For Every Season Read Online Free PDF

much to you as Rhoda does to me, and it’d serve you right to lose it.”
    “Is that attitude supposed to shock me?” Samuel yanked off his felt hat. “Since you were fourteen and left the farm to apprentice as a carpenter, you’ve been busy escaping from the family business—until you had nowhere else to run.”
    “At least I wasn’t running into the arms of someone else’s love.”
    Samuel turned red. “I know what I did. You can stop browbeating me with it. Put your energy into talking to Rhoda. Whether you want to admit it or not, if you ruin your relationship with her because you’re angry with me, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”
    “Are you giving me advice or a warning?”
    “Jacob,”—Samuel’s voice was calm, but his taut, flushed face didn’t hide his volatile emotions—“this incident is crippling all communication and planning. We’re getting too little done, and apparently Rhoda isn’t going to talk to me about the business unless you’re okay with it. Our family and our community back home are supporting this venture with prayer and money. So is Rhoda’s family. They believe in us, and they believe this settlement is the start of something that will benefit Amish families for hundreds of years. But if we don’t work this out soon, our business won’t survive. If that’s what you want—to ruin this new venture because I deserve that—it’s fully within your power to do it.” Samuel headed for the door of the office and then paused. “If that’s how it’s going to be, could you let me know as soon as possible? The best time to sell a property is in the spring, and since the trees will bud soon, spring would be the ideal time to catch a buyer’s eye.”
    With that, Samuel walked out.
    Disbelief shrouded Jacob like fog, hampering his ability to see more than a few feet in front of him. It seemed no matter what he did to figure out the bond that existed between Samuel and Rhoda, he only made the situation worse. He went to a window and watched as his brother disappeared into the dark, misty night, walking toward the orchard.
    He’d only been sure of one thing in his life—through thick and thin, Samuel had always been on his side.
    Until now.

THREE
    Tell them .
    The whisper echoed through the dark guest room. Rhoda stood in front of the full-length mirror, bathed in the soft glow of a night-light, a long braid dangling down her back while she tied her black apron. Sleep continued to elude her.
    A reflection of shadows behind her shimmied against the wooden floor as if a window were open and a breeze were blowing them around. An eerie sensation crept up her spine. She was picking up on something just outside the physical realm. God was all around His people, trying to woo and warn and encourage. Was this also Him? She remained in place, tempted to give in to the odd feeling. What would happen if she yielded? Would she discover it was nonsense, or would her mind be opened to whatever she had almost perceived since the first night she arrived in Maine?
    She closed her eyes.
    Tell them I exist . A little girl’s voice pleaded with her. I need their …
    Chills ran up Rhoda’s spine and fear gripped her as her father’s kind, authoritative voice reminded her: “Remember the slave girl from the Bible, Rhoda. This ‘gift’ may well be a temptation to sin. Pray hard against it, child.”
    But what if her Daed was wrong?
    She used to find comfort in her Daed’s belief that if he was wrong to try to stop her intuitions, God would hold him responsible, not her. Was that still true even though she was twenty-three and no longer living under her Daed’s roof?
    Tell …
    Fear stole her breath—whether of the unknown or of angering God, she wasn’t sure. She forced air into her lungs. “Stop.” Rhoda’s loud whisper echoed through the room.
    She grabbed her hairpins and prayer Kapp off the nightstand and scurried out of the room. The house was dark except for the odd