Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal Read Online Free PDF Page B

love."
    i il |i,|i| Leah's eyelids fluttered. "Didja think I might not?"
    i jj j |
    : Turning quickly, Mary Ruth looked over her shoulder,
    ! j ii Ji toward the barn. "Dat, well . . . he's made it mighty clear here
    1 jj! lately that it's Gideon Peachey who's the right beau for you.
    I :> He's said as much to all of us."
    ; i i|| "Dat has?"
    j,. |: "He said 'if only Leah knew Gid the way I know him.'
    ' I, Things like that. And he said he was weary of keepin' it to
    II :, j, | himself any longer after these many years."
    II "Jah, I know that to be true, the years he's stewed about
    4
    j | She felt she ought to say one more thing. "Mamma's not
    !! [I so much in favor of Gid, though. Just so you know."
    I'l "You sure?"
    46 47(_. h e lOeirayal
    ^Hlllim;' prefers Jonas, seems to me." Now she struggled ^H$ ft si might face. "She thinks your children will be ^Inunlsorne if you marry into the Mast family."Will why's that?"
    I t ills has a right fine nose. Gut-lookin' all round, he is." i Hulli sighed. "I don't mean to say Smithy Gid isn't inc1, I li-'s just more rugged lookin', I guess you could I lirrriis Jonas is "
    | iiU Iv.iiulsome and strong in body and mind? Is that j nil mean?" Leah had her now, and her sister's eyes j-i us il with glee. Sadie and Mamma sometimes grew ji n| Miiry Ruth's too-talkative nature, but Leah never i> tin mind.
    ' Ji continued. "When it comes to certain things, no
    > Iiiivv defiant a choice might seem to others, if you m your heart you were meant for somethin' or some-
    11 u-ii, I believe, 'tis best to be true to that."hi mt'nn it?"
    i ih nodded. "I've seen how you throw yourself into your
    i Iwork, You're a scholar, ain't? When the time comes,
    t'll li.ivr the coufage to make the right decision. You'll sim-
    li ivc lo put your hand to the plow and refuse to look
    I
    l ity Ruth's emotions threatened to overtake her again. in i. n due sister and friend, Leah," she managed through
    i- US,
    \lw:iys remember that." Leah smiled, reaching to hug
    47 48
    -Lu J2e
    Sadie headed toward the kitchen for a glass of cold water, so awful hot it was upstairs. But before she stepped foot in there, she happened to overhear Leah talking to Mamma as they baked pies. Leah was saying she and Aunt Lizzie h;ul taken shelter in a little hunter's shack on the hillock thai
    morning. "The place was old and run-down like nothing you've ever seen," Leah said softly. "Right peculiar, I must say. Up there in the middle of nowhere, but it kept us safe and dry till the rain passed."
    Sadie felt her throat constrict. Anguished memories rushed back and she was helpless to stop them. For all she cared, the shanty was good for one thing and only one: kindling.
    Leah was frowning at Sadie now, catching her eye. "What? Did 1 say somethin' wrong?"
    Himmel! she thought, not realizing how far she'd inched herself into the kitchen. There she was, standing in the doorway listening, evidently with a pained expression on her face. "Aw . . . no," she gasped. "I guess I'm surprised both you anil Aunt Lizzie got caught in such a cloudburst, that's all. Usually, Lizzie can tell by smellin' the air if rain's a-comin'." She paused momentarily, then "Looks to me like the bottom of your hem got awful grimy on your way back home."
    Leah looked down at herself and seemed to agree she was in need of a good scrubbing. "But it won't do to wash up and change clothes now." She thanked Mamma for such helpful pointers with the pies, saying she hoped they tasted as good as they smelled, then scurried off toward the barn.
    Sadie briefly followed after Leah. She stood in the open back door, staring out through the screen. She caught a49lO e t r a y a /
    if nl I lio bottom of her sister's bare feet as she ran to the
    Milking the cows, was something Sadie knew little
    ii '"Hid, she'd helped Dat here and there occasionally, but
    Lj> i pinch. Yet with Leah's wedding coming up soon,i-
    > i worried sick she might have to take her tomboy
    1 |.l,ii'.e outdoors with Dat. She