Free A Widow's Hope by Mary Ellis

feed my sheep. You know, back home most of the corn, wheat, and rye would be in by now. They would wait to sow only soybeans and, of course, vegetables.” She gazed at the fallow fields they passed on the right.
    Seth pitied her homesickness yet felt obliged to defend himself and his fellow neighbors. “Look there, Hannah—plowing and seeding on our left.” He pointed at an Amish man driving a team with his son following behind with the seed bag. “Looks like the Holmes County farmers aren’t quite as lazy as you thought.”
    She turned toward him on the seat. “Oh, es tut mir leid, Seth, if I sounded like that. I only meant that the Lancaster Valley must get more sunny March days.” Her face looked truly apologetic.
    “You probably do get more sunshine. We get lots of clouds that blow down from Lake Erie in early spring, but they’ll be gone soon.Constance loved April. She used to say the month was God’s blessing for remaining faithful all winter.”
    “What a beautiful sentiment. I will try to remember it. Those clouds blowing down from up north probably bring quite a bit of rain. I hope not too much—my pasture is already wet enough to grow rice.” She shivered and clutched her cape more tightly around her shoulders.
    Seth felt oddly guilty, as though personally responsible for cloudy days, too much rain, and the chilly breeze buffeting the wagon. “I’ve been to Lancaster County enough times to know they get their share of bad weather, Hannah.”
    She laughed, not the reaction he expected. “ Jah, that’s true enough, but the air back home definitely smells sweeter. Do you have a paper mill nearby? Or maybe a meat-packing house?” She asked with such sincerity he tamped down the anger inching up his spine.
    He shook his head. “No, nothing like that, Mrs. Brown. What you smell is good, old-fashioned farming—manure being tilled into the soil for fertilizer. Several farms on this road are certified organic. Their produce will fetch a good price in the fall. Some of the farmers have contracts with whole-foods markets. Everything they grow is bought up at a negotiated price even before the seeds are sown. Something to think about for the future.”
    “ Jah, organic produce is becoming more popular all the time. I’ve been reading a lot about it.”
    Just then the wheel hit a pothole in the road, and the wagon lurched to the side. Seth instinctively reached for Hannah’s arm to steady her. The feel of her skin was soft and warm. The brief touch caused a heady sensation followed by a pang of guilt.
    “Better hang on,” he instructed. “I put that handle there for my Constance to hold. No sense landing in a heap on the floorboards.”
    Hannah grasped the handle with both hands. “ Danki, ” she said quietly.
    He hadn’t meant to sound so gruff. But he didn’t like the way onetouch of a woman’s hand had affected him. He was eager to get to town and get their errands finished. This skinny whelp of a woman was having an odd effect on him—one he didn’t like.

    Hannah discussed the feed mixture with the clerk at the grain elevator, who agreed with the book’s advice. She purchased the sheep feed and watched the men load it into the wagon. Seth said he had his own errands to run and insisted she wait for him in a small café. As she sipped a cup of strong coffee, it occurred to her that she unwittingly made Seth nervous. But he had an unsettling effect on her too.
    He had such affection for his wife, Constance. How tender were his memories of their life together. Just for a moment, she envied his devotion. She doubted Adam would have spoken that way about her. He had been a man of few words, especially when it came to expressing his feelings. And did she deserve such devotion? The way she spoke of Lancaster County with such enthusiasm made her seem unappreciative of the home Julia and Simon had made for her.
    During the drive back to Winesburg, she kept quiet and bowed her head. Last night before