Free Huckleberry Hill by Jennifer Beckstrand

eyes on her.”
    Mamm nodded her agreement. Dat and Rachel smiled triumphantly at each other.
    Lia felt her power sink further. Whatever objections to marriage Moses had, they would vanish when he saw Rachel.
    “Why don’t you take Rachel to Bonduel with you tomorrow?” Mamm said. “Roy is bound to have room for one more in his van.”
    Dat slapped the table as a wonderful-gute idea came to him. “Better yet, why don’t Rachel take Lia’s place?”
    Rachel’s eyes opened wide. “You want me to go by myself?”
    “Once Rachel goes, Lia will not be wanted there. She would only get in the way of their courtship.”
    Lia’s voice rose with her distress. “Nae, Dat. The Helmuths hired me for the summer, not Rachel. It would not be proper to—”
    “They need a girl to help them keep house and garden,” Dat said. “Rachel will do as well as you. Why should they care who it is as long as she does the job? Besides, they will soon realize why Rachel has been sent and be happy for a wonderful-gute girl for their grandson.”
    Lia fought hard to keep the tears from her eyes. “Rachel might not like him,” she said feebly. But once Dat set his mind to it, she knew he wouldn’t be dissuaded.
    “If I don’t like him I won’t have to stay there,” Rachel said. “I can come home, and you can go back. I’d rather not work that hard on someone else’s farm with nothing to show for it.”
    Every glimmer of hope died. Lia had no doubt that Rachel would like Moses. Not only was he tall and handsome, the two qualities highest on Rachel’s list, but he had an easy laugh and a ready cheerfulness that put people instantly at ease. And he treated everyone so kindly. Who wouldn’t like that?
    Dat popped another piece of cheese into his mouth. “It’s settled, then. Rachel will go in Lia’s place, and Lord willing, we will have a wedding in November.”
    This was how it had always been with Lia and Rachel. Their parents catered to Rachel’s every need and expected Lia to acquiesce cheerfully. After all, it had been Lia’s fault that Rachel nearly died fourteen years ago.
    Lia had been only nine years old, but she already loved to cook. She wanted to surprise Mamm with fresh greens and pork chops for supper, so she had sneaked out of the house to gather wild asparagus along the stream bank. Even as a five-year-old, Rachel liked getting her own way, and she stomped her feet and threatened to ruin Lia’s surprise if Lia didn’t let her tag along. Rachel had played by the shallow stream while Lia collected asparagus spears in her apron. More than once she had scolded Rachel for splashing her, but Rachel paid no heed until she got carried away and fell face-first into the water. The icy, early spring runoff soaked Rachel clear through.
    By the time they got home, Rachel was shivering violently, and within hours, she had developed the gravelly cough that could only mean croup. Lia would never forget how pale Rachel looked as they loaded her into the ambulance. Lia had never seen her parents so terrified.
    Why didn’t you keep better watch over her? Dat had accused just before he climbed into the ambulance. Rachel spent the next four days in the hospital, and Lia had spent the next four days praying for Rachel’s recovery and pleading for forgiveness for her carelessness. If Rachel died, it would have been her fault.
    For the next month, Lia and Mamm had nursed Rachel back to health. Dat instructed Lia to keep Rachel happy at all costs. If Rachel got upset, she would cry and then scream, and her weak lungs couldn’t take the strain. When she didn’t get her way, she bawled until her lips turned blue, and Mamm agreed to anything Rachel wanted to keep her from making herself sicker.
    Lia became the forgotten one, the girl whose mistake had almost cost the Shetlers their youngest child.
    Mamm and Rachel chattered merrily about winter weddings while Lia silently cleared the dishes from the table. Rachel had stopped throwing