A Sister's Test Read online

  Ruth nodded. “I hope it’s not a sign that summer will be hot and dry.”

  “Never know what the weather will bring.”

  As they neared the house, he stopped and turned to face her. “Say, I was wondering. . .”

  She tipped her head. “What were you wondering?”

  “Would you mind me going with you when you take the puppy to Esta? It would give us a chance to spend some time together.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “Maybe afterward, we can drive over to the pond near Abe’s place and see if the fish are jumping.”

  “I’d like that,” she said as they began walking again.

  When they reached the work site, the crisp scent of wood being sawed mingled with the acidic aroma of sweaty bodies, and Ruth knew the men were in need of a break. She set the jug of lemonade on a piece of plywood that had been placed over some sawhorses, and Martin did the same with the iced tea.

  “Guess I’ll have a glass of lemonade and then get back to work,” he said.

  “Aren’t you going to take a break with the other men?”

  “I took my break while I was waiting for you on the porch.” Martin gave her a heart-melting smile and headed toward the house.

  Martha and Sadie showed up with a tray of cookies and a pot of coffee. Ruth motioned Martha to one side. “Can I speak to you a minute?”

  “Jah, sure. What’s up?”

  “I’d like to buy one of Heidi’s hundlin.”

  Martha’s eyebrows lifted. “I never thought you’d want to buy one of my puppies.”

  “The puppy’s not for me; it’s for Esta Wengerd. I thought it might help her deal with her mamm’s death a little better.”

  “Then I should just give her a pup.”

  Ruth shook her head. “You’re trying to build up your business so you can buy more dogs for breeding. I insist on paying for the puppy.”

  “You’re a good sister and a good friend to little Esta.” Martha gave Ruth a hug. “When did you plan to take the puppy to her?”

  “Since tomorrow’s an off-Sunday, I thought I’d head over to the Wengerds’ sometime after breakfast.”

  Martha smiled. “Sounds good to me. I’ll have the puppy ready for you then.”

  “Guess I’ll go back to our place now and see what Mom has for me to do.”

  “Sadie and I will serve the men their snacks, then we’ll come back to the house to help get lunch ready to serve.”

  When Ruth returned to the house, she found Grace and Mom sitting at the table, drinking lemonade. “I figured you’d be making sandwiches by now,” she said.

  Mom smiled. “They’re already made, and since the rest of the women have gone outside to either check on their kinner or see how things are going with the house, Grace and I decided to take a break.”

  “Guess I will, too, then.” Ruth pulled out a chair and sat down. “I’ll be taking one of Martha’s puppies over to Esta Wengerd tomorrow, so I hope you haven’t made any plans that will include me.”

  Mom shook her head. “Your daed and I thought we would visit my sister, Clara, but there’s no need for you to go along.”

  “If you’re goin’ to see Esta, can I go, too?”

  Ruth turned at the sound of Anna’s voice. She hadn’t realized her six-year-old niece had come into the room. The child’s vivid blue eyes were wide with expectation, while a wisp of dark-colored hair peeked out of her kapp and curled around her ear. Not since before the fire had Ruth seen Grace’s daughter looking so enthused. There was no way she could say no to Anna’s request. “If it’s all right with your mamm, you can ride along,” she told the child.

  Anna hurried to her mother’s side. “Can I go with Aunt Ruth to see Esta?”

  Grace nodded and gave her daughter a hug. “It’s fine with me.”

  Ruth thought about Martin’s offer to drive her over to Abe’s place and wondered how he would feel about Anna tagging along. It meant they wouldn’t get to spend time alone, but she hoped he would understand.

  Martin had just started up the ladder on the back side of the house when he heard angry-sounding voices nearby. He glanced to the left and spotted Ruth’s dad talking to Luke.

  “Your carelessness could have caused serious injury to my daughter.” Roman squeezed his fingers around his straw hat so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

  “It was an accident; the hammer slipped out of my hand.” Luke looked over at Martin. “You were there when it happened. Tell Roman I didn’t drop the hammer on purpose.”

  Martin swallowed hard, not sure how to respond. Even though it had appeared to be an accident, he wasn’t sure it was. Fact was, he didn’t trust Luke Friesen and had been relieved when Ruth broke up with him.

