Rachel's Garden by Marta Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

yet, of course.”
    She could breathe again. Really, she was being ridiculous, having such thoughts. “I’m happy for them.”
    “Ja, so are we, but having five boys to get settled isn’t an easy thing, you know. In the normal way of things, Caleb would take over my farm, but I’m nowhere near ready to move to the grossdaadi haus.”
    He chuckled, to show that was a joke. Naturally Isaac wouldn’t want to give up the reins yet.
    “I’m sure Caleb is willing to wait until you’re ready.” That seemed the proper answer, although she had no idea why Isaac would be talking to her about it.
    “Well, and that’s just what we don’t want him to do. A young couple like that, just starting out, it’s a gut thing to have their own place. Helps them to be steady-like, knowing what they’re working toward.”
    “I see.” She was beginning to, actually. “Are you talking about my farm?”
    He looked a little nettled, as if he didn’t care to be rushed toward the point he wanted to make, but then his face smoothed out into a determined smile.
    “Don’t hurry into answering me. I just want you to think about this. Seems it would be the best solution all around. Ezra’s farm would go to his kin, as I’m sure he’d want, and we’d pay you a fair market price. Set it up any way you want, with monthly payments or a lump sum.”
    Ezra’s farm, he’d said. Of course that was the way he’d see it, conveniently forgetting that the farm had come to them from her aunt and uncle. Childless themselves, they’d made it easy for their favorite niece and her husband to buy their place.
    That didn’t really matter, did it? The point was that if she was going to have to sell, it would be better to sell to family, as Isaac said.
    The familiar indecision settled on her. “I’m not sure ...” “What aren’t you sure about?” His voice sharpened. “You can’t run a dairy farm on your own. You must be sure of that much. It was hard enough for Ezra, with the children not old enough to help yet.”
    Ezra had worked too hard, tried to do too much, but he’d loved it. No matter how tired he was, he always had a smile and a dream for the future. That was what he’d been working for—to have the right life for their family.
    “You have to think about the children’s future,” Isaac said, gesturing toward Mary, who’d begun arranging pebbles around the edge of the bed. “Suppose you try to hang on to the farm and you fail. You could get into trouble with the taxes and end up losing everything Ezra worked so hard for. Better to make the decision now, while it’s yours to make.”
    He made it all sound so sensible. It was sensible, she supposed. It just seemed wrong, somehow. This wasn’t the way Ezra’s dream was supposed to end.
    “I ... I’ll think about it.” Her voice sounded weak and indecisive, even to herself, and she hated that. Had she really been so dependent on Ezra that she couldn’t make up her own mind?
    “Gut, gut.” Isaac rocked back on his heels, smiling. “You think on it. Pray on it. I know you’ll decide right.”
    It was easy for Isaac to say. He wasn’t the one who’d have to live with the results.
     
    Gideon’s hands tightened on the lines as his buggy rolled down the lane to the Brand farm. That was Isaac Brand he’d spotted, heading back across the fields to his adjoining farm.
    Judging by what he’d seen of Rachel’s relationship with her brother-in-law, he probably wouldn’t find her in a tranquil temper after a visit from Isaac. That didn’t bode well for the success of his mission today.
    He’d have to be persistent, that was all. He’d been trying for well over a week to get Rachel’s final approval on the plans for the greenhouse. He’d figured that once she’d committed herself to letting him build it, that would be the end of the discussion, and he could get on with it.
    But each time he’d tried to pin her down, Rachel had found yet another reason to avoid giving him