Thursday's Bride by Patricia Johns

Author:Patricia Johns [Johns, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2020-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Rosmanda and Ketura worked hard for two hours. Together, they were able to finish much of the stitching. All spread out and with the backing nearly complete, Rosmanda’s quilt did look rather fine, she had to admit. It wasn’t finished, but it was closer to being complete now.

“It’s breathtaking.” Ketura smoothed her hand over the red and orange leaves.

Strange how work fueled by so much pain could be so lovely in the end. Rosmanda could remember every stitch, every piece, and the tears she’d blinked back as she worked. How many prayers had she said, the wordless kind where she didn’t even know what to ask anymore . . .

“Was it the same for you when your husbands died?” Rosmanda asked. “Was it easier if you kept your hands busy?”

“I built a whole business on it,” Ketura said.

“Do you want to marry again?” Rosmanda asked.

Ketura was silent. “I have good friends. I have family. I don’t know if it’s too much to ask. What about you?”

“I don’t think I have the strength to do it again right now,” Rosmanda said. “It’s a lot of work getting to know a man’s ways. I’d have to watch for his moods, his preferences, get to know his family . . . all while raising my babies. A woman shouldn’t shy away from work, but I’d rather put my energy into my needle and thread right now. It’s less complicated.”

Ketura smiled wanly. “Husbands are a different sort of work, aren’t they?”

“Wayne was a good man, but—” Rosmanda hesitated and looked over at Ketura. “It’s just that life is harder than you think it will be.”

“Yah, it is.” Ketura smiled. “You don’t have to talk carefully around me, you know. I understand.”

“The question is, should I hold off and stay single?” Rosmanda said. “Or do I find another good man and put my back into it?”

“You’re young,” Ketura said softly. “Find another husband. I don’t regret my second marriage for a minute.”

“But who?” Rosmanda sighed. “They want me to look a little closer at Aaron, truth be told.”

Ketura’s smile dropped. “Do they.”

Rosmanda froze—she’d hit a nerve there. “Ketura, I don’t mean to step out of my kitchen, so to speak, but I think that Aaron has a bit of a crush on you.”

Ketura’s gaze flickered toward Rosmanda, but then she put her attention into folding the pieces of quilt together again, her hands working quickly and efficiently as if completely separate from the rest of her.

“Does he, now?”

“Well, he’s here helping Josiah and Anna often enough, isn’t he?” Rosmanda took the other side of the quilt to help fold it.

“Yah. He’s very thoughtful that way,” Ketura replied.

“But I’ve seen the way he watches you—” Rosmanda paused, eyed her for a moment. She knew that look. It was the same one she’d gotten from Levi time and again—the one that woke things up inside of her that should have stayed dormant. Ketura’s cheeks pinked, and Rosmanda stopped. It suddenly made sense—but with Aaron? “Oh . .

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