She shivered and rubbed her hands briskly over her arms. “Guess I should have worn a coat instead of my shawl tonight. The quilt kept my legs warm, but not the upper half of my body. I can almost taste the cold.”
“Never heard it put quite that way before.” He smiled. “If the weather keeps getting colder, we’ll soon have snow.”
“Maybe you should forget about your plans to go fishing with Abe tomorrow,” Ruth said. “I sure wouldn’t want to fish in weather this chilly.”
“Abe promised Gideon he could go, and I’m looking forward to it, as well.”
She shrugged. Truth was, she’d hoped she and Martin could spend his day off together—maybe get the house organized.
Martin hopped down from the buggy, then came around to Ruth’s side and helped her down. “I’ll get an armload of wood and bring it up to the house as soon as I put the horse away. It’ll be good to have a nice warm fire this evening.”
“Okay. See you inside.” Ruth sprinted to the house, where she lit the gas lamps to dispel the darkness. It was almost as chilly inside as it was outside, so she grabbed a dahlia-patterned quilt from the sofa and wrapped it around her shoulders, then took a seat.
The gas lamps sputtered and hissed but brought her no warmth. “What we need is a fire,” she murmured.
Martin entered the house a short time later, but his hands were empty.
“Where’s the wood you said you would bring in?” she asked.
He shrugged, then shook his head. “It’s gone.”
“How can it be gone?”
“I don’t know, but it is—every last piece.”
Her forehead wrinkled. “Did you look all around?”
He nodded. “There was no wood in sight, but I did see some large tire marks near where the pile used to be. I think whoever took it might have been driving a truck.”
Ruth’s heart pounded. “Oh, Martin, you don’t suppose whoever took it is the same person who did all the horrible things at my folks’ place, do you?”
Martin took a seat on the sofa beside her. “More than likely it’s one of my friends—maybe the same ones who blew up the outhouse at our wedding.” He touched her hand. “It’ll probably be back by morning.”
“Maybe we should go see Dad and tell him what’s happened.”
“What good would that do?”
“He’s the one who gave us the wood. It’s only right that he knows it was stolen.”
Martin shook his head. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Why not?”
He squeezed her fingers. “I’m your husband now. It’s my job to look out for you. Besides, your daed didn’t seem to care much about the attacks that were done at his place. What makes you think he’ll care that our wood was taken?”
Ruth’s mouth dropped open. She’d never expected to hear her husband speak out against her father, and she told him so.
“I’m not speaking against him. I’m just stating facts.”
Ruth folded her arms and stared straight ahead. “I think he does care about the attacks. He’s just chosen to turn the other cheek and trust God to protect our family.” She pursed her lips. “I think he has the right to know that the wood he gave us is gone.”
“Maybe so, but it can wait until morning.”
She shivered. “But I’m cold.”
“Then let’s go to bed and get warm under the quilts.”
“You can go to bed if you want to,” she said, rising to her feet.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve got work to do in the kitchen.”
“What kind of work?”
“We’ve still got boxes that need to be unloaded and put away.”
“They’ll be there in the morning, Ruth.”
“I want to do them now.”
“It’s too cold in here to be milling about the kitchen. Let’s turn off the gas lamps and head upstairs to bed.”
Ruth was tempted to argue, but she didn’t want the two of them to spend the night mad at each other. Besides, Martin was right—they could empty boxes in the morning. Maybe by then the wood would be back.
When Ruth awoke the following morning, she was surprised to feel warm air drifting through their bedroom floor vent. She rolled over and discovered that Martin was gone. Apparently he’d gotten up and built a fire. Maybe the wood had been returned.
Ruth scrambled out of bed and hurried to get dressed.
When she stepped into the kitchen a short time later, she was pleased to find a cozy fire crackling in the woodstove. Martin wasn’t in the kitchen. She hurried to put the teakettle on, and a few minutes later, steam began to rise out of the spout. The whistling kettle had a rich, comfortable sound to it, not a shrill sound as it did during the hotter summer months.
