Love's Abundant Harvest Read Online Free PDF Page B

growled and sat down, waiting for his lunch. “You gonna serve
me a meal, or do I have to get it myself?” His mood was crustier than usual, but
so was she. Lucy just didn’t have the courage to show it. She’d avoid him as much
as possible, which wasn’t difficult, especially since she was with child. He’d lost
all interest in her once she’d become pregnant, and she thanked Gott for it as she
set his lunch down before him.
    “More beef,” he demanded while stuffing a bite of the Salisbury steak into his mouth.
    Lucy mixed the bread crumbs, ground beef, eggs and milk, and then made patties. As
she placed a patty onto the skillet, some grease popped up and hit her wrist. She
yelped and walked quickly to the cooler for a piece of ice and placed it on her wrist,
letting the cool water run down her arm.
    “My food’s burning.” His chair screeched across the wood floor as he stood and strode
to the stove. He grabbed the metal handle without the oven mitt and hollered so loudly
that Lucy covered her ears.
    She withdrew, stepping back against the counter, and waited for his reaction. He
stared down at her, his eyes bulged, and his body shook with rage. Lucy almost apologized,
but she knew anything she did or said would only make it worse. So she waited and
prayed he would calm down or leave. His work boots seemed louder and his stagger
more pronounced as he headed for the back door.
    Not knowing what to do, she wiped her face with her sleeve, slipped the spatula under
a slab of charred meat, and threw it out for the dogs. She went out and sat down
on the porch, letting her shoulders drop, feeling completely incompetent as Skip
and Hop enjoyed their special meal. She didn’t seem to be able to do anything right,
at least when she was around Sam. She wasn’t a great cook or haus keeper, but she
could hold her own. As stressful as Verna would be to have around, she might be able
to help with some of the details Lucy seemed to miss.
    She looked over the large farm that Sam had built up after years of work. From what
she’d heard, he and his first wife had spent so much of their time working this place
that they did little else. No one seemed to really know them the way the rest of
the community knew and helped one another. It seemed strange, but then most everything
about this man was odd to Lucy.
    She looked over at Sweet Pea, wondering whether she could take her back without Sam
getting upset. Sam didn’t like her to leave the farm unless it was necessary. She
didn’t know why, other than it might be another way to control her. But she was used
to that; she seemed to gravitate to controlling people.
    It was wash day, and unlike most women, she did hers alone. She decided to finish
her chores before returning the horse.
    Sweet Pea whinnied, causing Lucy to stop and look her way. She smiled when the horse
stamped her hoof on the ground, as if demanding attention.
    “What is it, girl?” Lucy moved closer, just enough to feel the horse’s warm breath.
“I’ll take you home soon.” The horse shook her head.
    “You’re going to have to wait. If I don’t get something done around here first, I’ll
pay for it when I get back.” She rubbed Sweet Pea’s chest, watching the horse’s eyes
droop with satisfaction. “You probably get spoiled at Manny’s place.”
    Sweet Pea grunted her response, and her eyes closed.
    “I bet he talks to you too.”
    Sweet Pea opened her eyes wide.
    “You’re a good listener.” She patted her one last time and let out a long sigh. For
some silly reason, she felt better. Maybe Sweet Pea was good medicine.
    After the clothes were washed, Lucy walked to the backyard to hang them up to dry.
It had to be very nasty weather to hang the clothes inside. Sam became especially
annoyed by the lines hung from wall to wall with damp clothes filling the room, but
their family room was only used for a short time before bed, when they read from
the Bible.
    She found Sam in the barn shoeing a