A Daughter's Truth by Laura Bradford

Author:Laura Bradford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2019-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Jakob popped his head around the corner of the open door, acknowledged Emma and Esther with a nod, and pointed at the wall where Dat kept many of his farming tools. “Emma, could you grab the saw? Levi Fisher is here to borrow it for his dat.”

Startled, Emma looked past her brother to the driveway beyond. “Levi is here? Now?”

“Yah. He is speaking with Dat.” Again, Jakob pointed at the saw. “Seems his dat’s saw got bent so bad on a fallen tree, it can no longer be used. The tree is blocking the way to Miss Lottie’s house.”

Emma drew her hand to her chest. “Is Miss Lottie okay?”

“Yah.”

Relief sagged her shoulders as the elderly English woman filled her thoughts. Loved by many in Emma’s community for her wisdom and gentle ways, Miss Lottie, as she was known by everyone, lived not more than a quarter of a mile to the east, in a small cottage-style home nestled in a field of sunflowers and overgrown grass. “That is good to hear.”

“Jakob!”

Together, Emma and Jakob turned toward the back of the barn and its view of the fields Jonathan was painstakingly combing for any rocks the girls might have missed before plowing and planting could start. “I have to go, Emma. I must see what Jonathan needs.”

Hooking her thumb across her shoulder, Emma took a step backward toward the tool wall, her gaze flitting between Jakob and the sliver of buggy she could just barely see beyond his shoulder. “I will see that Levi gets the saw.”

“Thank you, Emma.”

She watched the twenty-one-year-old disappear from her view and then crossed to the series of hooks used to keep track of the various tools and implements used around the farm. The saw she sought hung above a row of hammers and a long piece of metal she recognized as a level. It was also several feet out of her reach.

Glancing around, she spied an empty feed bucket, carried it back to the wall, and turned it upside down atop a nearby hay bale to create a makeshift stool. She stepped on, rose up on the toes of her boots, and extended her hand as far as she could reach, coming within a finger’s length of the saw’s handle.

Rocking forward even more, she balanced atop the very tip of her boot and stretched a little more, the deficit shrinking to that of a mere fingertip. Determined to get the grip she needed, she inched her toes onto the bucket’s rimmed bottom and extended her reach still farther, her fingers grazing the underside of the saw as the bucket tipped to the left.

She felt herself beginning to fall, but just as her predicament was beginning to register, a pair of strong arms encircled her from behind and deposited her safely on the ground.

“Whoa, Emma. I do not want you to get hurt.” Setting the now righted bucket off to the side, Levi reached up to the proper hook, retrieved the saw from its resting place, and leaned it against the barn wall as he sought Emma’s eyes with his own.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.