Glory by Lori Copeland

Author:Lori Copeland
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Romance, FICTION / Religious
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2012-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

Shortly after noon a harness broke. Glory paused in back of the wagon, listening to Jackson mutter under his breath, wincing at his sharp expletives.

My, he surely isn’t listening when Ruth reads the part about not cursing. Seemed to her there was something in those worn pages about not taking the Lord’s name in vain, and the words that were coming out of Jackson’s mouth this morning most assuredly weren’t holy. The only time she’d heard words like that was when Molasses had stepped on Poppy’s infected toe. He’d whacked the old mule upside the head and talked to him something awful.

Besides, just last night Ruth had read about being angry and not sinning. Glory would be the first to admit she didn’t know much of anything about what was or wasn’t a sin, aside from the Ten Commandments. But to her blistering ears, Jackson sure sounded like he was mad as a wet hen and doing some powerful sinning while he was at it.

Shoving her hat to the back of her head, she joined the other girls as they walked toward the wagon master cautiously. Glory knew full well that when Jackson’s face was red and bad words were as plentiful as weeds, he wasn’t in any mood for socializing.

The travelers stood in the middle of the trail, staring at the torn strip of leather as if staring would miraculously repair it. The sun seared through their bonnets as the women shifted stances, eyes switching periodically to Jackson.

Lily finally broke the strained silence. “What do we do now?”

“Fix it.”

“But that will take all afternoon!” Glory exclaimed.

Jackson took off his hat and wiped a stream of sweat dripping off his forehead. “Do you have a better idea?”

“We could switch teams. Use the mule team today and repair the oxen’s harness tonight.”

He nodded, but his grim expression didn’t soften. “We could do that, if the mule team’s harness hadn’t broken when I went to hitch them this morning.” His tone was louder and harsher than usual. “All our leather has taken a beating in this heat. I wipe it down with conditioning oil at night, but the salty sweat and the wear and tear have taken their toll.”

Glory didn’t have another idea, good or bad. She stared at the thick leather, then at Jackson. “So we stop and fix it now?”

“I guess we don’t have a choice.”

Jackson disappeared into the back of the wagon for the repair kit. Glory stayed put, knowing he didn’t want her help. For the next few hours, he sat under a shade tree and patched the broken harness.

Ruth offered to help, but he brushed her efforts aside, saying he could complete the job faster by himself. However, Glory noticed he was thoughtful enough to thank Ruth for her offer.

The girls spread out, each pursuing her own activity. Ruth and Lily caught up on mending; Harper read a dime-store novel that she kept tucked out of sight in her satchel. Patience sat in the shade and fanned herself, her young face flushed with heat.

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