Huckleberry Spring by Jennifer Beckstrand

Author:Jennifer Beckstrand [Beckstrand, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2014-12-27T05:00:00+00:00

Ben shuffled out of the barn with a galvanized metal bucket. His hands were tingling as if they had fallen asleep and his knees felt as if someone had jabbed a screwdriver into each of them, but he had to get those peas off the vine. Emma proved to be too good a gardener. The trellises overflowed with peas, and by tomorrow, the ripe pods would grow too big to be sweet.

Even with the debilitating tightness, he wasn’t about to wait for Emma to do his picking. No one would take up the slack for him while he had any strength left. In Florida he’d trained himself to work around the stiffness. It was a part of him, but he refused to let it defeat him. He flexed his leg muscles. Some days it definitely felt like he was losing the battle.

He stopped short at the trellis of pea plants as he came upon a bucket brimming with pea pods. Somebody had already picked this morning. He gazed around the garden. Had Emma come early? Or maybe Mammi had picked them before he awoke. She would have had to get up before the rooster. And Dawdi? He hadn’t budged from that chair in a week even though the doctor told him the pain would only last a few days.

He heard Dawdi’s clear voice ringing through the air. So much for relaxing in his recliner. “In my childhood days, when I was strong, I could climb to the hilltops all day long, I am not in my prime like I used to be, Time has made a change in me.”

His grandparents came around the side of the barn holding hands. Dawdi wore both of his work boots, and he didn’t even limp. He stopped his song when he spied Ben. “Look who’s up.”

“Ben, did you see my pumpkin?” Mammi said. “It’s just a little nub of a thing.”

Ben stood up straighter. His grandparents needed to see how vital and healthy he should have felt. “Emma says when it gets going, it can grow twenty-five pounds a day.”

Mammi’s eyes twinkled. “She’s coming to tend the garden today.”

Ben nodded.

“It would be a gute time to ask her to Adam Wengerd’s bonfire. They’re having a bonfire after the haystack supper.”

Ben took a deep breath. “She already has an invitation. Adam is taking her.”

Mammi’s jaw dropped in indignation. “Adam Wengerd? Ben, you were supposed to ask her. Bonfires with die youngie are always so lovely. The perfect place to rekindle old romances.” She nudged Felty. “Remember when we took Tyler and Beth to a bonfire?”

Felty’s mouth twitched in amusement. “She got so mad at him, she stormed off and he had to chase after her and apologize. And when we got there, we found out he had a date with a different girl.”

“Now, Felty. It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?” Mammi looked pointedly at Ben. “Your cousin Beth and Tyler Yoder are very happy together. All because of that bonfire.”

“Then I suppose Adam and Emma will be very happy together after this bonfire.

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.