A Sister's Test (23 page)

She left Daniel’s room and curled up on the sofa in the living room, deciding that she needed a nap. She’d only been resting a few minutes when someone called out, “Grace, are you to home?”

Grace sat up just as Ruth stepped into the room. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Martin went fishing with Abe and Gideon, so I decided to drop by and see how you and the boppli are doing.” Ruth draped her coat over the back of the rocking chair and took a seat.

“Daniel’s doing well; he’s sleeping right now.”

“And you?”

“I’m kind of tired and feeling a bit weepy as of late.”

“Do you think it’s postpartum depression?”

Grace shrugged. “I suppose it could be, but what’s got me feeling down more than anything is the way Cleon’s been acting since the boppli was born.”

Ruth’s forehead wrinkled. “How’s he been acting?”

“Possessive of Daniel. He hardly pays Anna any attention unless it’s to scold her for something.”

“Have you tried talking to him about it?”

“Jah, but he doesn’t think he’s doing anything wrong.”

Ruth grunted. “Men sure can be stubborn.”

“Surely you can’t mean Martin. You two haven’t been married long enough for you to see his stubborn side.”

Ruth leaned slightly forward. “Last night after we got home from Martin’s folks’, we discovered that the pile of wood Dad had given us was gone.”

“It was?”

Ruth nodded. “Martin said he thought some of his friends might have taken it as a prank and figured it would be back in our yard by morning.”

“Was it?”

“No. By the time I got up, Martin had already gone fishing, but he left me a note saying he’d gotten up early and gone over to his folks’ to get some wood before he left for Abe’s.”

Grace shifted on the sofa. “You don’t suppose whoever took it was
the same one who blew up the outhouse at your wedding, do you?”

Ruth shrugged. “That’s what Martin thinks, but I’m not so sure. There were large tire tracks in the dirt near where the woodpile was, and that makes me think whoever took the wood was driving a truck.”

“Do you think it might be another attack—done by whoever has been trying to scare us?”

“Maybe so.”

“Have you spoken to Dad about this?”

“Not yet. I wanted to tell him last night, but Martin said it could wait and that we needed to see if the wood was returned.”

“Are you going to tell him now?”

“I suppose I could, but it would probably be best if I waited until Martin gets home and we can discuss it more.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Where are Anna and Cleon today?” Ruth asked.

“Cleon’s checking his bee boxes, and Anna went down to the folks’ to see Martha.”

“I’m planning to go over to Abe’s place to see how his kinner are doing,” Ruth said. “Do you think Anna would like to join me?”

“Probably so. Anna looks for any excuse to be with Esta.”

“I’d better go now and let you rest awhile before the boppli wakes up.” Ruth left her seat and gave Grace a hug. “If you don’t get over your depression soon, maybe you should speak with the doctor about it.”

Grace nodded. “I will.”

“I’ll have Anna home in plenty of time for lunch,” Ruth called as she retrieved her coat and headed for the door.

“Sure hope we catch some big old trout so Sue can fix ’em for supper,” Abe said as he rowed his boat to the middle of the pond. “Wouldn’t that be good, son?”

Gideon, who sat near the back of the boat, shrugged.

“I’m hoping to catch enough fish so Ruth can fix some for our supper, too,” Martin put in from his seat at the front of the boat.

“This looks like a good place to fish.” Abe slipped the oars inside
the boat and cast out his line. Martin did the same. Gideon just sat with his arms folded.

Abe’s patience was beginning to wane. “Come on, Gideon, you’ve been after me for weeks to take you fishing. Now we’re here—so fish.”

Gideon grunted. “It’s too cold.”

“Then you should have stayed home and sat around the stove all day.” Abe took no pleasure in snapping at his son, but he was irked that he’d taken the day off to spend time with Gideon, only to have the boy gripe about the cold and refuse to fish.

“Maybe he’ll get more enthused when he sees some trout,” Martin said.

“Let’s hope so.”

For the next several minutes, Abe and Martin visited quietly as they kept an eye on their lines. Gideon continued to sit with a scowl on his face.

Suddenly Martin shouted, “I saw a big one jump clean out of the water!”

Abe turned and saw two more fish jump. “I’d better move the boat over that way. Looks like they’re just waiting to be caught.”

Gideon perked up a bit and leaned over the edge of the boat. “I don’t see anything. Where were they jumpin’?”

“Over there.” Martin pointed to the left.

Gideon stood up and shouted, “There’s one! That old fish must have jumped three feet out of the water!”

Abe grunted. “Sit down, boy; you’re rocking the boat.”

Gideon had only taken a few steps when suddenly the boat flipped over, dumping them all into the frigid water.

“I can’t swim!” Abe shouted before taking in a mouthful of murky water.
And neither can Gideon
.

A
re you really going to get rid of Flo?” Anna asked Martha as the two of them sat on a bale of straw while Martha brushed the female beagle.

“I’ve got to, Anna. She can’t have puppies, which means she won’t make me any money that way. I plan to use the money I make selling her to buy another dog.” Martha grimaced. By the time she had responded to that ad about the pair of cocker spaniels, they’d been sold. That meant she had to keep looking, and it wasn’t likely that she’d find another pair as reasonably priced as the ones in the paper had been.

