Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof

Author:Joanne Bischof [Bischof, Joanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-60142-422-8
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2012-10-01T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Six

Gideon stared at the quiet house and flicked up the collar of his coat. Lonnie was still avoiding him. Not just for a morning. Not even for a day.

Two weeks.

For two weeks, she’d kept her eyes down and her answers short. Though he’d tried to speak with her here and there, he hadn’t gotten more out of her than “yes” and “no” since his return. And why should she care what you have to say? Gideon wiped his hands on his pants and glanced around the yard. With the barn door shut and latched for the evening, he headed toward the house with more than supper on his mind.

He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Lonnie. If she noticed his missing ring, she didn’t say as much. A few days ago, he thought he’d surprise her with the pocket watch. A peace offering of sorts. When she’d asked him where he got it, he struggled to answer. When he finally told her, she flung the watch at his head. He caught the trinket just in time, the metal clasp digging into his palm.

Women. Hardest creatures in the world to please.

Elsie looked up when he stomped into the kitchen. She shoved a piece of wood into the stove and slammed the heavy lid.

His gaze flickered over the kitchen. There was evidence of his wife’s hand everywhere. As if of its own accord, his chest lifted.

Elsie pulled out a cutting board. “Lonnie ducked into the cellar a moment ago. She’ll be right back.”

“Oh.”

Jebediah stormed in, newspaper tucked under his arm.

Gideon made a show of rubbing his hands together. “I’m gonna wash up a bit.” Before anyone could speak, he stepped onto the porch, only to stare at the wash bucket. Elsie and Jebediah chatted away inside, and with them paying him no mind, Gideon slipped away.

He walked around the house to the cellar, not surprised to see the door closed. Lonnie knew better than to leave it open for a raccoon or a fox to make its home among Elsie’s abundant stores. Gideon lifted the door and started down the ladder, suddenly wishing he knew what to say.

“Gid?” His name lifted from below, a trace of surprise in Lonnie’s voice. She held up a lantern, casting a soft light across her face. “What are you doing here?”

He made sure to shut the door before descending the last two rungs. The still air, heavy with the smell of herbs, seemed to swallow him up. “Elsie said you were down here. Thought you might need a hand.” He ducked when a spider’s web tickled his forehead.

She stacked bars of roughly cut soap on wooden slats.

“What are you doing?”

“Setting these to cure. I offered to make soap for Elsie.” She looked at him, clearly bewildered. “They need to set for a couple weeks before we can use it.”

“That’s right.”

“Didn’t know you were a master soap maker.” A smile carried on her voice.

“I have my secrets.”

She rolled her eyes and continued stacking her soap. Gideon moved to her side, and she looked up at him.

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