Free A Home for Lydia (The Pebble Creek Amish Series) by Vannetta Chapman

was relieved when Sadie did the same. “We’ll take her to the girls’ room and wash her up, Miss Bena. When we bring her back, she’ll be real clean.”
    Sadie nodded her head and Lily sniffled, but at least she didn’t start bawling like the calf in the sad barn when it wanted its mom.
    “Any lesson you miss will be made up at home. Hannah, see if you can find Lily some extra clothes from upstairs.”
    Hannah winked at the girls from behind Miss Bena’s shoulders before she turned and hurried upstairs to the apartment over the schoolroom. It was where Miriam and Esther used to live, but now Miss Bena lived there alone. Hannah still lived with her parents because their farm was very close to the schoolhouse—or maybe because she would rather live at home than with Miss Bena. You would have to be awfully clean if you lived with their teacher.
    The three girls turned around and walked back down the steps. When they did, the other children spread into two groups, making a wide path for them.
    “Guess no one else wants to get muddy,” Lily said.
    “You’d think we had the chicken pox or something,” Sadie muttered once they were through the small crowd.
    “They just don’t want Miss Bena to be mad at them.” Grace put a little distance between Lily and herself, though she continued to hold the younger girl’s hand. She didn’t need any of the mud on her dress. They had enough extra washing at home with Rachel’s dirty clothes and their regular washing.
    “She’s awfully mad.” Lily looked up at Grace as they all tried to fit inside the outhouse.
    “She wasn’t happy, but it’s hard to tell with Miss Bena. I’m not sure she’s a happy kind of person.”
    “I’m not sure I’m going to fit in there with you two,” Sadie said. She stood in the doorway as Grace studied Lily.
    “I’ll get her out of these clothes and you can bag them up. We’ll need some water too, and the clean clothes from Hannah.”
    “Sure. I can do that.”
    Grace did her best to stay clean, but some of the mud found its way on to her clothes anyway. By the time they were finished, she had to use another rag to wipe off her own apron.
    “ Danki , Grace.” Lily looked exhausted but cleaner in clothes several sizes too large.
    “ Gem gschehne .” Grace hugged the younger girl and turned her toward the classroom. Sadie had slipped inside ahead of them and was already working.
    Grace had missed almost half an hour of the afternoon lessons. She would need to make them up tonight after chores.
    What she wanted to do, though, was go home and draw the three of them standing on the schoolhouse step, a puddle of muddy water growing around them. At the time she’d been terrified of being in trouble, but now that the crisis had passed, she thought it was kind of funny. How they must have looked had captured her imagination.
    She even knew how she’d cut off the top of the drawing. She’d draw their backs and the tops of their heads covered by their prayer kapps . She’d also draw Miss Bena’s crossed arms, but not her expression. There was no need for anyone else to experience that.
    At times, the woman was actually frightening.

Chapter 9
    L ydia had been working cleaning cabins all morning. They had three weekend reservations, and she wanted things to be in tip-top shape. She was in cabin six, dusting the furniture, when Aaron returned from visiting Elizabeth. If anything he appeared to be in a worse mood, though she hadn’t thought that was possible.
    He didn’t pause to speak with her at all.
    Instead, he’d unharnessed Tin Star and then banged around in the barn for thirty minutes. When she saw him next, he was attacking the shrubs and vines in front of the nearest cabin. “Attack” was certainly the best word for what he was doing with Ervin’s gardening tools. Aaron was apparently working his way away from the parking lot toward the back of the property, butchering anything that was green and touching a cabin