Alison Stone - Plain Outsider

Rage roiled in her gut, helping her find her voice. “Let me buy the dog,” Becky offered.

“What are you talking about?” Paul said, growing angrier. “Just leave. That’s what you wanted from the beginning, to leave the Amish, so don’t come back here in your uniform and try to tell me what to do. You have no say over me. You, of all people, should know that.” Paul strode down the driveway toward her sister. “She better give me that dog.”

Protective instincts kicking in, Becky rushed after Paul. “You will not take that dog from my sister. Do you hear me?”

Paul spun around and glared at her. Seizing the moment, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the two twenties she had stuffed in there before the start of her shift last night, before her world was once again upended. She never knew when cash would come in handy, for lunch, for someone down on his luck, or for offering her former boyfriend forty bucks for his dog.

“I’m buying the dog.” She jammed the money in his direction. “Isn’t that why you have so many dogs in a cage? To sell them? I’m buying this one.” That had to be the reason. The sheriff’s department had answered complaints regarding suspected puppy mills among the Amish, but she had never come across one. Mostly, she had hoped the reports were false. How could a kind and gentle people be anything but loving toward God’s creatures?

With a sour expression on his face, Paul swiped the money out of her hand. “Keep the dog. Now, get out of here.”

Becky stared at Paul for a long moment, as if trying to decide her next move. She didn’t have too many options legally right now because of her suspension, but he didn’t know that. Maybe the threat of intervention by the sheriff’s department was enough for him to clean up his act.

“Take care of those dogs. They need a clean, warm place to stay.” Becky pointed to the barn. “Someone will be out to inspect the animals in the next day or two.”

A muscle jumped in Paul’s jaw. “What did I ever do to you?” Like always, he tried to turn things around. Cast the blame elsewhere.

“Take care of those dogs,” she repeated, not bothering to soften the hard edge of her tone. The sun beat down on her, making her sweat. Becky hustled to catch up with her sister at the end of the driveway. Once there, she touched her sister’s shoulder. She could feel her trembling. “Come on, sweetie. The dog is ours.”

“Really?” Mag lifted her watery eyes. “But, what’s Mem and Dat going to say when I show up with a dog?”

“Don’t worry.” Easy for Becky to say when, in fact, Mag had a very good point.

Just then, she noticed Harrison’s patrol car pulling up on the side of the road. He must have been watching for them. He climbed out of the patrol car.

“Everything okay?” With a concerned look on his face, he gently petted the dog in her sister’s arms, as if inspecting it for injuries. This tender gesture touched Becky’s heart.

“Yes, it is for now.” She shot him a “we’ll talk about it later” look. Then she gently scooped the dog out of her sister’s arms. “I’ll take care of the dog. Once he’s all better, maybe Dat and Mem will let you keep him. Okay?”

“Okay,” Mag repeated quietly, not seeming so sure. Becky understood the feelings of helplessness and lack of control while on the cusp of adulthood, especially among the Amish.

“I promise I’ll talk to our parents about the dog.”

Mag looked up with wide eyes. “Might be hard if they’re not willing to talk to you.”

Becky ran a hand down the dog’s matted fur. “One step at a time.”

Becky turned to steal one last glance at the Kings’ property. Paul had disappeared, but his wife, Mary Elizabeth, stood on the porch and stared at them, clutching something to her chest. A light breeze ruffled the Amish woman’s long dress. A whisper of something—nostalgia, déjà vu, relief, maybe?—made Becky tremble as a vision of what most certainly would have been her future flashed before her eyes. But it wasn’t her life. She had broken up with Paul. She had left the Amish, her family.

Yet, still, on this sweltering day, she couldn’t help but feel shadows of her past stretching out to claim her.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.