Herb of Grace (9781455548637) by Senft Adina

Author:Senft, Adina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA
Published: 2014-08-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

To her credit, Ruth Lehman did not say “I told you so” when Sarah explained why she was there, though the appearance of an Englisch car in her lane driven by the much-talked-about Henry Byler might simply have surprised her into silence. Instead, she nodded, said, “I thought you might come to it,” and led the way around the farmhouse to the greenhouse that sat to one side of the orchard.

“You might want those boys of yours to build you one of these.” She took a flat that could have come from a garden store long ago, and began setting slips in tiny paper pots into it. “Our winters are too long for some of the things you’ll need, so we start them early. Some of the fussier ones stay in here all year round. That way, you’ll always have fresh leaves on hand if you need them.”

When the flat was full, she got a piece of paper and drew a grid, with the names of the plants in the squares, and a word or two about what kind of soil and sun each one liked.

“Ruth, I don’t even know where to start.”

“It will come. Begin simply and the rest will grow from there. Folks around these parts favor certain complaints, you’ll find—burns from the stove, cuts from the lawnmower blades, head colds, stress, flu. These plants are the basics. Get them going and they’ll carry you through most problems you’ll run into.”

The greenhouse was warm, and perspiration made Sarah’s dress cling to her arms and between her shoulder blades. Carrying the flat in both hands, she followed Ruth outside and dragged the fresher air into her lungs with gratitude.

“Give me that,” Henry said, reaching for the flat. “I’ll put it in the trunk.”

“Can we set aside some time to work together?” Ruth asked. “Maybe once a week?”

Sarah had known this path would involve sacrifice, and here it was. “I usually do the sewing on Tuesdays, but I can do that in the evenings instead.” There hadn’t been a lot of new dresses in recent months, but the boys always needed their pants and shirts mended, and hooks and snaps seemed to escape in handfuls.

Ruth nodded. “Tuesdays would be fine. I usually compile on Thursdays, but I’ll do the baking then instead.”

“Thursdays are my baking days, too, so that I have lots of cake and pie on hand when the boys are home on the weekend, and we have company on Sundays.”

Ruth glanced at Henry, who slammed the trunk closed and ambled back toward them. “Is he going to bring you? It’s a fair way for a horse.”

“Probably not. Today was more a…spur-of-the-moment thing.”

“There’s a bus runs between Willow Creek and Whinburg. I don’t know when, but I often see it while I’m out. Come into the house and I’ll give you some recipes for your book. And if you don’t mind, I’ll write to some of my patients and tell them you’ll be looking after them now.”

“Oh, no, don’t do that,” Sarah exclaimed, apprehension pooling in her stomach.

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