The Sound of Distant Thunder Page 11

  “I know they can be pests,” Katie said, sitting up, “but they are so cute. I love the way their tails stick straight up.” She stretched and yawned.

  “It’s time to go home.” Jonas stood and took her hand, pulling her up with him. “Tomorrow is a busy day with all the work that needs to be done.”

  “The washing for me.”

  “And we’re going to start harvesting the oats.”

  They walked together to the end of the Stuckeys’ lane, where Jonas finally got the kiss he had been waiting for.

  AUGUST 25

  Lydia Weaver put the last clean dish away from Monday’s dinner and slipped onto the washing porch to sit a spell.

  For thirty-five years this had been her routine. When the children were small, she had waited for this moment of peace until they were taking their naps, looking forward to it through the long mornings. But now that they were all grown, she still gave herself this few minutes of quiet time before tackling the next task. A moment to pause and to pray.

  This August afternoon was hot and getting hotter. The heat turned the air into waves shimmering on the barn roof, and the leaves of the maple tree curled in on themselves. Lydia scooted to a more comfortable spot on her stool and leaned against the wall, crossing her ankles in front. She patted her face with the damp cloth she brought and sighed.

  Everything was quiet. Even the cardinals nesting in the spruce tree next to the outhouse were silent. The team of horses stood under the branches of the grove of trees in the pasture where Abraham had put them after their morning’s work. Their heads were down. An occasional tail swished, but even the horses were drowsing in the heavy air.

  Abraham and Jonas had gone to work on the house Jonas was building in the woodlot, and Ruby was . . . Lydia wiped the back of her neck with the cool cloth. Ruby had gone somewhere after dinner. Perhaps to see Elizabeth. Lydia closed her eyes. Ruby went where she pleased. That girl needed to find a husband. Although, at twenty-six, some would say she was past the marrying age.

  Thinking of Ruby brought the other children to mind, and Lydia brought each one before the Lord as she often did during the quiet times of the day. Samuel and Anna and their four children. Miriam and Jacob with their two boys. Rachel and Mose and their three little ones. She said a special prayer for Rachel’s two daughters and Samuel’s little Dorcas. After all the grandsons, she was so blessed to have granddaughters. All three were young yet, but she looked forward to the time when they could come for a long visit.

  She smiled at the plans she had for those granddaughters. She would teach them to bake and to sew. And she would take the time she never had to spend with her own daughters as they grew. What a privilege it was to be a grandmother! Even if Abraham did say the boys in the family were the most important.

  Her thoughts landed on Elizabeth next. How different would her life be if she had never married Reuben? Still, she was close and often dropped by in the afternoon to visit with her and Ruby.

  Last was Jonas. The youngest son. She felt she had hardly gotten him out of diapers when he was off, following behind Abraham and Samuel. Growing up all too soon but becoming a fine man. The only worry that intruded was this talk of the war and possible conscription. She brought prayers for the protection of her sons to the Lord.

  At the sound of approaching footsteps, Lydia opened her eyes. Elizabeth and Ruby were walking toward the house, arm in arm with their heads bent together. Lydia rose to her feet, stretching her back. The girls wanted something, that was for sure.

  She patted her little stool. “I’ll be back tomorrow, for sure and certain. You can count on me.”

  “Mamm,” Ruby said as she reached the porch steps, “are you talking to yourself again?”

  Lydia gave Elizabeth a quick hug, not sure if she should say anything about the tears standing in her younger daughter’s eyes. “You know better than that. Come into the kitchen and have some buttermilk. The stove is out and it’s cooling down in there.”

  Ruby fetched the pail of buttermilk from the springhouse, where it had been sitting in the cold running water. Lydia dipped the refreshing drink into three glasses, her mouth watering for the treat. Sitting at the table with the girls, she took a drink before looking at Ruby’s face, expectant and waiting. Elizabeth only stared at the table.

  “You look like you’ve been planning something.”

  Ruby glanced at her sister, then back to Lydia. “Reuben is gone.”

