Angels Watching Over Me (Shenandoah Sisters Book #1) by Phillips Michael

Author:Phillips, Michael [Phillips, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2003-01-01T07:00:00+00:00

WORKING AND LEARNING

TOGETHER

22

IWOKE UP ONE MORNING FEELING CHILLY. IT had been a little stormy and I guess the weather had turned.

Shivering, I got up and went to Katie’s room. She was gone.

I went downstairs and found her in the kitchen kneeling at the stove.

‘‘The fire went out,’’ she said, glancing up from the open door. ‘‘But I can’t get it started.’’

I went over to take a look.

‘‘Your chunks of wood are too big, Miss Katie. You can’t start a fire without using tiny little bits of dry wood to get them going first. And you gotta have paper first, then you lay little pieces of kindling crossways on top of it, making a little pile. Let’s go outside and get some kindling and I’ll show you how.’’

Katie went out to the woodpile with me. We were about out of kindling, so I set a couple of chunks up on the chopping block to cut some more. Katie watched with I think as much awe to see me handle the ax as I had watching her play the piano. I reckon everybody’s got different kinds of skills, though I didn’t hardly think cutting wood or singing a revival song could compare with playing a minuet by somebody named Mozart.

‘‘Would you show me how to do that, Mayme?’’ said Katie after I’d sent a few little thin slices splintering off the chunk.

‘‘It can be dangerous, Miss Katie,’’ I warned. ‘‘You gotta watch out for your fingers.’’

‘‘But I’ve got to learn to do these things sometime,’’ she said. ‘‘I helped my mama some, but I was never very good at it. I didn’t like to work. But watching you makes me want to learn how. Look at my hands—they’re all soft and smooth. I need to get them toughened up like yours.’’

‘‘I think most white ladies like smooth hands, Miss Katie.’’

‘‘Not me. My mama’s hands were rough too after my daddy left for the war.’’

‘‘Okay, then, but you gotta promise you’ll keep your fingers out of the way of the blade.’’

‘‘I promise.’’

I handed her the ax. ‘‘Take it in both your hands, and start that way. Just bring the blade down about an inch from the edge.’’

She tried it but missed the chunk completely. The tip whacked into the chopping block with a thud and stuck. I yanked it out and handed it back to her.

‘‘Try it again. The most important thing is to get a chunk of wood without knots and with nice straight grain. Then you can just splinter the kindling right off the edge.’’

She tried a few more times and got some pieces to slice off. Then we took what we’d cut into the house and I showed her about building the fire. Already Katie had the makings of a blister starting on her right palm.

It was while we were making the fire that I noticed how few phosphorous matches we had left. Katie had to use three or four before she could get one to light. I hadn’t thought of it before.

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