A Sister's Hope Read Online Free PDF

need to find someone interested in courting me first.”
    Mom reached for the dishwashing liquid. “I’m sure the right man’s out there. You’ve just got to look for him.”
    I’ve already found him; I just can’t tell you who he is, Martha thoughtas she draped her woolen shawl across her shoulders. Besides, Luke may never come to like me the way I do him. “I’ll dry the dishes as soon as I get back from the barn,” she said.
    Ruth entered the room just then. “I’ll dry the dishes so Martha can check on her hundlin.” She grabbed a sponge from the counter and began wiping off the tablecloth. “I know she wants to be sure they’re all right before we leave for the wedding.”
    “Danki, Ruth.”
    “You’re welcome.” Ruth made a clicking noise with her tongue as she wagged a finger in Martha’s direction. “Just make sure you’re not checking on puppies the day of my wedding. I can’t have my main attendant being late to the service.”
    “I promise I won’t be late.” Martha slipped out the door and hurried for the barn. She found it unlocked, but that was no surprise since Dad had done his chores earlier that morning. Ever since the paint episode, he’d been locking the barn door at night. It remained unlocked during the day, but Martha wasn’t too concerned because someone was usually at home.
    When Martha entered the dog run where she kept Heidi and her pups, she gasped. One of the puppies was dead! Her thoughts went to the day she’d found one of Heidi’s first batch of pups with a broken neck. It was the puppy she’d promised to give Grace’s daughter, Anna. The child had been devastated, refusing the offer of another pup. Martha had never figured out the reason the puppy had broken its neck, but she had a hunch someone might have done it on purpose.
    “I’m sorry, Heidi,” Martha said, patting the sheltie’s head. “I hope this puppy wasn’t the victim of another attack.”
    Heidi whimpered and lifted her head as Martha reached into the box and picked up the dead pup. It was the runt of the litter. Maybe it hadn’t been foul play, after all. The barn door had been locked last night. Perhaps the puppy hadn’t been getting enough milk or had gotten stuck under its mother and smothered. Now she was down to only four puppies, which meant one less pup to sell. Would she ever get her kennel business going well enough to make a decent living?Hopefully, Polly, her female beagle who was due to have a litter soon, would deliver a healthy bunch of pups. Most shelties sold for anywhere from $300 to $350, but beagles only brought in $200 to $250 if they were trained to run rabbits. Martha would be grateful for whatever she made from either of her female dogs.
    She glanced down at the limp pup in her hand. Maybe I’m not supposed to raise hundlin. Maybe I should look for a full-time job. She shook her head. No, I’m happiest when I’m caring for my dogs.

    “What do you mean you’ve got to work today?” Luke’s mother asked when Luke announced that he wouldn’t be going to Sadie and Toby’s wedding.
    “It’s Thursday, Mom,” Luke said around a mouthful of oatmeal. “John wasn’t invited to the wedding, and he’s open for business as usual.”
    “Couldn’t you have asked for the day off to attend your friend’s wedding?” she persisted.
    “I didn’t feel like I could. We’ve got a lot of orders. John needs me in the shop while he makes some deliveries. Besides, Toby and I aren’t getting along so well these days. I doubt he’ll even miss me.”
    “Of course he will.” Mom reached over and touched Luke’s arm. “You and Toby have been friends since you were kinner.”
    “We used to be friends. Here lately, though, all we do is argue.”
    “Can’t you bury your differences for one day? You know what the Bible says about—”
    “If the boy says he has to work today, then he has to work,” Luke’s dad said as he stepped into the room. “We should be grateful our