When the water was hot enough, she poured some into a cup, plopped a tea bag in, and stepped toward the table. There, she discovered a note.
Dear Ruth,
I’ve gone fishing with Abe and Gideon. I didn’t want to wake you, so I had a piece of leftover apple pie Mom sent home with us last night. Now I’m about to head for Abe’s place. The woodpile wasn’t back when I got up, so I went over to my folks’ and got enough wood to get you by for the day. I shouldn’t be gone too late. Oh, and you might want to have the frying pan ready, because I aim to bring home a mess of fish.
Love,
Martin
Ruth sighed and sank into a chair at the table. She had hoped Martin might decide to stay home today on account of the cold weather. It upset her to know that whoever had taken their wood hadn’t brought it back, but it frustrated her more that Martin thought fishing was more important than helping her unload boxes.
Ruth took a sip of tea and held the warm liquid in her mouth awhile before swallowing. Maybe I won’t unload those boxes, either. I think I’ll go visit Grace and the baby this morning. After that, I’ll stop over at Abe’s place and see how his kinner are doing.
“Can I come, too?” Anna asked when Cleon announced during breakfast that he was going to check on his bee boxes.
Cleon shook his head and reached for his cup of coffee. “I’ll be extracting honey from the hives today, and it’s not safe for you to be around the bees.”
“But I’d like to see where all that honey comes from,” the child persisted.
“You would need to wear protective gear, and I don’t have any your size.”
Anna’s lip jutted out, but Cleon seemed to ignore her. The child looked over at Grace. “Can we do something fun after breakfast, Mama—maybe bake some cookies?”
Grace released a weary sigh. “Not today, Anna. I have to bathe the boppli, and after that I’ve got some sewing to do.”
“I could give the baby a bath while you sew.”
“Absolutely not!” Cleon shouted before Grace could respond.
“How come?”
“You’re not old enough to bathe Daniel. You might drop him or let him slip into the water, and then he could drown.”
Anna’s chin trembled, and tears gathered in her eyes.
Grace frowned. “You don’t have to scare her like that.”
“Well, it’s true,” he said with a grunt. “Anna’s barely old enough to bathe herself, and she’s sure not capable of caring for her baby brother.”
“Many Amish kinner care for their younger siblings,” Grace argued. “That’s part of a child’s training.”
“She can learn on one of her dolls, not my child.” Cleon pushed his chair away from the table and stood. “I’ve got work to do.”
When the door clicked shut behind him, Grace patted Anna’s hand. “We’ll find something for you to do today.”
Anna poked at the last bit of eggs on her plate. “Since you’re so busy with the boppli, and Papa won’t let me help with the bees, can I visit Aunt Martha? Maybe I can help feed the dogs.”
Grace nodded. “As soon as you’ve finished your breakfast.” She figured having Anna out of the house might be better for her
, too. Ever since Daniel had been born, Grace had felt irritable and depressed. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Cleon seemed so overprotective of the baby and hadn’t spent much time with Anna. Grace had tried talking to him on several occasions, but he always said there wasn’t a problem, despite the fact that his relationship with Anna seemed to be going downhill.
After Grace had bundled Anna into a warm jacket, she herded her to the door. “I’ll watch you from the porch to be sure you make it to Grandma and Grandpa’s.”
“I’ll be fine, Mama.”
“Just the same, I’ll feel better when I see that you’ve made it there safely.”
Anna shrugged and took off at a run.
Grace couldn’t see the back side of her folks’ place from the first house Cleon had built for them, but from their new house, Grace was able to see all the way down the driveway.
Leaning on the porch rail, she watched until Anna entered her folks’ house, then she stepped back into the warmth of her kitchen. She shouldn’t have to worry about her daughter’s safety right here on their own property. It wasn’t right that everything they did, everywhere they went, she had to be anxious about whether another attack would occur.
