A Sister's Test Page 3

  After the comment from Gideon about Abe sleeping so much since Alma died, Ruth wondered if Abe had lost his zest for working. Could he be putting the workload on Martin’s shoulders while he sat around feeling sorry for himself?

  Ruth mentally scolded herself. She had no right to judge the man. She hadn’t walked in his shoes, and it wasn’t fair to speculate on how Abe ran his business or how he was coping with Alma’s death. Besides, he had come to the work frolic the other day and worked hard to rebuild Grace and Cleon’s house.

  “Here are all the buckles, snaps, rings, and rivets we use.” Martin pointed to a group of open-faced boxes lining one wall.

  “I don’t know how you keep track of everything,” Ruth said, letting her gaze travel from the boxes, to the harnesses and bridles looped from ceiling hooks overhead, to the scraps lying on the cement floor, looking like thin spaghetti noodles.

  “We know where everything is.” Martin moved to stand between two oversized sewing machines. “This is what we use to stitch leather straps together. They’re run by an air compressor.”

  “It’s all so impressive. I like what I see.”

  A wide grin spread over Martin’s face. “So do I.”

  Ruth felt the heat of a blush cover her cheeks. Did Martin mean he liked looking at her, or was he referring to the harness shop? She didn’t dare ask.

  “How did you learn the trade of harness making?” Ruth asked, turning to face Abe.

  He leaned back in his chair with his fingers locked together behind his head. “Learned it from my daed, and he used to say he learned it from making mistakes.”

  “Your daed must have taught you well,” Martin said, “because you’ve got a lot of customers who are always telling me what a good job you’ve done for them.” He grinned. “You’re teaching me real well, too.”

  “That’s because you’re a good learner, and you’ve always been cooperative.” Abe looked back at Ruth. “Not like Luke Friesen, who gave your daed nothing but trouble when he was working as his apprentice.”

  Ruth wasn’t in the mood to talk about Luke, and she wished Abe hadn’t brought him up.

  “Come over here and take a look at all the tools we work with,” Martin said, steering Ruth across the room. She figured he knew talking about her ex-boyfriend made her feel uncomfortable.

  Ruth followed Martin around the room as he explained how they cleaned and repaired old harnesses and made new ones. She reached out to touch a strap that lay on one of the workbenches. “This feels so soft and oily.”

  “It’s recently been dipped in neat’s-foot oil,” Martin explained.

  Ruth glanced over at Abe and noticed that his eyes were closed. She figured the poor man must be either very tired or bored with playing chaperone for them. Or maybe he was trying to shut out the world as he suffered the loss of his wife in silence.

  Martin stepped closer to Ruth and whispered, “Would you be interested in going to the pond with me next Saturday for some fishing and a picnic?”

  “Just the two of us?”

  He nodded. “Since we couldn’t go there today, on account of bringing Anna along, I thought maybe next Saturday would work better. You don’t have to work at the bakeshop, do you?”

  “I have that day off. What about you? Won’t you be working here at the harness shop?”

  “Nope. Abe’s only got the shop open one Saturday a month now, and that won’t be this Saturday.”

  Ruth hesitated before giving Martin her answer. The last time she’d gone to the pond with a man, it had been Luke. He’d acted odd and secretive that day, despite his kidding around. Of course, now she knew that was because Luke had a truck hidden in the woods not far from the pond and didn’t want anyone to know about it.

  “Maybe you’d rather we make it a double date,” Martin said. “We could ask your friend Sadie and her boyfriend, Toby, to join us.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Ruth was quick to say. “Sadie’s been after me to go someplace with her, and that would be a nice way for us to spend the day.”

  Martin tipped his head. “For who—you and Sadie, or you and me?”

  “Both.”

  His face relaxed into a smile. “Do you want to speak to Sadie about it, or should I talk to Toby?”

  “Sadie and I are both scheduled to work at the bakeshop on Monday, so I’ll ask her then. But if you happen to see Toby between now and then, feel free to mention it to him, as well.”

