An Unexpected Love (The Colorado Brides Series Book 5) by Carré White

Author:Carré White [White, Carré]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Romance, Western, Inspirational, Westerns
Amazon: B00FCMBQ6S
Publisher: Love Lust Story
Published: 2013-09-21T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The labor went on for hours after lunch, until I could barely hold my arms up. When we had finished for the day and returned to Fanny’s house, dinner was fried egg sandwiches and milk. Exhausted, I struggled to run a brush through my hair, as my arms were sore.

A knock sounded on the door, Fanny peeking her head in. “You were all very helpful today, girls. Thank you.”

“Did it work?” asked Mary. “I couldn’t tell if there was an improvement. The bugs seemed to jump to other stalks.”

She sighed wearily. “Yes, they did. They’re digging trenches tomorrow.”

“I think I prefer school,” said Susanna, who had crawled beneath the covers, peering over the edge of the blanket. “I never thought I’d say this in my life, but I’d rather do arithmetic than farm. I’m most eager to work word problems now.”

Laughter filled the room. “Goodness, is that so?” Fanny’s eyes sparkled. “What a revelation. Unfortunately, we’ve another day to help the Weavers, and then we’ll see what happens. So far, our field seems fine. The pests haven’t come here, but we don’t have a farm the size of Hannah’s.”

“Dig trenches?” I asked, feeling a sense of dread. “Will we all dig?”

“I don’t know. We’ll do what we can.” Thomas’ cries resounded in the hallway. “I have to put him to bed. I’ll wake you up a little later tomorrow. We could use the sleep.”

“Goodnight,” said Mary.

“Goodnight, and say your prayers.”

“Sleep well,” I murmured.

After I slid beneath the sheets, sleep came easily, as I was bone weary and utterly depleted. In the morning, I washed hastily with tepid water and dressed, determined to find the time to braid my hair and wind it into a secure bun. A good deal of it had come loose yesterday, and it had been annoying. In the kitchen, Thomas sat at the table eating tiny portions of ham and bacon, while Fanny made Griddle-Cakes.

“Is there coffee?”

“If you make it.”

“I will.” The kitchen was messy from the night before, and I doubted we would have time to tidy it before we left. “What if they lose their crop?”

“One season won’t ruin them, but it’ll hurt.”

“Our corn and wheat might just survive.”

“So far, so good. Jack’s checking things right now. He was hoping the pests wouldn’t come this way. They seem to swarm in groups.” She wiped her hands on an apron. “Tarnation, what a muddle. We’ve seen such calamity in recent years. The war, the fire, the floods, and now this.”

“I prayed that things would get better.”

She scooped out the Griddle-Cakes, placing them on a plate. “This latest disaster will ruin quite a few people. Paulina and Samuel will be fine and so will Hannah and Nathan, but others were worse off to start with. They came here after the war with little, and now this.”

“I should pray for them too.”

“Can you call your brothers and sisters? It’s time to eat.”

“I will.”

It was sobering to see Fanny so defeated. Yesterday, we had thought our efforts might be successful, if we could beat away the pests, but it hadn’t worked.

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