Grace tiptoed into the baby’s room and was relieved when she found him asleep. His baby breath smelled sweet, and he looked ever so peaceful, sleeping on his side with his little thumb stuck in his mouth. She leaned over the crib and kissed Daniel’s downy head. Bless my baby, Lord. Bless Anna and Cleon, too.
She left Daniel’s room and curled up on the sofa in the living room, deciding that she needed a nap. She’d only been resting a few minutes when someone called out, “Grace, are you to home?”
Grace sat up just as Ruth stepped into the room. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“Martin went fishing with Abe and Gideon, so I decided to drop by and see how you and the boppli are doing.” Ruth draped her coat over the back of the rocking chair and took a seat.
“Daniel’s doing well; he’s sleeping right now.”
“And you?”
“I’m kind of tired and feeling a bit weepy as of late.”
“Do you think it’s postpartum depression?”
Grace shrugged. “I suppose it could be, but what’s got me feeling down more than anything is the way Cleon’s been acting since the boppli was born.”
Ruth’s forehead wrinkled. “How’s he been acting?”
“Possessive of Daniel. He hardly pays Anna any attention unless it’s to scold her for something.”
“Have you tried talking to him about it?”
“Jah, but he doesn’t think he’s doing anything wrong.”
Ruth grunted. “Men sure can be stubborn.”
“Surely you can’t mean Martin. You two haven’t been married long enough for you to see his stubborn side.”
Ruth leaned slightly forward. “Last night after we got home from Martin’s folks’, we discovered that the pile of wood Dad had given us was gone.”
“It was?”
Ruth nodded. “Martin said he thought some of his friends might have taken it as a prank and figured it would be back in our yard by morning.”
“Was it?”
“No. By the time I got up, Martin had already gone fishing, but he left me a note saying he’d gotten up early and gone over to his folks’ to get some wood before he left for Abe’s.”
Grace shifted on the sofa. “You don’t suppose whoever took it was the same one who blew up the outhouse at your wedding, do you?”
Ruth shrugged. “That’s what Martin thinks, but I’m not so sure. There were large tire tracks in the dirt near where the woodpile was, and that makes me think whoever took the wood was driving a truck.”
“Do you think it might be another attack—done by whoever has been trying to scare us?”
“Maybe so.”
“Have you spoken to Dad about this?”
“Not yet. I wanted to tell him last night, but Martin said it could wait and that we needed to see if the wood was returned.”
“Are you going to tell him now?”
“I suppose I could, but it would probably be best if I waited until Martin gets home and we can discuss it more.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Where are Anna and Cleon today?” Ruth asked.
“Cleon’s checking his bee boxes, and Anna went down to the folks’ to see Martha.”
“I’m planning to go over to Abe’s place to see how his kinner are doing,” Ruth said. “Do you think Anna would like to join me?”
“Probably so. Anna looks for any excuse to be with Esta.”
“I’d better go now and let you rest awhile before the boppli wakes up.” Ruth left her seat and gave Grace a hug. “If you don’t get over your depression soon, maybe you should speak with the doctor about it.”
Grace nodded. “I will.”
“I’ll have Anna home in plenty of time for lunch,” Ruth called as she retrieved her coat and headed for the door.
“Sure hope we catch some big old trout so Sue can fix ’em for supper,” Abe said as he rowed his boat to the middle of the pond. “Wouldn’t that be good, son?”
Gideon, who sat near the back of the boat, shrugged.
“I’m hoping to catch enough fish so Ruth can fix some for our supper, too,” Martin put in from his seat at the front of the boat.
“This looks like a good place to fish.” Abe slipped the oars inside the boat and cast out his line. Martin did the same. Gideon just sat with his arms folded.
Abe’s patience was beginning to wane. “Come on, Gideon, you’ve been after me for weeks to take you fishing. Now we’re here—so fish.”
Gideon grunted. “It’s too cold.”
