Within the Candle's Glow by Karen Campbell Prough Read Free Book Online

Foster.”
    “Oh. Mr. Beckler, I’m ashamed we filled the wagon an’ made your sister seek another ride.” Velma stood with a hand on his arm, gazing up at him. Splotches of pink tinted her cheeks.
    He gently patted her hand. “Don’t fret. She wanted to snuggle Rebecca’s baby girl.”
    Between the church and the trees, a plump hourglass figure plodded toward them. The gathered ruffles at the bottom of her voluminous graydress swept the trampled grass. Her time-etched face showed a smile of delight. A white collar topped the snug long-sleeved dress, which buttoned over her full bosom. Her silver-streaked, dark hair, parted in the middle, took the liberty of loosening itself from a severe roll at the back of her head. Two long strands twisted free in the breeze.
    “Agatha, sorry we’re late.” Mr. Beckler reached in the wagon, pulling out a stack of quilts. “You children spread these.”
    They grabbed corners of the multi-designed quilts and laid them out on the ground, smashing the fragrant grass. Ella eyed the gorgeous covers with their delicate stitches looping in intricate patterns. She wondered how Velma felt at the sight of them, knowing she’d be seated on the handiwork of Mr. Beckler’s deceased wife.
    “Walter, I thought you got lost.” Agatha Hood’s black bonnet hung by its ties and dangled down her back.
    Agatha’s voice sounded too high-pitched and bubbly for such a heavy woman, but it made Ella smile. She waved and received a wide grin in return. The woman’s heart of kindness knew no stranger. Down through the years, Agatha and her husband had taken in orphan girls and raised them to adulthood. But the unexpected death of Agatha’s husband, ten years before, had forced the woman to move to the cove.
    She sought a home with her brother—a lonely widower with a small store to run and space for children to grow. Mr. Beckler had taken up where his brother-in-law left off. His generous nature and big log home had provided shelter for otherwise homeless boys and girls.
    Two girls, about Carrie and Mae’s ages of eight and thirteen, lingered behind Agatha. They were picking yellow dandelion heads from among the tall grasses, but Scott stood and whistled to them.
    “Mary! Lessie! Come on!”
    The girls left the flowers and ran to join the other children. With hugs and laughter, the children found spaces on a quilt and plopped in a circle. The adults opened baskets and distributed the food.
    “Don’t eat yet.” Ella’s well-placed hand stopped Adam from wolfing down a golden biscuit.
    “We got here later than other folks.” Walter Beckler’s smile included all the children. “No sense laying our food out on the tables. They’ve almost finished eating. I reckon the children are itchin’ to scatter and play with friends. So,
let’s pray!
” He bowed his white head. “Our Father, we thank you for friends and food. One fills our hearts and the other fills our stomachs, but
friendship
is the most wonderful. Amen.”
    “Amen,” Velma repeated. The flush in her cheeks deepened. Her hazel eyes glistened with undisguised happiness.
    Walter sat beside her on the quilt, offering a plump turkey leg from his basket.
    “I saved this one for you.” His shoulder touched hers. “Couldn’t abide the young’uns fighting over it.”
    Ella smiled at his silliness and reached for her own piece of crunchy, fire-roasted turkey. She studied the other families. They sat in groups around the sides of the log church and under the trees. If they had gotten to the picnic earlier, she might’ve had a chance to sit with her best friend, Peggy—Jim’s sister.
    She searched for the McKnapp family, finding them grouped with her teacher and his wife. Another man and woman, whom she couldn’t recognize at a distance, sat with their backs to her. Voices and laughter blended in the breeze. Children ran and played tag between the seated circles of adults.
    “There’s Samuel.” Carrie giggled. “He’s