Read the STRUGGLE for Free Online Page A

full of ruts right now,” Esther said, looking over at Hannah. “That’s because we’ve had so much rain this fall.”
    Hannah grimaced. She knew the damage too much rain could cause. A few years ago, they’d had so much rain in Lancaster County that many of the roads had flooded. She wondered if that ever happened here.
    After they turned onto the main road and had traveled a ways, Esther pointed out various church members’ homes. “Oh, and there’s the store my folks used to own before they moved to Strasburg to help care for my brother, Dan.”
    “Who owns the store now?” Hannah asked.
    “Aaron and Nettie Martin. They’re a Mennonite couple, and they’re fairly new to the area.”
    “I see. Is that where you do most of your shopping?”
    “Jah, but when we’re able to go into Hopkinsville, I shop at Walmart.”
    They rode silently for a while; then Hannah turned to Esther and said, “I understand that your brother has MS.”
    Esther nodded. “The disease has progressed to the point that he has to use a wheelchair most of the time.”
    “That’s too bad. I can’t imagine how I would feel if something like that happened to Timothy.”
    “It’s been hard on his wife, Sarah, because she has a lot more responsibility now, but with my mamm and daed there to help, it makes things a bit easier.”
    “Easier? How could anything be easy if you have someone in your family in a wheelchair or with a severe disability?”
    “Mom and Dad don’t see it as a burden, and neither does Sarah. They love Dan very much, and there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for him.”
    Hannah nodded. Some people might be able to sacrifice that much, but she wasn’t sure she could. And she hoped she’d never have to find out.
    Someone tapped Hannah’s shoulder, and she turned around to see Penny. “What is it?” she asked, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.
    Penny pointed at Mindy and said, “Schuck.”
    Hannah looked at Mindy and noticed that she’d taken one of her shoes off. “It’s fine. Don’t be a retschbeddi ,” she said, frowning at Penny.
    “I don’t think she means to be a tattletale,” Esther said, jumping to Penny’s defense. “She was probably concerned that Mindy might lose her shoe.”
    “Well, it’s not her place to worry about Mindy—especially when she wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
    Hannah couldn’t help but notice Esther’s icy stare. She obviously doesn’t like me, but I don’t care. I don’t care if anyone here in Christian County likes me . She swallowed around the lump in her throat. But if nobody likes me, I’ll never fit in. Maybe I should try a little harder to be nice .
    “Just look at those maple trees,” Esther said, bringing Hannah’s thoughts to a halt. “It’s hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago they were a brilliant reddish gold, and now they’ve lost most of their leaves.” She sniffed the air. “That pungent odor tells me that someone in the area is burning leaves.”
    “It sure is chilly today,” Hannah said. “I wonder if we’ll have a cold winter.”
    “I wouldn’t be surprised. A few years ago we had a terrible ice storm that left many Englishers without power. A lot of us Amish pitched in to help out wherever we could.”
    “I’m sure everyone needed help during that time,” Hannah said.
    Esther nodded. “They sure did.”
    They rode a little farther, and then Esther guided the horse and buggy up a long, graveled driveway. “See that big house at the end of the drive?” she said, pointing out the front buggy window. “That’s Bonnie’s bed-and-breakfast.”
    Hannah studied the stately old home. On one end of the long front porch was a swing, and two wicker chairs sat on the other end. A small table was positioned between them, holding a pot of yellow mums. The place looked warm and inviting. Even the yard was neat, with bushes well trimmed and weed-free flower beds in front of the house. “The outside of the home