Abram's Daughters 03 The Sacrifice Read Online Free PDF Page A

wondered (where on earth she'd taken herself off to on a night set apart I for singings. ,
    | She found Smithy Gid in the haymow, amusing himself with a new pup. "Hullo," Leah called up to him.
    Quickly he rose and made his way down the long ladder to her, carrying the tiny dog. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight, Leah." He looked at her with gentle eyes. "But it's awful nice," he added with a warm smile.
    They stood there looking at each other by lantern light, Leah feeling ever^o awkward. She glanced down for a moment, breathed a sigh, and then lifted her face to his. "I'm ready to give you my answer," she said softly.
    "Jah?"
    "I'll go along to Strasburg with you . . . with Adah and Sam, come Saturday night."
    Gid's face lit up like a forbidden electric light bulb. "Wonderful-gut! Denki for comin' here to say so."
    She realized at that moment the power her decision had over him. If she'd said otherwise, she could just imagine the look of disappointment that would have transformed his
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    ruddy face. "I best be headin'home," she said.
    "Aw, must ya?" His eyes implored her to stay.
    "Dat and Mamma don't know I'm gone. I wouldn't want them to fret." She didn't go on to say they were worried enough over Sadie. No doubt he was aware of that; it was to be expected with Gid's mother and Mamma close neighbors and bosom friends. Miriam Peachey had surely heard tell of Mamma's sleepless nights.
    "Well, then, I 'spect it's best you return schnell quickly."
    At that she moved toward the barn door. "Gut Nacht," she said as Gid strolled alongside her.
    "Good night, Leah."
    She nodded self-consciously and turned to go, walking briskly toward her father's cornfield. Hundreds of stars beckoned her, and she found herself wondering if anyone had ever tried to count them, at least those twinkling over the Ebersol Cottage.
    Staring up at the sky, she pondered her decision to go with Gid this one time . . . and his near-gleeful response. Did 1 dothe right thing?
    The last place Gid wanted to be, now that Leah had told him her good news, was back up in the lonely haymow. He returned the puppy in hand to the whelping box and hurried out behind the barn, toward Blackbird Pond. He had to keep looking at the ground, now murky in the early evening hour, to see if his feet were really touching the grassy path that led through the pastureland and beyond to the lake.
    With great joy, he began to count the hours till he would see Leah again, not in Abram's barn or out in the field . . . no,
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    what he most anticipated was their first real date. The long ride to Strasburg was nothing to sneeze at as far as time on the road; he must make sure he took along a light lap robe, in case the evening had a chill to it. They would enjoy a fine meal in town with Adah and Sam, then leisurely return to Gobbler's Knob, a round trip of nearly ten miles. All in all, the night would not be so young when he returned Leah to the covering of her father's house.
    Gid's heart sang as he picked up his pace and began to run around the wide lake. Will Leah accept my love at last?
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    JLA. Schwartz plodded upstairs to the second-floor bedroom, where, in the corner of the large room, he found his wife reclining on the leather chaise, sipping a cup of chamomile tea. Lorraine's nerves must be ragged again tonight, he thought. He'd learned not to address her when she was in such a state. In the past, when he had attempted to engage her in conversation, she withdrew further still.
    As for Henry, he was much more practiced at concealing his misery; he prided himself in his ability to do so. Even Lorraine had no knowledge of his ongoing despair, he was quite certain. On the exterior, his life was as fulfilled now as he had ever hoped it to be faithful wife, grown sons, and a flourishing medical clinic. With their boys gone from home, he and Lorraine had sufficient time to do as they pleased, which most evenings meant sitting in easy