Forevermore by Cathy Marie Hake Read Free Book Online Page B

made Hope grin. “You got yourself a good plan.” Mrs. Erickson trundled on into the farmhouse. Hope watered half the garden; she’d come back out later and finish the rest while Emmy-Lou napped and Mrs. Erickson cut the noodles. A woman that far gone with a child had no business hauling water.
    Jakob sat at the supper table and surveyed the kitchen. He’d never seen such a mess. Bowl upon bowl—some covered with cloth and others heaping with string beans—were lined up along the counter on the pump side of the sink; a dozen jars of tomatoes stood in rows like pairs of soldiers on the other side. Small patches of flour dusted the floor, spools of thread and needles sat on the surface of the hutch, and he knew for a fact that only half of the garden got watered this morning. Though the shepherd’s pie tasted wonderful, he knew Hope simply took it from the springhouse and popped it into the oven. It hadn’t required any cooking.
    Friday was housecleaning day. Naomi’s embroidered dish towels even proclaimed that fact. But instead of creating order in his home, Hope caused chaos far beyond anything he’d ever witnessed. The fine layer of dust on the furniture and the smudged mirror on the washstand proved his new housekeeper didn’t keep house.
    “—more chicken feed.” Annie ducked her head.
    Jakob realized he hadn’t been listening, but he didn’t want his sister to feel ignored. “Mr. Vaughn mentioned he would get a big shipment of feed in this week. Perhaps you should go with me to buy the chicken feed, Annie. That way, you can choose the sacks you like best.”
    “What with all that butter you churned today, I reckon you’ll have that storekeeper happy as a lamb,” Hope chimed in.
    “Happy as a clam,” Phineas said.
    “Never seen me a clam. Wouldn’t know whether he was happy or not. Y’all don’t seem none too fond of sheep.”
    Phineas frowned. “You don’t understand.”
    Hope held up her hands. “Now, don’t think I’m finding fault, ’cuz I’m not. I know plenty of folk don’t cotton much to sheep, what with them range wars betwixt cattlemen and sheepherders. I heard ’twas on account of the sheep eatin’ clear down to the roots of the grass so’s the land’s spoilt for the cattle. Didn’t think that’d bother you, you bein’ a farmer. But anyways, you shore can tell when sheep are happy. ’Tis a joy to watch them gambol.”
    “Daddy.” Emmy-Lou reached over and tugged on his sleeve. “You said gambling and beer are sinful. Why does she like lambs when they do sinful things?”
    While Phineas hooted with merriment, Jakob patted his daughter. “The words sound alike, but they are written with different letters. One way means to dance and play. The other means to—” He caught himself just before he said “play” again. “It means to spend money on foolish guesses.”
    “How d’ya like that? I didn’t know them words got writ with different letters.” Hope didn’t look the least bit embarrassed to confess her ignorance. “You got yourself a right clever pa, Emmy-Lou. I never seed me anyone who had more books, neither. You’ll go to school and learn how to read and cipher, and one of these days, you’ll be as smart as your pa and auntie.”
    Emmy-Lou beamed. “Aunt Annie read a Bible story to us today, Daddy. Then we taked our nap. Miss Hope tucked us in. She said Auntie has to teach the baby to take naps.”
    Jakob glanced at his sister. She blushed, but he didn’t want her feeling awkward. So what if the kitchen needed to be straightened? Annie needed to rest, then—
    His mind skidded to a halt. Suddenly it all made sense. Annie read aloud because Hope couldn’t read. If Hope couldn’t read, then the lettering on Naomi’s dishcloths wouldn’t make any sense to her. No wonder she wasn’t doing the assigned chores on the correct days!
    “If’n you go to town first thing in the mornin’, you’d get the eggs and butter to the grocer so he could sell it