  Abe released a sigh as he sat at his desk, resting his eyes and listening to Martin and Ruth’s conversation. The joy of being young and in love. He could still remember how excited he felt when he and Alma first started courting. He couldn’t wait to be with her. Whenever they went somewhere together, he didn’t want to take her home. Even after they’d been married a few years and had started their family, he’d continued to enjoy her company and looked forward to their time alone after the kinner were in bed.

  Abe thought about his sister, whose boyfriend, Melvin Zook, lived in Illinois. He knew it had been hard for Sue to leave Melvin and her family to come care for his kinner. He also knew that should Sue and Melvin decide to marry, he would lose his housekeeper.

  “Then what’ll I do?” he mumbled.

  “Were you speaking to me, Abe?”

  Abe’s eyes snapped open, and he squinted. Martin stood a few feet from his desk, and Ruth was right beside him. “Uh. . .no. I was just thinkin’ out loud, is all.”

  Martin nodded. “I do that sometimes, too.”

  Abe grunted. “Been doin’ it a lot more since Alma died.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” Ruth’s pained expression revealed the depth of her compassion.

  Abe swallowed hard. “You know what happened the first time I brought Alma out here to show her around?”

  “What happened?” Martin asked.

  “She ran around the room touching everything in sight, saying how much she liked the place. Alma was full of love and life, and I sure do miss her. Even though my kinner and Sue are around, I feel lonely without Alma.”

  “Of course you do. It’s only natural that you and your children would miss her,” Ruth said, touching Abe’s shoulder. “My grandma Hostettler used to say that when we’re lonely, we should reach out to family and friends and allow them to reach out to us in return.”

  Abe sniffed. “Esta’s got her puppy now, but I wish there was some-thing that could help my oldest boy cope with his mother’s passing. Gideon hasn’t shed a tear since Alma died. Yet I know he’s grieving. He’s been acting moody and kind of sassy lately.”

  “Would you like me to speak with him?” Ruth asked. “Maybe I can help in some way.”

  “I appreciate the offer,” Abe replied, “but I believe in time the boy will come around.”

  “I think we’d better go,” Martin said before Ruth could respond. “We don’t want to get Anna back to her folks too late, or they might start to worry.”

  “Oh, okay.” Ruth glanced over her shoulder as Martin led her toward the door. “Danki for letting me see your shop, Abe. It’s very interesting in here.”

  “Jah, sure. I’m glad you like it.”

  Grace entered her new living room and seated herself in the rocking chair near the fireplace. She leaned her head against the cushion and placed both hands on her stomach.

  “You feeling all right?” Cleon asked as he took a seat on the sofa across from her.

  “I’m fine,” she said with a nod. “I just felt the boppli kick.”

  “He’s an active one, isn’t he?”

  “Jah, but it could be a girl, you know.”

  He shrugged. “I guess Anna would like a baby sister.”

  “What about you? Will you be disappointed if the babe is a girl?”

  “I’ll be fine with whatever God chooses to give us,” he said.

  “Me, too.” Grace smiled. “I was pleased to see how Anna perked up when she found out Ruth was taking the puppy over to Esta. I’m glad Ruth didn’t mind taking
Anna with her.”

  “I’m not sure Martin was so pleased about Anna tagging along, though.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I’ve got a hunch Martin wanted to be alone with your sister today.”

  “Then he should have said so.”

  “Probably didn’t want to hurt Ruth’s or Anna’s feelings.”

  “Anna would have been disappointed, but I’m sure she’d have gotten over it.” Grace stopped rocking and stood.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’ve got a cramp in my leg, so I need to walk around a bit.”

  Cleon was immediately at her side. “Want me to rub it for you?”

  Grace appreciated her husband’s concern, but sometimes he could be a bit overprotective. “If it doesn’t relax soon, I might take you up on that offer,” she said with a smile.

  Despite the uncomfortable knot in her calf, Grace felt peace and joy in her heart. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago things had been strained between her and Cleon. Then the day their house had burned, Cleon had apologized for his part in their marital problems, and she’d done the same. Grace had never felt closer to him, and with each passing day, their relationship seemed to grow stronger. Let it always be so, she silently prayed. Let peace and joy reign in this house.

