Love Still Stands Read Online Free Page A

refrigerator, and a second propane stove. The kitchen remained
     a top priority so the women could cook for the men who swarmed the place, rebuilding
     the living room walls, replacing windows, and painting both the interior and the exterior.
     Dawn seemed days ago. She suppressed a sigh, not wanting Emma to notice her flagging
     strength. The medication her doctor prescribed for the pain seemed to be flagging
     as well.
    If Emma noticed her white-knuckled grip on the lone crutch, she didn’t say anything.
     She swept the floor so vigorously dust billowed up around her long dress. Bethel coughed,
     put her hand to her mouth, and immediately felt her leg buckle under her. Emma dropped
     the broom and grabbed her before she hit the floor.
    “Sorry!” they exclaimed at the same time.
    “What do you have to be sorry for?” Emma helped Bethel ease onto one of the four chairs
     the boys had carried into the kitchen after Thomas and Luke carted in a table. “It’s
     not like you’ve done something wrong. Surely you know that.”
    “I’m sorry to be a burden, I guess.”
    “You’re doing fine. Considering how badly you were hurt, it’s amazing you’re standing
     upright so soon after…” Emma’s voice trailed away and her cheeks turned pink. “I mean
     the doctors said it would take months for you to get back on your feet and here you
     are only six weeks later. Thanks be to God.”
    “Patience has never been my strong suit.”
    “Yes, it is. You’re a teacher.” Emma had been one too before her marriage to Thomas.
     She knew about teaching twenty or more children ranging in age from six to fifteen
     in a single room. “A good one. Eli and Rebecca loved—love you.”
    “I was a teacher.”
    Emma picked up the broom again. “You will be again. I know you will.”
    “I pray I will. I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t teach.”
    “You’ll do other things.” Emma was nothing if not optimistic. “You’ll be a fraa and
     a mudder , of course.”
    The words dropped around Bethel like a glass vase on a hardwood floor, the shards
     piercing her bare feet. Emma couldn’t know how painful they were. Bethel tried to
     smooth her expression.
    “The doctors…” Emma faltered as if looking for soft words. “What do they say?”
    “They say I might regain the use of my legs, but they’re not sure. What man would
     want a fraa who can’t cook and clean and work in the garden and mow the yard and climb
     a flight of stairs to check on a sick child?”
    Bethel stopped. Her breathing came hard. She’d kept the words bottled up for so long,
     they fairly poured out like a spigot turned full force.
    Emma patted Bethel’s hand. “I’ll pray for God’s will for you. You’ll see. He has a
     wonderful plan for you. One way or another.”
    One way or another.
    “You look tuckered out, teacher.” Deborah Daugherty stood in the doorway, a box labeled Pots in her arms. “There’s lots of us here and we’ll have this place put together in a
     jiffy. We’ll be cooking up a good supper before you know it. No more cold sandwiches
     for any of us.”
    “I’m fine.” Bethel bit back the words. Deborah had no way of knowing. She was only
     eighteen, healthy, her cheeks pink, her back strong. She had no idea what it felt
     like to be a burden to anyone. “Thank you for helping. I know you have plenty of work
     to do at your own houses.”
    “Helping hands make everything go quicker.” Emma picked up the broom. “And after that
     long drive yesterday, it feels good to move around. Circulate the blood. I sure got
     tired of sitting. All I did was eat. We ate all of Annie’s brownies, so I’m looking
     forward to firing up the ovens and making a new batch. I’m sure you are too.”
    Bethel struggled to her feet and leaned her weight against the cabinet. She lowered
     her head and focused on scrubbing the countertop with a rag soaked in bleach water.
     Emma didn’t need to know Leah had yet to let Bethel