Deeply Devoted by Brendan Maggie

Author:Brendan, Maggie [Brendan, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Baker Book Group
Published: 2011-09-01T05:00:00+00:00

Catharine and Peter worked side by side with a renewed closeness, planting seeds in the neatly laid-out rows in the flower bed. When she looked up from where she knelt on her knees in the soft earth, he grinned back at her as he sprinkled the seeds, then lightly raked the soil over them.

“You wear the dirt well,” he teased. “You’ve become a farmer’s dream.”

She reached up, feeling the smudges on her face, then lifted the edge of her apron to wipe the dirt away as best as she could. “What I’ll need is a good long soaking to get the dirt out from under my nails.” She flashed him a smile and leaned back on her heels. She placed her hand behind her aching back and stretched. “This is hard work, but the rewards will be worth it in just a few short weeks.”

Peter laid the rake down. “I’ll go start filling the buckets with water if you’re through planting. You just take a break for now.”

She gave him a nod and didn’t argue, then sat down to wait until he returned to water the seeds in the freshly turned soil. As usual, there was a nice breeze that cooled the dampness under her arms. She liked the fecund smell of the earth and the buzz of insects and watched a fat earthworm digging his way back down into the cool earth. Enjoying nature on the prairie was a continual learning process and entirely different from Holland, where spring showers were abundant.

The thought of home caused deep pain in her heart. The last thing she’d planted were the tulip bulbs at the head of a little plot in her family’s cemetery. The only way she’d survived the grief was with God’s constant reminder that He was with her and would send the Comforter to soothe her anguish. She’d clung to that promise. She squeezed her eyes shut for a few moments and once again felt peace. Wiping her eyes, she dragged herself out of the dirt to help water the seeds.

Watching Peter carrying the two buckets filled with water made Catharine’s heart swell with love. He didn’t have to be out here helping her when he had other things that needed tending to, but he’d insisted. She had no idea where Anna was, and Greta was supposedly peeling vegetables for dinner. Catharine had a roast in the oven, and its delicious smell now wafted on the breeze from the open kitchen window.

“Supper sure does smell good!” Peter said when he reached her. He tilted the bucket so that the water would flow in a slow stream, pouring it slowly back and forth over the rows until he’d emptied the bucket. “My appetite is growing by the minute.”

“I can help,” Catharine said, reaching for the other bucket.

He pushed her hand away. “Oh no you don’t. I can do this. Why don’t you go on inside and clean up before you finish supper?”

Catharine shifted her gaze to movement across the yard and saw Anna hurrying up the hill, her apron rolled up in a ball.

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.