  “Speak up,” Luke said, moving closer to Martin. “Tell the man how the hammer slipped out of my hand and slid down the roof.”

  “It did that, all right,” Martin said with a nod. “And if you’ll recall, I told you that you needed to be more careful.”

  “What he needs to do is stay away from my daughter.” Roman planted his hands on his hips and stared hard at Luke. “I don’t trust you. Haven’t since we found your sunglasses on the ground under my wife’s clothesline that somebody cut.”

  “Well, it wasn’t me.” Luke’s eyes darkened to the color of the night sky.

  Roman continued to glare at Luke. The tension between them blazed like a hot fire. “Why’d you come here today?”

  “To help rebuild Cleon and Grace’s house, same as all the others who came.”

  “Everywhere you go, trouble seems to follow. I’d appreciate it if you’d go home.” Roman’s eyebrows furrowed. “Better yet, go on back to John Peterson’s woodworking shop and do some work there. He’s still your employer, isn’t he?”

  Luke kicked at a dirt clod with the toe of his boot. “John and I both took the day off so we could help here.”

  “I appreciate John showing up, but you can spend your day off doing something else, because you’re not welcome in this place!”

  Luke grabbed his work pouch from the patch of grass where he’d laid it and stalked off.

  Roman looked over at Martin and slowly shook his head. “I don’t trust that fellow.”

  Martin glanced across the yard. When he saw Luke heading toward his buggy, he made a promise to himself. Whenever Luke’s around Ruth, I’m going to keep a close watch on things.

  As Martin headed down the road toward the Hostettlers’ place the following day, a wave of excitement coursed through his body. He could hardly wait to see Ruth again, and he looked forward to the time he would spend with her on the drive to Abe’s place. If he had his way, he would ask Ruth to marry him today. He figured he’d better not rush things, though. He had to be sure she cared as much for him as he did for her. He needed to know that her folks approved of him, as well.

  When Martin pulled into the Hostettlers’ yard a short time later, he was surprised to see Grace’s daughter, Anna, sitting on the porch steps beside Ruth.

  After securing his horse to the hitching rail near the barn, Martin sprinted across the yard and stepped onto the porch. “Guder mariye,” he said, smiling at Ruth.

  “Good morning.”

  “Are you ready to go?”

  “I am, and I hope you don’t mind, but I said it was okay if Anna went with us today.” Ruth slipped her arm around Anna’s shoulders. “Esta’s a good friend of Anna’s, so she’d like to be there when we deliver the puppy.”

  Even though Martin was disappointed that he wouldn’t have Ruth to himself, he understood why Anna would like to go along. “We can make the drive to the pond some other time,” he said.

  “I’m sure we can.” Ruth reached for Anna’s hand. “Shall we go out to the kennels and see if Martha’s got that hundli ready for us?”

  Anna nodded and clambered to her feet. “I hope Esta lets me help her name it.”

  Martin seemed awfully quiet on the way over to Abe’s, and Ruth wondered i
f he was unhappy about her bringing Anna along. Of course, the reason he hadn’t said much could be because Anna had been talking nonstop ever since they’d left home. The little girl had turned into a regular chatterbox.

  “I hope Esta likes the hundli,” Anna said from her seat behind Ruth. “She’s lost her mamm and needs this little fellow to comfort her.”

  “I’m sure she’ll like it fine,” Ruth replied.

  Martin smiled at Ruth. “Anna’s caught on to the Deitsch pretty well, hasn’t she?”

  “She had a little trouble fitting in and learning our Pennsylvania Dutch language when she first came to live with my sister,” Ruth whispered, “but she’s finally adjusted and is looking forward to her mamm having a boppli soon.”

  Anna tapped Ruth on the shoulder. “What do you think of the name Winkie for Esta’s puppy?”

  “Why would you want to call him that?” Ruth asked the child.

  “ ’Cause he likes to wink. If you watch him real close, you’ll see his one eye wink when I pet him behind the ear.” She stroked the pup behind its ear, and one eye closed, then opened again.

  Ruth laughed. “That’s some schmaert dog we’re giving Esta.”

