A Sister's Hope Read Online Free PDF Page B

son has a good-paying job, Betty.”
    Mom’s dark eyebrows furrowed as she took a sip of her tea. “I am grateful. I just think Luke should be at Toby’s wedding.”
    Luke opened his mouth to comment, but his dad cut him off. “It’s not as if he’s one of Toby’s witnesses, you know.”
    “That’s true. Even so—”
    “We’d better drop this discussion and eat our breakfast, or thetwo of us will be late for Toby’s wedding,” Pop said as he sat at the head of the table.
    Mom nodded. “Jah, okay,”
    The spicy aroma of cinnamon wafted up to Luke’s nose as he poked his piece of toast into the oatmeal and dipped it up and down. Mom always seemed to be fussing about something these days. She wanted him to join the church, find a good woman, and get married. Luke had other things on his mind right now, and marriage wasn’t one of them. At least it hadn’t been until he’d taken an interest in Martha.
    I need to do something to fix things between me and Roman, he thought. I need to find a way to get back into his good graces and remove my name from the list of suspects Martha’s working on.

    Martha had a hard time concentrating on Sadie and Toby’s wedding as she sat on one of the backless wooden benches with some other women her age. All she could think about were Heidi’s pups and whether the four surviving ones would be all right. She’d been relieved that Dad had agreed to lock the barn before they left home that morning. At least she didn’t have to worry about anyone breaking in while they were gone.
    She glanced over at the men’s side of the room, searching for Luke. He wasn’t in sight. Had he stayed home from the wedding because of the disagreement he’d had with Toby the other day, or had he been expected to work for John? Probably the latter, she decided. Luke might not appreciate the way Toby got under his skin, but Martha didn’t think he would deliberately skip out on the wedding because he had a grudge against Toby.
    Martha clutched the folds in her dress. I hope he’s able to be at Ruth and Abe’s wedding in January. It’s going to be a joyous occasion, but it won’t be nearly as joyous for me if he’s not there.
    When Toby’s father called for the bridal couple to step forward, Martha’s attention was drawn to the front of the room. Her eyes misted when she saw Sadie look lovingly at her groom. Toby looked happy, too, wearing a smile as wide as the Ohio River.
    If Luke would only look at me like that. If he would just ask to court me.

    Anxious to get out of the stuffy house where a third group of guests had been served their wedding meal, Roman stepped onto the Eshes’ back porch for a breath of fresh air. The sun shone brightly on this crisp November afternoon. A group of children frolicked on the lawn, while several young people milled about.
    “You’re looking kind of wistful,” Bishop King said as he stepped up beside Roman and motioned to the children in the yard. “Are you wishing you were young again?”
    Roman shook his head. “Although I’d be happy to have half their energy.”
    “Me, too.”
    “How’s it feel to have your youngest buwe married off?”
    “It feels rather good. I’m happy my boy’s found a nice fraa and will soon be starting a family of his own.” The bishop grunted. “Not like Toby’s so-called friend, Luke, who didn’t care enough to come to the wedding.”
    “Maybe he had to work today.”
    “Humph! You’d think he could have taken the day off to see his friend get married.”
    “Could be his boss had lots of work and wouldn’t give Luke the day off.” Roman didn’t know why he was defending Luke. Truth was, he didn’t trust the fellow any further than he could throw one of his buggy horses. The whole time Luke had been working for him, he’d acted cocky, like he thought he knew more than Roman did about woodworking. Luke had been late to work on more than one occasion, too, which made Roman think he was lazy and