To Love and to Cherish Read Online Free PDF

one foot to the other. His gaze dropped to the floor. He was never a big talker, at least not in her presence. She set the glass on the table. “I should help with the viewing.”
    “Jah.” He ducked his head. “I baked two loaves of bread and a lemon cake…”
    The image of Thomas in an apron, kneading dough, lightened her mood for a moment. “I didn’t know you baked.”
    “I do many things I had no need to do before.” Before Joanna died. His matter-of-fact tone made Emma’s heart ache for him. He gave her a rueful smile. “I want Rebecca to learn. My mother and sisters help, but it’s not the same as having a mother at home. I can’t teach her to sew and do all the womanly things Joanna would’ve wanted her to know.”
    Joanna had been a lovely person with a gentle spirit. Emma recalled her as a woman who never had an unkind word for anyone—just the right person to bring a shy, awkward man out of his shell. Thomas knew about loss. “I don’t know how you do it.” She straightened her kapp. “I don’t know if I can. Luke has decided he will sell his home and move his family back here. Leah and the children and us all under one roof.”
    Thomas wiped his hands on a towel. “I know. He told me.” His gaze caught hers. “That worries you. Living with Leah.”
    He was an observant man. It shamed Emma to admit her misgivings.She hadn’t told anyone, not even Catherine or Annie. “Jah,” she whispered. “Does that make me ungrateful? It is a sacrifice for them.”
    “Change that comes from tragedy is bound to be hard.” This time his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ll learn to get along with Leah—”
    “Do what with me?” Leah stood in the doorway, her round face frowning once again. She glanced from Thomas to Emma. “Are you talking about me?”
    “No. Yes. I mean…” Emma stuttered. “I was just telling Thomas that you and Luke are moving here to help with the farm and the children.”
    Leah’s frown deepened. “You should be helping instead of chattering with Thomas. The twins are racing around like little vermin and Luke is looking for you. The viewing line is forming. You should be there.”
    Emma jumped to her feet. “I’m coming.”
    Leah whirled and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Emma biting her tongue to keep from saying something ugly. To her surprise, Thomas chuckled. “God strengthens our characters in ways we may not appreciate, but like the Father He is, He knows what is best for us.”
    Emma squared her shoulders and started for the door. “Does that mean we have to like it?”
    She made it halfway down the hallway when a solid rap at the front door drew her away from the viewing area. Probably a latecomer. Emma hoped it wasn’t more food. The tables were practically groaning under the weight of the dishes. The cabinets in the kitchen were crowded with pots, platters, and bowls. They’d have to start putting dishes on the floor.
    She opened the door. Bob Cramer, his John Deere hat shoved back on his sun-wrinkled face, stood there, looking like he wished he were anywhere else in the world. A chubby woman in a black dress stood next to him. He held a casserole dish in two meaty hands while the woman clutched a pie tin in hers.
    “Mr. Cramer.” Emma’s throat closed up. The last person she wanted to see on the day of her parents’ funeral was the man who killed them. “What are you doing here?”
    He thrust the casserole at her. “Sorry to intrude on your day of mourning, ma’am.” Not knowing what else to do, Emma took the dish. Mr. Cramer jerked his head toward the woman. “This here’s the missus, Lois Cramer. She made the lasagna. And the pie.”
    Mrs. Cramer craned her head as if to look over Emma’s shoulder. “It’s cherry. Made it myself this morning.”
    Emma’s feet were cemented to the floor. She cleared her throat. Duty dictated that she should let them in. They’d come to mourn with her. She cleared her throat again and took two