  “Schmaert means smart, right?”

  “Jah.”

  “Sounds like you’re pretty schmaert, too,” Martin called over his shoulder.

  “Danki.”

  Ruth turned to look at Anna. With the little reddish-brown and white sheltie nestled in her arms, the little girl looked quite content. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like another dog, Anna?” she asked. “I could have given you one for your birthday two weeks ago.”

  Anna shook her head. “I don’t need one of my own, ’cause I’ll have a baby sister to play with soon. Besides, I can play with Esta’s puppy whenever I visit her.”

  “Okay.” Ruth hoped Anna wouldn’t be too disappointed if she ended up with a baby brother. The child had already faced so many disappointments. Even on her sixth birthday, she had suffered the disappointment of not having much of a celebration. Cleon had spent most of the day cleaning up the mess that had been left after their home had been burned. Mom had invited Grace’s family for supper that evening, but Cleon and Dad had returned to work on the cleanup right after they’d eaten their meal. Of course, Anna had received some gifts, but Ruth had seen the dejected look on her niece’s face and knew she felt let down because there hadn’t been a real party to celebrate her special day.

  Ruth glanced back at Anna again and was pleased to see the dreamy look on the little girl’s face. Apparently her disappointing birthday had been forgotten, for her concentration seemed to be on the puppy she held.

  When they arrived at Abe’s place, Ruth spotted three of his children—Owen, age four; Willis, age six; and Josh, age ten—playing in the yard. None of them wore jackets, despite the chilly wind and dark clouds hovering overhead. Ruth was sure if their mother were still alive, they wouldn’t have been playing outside on a day like this without jackets. She was tempted to mention the chilly weather to the children but decided it wasn’t her place to do so. Abe’s sister, Sue, had left her parents’ home in Illinois and moved into Abe’s house to care for his children soon after Alma died. It was Sue’s responsibility to look after Abe’s kinner now.

  Eight-year-old Esta darted out of the barn as soon as Martin pulled the horse up to the hitching rail. Her older brother, Gideon, who was twelve, stepped out from the door behind her.

  “Where’s your daed?” Martin asked as he hopped down from the buggy and went around to help Ruth and Anna out.

  “He’s in the house takin’ a nap.” Gideon’s forehead wrinkled. “He’s been sleepin’ a lot since Mama died.”

  Esta nodded. “That’s right. As soon as Papa’s done eating supper every night, he goes right to bed.”

  “Your daed works hard in his harness shop,” Martin said in his boss’s defense.

  “It ain’t the harness shop that’s got him feelin’ so tired,” Gideon mumbled. “He misses Mama, same as we do.”

  “Only we don’t sleep so much,” Esta said as she sidled up to the buggy and stood on her tiptoes. “Papa said you were bringin’ me a hundli. You got him in there?”

  “Of course we do,” Anna replied. “Winkie’s right here.” She handed the puppy to Esta.

  Esta stared at the pup. “Winkie? Where’d you get that funny name?”

  “I chose it ’cause he likes to wink.”

  Gideon snorted. “Jah, right. Like any dog knows how to wink.”

  “This one does,” Anna said with a nod.

  “It’s true,” Ruth put in. “I saw the puppy wink.”

  Gideon shook his head. “People wink; dogs don’t.”

  “Uh-huh.” Anna stepped closer to Esta and reached out to stroke the puppy behind its right ear. Winkie closed one eye, opened it, and closed it again.

  “I told you he could wink. That’s why his name should be Winkie,” Anna said.

  “I like that name.” Esta looked up at Ruth with a dubious expression. “Are you sure he’s mine?”

  “Absolutely. But you must promise to take good care of him.”

  Esta’s head bobbed up and down. “I’ll feed him and make sure he gets plenty of exercise, too.”

  Ruth bent down and gave Esta a hug. “I’m sure you will.”

  “Winkie’s a dumb name,” Gideon mumbled as he shuffled back to the barn.

  Esta’s lower lip protruded. “I don’t know why my bruder has to be so mean.”

  Martin patted Esta on the head. “Maybe he’s jealous because you’ve got a new puppy and he doesn’t.”

