The Selfless Act by Wanda E. Brunstetter Read Free Book Online Page B

still lying beside her feet. “I don’t really like having your dog in the kitchen, but he has a persuasive way about him.”
    “I showed Uncle John and my cousins the tricks I’ve taught my hund, and I want Aunt Elsie to see what he can do.”
    Elsie rose from her chair. “I’ll go out to the living room, and you can show me in there.”
    Scott’s face lit up. “Okay! After that, I’m gonna play a song I learned on the harmonica Uncle Joel gave me.” He looked up at Arlene. “Are ya comin’, Mom?”
    She nodded. “I’ll be there as soon as I put our tea cups in the sink.”
    Scott headed for the living room with the dog at his heels, and Elsie followed.
    Arlene smiled as she cleared the dishes from the table and placed them in the sink. Joel had done a good thing by giving Scott the mutt, but it really wasn’t enough. He needed to do something sacrificial without trying to get anything in return. Unless her brother had a complete change of heart, it wasn’t likely he’d ever do a good deed for anyone without expecting something back.

    Elsie had felt uptight most of the day, but after laughing at Bristleface’s antics as he did several tricks, she relaxed a bit. Laughter was good medicine. She remembered her mother had often quoted Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Her bones had certainly felt dry since they’d lost their house. She’d struggled to find any joy at all, but she still tried to hide her frustrations and despondency from the children. If they knew how disheartened their mother felt, it would upset them. Even John didn’t know the extent of her depression. She’d shared a few of her thoughts with him, but most things she kept hidden in her heart. There was nothing her husband could do about their situation, so what was the point in saying anything? Truth was, John probably held in his thoughts and feelings, too. Some days Elsie wondered if anything in their lives would ever feel right again.
    Thunder sounded in the distance, causing Elsie to rise from her seat in the rocking chair. She went to the living-room window and looked out. “It’s snowing—really hard!”
    Arlene and both of the men joined her at the window.
    “You don’t hear
dunner
when it’s snowing very often,” Larry commented. “I have a feeling we might be in for another storm.”
    “Could turn into a blizzard.” John’s brows furrowed. “I can hear the horses out in the barn, whinnying something awful.”
    Arlene slipped her arm around Elsie’s waist. “I think it would be safer if you spent the night here.”
    Larry nodded. “I agree with my
fraa.
Sure wouldn’t advise going home with a spooky horse in this kind of weather, even though Charm’s not that far from here.”
    Elsie looked at John to get his reaction.
    “I believe you’re right, Larry,” he replied. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, we’ll crash here tonight. If things look better in the morning, we’ll head back to Charm.”
    “What about
schul
?” Hope spoke up. “If we spend the night here, how am I gonna get to school on time tomorrow?”
    “I’ll take you there with my horse and buggy.” John gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Try not to worry about it, okay? If the storm is too bad, school will probably be cancelled tomorrow, anyway.”
    Elsie shivered as another clap of thunder sounded. This one seemed a little closer than the last. The snow was falling harder. She was pretty sure they were in for a blizzard.
    Hearing the thunder made her think about Dad and how lightning and thunder had struck the night he’d been killed in his tree house. She closed her eyes.
I miss you, Dad. I’d rather we had you here with us right now than be waiting to see how much of your money we were going to get.

    Akron
    Joel had developed a headache soon after he’d left the church, but even though he’d taken something for it, the pounding pain remained.
    It’s probably from