英语小说：Where The Heart Leads（一）

英语小说：Where The Heart Leads（一） ZT

Fiction: Where The Heart Leads
Author: Kim Vogel Sawyer
Publisher : Bethany House Publishers
ISBN: 9780764202636
WHERE: (Part 1 of 5)

=====英语小说Where The Heart Leads简介====================

After his graduation from college, Thomas Ollenburger is
filled with big dreams and even bigger questions. What
will he do for a job? Should he marry? Where will he call
home? Torn between his Mennonite roots on the Kansas
prairie and his love for the big city of Boston, as well
as his affection for a girl from each location, Thomas
doesn't know which path he is meant to take. He has always
sought God's help with his decision-making, but now it
seems Heaven is staying stubbornly silent. What will
Thomas choose?

======================================

CHAPTER ONE
Boston, Massachusetts
Late May, 1904

A sharp elbow jabbed Thomas Ollenburger's ribs, his foster
grandmother's all-too-familiar signal that he was doing something
wrong. He stopped fiddling with the ribbon tie beneath his chin and
lowered his arm to his side, but she jabbed him again, this time
catching his forearm instead. He looked at her.

Although Nadine Steadman wore a smile, her eyes flashed disapproval.
"Smile, Thomas. Make your guests feel welcome."

Thomas swallowed a grunt. He hadn't wanted these guests. Sure, he
admitted feeling a sense of accomplishment in earning a college
degree--something unique to his Mennonite upbringing--but the
teachings of his sect discouraged self-pride. A party seemed too
much like boasting. Nadine and he had argued when he'd stated he
would rather avoid the fanfare and not attend the graduation
ceremony at Boston Tech. He'd won that debate, but Nadine had
insisted on throwing a celebratory party in honor of his educational
achievement. So he had fanfare anyway.

Some devilishness made him whisper, "'Ach fal me no ows mein yasacht
dowt no shtien.'"

Nadine's smile quickly faded. "Thomas Ollenburger, you know I don't
understand a word of that foreign speech." Her dark eyes dared him
to leave her wondering what he'd said.

Leaning sideways to bring his head next to hers, he translated, "My
face feels as if it's turned to stone." He contorted his mouth.
"I've been smiling so much, my muscles are stiff."

She laughed softly and patted his arm with her gloved hand. "Thomas,
you are a scamp."

Although the words could be construed as an insult, by her tone he
knew he'd been forgiven. Nadine's approach was often crusty, but
Thomas had learned she harbored a tender heart. Her willingness to
take him in six years ago as he began high school, pay for his
college education, and treat him as her own--even though he was only
the stepson of her daughter-in-law rather than any blood kin--proved
her generosity. He just wished she hadn't chosen a party as a way of
expressing her pleasure in his accomplishment.

Dozens of guests milled through the parlor of the stately Steadman
home--students, professors, church members, and neighbors. Many had
entered the ornately carved oak doors as first-time visitors. But
none looked as uncomfortable as Thomas had felt during his first
weeks in Nadine's home.

Her three-story townhouse on prestigious Beacon Street,
over-looking the Common, was so different from his simple clapboard
home in Gaeddert, Kansas. His entire childhood home had less
space than the parlor of Nadine's ridiculously large residence. Even
now, after six years of living beneath her tiled roof, he sometimes
still experienced a sense of displacement. He wished he could set
the odd feeling aside, relax, and be as at ease as his friend Harry
Severt seemed to be. Right now, beside the punch bowl on the
opposite side of the room, Harry conversed with two young ladies.
His posture and gestures conveyed a state of complete self-
assurance.

Nadine caught Thomas's elbow and gave it a little squeeze. "I
believe the last of the guests have arrived. You may now leave the
welcoming post and mingle. Be certain to speak to each person in
attendance--preferential treatment to one guest is considered
impolite. Be certain to avoid any semblance of preferential
treatment."

Thomas resisted growling in frustration. He'd received these
instructions at least half a dozen times already--and he knew the
reason. Nadine didn't want him spending all his time with Daphne
Severt, Harry's younger sister who had accompanied Harry on several
visits to Nadine's home. Nadine didn't seem to care for Daphne, and
Thomas wasn't sure why. He admitted that when he'd first met Daphne,
she'd seemed to be as pesky as his own little sisters. But
lately...well, she'd grown into the loveliest creature he'd ever
seen.

"Go ahead now," Nadine prompted. Catching her skirt between thumb
and fingers, she glided across the carpeted floor with her shoulders
back and chin held high, nodding and smiling as she filled the role
of the perfect hostess.

Thomas cleared his throat, squared his shoulders, and edged his way
around the periphery of the room. Although he did his best to appear
as poised as Nadine desired him to be, his large size coupled with
the crowded room made graceful movements impossible. He'd inherited
his pa's height and breadth--and he never felt more monstrous than
when standing beside the diminutive Daphne Severt.

Although Nadine often bemoaned the difficulty in locating suits to
accommodate Thomas's frame, Daphne had once said his size made her
feel protected. He scanned the room, seeking the young woman. He
couldn't spend a lot of time talking to her--not with Nadine's eagle
eyes observing his every move--but just a glance would satisfy him
for the moment.