Heaven Must Wait by Brenda Taylor

Author:Brenda Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, historical, post civil war, courtship and love, faith and inspirational

Chapter Five

Pa and Ma rose from their chairs and went inside. The boys wrestled and chased one another in the pasture beyond the porch. Her sisters went to play checkers on the kitchen table. Leann rose from the steps and sat on a rocker. She waited, watching the road for a horse and rider. The sweet scent from Ma’s sweetheart rosebush beside the steps wafted through the humid air. Dusk turned to dark. The moon and stars shone brightly in the night sky. The boys tired and soon went to bed. They had early morning chores.

Ralph didn’t come. Her heart turned as heavy as the large boulder down by the creek.

Ma stood in the doorway. "You need to come on inside, Leann. Don’t fret. Something happened to keep Ralph from coming to see you. He’ll come when he can."

Leann rose without saying a word, went to her room, dressed for bed, and crawled between the cool sheets. Tears spilled from her eyes. She wiped them away with the corner of the bed sheet. Her sisters came into the room.

Sue stood beside Leann’s bed, looking down at her. "Are you crying?"

"No," she responded through a somewhat stuffy nose.

Mary Jane sat on the edge of Leann’s bed while Sally changed to her nightgown. "I’m sorry Ralph didn’t come to see you like he promised. Something dreadful must have happened to keep him away." Mary Jane patted her arm.

Leann didn’t want to talk about Ralph. Her heart felt too heavy. She turned over on her side, away from Mary Jane and Sue. The two girls left to change into their nightclothes.

Sally came to stand beside Leann and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Sis."

Leann took her sister’s small face in both hands and kissed Sally’s pink cheek. "I love you, sweet Sally."

The three girls settled into their beds and soon began breathing heavily with sleep. Sleep didn’t come to Leann. She prayed and asked the Lord to heal her heart. If Ralph didn’t want her, help her to live without him.

The next morning, Leann woke with a plan. She would go to Ralph and talk to him. He would have to say to her face that he did not love her. She would be crushed to hear him say so, but she must know the true feelings of his heart. She needed to get on with her life and try to forget him, if he didn’t want her.

Leann dressed and went into the kitchen. Her mother worked at the stove cooking eggs and bacon for breakfast. The aroma of buttermilk biscuits emanated from the oven. Leann grabbed an apron from the hook beside the stove and quickly tied it in place. Her heart raced with anticipation. Hopefully, Pa was in a good mood this morning.

Ma turned to her. "Set the table and pour the milk, Leann. The men will be in soon."

She took plates and glasses from the hutch beside the stove then began setting the table when her sisters entered the kitchen.

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.