harsh.â
âCajole?â Peter asked.
âManipulate?â Lorene murmured.
Looking amused, Elsie raised her brows. âWheedle?â
Lovina hadnât blushed in ages but she definitely felt her cheeks heat. âRuth is a young girl. She needed a job. Besides, her talents were wasted in that old folkâs home. As are her charms. Sheâs a pretty girl, you know. And sheâs got a good heart, too.â
Roman reached for the plate of rolls and placed another on his plate. âMommi, I happen to think that any children, rowdy or not, would probably be much happier with someone besides you.â Before she could comment on that, he continued. âBut why would the situation be right for Ruth?â He waited two beats, then whistled low. âYou arenât really thinking of matchmaking, are you?â
âRoman, just because you are a preacher now, it donât mean you have all the answers.â
The corners of his mouth lifted. âI know I donât. Only the Lord has all the answers. But . . . I have a feeling that I might be right about this.â
âJust for the record, I might be right about this, too,â Lovina said. âMartin Rhodes needs a new wife, the kinner need someone to keep them in line, and Ruth needs to start living.â When she paused dramatically for emphasis, everyone at the table started laughing.
âWhat?â
Lorene shook her head. âYou know what, Mamm.â
âI know Iâm right about this,â she repeated. âWhy, I bet by Christmas theyâll wonder how they ever lived apart.â
Lorene sighed. âI hope youâre right, Mamm. Because if they donât find peace and happiness, they will probably blame every bit of their problems on you.â
Lovina opened her mouth, tried to think of a quick retort. But all she could think to say was, âPass the rolls over here, Roman. They turned out gut tonight.â
Chapter 6
Mamm used to say we were wonderful-gut kinner. Especially when we were sleeping.
Katrina, Age 9
Feeling like sheâd just had the longest, most confusing day ever, Ruth slipped her key into the door of her apartment sometime around seven oâclock, stepped inside, and grinned broadly. âI made it!â she said into the silence.
And though, of course, no one answered her, she had never been so happy to be in her little home.
âHomeâ was actually a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Berlin. Years ago someone had decided to convert an old bank building into three apartments. That meant half her walls were made of red brick and the ceilings were high.
When her landlord bought the building, he made further improvements. Each unit had a pretty fireplace lined in red brick, a kitchen large enough for two people to cook side by side, and a nice, modern shower in the bathroom.
When sheâd moved in, sheâd painted the walls the palest shade of pink. It was so pale that most visitors didnât realize they were standing in the midst of so much pink. But at night, when there was a fire in the fireplace and a candle burning, a warm, rosy glow illuminated the room. She thought it was beautiful.
Sheâd continued the pink theme by sewing a daffodils quilt, with each daffodil made up of a different shade of pink, rose, or red. Her couch was white, as were her kitchen towels, shades, and the cushions on her rocker.
It was completely feminine and pretty and clean. Ruth had always secretly believed that it was a good representation of the life sheâd always wanted to have.
Especially when she was a child. Years ago, when sheâd been shuffled from one extended family member to the next, sheâd often dreamed of being given a beautiful, clean room all for herself. That had never happened.
Sometimes sheâd been given a real bed, placed in the corner of someoneâs room. Once she was simply given the couch. Everyone had done the best they