Tracie Peterson - [Land of Shining Water 02] Read Online Free PDF Page B

like to be buyin’ eiderdown instead of straw, as well.” He climbed into the wagon seat and grabbed up the reins. “I swear, wimen cannae leave a man his coin.” He continued to mutter after putting the horses in motion.
    Emmalyne said nothing further. It was best to let him rant and vent his anger. For whatever reason, her father was of the mind that the entire world had one purpose: to rob him of his cash.
    They drove away from the heart of St. Cloud, and Emmalyne tried her best not to worry about the matter. Her father would relent on the straw; after all, he would have to sleep somewhere, too, and she knew he wasn’t about to make his bed on the floor. He might even give in on the whitewash, because she knew he expected a tidy and well-managed house.
    Lord , she finally prayed, you know our needs. It does little good for me to fret over them. Please provide for us. She caught sight of her mother dabbing a handkerchief to her face. And please help Mother to feel better. Amen.
    They were well to the west side of town before Father slowed the wagon and stopped in front of a hardware and feed store. He motioned to Angus and came around to the back of the wagon.
    “Ye’ll need to arrange things here to make room for the straw,” he told Emmalyne.
    “Aye, Father. I’ll see to it now.”
    She wasted no time as her father and brother disappeared into the store, almost fearful that if she delayed, Father might change his mind. The wagon now held only the things they’d traveled with from Minneapolis and some crates of food items her father had purchased earlier. Emmalyne quickly stacked the three small trunks atop each other and pushed the crates together toward the front of the wagon.
    It wasn’t long before her father and brother reappeared. “We’re to drive around back,” her father announced abruptly.
    Emmalyne didn’t dare to ask about the whitewash, but she continued to pray that God would influence her father’s choices. Her father might be of a mind to ignore God, but Emmalyne was quite certain that God wasn’t likely to ignore Luthias Knox.
    Her father parked the wagon near an open barn behindthe store and climbed down once again. Angus went with him to where two men were standing. Emmalyne saw her father produce the bill of sale, and the men sauntered off to retrieve the goods.
    To her surprise, her father had purchased ten bales of straw. It was most generous, given his earlier comments, and Emmalyne felt very fortunate. Ten bales would go a long way to making their beds comfortable.
    As they continued to bring bale after bale, Emmalyne had to assist Mother from her perch on the wagon bed and exchange it for a seat on one of the bales.
    “This should prove more comfortable, anyway,” she told her mother with a grin. “You can lean back against the trunks.”
    Once the bales were loaded, Father stepped toward the front of the wagon. Angus, however, turned and went back to the barn. In a moment, one of the workers appeared with four tins of whitewash, two in each hand. Emmalyne watched in silence as Angus took the cans and hoisted them into the back of the wagon. He threw Emmalyne a wink, then lifted her into the back, as well. Before he left her there, he pulled a broad paintbrush from his back pocket and handed it to her.
    God had heard her prayers.
    Once Father had the horses move out, Mother began to again question Emmalyne.
    “Is there a good fireplace?” Her voice was low.
    “I believe it will be suitable. I did a bit of cleaning on it, but of course we’ll need to check the chimney. As long as it has sat idle, there are bound to be nesting birds within.”
    Her mother frowned. “Is it still terribly dirty?”
    Emmalyne couldn’t very well lie to her mother. After all, she would see for herself the extent of the situation soon enough.“It is, but I’ll be hard at work to set it right. Your bedroom is clean enough, and Angus will set the bed up while I find the ticks and stuff them. That