Read Online Mother For His Children, A by Jan Drexler - Free Book Online Page B

this family, would I?”
    Eliza raised her chin and regarded Ruthy through narrowed eyes, but Ruthy pressed on.
    â€œIf I wasn’t around, your brother would need you to help, ja? Is that why you came today? To see if you could get me to run back to Lancaster County?”
    The other woman’s eyes narrowed further, and then a sudden smile broke over her face.
    â€œYou’ve got spunk. I like that. Maybe you will work out here.”
    Ruthy nearly dropped her cookie. Instead she brushed nonexistent crumbs off her lap. What was going on? A chuckle from the other woman made her look up.
    â€œMy dear girl, I’m not nearly as grumpy as everyone thinks I am.” She tapped her knee with one hand. “Arthritis keeps me from getting around as I like, and sometimes the pain is unbearable. I try not to complain, but I know I can be short-tempered. I also know I stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong at times, but I love my brother. He has a long row to hoe in front of him, and I was just trying to help.”
    Pieces fell together like a quilt top as Eliza paused to take a sip of coffee. Levi’s crafty sister used her cranky attitude to get her own way, just as Laurette used her pretty face. Was this nothing more than concern for her brother and his family?
    â€œDon’t think I’m soft, though.” Eliza’s sharp eyes peered at Ruthy over the rim of the cup. “Levi’s my little brother, and I’ll take care of him just as I always have.” She lowered the coffee cup to her lap and regarded Ruthy, her eyes narrowing. “You are much too young and pretty for this job, you know.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Eliza’s head tilted toward her. “We are to avoid the appearance of evil, but here you are, living in this house with a single man...”
    Ruthy felt a cold lump turn in her stomach. “But I live in the Dawdi Haus. Surely that can’t be construed into anything wrong.”
    â€œYou know how people can talk, dear, and it only takes one comment to start rumors flying.”
    Ruthy concentrated on brushing a crumb off her knee as Eliza took another sip of her coffee. The woman was right. Even if she and Levi Zook avoided each other, her presence in this home could appear improper to anyone in the community. But what could she do?
    As the other woman finished off her cookie, Ruthy caught a hint of a smile on Eliza’s face, and the cold lump of dread turned to seething irritation. What a wily fox she was! Her attempt to bully hadn’t worked, so she had changed tactics and had almost succeeded. Levi’s sister didn’t know her at all. Daed had always said she was stubborn as a mule, and she would keep her heels dug in. Levi Zook had hired her to be his housekeeper, and that’s what she would be as long as he wanted her to stay.
    Thumps and stamps from the porch told her Levi was coming in, so Ruthy rose to refill the plate of cookies and pour his coffee. How easily was he swayed by his sister?
    * * *
    Levi took a deep breath, his hand on the kitchen doorknob. He had put off facing Eliza for as long as he could, but now worry set in. Had she already succeeded in running off Ruth? Would he be searching for another housekeeper before the day was out?
    Pushing the door open, he sought Ruth’s face first. She glanced at him from the stove, where she was pouring a cup of coffee, her face pinched. At least Eliza hadn’t reduced her to tears.
    His sister, on the other hand, was settled into the rocking chair like a toad that had just snagged a fat moth. Whatever they had been talking about, it looked like he had come in just in time.
    â€œSome coffee?” Ruth handed him a cup as she sat on the bench.
    â€œDenki.” Levi sat on the bench beside her and took a sip from the steaming cup.
    â€œWe were just discussing your situation,” Eliza said.
    â€œWhat situation is that?” Levi took a cookie from the