A Heart for Home Read Online Free PDF Page B

a shadow cross her face. Great, now I’ve offended her. What’s the matter with me? “We missed Pastor Solberg, though Lars did a fine job with the Scripture reading, and Thorliff can speak his piece right well.”
    “I could hear the singing clear back here. One of these days I will get to attend church on Sunday.” She nodded and half smiled, a pensive look still shadowing her eyes.
    Why someone didn’t marry her was beyond Joshua’s understanding. But then, there weren’t many single men in Blessing. “It sure smells good in here.”
    “Thank you. I kept your dinner warm. I’ll bring it right out.”
    “Have you already eaten?” His own question caught him by surprise.
    “No, we all eat when the guests are finished.”
    Joshua glanced around the room. “Looks like I’m the last. If you all will be eating now, why can’t I eat with you, or you come out here and eat with me?” For a man who grew up in a house where not a word was spoken during a meal, he had learned he enjoyed mealtime conversation.
    “Well, I . . . ah . . . I mean . . .” She glanced over her shoulder to the kitchen.
    “Please.”
    “I’ll be right back.”
    He watched her hustle back to the kitchen. If he weren’t so pieeyed over Astrid, this young woman would have made a fine wife. He thought of his younger brother, Aaron. Aaron wasn’t married and wasn’t courting anyone either, as far as he knew. Joshua smiled to himself. He’d write to Aaron and invite him to come work in Blessing, where the lack of help was slowing the building down. Aaron had never complained about working on the home farm or hiring out to others when the work slacked off. If only both of his brothers would come to Blessing, and his sister too. He’d have a real family again. He nearly snorted on that thought. Thanks to his father, they’d never been what one would call a close family. But they’d sure welcomed him home last Christmas when he went back to Iowa. Good memories to replace the bad.
    Verses from Thorliff ’s talk that morning slipped through his mind. Whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is worthy of praise, think on these things. He knew that wasn’t a direct quote, but he couldn’t remember all of it. And besides, too many of his memories didn’t fit the criteria.
    “Here you go.” Miss Christopherson set down a tray and placed one plate in front of him and the other across the table. She added a plate with warm rolls in a napkin and then set the empty tray on another table before sitting down. “The others are already eating in the kitchen. They said to go ahead.”
    “I could have come back there.”
    “I know, but you know Mrs. Sam. Right is right and there is no swaying her.” She placed her napkin in her lap and glanced up to find him watching her. “Can I get you something else?”
    “No, no.” He bowed his head. Saying grace was another growing habit. He silently thanked the Lord for his meal and looked up to see her dropping her gaze. Had she been watching him or praying? Should he have asked if he could say the blessing? What was proper? Ignoring his thoughts, he smiled. “This looks mighty good, as always.” Roasted chicken had become the standard Sunday meal at the boardinghouse, unless it was a holiday, along with mashed potatoes and gravy. Today, the vegetable was canned green beans combined with bacon and chopped onions.
    “This week we’ll start serving fresh vegetables from the garden,” Miss Christopherson said with a smile. “The peas are coming in nicely.”
    “Do you work in the garden too?” He usually saw Lemuel and Lily Mae, Mr. and Mrs. Sam’s grown children, out working in the half-acre patch that supplied the boardinghouse.
    “Not unless there is a rush. Trying to fit the canning and drying in along with the usual duties takes long hours. And since Mrs. Sam isn’t as young or as well as she used to be, we all have to help out.”
    “You need more