Read Online Leaving Lancaster by Kate Lloyd - Free Book Online Page A

shrugged. “I dropped them off at the railway station five days ago.”
    â€œSounds like you know them well,” Holly said.
    â€œWe’ve spent plenty of time together, that’s for sure. When I was a young woman, Anna taught me how to garden, to can and preserve, and how to quilt, among one hundred other skills. In return, I helped look after the boys. When I got my driver’s license, I became the family’s chauffeur and go-for, the least I could do.”
    â€œLike a second daughter?” Holly said, making Esther gulp her coffee too quickly, then cough.
    â€œI feel like one of the family,” Beth said. “Soon after my parents moved here, when I was fourteen, my mother died, leaving my busy dad to raise me. Anna was a godsend.”
    Esther knew she had no right, but an ocean of jealousy roiled in her chest, churning like a river at the bottom of a waterfall. Of course her mother would adopt an orphaned girl after her own daughter had willfully deserted her. In her sorrow, Mamm would have been grateful for Beth and grown to love her as her own.
    Esther’s vision took in the room and she wondered if Mamm’s hands had woven the runner on the sideboard. What was she doing here? Why had she agreed to come to Beth’s, of all places?
    Holly poured herself more coffee and added a slurp of milk. “Beth, is there anything we should know before going to my grandmother’s?”
    â€œNot that I can think of. The house should be relatively quiet. One of your uncles, Isaac, your mother’s youngest brother, stayed behind. He and his wife and kids live there.”
    â€œIf you think about it, they live together in a commune.” Holly smirked and glanced at Esther. “Like you and Dad did.”
    Esther crossed her legs, smacking her knee on the table. “It’s nothing like that, I assure you. Please excuse my daughter’s sense of humor.”
    â€œYou did live in a commune,” Holly said. “It’s not a secret, is it? I assume everyone who knows Grandma Anna has heard about your outlandish past.”
    â€œA little.” Beth filled her coffee cup to the rim. “How about I scramble some eggs and make whole wheat toast. Sound okay?”
    Esther unfolded her napkin. “Yah, denki .”
    â€œDenki?” Holly said, and sniggered. “Where did that come from?”
    â€œI meant, yes, thank you.” Esther’s first language, Pennsylvania Dutch—she’d tried to erase it from her mind, but still spoke phrases in her dreams—was creeping back. “Need any help, Beth?”
    â€œNo, thank you, sit and relax,” she said, leaving her coffee on the table.
    Hearing an engine gaining momentum on the road, Esther saw Zach’s pickup motoring past. Ach, had he stopped at Mamm’s to announce her and Holly’s arrival? How had he described them? How did Mamm respond?
    After she and Holly finished breakfast, Holly stood and headed for a shower. “I can’t believe I ate so much.” She patted her stomach.
    â€œA couple extra pounds wouldn’t hurt you one bit,” Beth said.
    â€œYou think so?” Holly seemed pleased with Beth’s assessment.
    Since when did Holly take unsolicited advice from strangers? Esther didn’t dare open her mouth on the subject. Instead, when Holly left the room she offered to help redd up Beth’s kitchen—another expression from Esther’s childhood.
    â€œNo need, you run along. Anna will be overjoyed. It’s been a difficult year for her. Seeing you and Holly will cheer her day.”
    The morning was coursing along too quickly, as if Esther had run a marathon and needed to catch her breath. Her joints—especially her newly bruised knee—felt stiff. “I wish there were something we could do to help.” And delay their departure. “Shall we remake the beds?”
    â€œNo, leave everything as is.”
    Because Mamm