Love's First Bloom Read Online Free PDF Page B

trembling so hard she had trouble unbuttoning the cuff of the sleeve on her work gown. When she finally managed to free the button and fold back the cuff, she blinked hard to clear her vision, stared at her forearm, and nearly gasped.
    The circle of flesh just above her wrist bone was already turning purple. And she was just as shocked to see there were droplets of blood oozing from several places. She had never expected that Lily would actually bite her, but that was the least of her worries right now.
    With Lily safe and secure in the crib Phanaby had borrowed from a member of the congregation, Ruth ignored the toddler’s cries of protest and rushed to the kitchen. She moistened a cloth with cold water and gently pressed the cloth against the wound and winced. “She bit me. She actually bit me!”
    As the throbbing finally eased into a dull pain, Ruth removed the cloth, looked at her forearm, and groaned. She would wear a small but nasty bruise there for a good while, but at least Lily had not bitten her on her cheek, which would be impossible to hide.
    When Lily let out another burst of shrill screams, Ruth hunched her shoulders and cringed. There was no doubt that anyone downstairs in the apothecary would be audience to her crying.
    Embarrassed by her inability to handle Lily and dreading the apology she owed to Phanaby for what Lily had done, which inspired this tantrum, she took a deep breath. After she checked to make sure the bleeding had stopped, she rinsed the cloth before setting it into the sink. She quickly rolled her cuff back into place again before she heard footsteps rushing up the back staircase.
    Hurrying out of the kitchen and into the hallway, Ruth reached her bedroom door just as Phanaby and Elias came rushing through the door at the top of the staircase. Although she was grateful that Lily’s screams had quieted to a whimper by then, she still felt guilty for the look of pure panic in their eyes. The poor woman’s face was as pale as the full moon that had been shining last night while Ruth was rocking Lily back to sleep for the third time. Her husband, who hurried forward to stand alongside her, was panting for breath.
    “What happened to Lily?” Phanaby gushed, her concerned gaze locked on the closed door.
    Ruth managed a weak smile and battled tears that welled again. “I’m so sorry that we worried you both up here. She’s fine. Just having a bit of a tantrum again. I-I put her into her crib, but as you can hear, she’s quieting down now.”
    Elias furrowed his brow. “Are you sure she’s all right?”
    Nodding, Ruth moistened her lips. “I’m sure.”
    Phanaby let out a huge sigh and patted her heart. “I thought for certain she’d gotten hurt. She was screaming so loudly, I heard her outside. I dropped the laundry I was hanging up into the dirt and ran right back inside where I nearly bumped into Elias, who had left Reverend Haines in the shop to run up here to see if you needed help with the poor child.”
    Ruth cringed. “I-I’m so sorry. I’ll wash everything again for you,” she assured the woman before glancing at her husband. “Please ask Reverend Haines to forgive us for making him wait on our account,” she said, although she was not worried overmuch. She could not think of anyone else in the village who would be more forgiving or more discreet than the pastor of the small church where the Garners had taken both her and Lily to attend services.
    Elias nodded but glanced at the bedroom door before meeting Ruth’s gaze again. “If you’re certain she’s all right, perhaps it might be best if I leave the two of you to sort through this … this difficulty.”
    “She’s perfectly fine,” Ruth insisted.
    While he quickly disappeared back down the hall, Phanaby cocked her ear to the bedroom door and smiled. “She’s quiet now,” she whispered. “Do you think we could just check on her to make sure she’s not quiet because she’s getting into more trouble? She