Free The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis Page A

wonderful-good friend! These thoughts made her giddy with anticipation.
    Annie made her way through the screened-in porch, where boots and shoes were lined up along the wall nearest the door. She hurried around the side of the house and down to the road, going to check for Daed first in the barn. Not finding him there, she climbed the hayloft ladder and walked the expanse of the barn’s uppermost level to the wide outside door.
    Pushing hard to swing the door open, she stood at the top of the grassy barn bridge, an earthen ramp where they moved the various farm equipment in and out. Looking out at the vast field to the south, she could see Daed and Luke and two teams of mules pulling the handheld plows.
    I’ll have to wait till later, she thought, feeling discouraged again as she stood there.
    One of more than a dozen barn kitties skittered across the wood floor and rubbed against her ankle. ‘‘Aw, you cute thing. Where’s your mamma?’’
    Going to the far corner of the loft, Annie raised her long skirt to climb onto one of the square bales stacked there. The kitten followed her. Annie sat down and picked up the black kitty. ‘‘My friend Louisa has a gray cat,’’ she whispered. ‘‘If she brings Muffin here for a visit, won’t that be fun?’’ Annie stared at the barn rafters, watching for the bats she knew were up there sleeping the day away. And she held the wee kitten in her arms, feeling its rumbly purring.
    How can I convince my father?
    She contemplated how her friend might be feeling now, getting so close to her wedding day and then changing her mind. But Annie knew she had done nearly the same thing to Rudy, though she hadn’t waited till the last minute.
    Just then, she heard shuffling below in the stable area. Silently she slipped down off the baled hay and crept to one of the hay holes, where they dropped bales down to the cattle. She peeked through the opening to see if Yonie was nearby.
    Sure enough. Smiling to herself, she called to him. ‘‘Yonie Zook!’’ Then she darted back so he couldn’t see where she was, teasing him.
    â€˜â€˜Who’s there?’’
    She could see his wheat-colored hair through the opening in the floor. Annie’s favorite of her six brothers, Yonie was only eighteen months younger, part of the reason they were so close. And there was something uncanny about him—he understood her better than all her other brothers.
    â€˜â€˜Yonie!’’ she said again, unable to hold in her laughter.
    â€˜â€˜Ach, I should know you’re up in the haymow, Annie. If ya want to talk, then ya best be comin’ down.’’
    She shrugged. ‘‘Well, you must have eyes on top of your head, brother.’’
    â€˜â€˜Nope, I ain’t at all like Daed who sees and hears everything . . . nearly like almighty God.’’ Yonie’s head popped into view as he climbed up the ladder. He grinned at her, a long piece of straw stuck in his mouth. ‘‘If I was, maybe I’d already have me a girl to hitch up with.’’
    â€˜â€˜You shouldn’t have a speck of trouble findin’ a girl to marry.’’ Annie figured her brother had plenty of time to find the right bride. After all, the boys could marry a girl several years younger . . . so if this year’s crop of sixteen-year-old girls didn’t take his fancy, then maybe next year’s would.
    Yonie sat on the edge of the hay hole, swinging his legs. ‘‘Well, look at you, Annie. I thought you’d be wed by now.’’
    Climbing back up the hay bales, Annie reached for the long rope. She swung across the expanse of the loft, her legs tight against the rope so her dress would not billow out. Her feet were so callused from going barefoot early spring to late fall, she was able to cling easily, though her toes strained upward. ‘‘You goin’ to the next