“I wish Mama couldn’t have any more babies.” Anna stroked Flo’s floppy ears, and the dog let loose a pathetic whimper as though in tune with the child’s feelings.

Martha frowned. “What makes you say a thing like that?”

“If she hadn’t had Daniel, Papa would still love me.”

Martha set the brush aside, and Flo crawled on her belly to the corner of the room. “I’m sure he still loves you,” she said, wrapping her arms around Anna.

“He won’t let me hold the boppli. Whenever I ask if I can help with somethin’, he always says no.”

“What kinds of things have you asked to help with?”

“I wanted to bathe Daniel so Mama could get some sewing done. Papa said I’m too little for that.” Deep creases formed on Anna’s forehead. “Then I asked if I could help with his bees. He said no to that, too.”

“Working around bees can be dangerous, Anna. You might get stung.”

“That’s what he said.”

“Hey! What are you up to in here?” Ruth asked as she stepped into the barn.

“Aunt Martha was brushin’ Flo so she looks nice when someone sees the sign out by the road and comes to look at her,” Anna answered before Martha could respond.

“I saw that sign when I drove in with my horse and buggy.” Ruth took a seat on another bale of straw. “Has anyone stopped to ask about the dog yet?”

Martha shook her head. “Of course, I just put the sign up last night, so I haven’t lost hope.” She clapped her hands and called for Flo. The dog returned to her with its tail between its legs and released a high-pitched howl.

“Maybe I should have bought Flo to give Esta instead of one of Heidi’s pups,” Ruth said. “That way you could have kept Winkie for breeding purposes.”

“I don’t think Esta would have wanted a full-grown dog that likes to howl at everything she sees.” Martha picked up the brush and began brushing Flo again.

“You’re probably right.” Ruth reached over and squeezed Anna’s arm. “Speaking of Esta, I’m heading over to see her now. Would you like to go along?”

Anna nodded eagerly. “Guess I’d better ask Mama first.”

“I was already at your house and saw your mamm. She said it was fine if you ride over to see Esta with me.”

Anna jumped up and raced for the door.

Ruth turned to Martha. “Would you like to come along?”

“I’d better stick around here in case someone comes to see Flo.” Martha smiled. “Maybe when you bring Anna home, you can join us for lunch.”

“That would be nice. Martin went fishing with Abe and Gideon, and I doubt he’ll be home until late this afternoon.”

“See you later, then. And be sure to say hello to Abe’s kinner for me.”

“I will.” Ruth headed out the door.

A short time later, Martha heard a vehicle rumble up the driveway, followed by the tooting of a horn. She put Flo inside one of the empty horse stalls and went outside to see who it was. When she stepped out of the barn, she saw John Peterson getting out of his SUV.

“I was driving by and saw the sign out front advertising a female beagle. Is it one of your dogs?” he asked.

She nodded. “I bought a pair of beagles for breeding purposes several months ago, but Flo can’t have any pups, so I’ve decided to sell her as a hunting dog.”

He grinned. “Which is exactly what I’m needing. How much do you want for her?”

“I paid a thousand dollars for the pair, so if I could get—”

“I’ll give you six hundred. How’s that sound?”

Martha’s mouth fell open. “Don’t you want to look at her first?”

“Guess I probably should.” John reached up to rub the bridge of his slightly crooked nose and squinted. “Unless she’s sick, crippled, or just plain dumb, I’m sure she’ll work out fine for me.”

“She’s none of those things.” Martha motioned to the barn. “Follow me, and you can see for yourself.”

Inside the barn, Martha took Flo out of the horse stall and led her over to John. He knelt on the concrete floor beside the dog and gave her the once-over. “She looks good to me. I’ll take her.”

Martha could hardly believe she had found a home for Flo so quickly. She was pleased to know the dog would be put to good use.

“Help! Help!”

Martin came up out of the water, gulped in some air, and spotted Gideon, kicking and splashing for all he was worth. “Can you swim?” he called to the boy.

“He can’t, and neither can I!” Abe, who was several feet away, also struggled.

The frigid water stung Martin’s skin and took his breath away. Even though he considered himself to be a good swimmer, he knew he needed to get out of the icy water as quickly as possible. Needed to
get Abe and his son out, too.

Since Gideon was the closest and seemed to be having the most trouble staying afloat, Martin swam over to the boy, grabbed hold of his shirt, and pulled him toward shore. He kept pulling until they were in shallow water and he knew Gideon could stand. “Climb out and wait on the shore,” he instructed.

Coughing and gasping for air, Gideon did as he was told.

Martin dove back into the water and swam toward where he’d last seen Abe. Only Abe wasn’t there!

Treading water, Martin looked around frantically. “Abe!” he hollered. “Where are you?”

“Don’t let Papa die!” Gideon shouted from the shore.

Martin whirled around. “Don’t come back in the water! Stay right there while I look for your daed.”

He dove down and spotted Abe under the water near where the boat had capsized. His hand snaked out and grabbed Abe’s arm, then he kicked hard, pulling them both to the surface. Abe wasn’t moving, and Martin feared the man might have drowned.
Dear God
, he prayed,
don’t let him be dead
.