Free Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal by Unknown Page B

sweat redding Up the barn for the Lord's Day gathering and the young people's singing that was to follow tomorrow evening. He'd made the decision to have the church benches set up on the threshlny floor, where an occasional breeze might do some good I-roping folk awake instead of the way it had been two weeks ,i);u, when he and everyone else had been helpless to fight off ilie heat-induced stupor. And with Ida still tending closely to ilidr infant daughter, the housework of removing all the rugs inul rearranging the furniture would have fallen to the girls Mild Lizzie. Truly, it was better to have church in the barn, where he would plan the seating arrangement and direct the lVople to their seats.
    He was mighty glad to have a strong helping hand this .iliernoon with the heavier duties. Far as he was concerned, ' 'inithy Gid could easily become a necessary right arm to him, what with Johr*suffering a hip ailment clear out of the blue.
    Working with Gid, he shoveled manure out of the stable Hi t'lU Then they raked and swept clean the widest area of the threshing floor, where the People would sit as hearers of the Word.
    " 'S'mighty gut of you to help," Abram said, pushing hard mi I he long-handled broom. *| "Glad to do it." . .'..
    ^H "Ain't so certain how I'll manage here in a few weeks." HP Gid nodded but kept working. "I wonder 'bout that, too,
    89
    ly *
    Abram. But more and more Pop needs me to help him with some of the smithy work."
    Abram knew that, all right. But there was no real need to address the event both men dreaded. The topic of Leah's impending marriage was something they avoided discussing altogether. Abram had witnessed firsthand Gid's feelings for Leah, saw the hopeless longing in the young man's eyes whenever she was anywhere near.
    Abram's feeble attempt to get Jonas Mast out of town and off to Ohio had backfired. The time apart had served only to solidify their love, visible by the number of Ohio letters arriving each week. So Leah had fallen in love with the boy she believed was to be her life mate . .. although Abram would be surprised if she and Jonas ended up together.
    He heard the sound of the horses and buggies now, the womenfolk arriving to help Ida make ready for the common meal tomorrow. Plenty of baking would take place in the Ebersol kitchen this day. Will Leah and Lizzie be on hand to help Ida? he wondered. The chummy twosome had gone to run an errand an hour or so ago.
    Frankly, it was downright unnerving how Lizzie had inched her way deeper into their lives, all of them. First she'd gotten her grip on Sadie last year. Now Leah. Worst of all, Lizzie had pressed Abram to make a hasty decision over an English housekeeping job down the road a piece giving him no breathing room. He had little choice but to do things Lizzie's way to keep her hushed up ... for now. Alas, Lizzie Brenneman was railroading him down a path of her own choosing. Downright unbecoming of her.
    Ida, on the other hand, wasn't much help, either. Seemed90/Oeirayal
    IiIn wife and her sister were out of check, and the bishop wnnkl tell him so if he sought out spiritual counsel. He was liihlni; sway over his family in more ways than one, and growlli(-i wi'nry before his time.
    As for the upper hand, he also felt at a loss when it came In Ins lather-in-law. It struck him as peculiar that John's bum
    I Up, il real, had come on the heels of a fiery discussion coni nhing none other than Lizzie and her past blunders, though It H in ;igo confessed. Thus Ida's sister was causing strife at every Ii.iiuI. He'd have to put a stop to it before things spun cornI'li'U'ly out of control.
    Turning his attention back to the barn cleanup, Abram ! iii'w he'd be tuckered out by this time tomorrow. No doubt he iind Ida would rise early and dress for the Lord's Day right quirk after Lydiann's early-morning feeding, around three-
    I1 inly. There was much to be organized before the member-
    liip began to arrive two hundred thirty-eight strong,