Free A Simple Winter: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel by Rosalind Lauer Page A

gripping deeper with each passing month.
    As if to give voice to the proverbial cat, the door opened with a yawning screech, and Jonah strode in.
    “Adam.” Jonah removed his hat and hung it on the peg. “That’s a good idea on a cold night. Sorry to barge in.”
    Sitting up in the tub, Adam waved off the apology. “Actually, you’re the person I wanted to talk to. What do you think about installing some cold and hot plumbing up on the second story?” He outlined the plans for his brother, who mulled them over, hands in his pockets.
    Jonah’s dark brows rose. “I think it’s a very good idea. We could do a lot of that work ourselves, and you know Zed Mast, the bishop’s brother? He’s a plumber. We can hire him. I’m sure he’ll teach us how to lay pipe, and weld it, too.”
    “Welding pipe.” Adam grinned. “Is there no challenge you won’t take on?”
    Jonah shrugged.
    As they discussed ways to improve plumbing and use solar panels to heat their water, Adam was relieved at Jonah’s receptiveness. Although Adam as the oldest son had been called upon to lead the family, Jonah knew this land. He was good with building and growing. It was Jonah’s practical experience and knack for innovation that had carried the operations of the dairy farm this past year. From tending to a sick calf to operating the harvester, Jonah was a natural-born farmer.
    As the water cooled, Adam realized he hadn’t asked about the singing. “So how did your evening go? You never mention anyone, Jonah. Is there a girl you’re secretly keeping company with?”
    Jonah shook his head. “I always leave with an empty buggy. But you should come next time. Annie Stoltzfus asked about you.”
    Annie and her mouthful of berries. Adam groaned. “Mmm. Between the two of us? I wish she would leave me alone.”
    “Annie’s a sweet girl,” Jonah said, methodically coiling the hot water hose as he spoke. “And you seem to have won her heart. Would it be such a terrible thing to take her for a buggy ride one night and see how you two get on?”
    Rising to sit on the edge of the tub, Adam realized what a grump he was being. “You’re right,” he told his brother. “She’s a kind person, a good friend to Mary.” It was wrong to complain about a young woman when Jonah had not found a special girl, despite attending every singing.
    Jonah scraped one side of his dark hair back, his eyelids heavy with weariness.
    “You look tired.”
    “A good tired,” Jonah said. “But then, I’m not the one carrying this family on his back.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I can read it on your face, Adam. You’ve taken on more than any one person can handle.”
    Adam gripped the edges of the tub. “But Dat carried the burden on his own.”
    “Dat knew how to delegate chores and even things out.”
    “I’m just trying to do the right thing for everyone.”
    “No one’s questioning your commitment, Adam. But you’re trying to do it all alone, and that’s not going to work.”
    “Are you telling me to get a wife?”
    “No. I’m telling you to lean on me. And Gabe and Uncle Nate and the rest of the congregation. You’re trying to deny a need, and the more you do it, the worse it will get. The quilting that Mary’s organizing for the Troyer family … the house that burned to the ground in Paradise. Do you see the Troyers telling people not to sew clothes for their children or rebuild their home?”
    “That’s different—”
    “Is it? Is it really?” When Jonah’s brows rose in a scowl, he resembled Dat. “You know, every day I pray to God that you’ll find it in your heart to let Him help you. I figure if you let Him in, the rest of us won’t be too far behind.”
    Adam stared into the bathwater. It wasn’t pleasant, being called a control freak, and it bothered him to know Jonah was right.
    “I hear you, brother. I get it.”
    When Adam looked up, Jonah was kicking off his boots, one by one. He lined them up beside the kitchen