  When Martin pulled his buggy into a grassy area near the pond, Sadie and Toby were already there. He and Ruth hadn’t planned to meet them until noon. According to his pocket watch, it was just a little past eleven thirty. So much for spending time alone with his girlfriend.

  Ruth looked over at Martin and smiled. “Looks like they beat us here.”

  “Jah.” Martin halted the horse, climbed down, and secured the animal to the nearest tree. He hurried back to the buggy to help Ruth down, but by the time he got there, she had climbed out on her own.

  “Hey, you two,” Sadie hollered with a wave. “Looks like we’ve got the perfect day for a picnic.”

  Ruth lifted her face toward the sun. “Jah, it’s a beautiful spring day. Much better than the low-hanging clouds and gusty winds we had earlier in the week.”

  “Let’s hope the fish are biting today.” Toby thumped Martin’s shoulder. “I’d like to catch a couple of big ones. How about you?”

  “That’d be fine with me.” Martin scooted around to the back of his buggy and withdrew his fishing pole.

  “No fishing until we’ve had our lunch,” Sadie said with a shake of her head. “If you fellows put your lines in the water now, we’ll never get to eat, and I’m hungry.”

  “Aren’t you the bossy one today?” Toby tweaked Sadie’s freckled nose. “Sadie Esh, my bossy little aldi.”

  She pushed his hand away, and her blue eyes flashed indignantly. “I may be your girlfriend, but I’m not bossy.”

  “Are so.” Toby whipped off his straw hat, revealing a thick crop of reddish-blond hair, and plunked the hat on Sadie’s head.

  “Hey, you’re crushing my kapp!” Sadie lifted Toby’s hat and sent it sailing through the air.

  Ruth looked over at Martin and rolled her eyes skyward. “Shall I get the picnic food?”

  “Might as well,” he replied with a nod.

  Ruth and Martin spread a quilt on the ground and retrieved their ice chest from the buggy while Sadie and Toby did the same.

  Once everyone was seated on the quilt, all heads bowed for silent prayer. Afterward, Ruth and Sadie passed out golden brown chicken, macaroni salad, coleslaw, carrot sticks, dill pickles, and lemonade.

  “Everything looks good,” Toby said, smacking his lips. He reached for a drumstick and took a bite. “Jah, it’s appeditlich.”

  “If you think the chicken’s delicious, wait until you taste some of Ruth’s strawberry-rhubarb pie,” Martin said. “I had some at her house last Sunday when I brought her home from Abe Wengerd’s place.”

  “What were you doing at Abe’s?” Toby asked, looking at Ruth.

  “We took one of Martha’s little shelties over to Esta, hoping it might help her deal with the grief of losing her mother,” she replied.

  “It was nice of Martha to give away one of her pups,” Toby said as he reached for another piece of chicken.

  Sadie swatted his hand. “You haven’t finished the first piece you took, and already you’re taking another?”

  “Actually, giving Esta a puppy was Ruth’s idea,” Martin said. “Ruth even paid for the hundli.”

  Toby set the chicken leg down and licked his fingers. “Is that a fact?”

  “Sure is.” Martin smiled at Ruth. “My aldi’s real kindhearted and generous.”

  Ruth blushed a crimson red, and he figured he’d probably embarrassed her. At least she hadn’t denied being his girlfriend.

  “You’re right about Ruth being kindhearted,” Sadie said, touching Ruth’s arm. “My good friend is the nicest person I know.”

  The color in Ruth’s cheeks deepened. “I’m not perfect, you know.”

  Sadie shook her head. “Never said you were. Just meant you’re a good friend, and a nice one at that.”

  Ruth finished her lunch in quiet as she mulled over what Martin and Sadie had said about her. She did care about others who were hurting, which was why she’d been concerned for Esta Wengerd. She’d always tried to be an obedient daughter, a helpful sister, and a trustworthy friend. But at times, Ruth felt as if she were being tested—always trying to do what was right, yet struggling with feelings of discontent. Her feelings of frustration over the break-ins at their home and Dad’s shop were examples of how imperfect she was. Then there was the anger she’d felt toward Luke when he had refused to be honest with her.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Martin said, nudging Ruth. “Are you bored with being here?”