“Then you should have stayed home and sat around the stove all day.” Abe took no pleasure in snapping at his son, but he was irked that he’d taken the day off to spend time with Gideon, only to have the boy gripe about the cold and refuse to fish.
“Maybe he’ll get more enthused when he sees some trout,” Martin said.
“Let’s hope so.”
For the next several minutes, Abe and Martin visited quietly as they kept an eye on their lines. Gideon continued to sit with a scowl on his face.
Suddenly Martin shouted, “I saw a big one jump clean out of the water!”
Abe turned and saw two more fish jump. “I’d better move the boat over that way. Looks like they’re just waiting to be caught.”
Gideon perked up a bit and leaned over the edge of the boat. “I don’t see anything. Where were they jumpin’?”
“Over there.” Martin pointed to the left.
Gideon stood up and shouted, “There’s one! That old fish must have jumped three feet out of the water!”
Abe grunted. “Sit down, boy; you’re rocking the boat.”
Gideon had only taken a few steps when suddenly the boat flipped over, dumping them all into the frigid water.
“I can’t swim!” Abe shouted before taking in a mouthful of murky water. And neither can Gideon.
Are you really going to get rid of Flo?” Anna asked Martha as the two of them sat on a bale of straw while Martha brushed the female beagle.
“I’ve got to, Anna. She can’t have puppies, which means she won’t make me any money that way. I plan to use the money I make selling her to buy another dog.” Martha grimaced. By the time she had responded to that ad about the pair of cocker spaniels, they’d been sold. That meant she had to keep looking, and it wasn’t likely that she’d find another pair as reasonably priced as the ones in the paper had been.
“I wish Mama couldn’t have any more babies.” Anna stroked Flo’s floppy ears, and the dog let loose a pathetic whimper as though in tune with the child’s feelings.
Martha frowned. “What makes you say a thing like that?”
“If she hadn’t had Daniel, Papa would still love me.”
Martha set the brush aside, and Flo crawled on her belly to the corner of the roo
m. “I’m sure he still loves you,” she said, wrapping her arms around Anna.
“He won’t let me hold the boppli. Whenever I ask if I can help with somethin’, he always says no.”
“What kinds of things have you asked to help with?”
“I wanted to bathe Daniel so Mama could get some sewing done. Papa said I’m too little for that.” Deep creases formed on Anna’s forehead. “Then I asked if I could help with his bees. He said no to that, too.”
“Working around bees can be dangerous, Anna. You might get stung.”
“That’s what he said.”
“Hey! What are you up to in here?” Ruth asked as she stepped into the barn.
“Aunt Martha was brushin’ Flo so she looks nice when someone sees the sign out by the road and comes to look at her,” Anna answered before Martha could respond.
“I saw that sign when I drove in with my horse and buggy.” Ruth took a seat on another bale of straw. “Has anyone stopped to ask about the dog yet?”
Martha shook her head. “Of course, I just put the sign up last night, so I haven’t lost hope.” She clapped her hands and called for Flo. The dog returned to her with its tail between its legs and released a high-pitched howl.
“Maybe I should have bought Flo to give Esta instead of one of Heidi’s pups,” Ruth said. “That way you could have kept Winkie for breeding purposes.”
“I don’t think Esta would have wanted a full-grown dog that likes to howl at everything she sees.” Martha picked up the brush and began brushing Flo again.
“You’re probably right.” Ruth reached over and squeezed Anna’s arm. “Speaking of Esta, I’m heading over to see her now. Would you like to go along?”
Anna nodded eagerly. “Guess I’d better ask Mama first.”
“I was already at your house and saw your mamm. She said it was fine if you ride over to see Esta with me.”
Anna jumped up and raced for the door.
Ruth turned to Martha. “Would you like to come along?”
“I’d better stick around here in case someone comes to see Flo.” Martha smiled. “Maybe when you bring Anna home, you can join us for lunch.”
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