The Mending by Susan Lantz Simpson

Author:Susan Lantz Simpson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Fall crept into Southern Maryland early that year. The heat and humidity slithered away practically overnight, leaving the air crisp and fresh. Soon Malinda would be spending her days helping Saloma put up apple butter, applesauce, apple pie filling, apple jelly, and any other apple treats they could concoct. The trees had been loaded with McIntosh, Stayman, Winesap, and Rome apples that would be ready for picking at different intervals. The house would carry the sweet, spicy scents of apples and cinnamon for days.

Malinda loved clear autumn evenings. She could wrap a shawl around her shoulders and sit on the step to gaze at the bright stars twinkling in an inky sky. The round, orange harvest moon would be so big she could almost reach up and pluck it from the sky. When the chill seeped through the shawl and into her bones, she could retreat to the cozy blue armchair near the woodstove and knit until her eyes grew too heavy to hold open. She loved knitting or crocheting hats, gloves, scarves, afghans, or whatever else she could think of for gifts for freinden and family. This year she needed to think of a special gift for Timothy.

The thought of Timothy brought a smile to her lips and heart. She truly did care for him but knew she was still holding him somewhat at arm’s length, afraid to let him get too close lest he bolt when her disease flared up. She feared, though, her heart had already dragged her deeper into the relationship than she had intended to go.

Timothy had abided by his promise to take things slowly, but he’d been coming by more frequently. Sometimes it was a quick stop on his way home. Other times they sat together or took rides on Saturday evenings after her family had gone to bed. All except Atlee, who occasionally visited with freinden. Malinda sometimes wondered if Atlee would ever become serious about a girl and settle down. He was such a fun-loving guy, but he had a heart of gold. At least he hadn’t fallen into the clutches of Becky Zook. Of course, Sam spent most of his free time with Emma. Malinda expected them to be published any Sunday now.

By September’s end, trees already blazed gold, orange, and red. They’d turned early this year. Evening’s chill spread into the morning and midday. Even afternoons no longer warmed up so much. Winter might try to sneak in early, but Malinda hoped not. She loved the fall best of all the seasons.

Shortly after tidying up the kitchen following the noon meal on a cool Thursday afternoon, Malinda slipped outside to sweep the front porch. She lifted the broom high to knock down intricate, zigzagging spiderwebs stretched across corners of the ceiling. The feathery webs, some empty and some holding fat, dark spiders, seemed to fill nearly every nook and cranny. Malinda liked studying the various patterns and designs and almost hated to knock them down. Nobody liked walking face-first

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