RR05 - Tender Mercies Read Online Free PDF Page A

yourself to the coffee and cake whenever you want. We will serve dinner at noon like always.” She made her way to the quilting frame and took a seat between Bridget and Kaaren.
    “I’m glad to get that part out of the way.” She reached for her needle. “Oh, Kaaren, one of the ladies asked if you would read to us again like you have in the past. Would that be all right?”
    Needles flew as Kaaren read from the Psalms and then asked for any favorites. One woman asked for the story of Ruth, so Kaaren turned to that book.
    Mary Martha let the sounds flow over her, wishing she understood the words. Women went about the business of quilt making, took care of the children, nursed their babies, and wiped away a tear once in a while, at the same time listening to what the Scriptures had to say. After she finished reading, Kaaren took her whimpering baby, Samuel, and, folding a blanket over her shoulder, set him to nursing.
    When they broke for the noon meal, a male voice intruded on the female conversation.
    Mary Martha knew immediately who it was even before she heard the “Welcome, Pastor Solberg, you are just in time.” Why is it that I know his voice already? It isn’t as if we’ve been acquainted for a long time or anything. Why does just hearing his voice bother me?
    The thoughts raced as she schooled her face to neutrality, continuing her description of the homeplace in Missouri to Kaaren and Ingeborg. They were having a difficult time understanding the term hollow, or holler, as she said it.
    “I don’t know,” Ingeborg said with a sigh, accompanied by a gentle smile. “Between our Norwegian accents and your Missouri drawl, our understanding of each other might be nothing short of a miracle.”
    “Zeb and Katy surely did work it out real fastlike. You should have seen them. Zeb went to the classes where our new immigrants were learning English so he could learn enough Norwegian to help out. We had many good laughs over that.” Kaaren motioned Mary Martha toward the table where the food was set out.
    “Kaaren and Agnes helped with the English classes and probably will again,” Ingeborg said from her other side.
    “Agnes helped out with what?” Agnes said, joining them.
    When they reached the head of the line, they gestured for their guest to go first. Mary Martha turned toward the table and glanced over to another just in time to catch the glance of Pastor Solberg.
    He looked at her as if she weren’t there, as if he could see right through her.
    She felt like waving her hand in front of his face just to get that look out of his eyes. But instead she turned to dish up her soup and buttered bread. Surely that must be the problem. The man had no manners. None at all.
    And if that were the case, how on earth did he shepherd this flock, who certainly seemed to hold him in high esteem.
    Was there something wrong with her ?

Chapter 4
    “I’m going to school today. I’m going to school today,” Andrew recited in a singsong voice.
    “Not if you don’t hold still. Andrew Bjorklund , I mean it.” Ingeborg tapped her young son on the shoulder. She raised the scissors again. “I am trimming your hair, and you are sitting still.”
    “Ellie and Deborah are going too.”
    “Ja, I know.”
    “Pastor Solberg will be our teacher.”
    “True.” She snipped a bit more off the left side in the back, leaving no curls along his neck. The top now lay in waves, but she knew as soon as the wind caught it, the nearly white curls would fly free again.
    “I like Pastor Solberg.” Andrew looked up at her.
    Ingeborg rolled her eyes. “Andrew, sit still, or you will look very strange.”
    “Andew petty.” Astrid studied her big brother with adoring eyes. “Me go too.”
    “No, you’re too little.” Andrew shook his head, flinched, looked up to the right to catch his mother’s frown, and froze. “Sorry.”
    Astrid straightened her spine and glared at her brother. “Me go.”
    “She surely is a Bjorklund. Look at