Rosanna's Gift by Susan Lantz Simpson

Author:Susan Lantz Simpson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2019-10-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Rosanna sighed in relief when Mollie finally dozed off in her arms. Poor angel had been teething and suffering so much discomfort with a tooth that stubbornly refused to break through the red, swollen gums. Rosanna wanted to cry along with her miserable boppli. She had been so worried that Mollie was sick, since she had seemed too young to be teething, but Mamm assured her little ones teethed at all different ages. Mollie apparently was an earlier teether.

She would have gladly taken on her little girl’s pain if she could have. She carried her downstairs to the living room to keep her from waking the rest of the family. Elongated shadows cast by the single flickering oil lamp danced on the walls of the dimly lit room. Only the occasional squeak of the rocking chair or the crackling of wood in the stove broke the tomb-like silence of the room. Rosanna leaned her head back against the thick, blue cushion lining the back of the chair. Her body had passed beyond tired, but her brain whirred.

“The Lord Gott’s plans might be different from ours.” Those were Emma’s earlier words. Did His plan for her include a special person who would be her husband and Mollie’s daed? If so, who was this mystery man? It obviously wasn’t Henry Zook. She’d given him enough opportunities to move any relationship forward. The reticence she had mistaken for shyness could only have been disinterest. She was okay with that now. She was over him. Even her embarrassment had faded once she realized most of the other young people at the singings had been too absorbed in their own conversations.

Rosanna squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t crawl into the past to change it. She could only do her best in the present. Right now, she’d love to sleep for a few minutes while the house was peaceful. Her eyes popped open when her ears detected a shuffling sound. She squinted into the darkness until a lumbering shape came into view. “Tobias?” Her whisper was little more than an exhalation, for fear of waking Mollie.

“Rosanna? What . . . ?”

“Shhh!”

Tobias stumbled into the living room. He groaned when he stubbed a toe, but he didn’t cry out. “What are you doing up?”

“I might ask you the very same thing.”

“Is Mollie all right?” Tobias scooted closer to the rocking chair.

“She’s teething and was fussy. I brought her downstairs so she wouldn’t disturb anyone.”

“Little chance of that. You know we all sleep like dead men’s bones. Is she asleep?” He leaned over to peer into the little cocoon of blankets.

“Finally. What’s wrong with you?”

“Aside from the toe I just broke, you mean?”

“Jah.” Rosanna stifled a giggle.

“My stomach rumbled so loud I thought a freight train crashed in my room.”

“It must have been some rumble if it woke you up. There was some peach pie left from supper unless someone else crept in and finished it off.”

“I’ll check. Do you want a piece?”

“Nee. I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem so fine.

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.