Read The Amish Doll: Amish Knitting Novel (Bonus Knitting Pattern Included) for Free Online

feel like she could talk to Joshua? Why did she feel like crying? Raven felt him take her hand. “Was the English world hard for you?”
    “English world?”
    “Non-Amish,” he said.
    She pursed her lips. “Yes, it was hard.” Her breath caught in her throat, and a sensation she hadn’t felt since she was a little girl welled up in her. It was like coming up for air after being submerged in water. She thought of her grandma holding her hand in a tender way, and now she found it in Joshua’s. “I’m s-sorry. This is a hard time for you. I’m so selfish.”
    Joshua squeezed her hand tighter, as if trying to give her strength. “You’re not selfish…”
    The door opened and Rueben came in with a team of nurses, his face solemn. “They’re taking her to surgery. She needs emergency dialysis.”
    Raven watched as Joshua got up and embraced his father and both sobbed. Soon they took Susanna out and Rueben sat down, putting his handkerchief in his pocket. He looked over at her. “Susanna’s more afraid of dialysis than the transplant. We were hoping to avoid it.”
    “She’ll be okay, though, right? I mean, lots of people are on dialysis,” Raven said, leaning forward.
    Rueben forced a smile. “ Jah , it will keep her alive, until we find a live donor or a cadaver comes in. Many of the people are getting tested, and it’s a comfort.” Tears welled in his eyes and he cleared his throat. “Raven, I’ll be staying the night here. You and Joshua can go home.”
    “I’m staying too,” Joshua said. “We can get someone to do the chores in the morning.”
    “How will we get word to them?”
    Joshua turned to Raven. “Do you remember where my Aunt Hannah lives? The one who gave us ice cream? Can you tell her we need help?”
    “I can do it,” she said. “I’ve done chores on a farm before.”
    Joshua’s jaw dropped. “Are you sure? You’ve hand-milked a cow?”
    “We had a cow on my grandparents’ little farm. Is your cow friendly to strangers, though?”
    “ Jah , just pet her first and talk to her a little. Then pet her sides so the cow’s milk let’s down.”
    She knew exactly what to do and put up her hand. “I can manage.”
     

Chapter 4

    Raven lit the lantern and headed out to the barn. The lantern let out more light than she thought imaginable. She saw the black and white cow, and hanging up the lantern, she pet her nose and talked to her. “I feel like Anne of Green Gables today. She was an orphan and didn’t have any love, but I think I’m starting to feel loved again.”
    When she knew the cow was calm, she took the three legged stool that sat next to her. Taking the wet cloth she’d brought, Raven wiped down the cows udder and then pet down her side so the milk would release. She soon heard the squirting of liquid on the bottom of the tin pail. Memories of her childhood flooded her mind, her Aunt Brook. She favored her children and never expected them to milk the cow they shared on the farm. Her grandmother told the other grandkids to take a turn and be fair, but somehow Raven always milked the cow, even in the dead of winter. Her grandfather took the days it was below zero. Sometimes he’d slip her a dollar for her milking efforts, if she promised not to tell anyone. Why did Aunt Brook rule the roost?
    When her grandparents died, the chores became harder and she remembered feeling hungry, but she wasn’t to tell anyone. Her Uncle Ram secretly gave her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She remembered sitting in the attic eating sandwiches while she heard her cousins laugh around the dinner table. Soon memories overwhelmed her. The guidance counselor didn’t let her go home after school because there were bruises on her arms. A knot twisted deep in her stomach. How could she forget? She was taken from the home because of abuse.
    Deep within her, where pain had been rooted for years, it rushed up and she doubled over and screamed. “How could she?” Raven felt the hot tears