  The buttermilk turned in Lydia’s stomach. “Gone?” She took Elizabeth’s hand. “You mean he left you?”

  “Not exactly.” Elizabeth squirmed in her chair.

  In all the years she and Reuben had been married, Elizabeth had never said anything against her husband, but Lydia knew how unhappy she was.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s gone away to fight in the war.”

  If Elizabeth had said Reuben had sprouted wings and flown to the moon, Lydia couldn’t have been more surprised. “To the war? Why?”

  “He and Ned Hamlin have been talking about it for weeks, and two days ago, Reuben finally said he wasn’t going to wait any longer. He packed a few things and went south to join up.” Elizabeth looked dazed, as if she still couldn’t believe what she was saying. “He said he was going to fight for states’ rights, whatever those are.”

  “When will he be back?”

  Elizabeth shrugged. “He said he’d be gone for a couple months at the most, and he’ll be back in time to harvest the corn.”

  “And he’s left you alone to take care of the farm?”

  Catching her lower lip between her teeth, Elizabeth glanced at Ruby, who leaned forward to speak for her sister.

  “That’s the problem, Mamm. He asked Ned to look in on Elizabeth for him, and to take care of whatever needs taking care of. But Ned . . . Well, we don’t trust him.”

  Lydia had only seen Ned from a distance, but she knew him and his father. Shiftless, lazy men who hunted and did odd jobs for their living. She wouldn’t trust Ned to take care of her daughter, either.

  “You must come here to stay until Reuben gets back.”

  “I can’t.” Elizabeth’s tears were close to running down her cheeks. “I have to take care of the cow and the chickens. And the garden is just coming on. If Reuben comes home and finds that I’ve neglected them . . .” She bit her lip again, unwilling to say what outcome that could bring.

  “So I thought I would live with Elizabeth and help her on the farm until Reuben comes back.” Ruby picked up her sister’s line of thought with a smile. “What do you think of the plan?”

  “Two women alone?”

  “Better than one.” Ruby’s voice was strong and confident. Her red hair had frizzed in the heat and humidity, making a halo of fire around her face in the sunlight coming through the window. She took Lydia’s hands in her own. “We will be fine, Mamm. I’ll help Elizabeth with the farmwork, and Ned Hamlin wouldn’t dare try anything improper with two of us there.”

  “You need to talk to your father about the idea, but I do feel better at the thought of Elizabeth having someone around she can trust.”

  Ruby grabbed Elizabeth’s arm as she rose from the table. “Let’s go find Datt. He’s in the woodlot helping Jonas with his house.”

  As the girls left, Lydia drained her glass of buttermilk. Reuben was gone. So quickly. How many other young men from the area would follow the call to war? And how many would never return?

  And what of Jonas? He wasn’t baptized yet, so he was free to make his own choice. If his name was chosen in the draft, what choice would he make?

  Lydia gathered the glasses and took them to the sink, rinsing them out as she stared through the window. The war shouldn’t touch them here. Not in Weaver’s Creek. But it already had.

  8

  SEPTEMBER 25

  The next few weeks went quickly as Jonas worked on the house. Every afternoon, after putting in a full day’s work with Datt, he added to the house. By the beginning of
September, the foundation was laid and ready for the framing. In the middle of the month, the lumber was seasoned enough that Datt judged it ready to use, so Jonas started building the walls.

  In the evenings, Katie often sat and watched him work. Their time was shortened as the month passed the first day of autumn, but the hours were pleasant as they dreamed of their lives together.

  “Which way will the front door face?” Katie asked one evening.

  Jonas dropped onto the bench next to her. “Which way do you want it to be?”

  “If it looked toward the road, we would be able to see people as they came across the bridge.” Katie sat with her chin in her hand. “But that’s toward the north, and could be cold in the winter.”

  Leaning against the back of the bench, Jonas lifted his hat and ran his hand through his hair. The cool September evening was a welcome relief from the heat of summer. “I could build an entryway there, or a lean-to to break the wind.”

  “Or we could have the door face the lane leading to your parents’ farm. You’ll be going that way nearly every day to work with your father and Samuel.”