  “That’s just plain silly,” Esta said with a shake of her head. “Gideon’s got a goat and a whole lot of other barn animals to care for. He’s a mean old schtinker.”

  “Does Gideon smell bad?” Anna asked.

  Esta grunted. “Sometimes, after he’s been workin’ in the barn.”

  Ruth chuckled. “I think Esta was calling her brother a stinker because he wasn’t acting nice about the name you chose for the puppy.”

  Anna nudged Esta. “Are you gonna keep the name Winkie for him?”

  “Don’t see why not. He can wink real good, so I think it’s a fittin’ name.” Esta motioned to her brothers playing in the yard. “Let’s show the others my new puppy.”

  The girls scampered across the lawn.

  “She seems real happy to have the hundli, doesn’t she?” Martin asked as he and Ruth followed the girls.

  “Jah. It’s good to see her smiling again.”

  “It was nice of you to buy the dog from your sister.”

  “I could almost feel that little girl’s pain the day her mother was buried.” Ruth stopped and turned to face him. “I wanted to do something to give her a sense of joy again.”

  “You did that, all right.” Martin nodded toward Josh, Willis, and Owen, who had gathered around Esta, begging to hold the puppy. “I think you’ll make a fine mamm someday, Ruth.”

  “I hope so.”

  “What’s going on here?” Abe called as he stepped out of the house and headed for the group on the lawn. “All that hollering woke me from my nap.”

  “We’re lookin’ at the hundli Ruth brought over for Esta,” Josh announced. “Come see how cute he is, Papa.”

  Abe left the porch and joined them. “It’s a nice one, all right,” he said with a yawn.

  “Where’s Aunt Sue and baby Molly?” Esta questioned. “I want them to see my new puppy, too.”

  Abe grimaced. “Molly woke up fussy from her nap, so Sue’s trying to get her calmed down.”

  Ruth was tempted to ask if she could be of assistance but figured Abe might not appreciate her butting into his family’s business.

  “It’s not fair that Esta gets a puppy and we don’t,” Willis complained to his dad.

  Abe patted the boy’s head. “There are plenty of animals around our place for you to play with.”

  “I’ll share Winkie with everyone.” Esta held t
he pup out to her brother. “You can play with him whenever you want.”

  Abe quirked an eyebrow. “Winkie, is it?”

  “I gave him the name,” Anna explained. “It’s because he winks whenever I do this.” She stroked the pup behind its ear, and just like before, the puppy winked.

  Everyone laughed. Ruth was glad she’d given the dog to Esta. Despite all of the horrible things that happened in people’s lives, it was good to still have some things to laugh about.

  Would you be interested in seeing the harness shop while you’re here?” Martin asked Ruth as they sat with Abe on his back porch, watching the children frolic in the yard with the puppy.

  “Oh jah,” she said with an eager nod. “I think that would be quite interesting.”

  Abe grunted. “Don’t see what’s so interesting about a bunch of leather harnesses, straps, and buckles, but if you’d like to see my shop, I’d be happy to show you around.”

  “Will the kinner be all right?” Ruth questioned.

  “Sure,” Abe said with a nod. “Sue’s in the house if they need anything, and we’ll be within hollering distance.”

  “Let’s head out to the shop, then, and give Ruth the grand tour.” Martin reached for Ruth’s hand as she rose to her feet, and their gazes met. He looked pleased at her interest in his work.

  When they stepped into Abe’s harness shop, Ruth’s nose twitched at the distinctive odor of raw leather and pungent dye. It seemed strange that she’d never visited here before. But whenever Dad had come to see Abe during Ruth’s childhood, she’d either been in school or been doing chores at home. Now she kept busy with her job at the bakeshop and never had a need to visit the harness shop on her own.

  “This is quite impressive,” Ruth said as she gazed around the room, awed by all of the equipment and supplies. She pointed to a tall machine on one side of the room. “What’s that over there?”

  “It’s a riveter. We use it to punch silver rivets into leather straps.” Martin glanced over at Abe and shrugged. “Guess I should let you do the telling since this is your shop.”

  “No problem,” Abe said. “You go ahead and show Ruth around. I’ll take a seat at my desk and relax awhile.”