A Love Undone by Cindy Woodsmall Read Free Book Online

couldn’t remember being struck by lightning, buthe remembered having sausage at breakfast just a few hours before it happened. Would life be different for him if he hadn’t been struck? Would he be better? Better at math or blueprints like his brothers? Would his mother have loved him more? He’d never told anyone, not even Jolene, but Ray had overheard his mother talking to his aunt one night. Just above a whisper she said that he was worse than useless, that he was a burden to everyone around him. His mother’s haunting words continued to ring in his ears. He could barely tolerate the thought that Jolene might feel the way their mother had, but these days as they argued more and more, he wondered.
    He just wasn’t good at anything … except worrying Jolene.
    “Hello!” The elongated word from a male voice caused Ray to look up and realize he’d walked half a mile down the paved road while lost in his thoughts.
    The three guys in a buggy—Alvin, Urie, and James—were a few years older than he was. Alvin had the reins. Ray ignored them and kept on walking.
    “Where you headed, Ray?”
    Ray shrugged, ignoring Alvin.
    “Maybe he don’t know,” Urie piped in.
    “I know,” Ray hollered over his shoulder.
    “You want a ride?” James asked.
    Ray stopped. James was one of Van’s younger brothers, and unlike the others James had never been mean to him. Then again, Ray and James never attended school together. James had moved to Winter Valley a few years after he’d graduated, coming here to apprentice under Van. Besides, Ray didn’t have a problem with James. Only Van. Not many months after his parents died, Ray needed to ask Jolenesomething, so he went looking for her. She was near the barn, and he overheard her and Van talking. He didn’t know what Van had said, but she was crying. Ray had wanted to punch him, but he was afraid Jolene would be upset that he’d been eavesdropping, so he remained hidden. Van never came back after that. But from that day to this, Ray had refused to talk to anyone in the Beiler family unless forced to.
    “Kumm on.” Alvin grinned and nodded. “We’re all friends.”
    Ray glanced at Alvin and Urie. “I’ve got blisters on my feet that are better friends than you two.”
    Alvin laughed. “You’re all right, you know that?” He motioned for him. “Can’t blame a man for calling it as he sees it. We haven’t been friends, and we shoulda been nicer in school. It’s way past time we started fresh. Okay?”
    Ray’s leeriness eased when James smiled and nodded, and he didn’t see any harm in hitching a ride. He did need to get back quicker than he could by foot. “All right.”
    Alvin shoved Urie’s shoulder. “Get in the back and let the man have your seat.”
    Ray got in. It felt sort of good to hang out with these guys. All the girls wanted to go out with them.
    “Where to, Ray?” James asked.
    He slumped. “The cabinet shop.”
    Alvin clicked his tongue, and the horse started down the road again. “You say that like it’s no fun at all.”
    “It’s not.” Ray propped his arm on the open window.
    Urie leaned across the back of the seat. “We’re on our way back to work too. Mondays are the worst. Thank God for weekends, though. You do anything special on the weekends?”
    He shook his head. “Just rest and do chores.”
    Alvin’s eyes lit up. “You could go with us. We don’t do much, but we’ll help you have a little fun. Sometimes we meet up with a few girls.”
    “Can’t.” Although he wasn’t sure why. He was eighteen. His siblings had gone out with friends on the weekends when they were his age. He turned around, catching James’s eye. “Should I?”
    James shrugged and Alvin elbowed him. When James didn’t say anything else, Ray faced the front again.
    “Well”—Alvin turned and looked at James—“I think he should consider going. Don’t you, James?”
    “Ya, sure.”
    Alvin came to a stop in front of the cabinetry shop. “We