  “Not at all. I was just thinking.”

  “I’ve been thinking, too.” Toby grabbed Sadie’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “I’ve been thinking it might be a good idea to take a walk in the woods and work off some of the food I ate so I don’t fall asleep while I fish.” He glanced down at Ruth and Martin. “You two want to join us?”

  Ruth looked over at Martin to get his opinion and was pleased when he said, “I’d rather stay here and enjoy the sunshine.”

  Ruth nodded. “Me, too.”

  “Suit yourself,” Toby said as he and Sadie hurried away.

  Martin leaned close to Ruth, and she could feel his warm breath caress her cheek. “I enjoy being with you,” he murmured.

  She swallowed a couple of times, hoping she could speak without stammering. “I enjoy being with you, too.”

  He reached for her hand, and they remained on the quilt, visiting and watching the ducks float on the pond until Toby and Sadie finally returned.

  “You’ll never guess what we found in the woods,” Toby said as they plunked down on the quilt.

  “A big black bear?” Martin asked in a teasing tone.

  Toby snorted. “Jah, right. We found a big black pickup truck covered with a layer of dust. But no one was in sight.” He squinted at Ruth. “Sadie says she’s seen it before, and so have you.”

  Ruth nodded slowly. “Jah, that’s true. We spotted it there one day when we were taking a walk.”

  “Do you know who it belongs to?” Toby questioned.

  Ruth merely shrugged in reply. “It’s not important. Let’s talk about something else, okay?”

  “No way!” Toby got right in her face. “If you know who owns that truck, then tell us. Raus mit—out with it!”

  Ruth curled her fingers into the palms of her hands, remembering the day Luke had told her about the truck he’d hidden in the woods so his folks wouldn’t know. She had promised she wouldn’t tell anyone, and until now, she’d never been tempted.

  “I’ll bet it belongs to one of those rowdy English fellows who have been seen pulling some pranks in our area.” Toby grunted. “I heard that a couple of ’em were caught throwing dirt clods at some buggies going down the road near Sugarcreek the other day.”
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  Ruth gave a nonchalant shrug.

  “I say we drop this subject,” Sadie said, squeezing Toby’s arm.

  Toby turned his hands palms up and grunted. “Whatever.”

  “Why don’t you and I do some fishing while the women visit?” Martin poked Toby’s arm. “That’s what we’d planned to do in the first place, right?”

  Toby nodded and rose to his feet.

  Martin glanced over at Ruth and smiled, then headed for the buggy to get his fishing pole.

  Sadie nudged Ruth with her elbow. “I’ve been thinking about that truck in the woods.”

  “What about it?”

  “You sure acted funny when Toby mentioned it. Do you know who owns the truck?”

  “Do we have to talk about this? Can’t we just enjoy our day?”

  “Does that mean you know who owns the truck and just won’t say?”

  Ruth clenched her teeth. “I do know, but it’s not for me to say.”

  “How come?”

  “Because the person who owns the truck asked me not to say anything.”

  “You can tell me. I won’t tell anyone else, I promise.”

  “Sure is a beautiful day. Just listen to the birds twittering in the trees overhead.”

  Sadie sighed. “All right, then, don’t tell me who owns the truck.”

  Ruth leaned back on the quilt and closed her eyes. “Ah, that warm sun feels so good on my face.”

  “Remember last spring, when the two of us were here with our boyfriends?”

  Apparently Sadie had given up on learning who owned the truck, and Ruth was glad. Sadie was her friend, but she was also being courted by Toby, who tended to be a blabbermouth. If Ruth told Sadie that the truck belonged to Luke, and Sadie repeated it to Toby, the word would soon get out to everyone in their community, including Luke’s parents. If Dad was right about Luke, and he was trying to get even with Ruth for breaking up with him, he might think up even more malicious things to do in retaliation.

  “Did you hear what I said about last spring?”

  “Jah, I heard, and I do remember coming here.”

  “Only you were being courted by Luke instead of Martin.” Sadie nudged Ruth’s arm, and Ruth’s eyes popped open. “I think Martin’s a better match for you than Luke.”