going to one place: the address on her father’s driver’s license. After that, she would return home and continue her life as normal. Well, as normal as it could be after losing her vatter. But it wasn’t like this visit was going to change anything. She would still be the same old Lorie no matter what she found out.
    She stuck her tongue out at her reflection, but even that didn’t ease her nerves. Without another look she whirled on her heel and headed for the door.
    Luke Lambright stood on the other side of the threshold. He smiled at her in that carefree way of his and suddenly he reminded her so much of her father that tears sprang into her eyes.
    â€œLorie, what’s wrong?” He stepped into the house, his cane banging against the floor as he took her hands into his own. Living in the Englisch world had done that to him, made him less restricted with touches and words.
    â€œNothing. Just nerves, I guess.”
    He nodded. If anyone understood it was Luke. He had left the district a couple of years ago to join the fast-paced world of Englisch race-car driving. But a terrible racing accident had left him nearly paralyzed. Lorie didn’t know if he would ever drive race cars again, but he still had made a living from the track. He had learned the trade of mechanic as he was taught to walk again. Of course it didn’t hurt that his Englisch girlfriend, Sissy, was the daughter of one of the sponsors. But Lorie could tell that despite his limitations, Luke was happier in the Englisch world than he had ever been among the Amish.
    He peered at her closely, then gave another nod. “If you’re sure. You don’t have to