  “Ja, that’s true. But you’ll be heading over the bridge and down the road to see your family almost as often.”

  Katie was silent, looking toward the bridge, and then toward the lane, and then back again. Jonas caught her kapp string in his fingers and tugged on it.

  “What if I make both? The one facing the bridge can come out of the front room, and the other one can lead off the kitchen. I can build a porch on that side of the house.”

  She smiled at him. “Two front doors? Can you afford to build another door? You had already planned to put one facing the woods, in the back.”

  “Ja, ja, ja.” Jonas melted under her smile. He would build five doors if she wanted them. “I will only need another set of hinges and a latch.”

  “Do you think you’ll finish it by next summer?”

  “For sure. I want to have all four walls and the roof on by December. Then in the spring I can start working on the inside. We’ll order your stove next summer, after we harvest the wheat in July. I’ll sell some of my share of the crop to pay for it.”

  “And by next August . . .” Katie’s voice trailed off, her eyes soft as she stared at the partially built wall on the east side of the house.

  Jonas took her hand. “By next August, this will be our home. You and I.” He stood and pulled her up with him. “It’s getting late. I’ll walk you back.”

  They started across the bridge.

  “I’m making a trip to Millersburg tomorrow, and I’ll pick up the hardware I need for the doors.”

  “All the way to Millersburg? Can’t you buy it closer?”

  “The only place that carries nails and hinges is the hardware store. Plus, I’m going to buy windowpanes too.”

  Katie stopped, pulling him around to face her. “Do you think I could go with you? I have some things I need to buy too.”

  She looked so eager that he laughed. “We’ll ask your father. If it’s all right with him, I would enjoy your company. It’s a long ride, though, and we have to leave early in the morning.”

  “What else can we do there?”

  “I need to pick up a newspaper for Elizabeth. She tries to keep up with the war news.”

  “Has she heard from Reuben since he left?”

  Jonas tucked her hand in his elbow as he shook his head. “Not a word. She doesn’t even know which division he’s in. All she knows is that he’s in the Confederate army.”

  “Has anyone asked Ned if he knows?”

  “Ned is gone too. He left soon after Reuben did, and they’re probably together.” Jonas started walking toward the Stuckeys’ house again, bringing Katie along with him. “Elizabeth hasn’t said so, but I know she worries about Reuben. Ruby thinks she’s better off without him. No matter how unhappy she was when he was home, she seems sadder now.”

  “I’m sure she loves him.”

  Jonas watched Katie’s profile as they walked. Did Elizabeth love Reuben as much as he loved his Katie? Whatever happened in the future, he would make sure his love for Katie didn’t die, the way Reuben’s seemed to have. He couldn’t imagine leaving Katie and then never getting word to her. He pulled her hand closer to his side. He couldn’t imagine leaving her at all.

  Before sunrise the next morning, Jonas had Nan hitched to the spring wagon. He ate a quick breakfast, then drove to the Stuckeys’ house to meet Katie. She was waiting on the porch and climbed into the wagon as soon as he had stopped.

  She set her basket on the floor between them and pulled her shawl around her shoulders. “I didn’t know it was going to be so chilly this morning.”

  “Datt thought it might frost last night, but it didn’t get that cold.” Jonas drove down the lane toward the road. “Once the sun is up, we’ll be warmer. It’s going to be a clear day.”

  Katie moved closer to him on the wagon seat and leaned her head on his shoulder. Once they climbed the hill out of the valley, and passed Elizabeth’s cabin, Jonas let Nan move along at a comfortable trot. They rode in silence as Jonas watched the sky lighten from soft gray to blue streaked with yellow as the sun came over the horizon. By the time they turned onto the Walnut Creek road heading toward Berlin, Nan had settled down to a walk.

  “Where are we?” Katie asked, sitting up and stretching.

  “We have a couple hours to go. This is a good road, but we’re not in a hurry. Nan will get us there by midmorning.”

  “I haven’t been to Millersburg since last year, when I went with Mama and Papa to trade for winter supplies. Mama sent a list with me today. She was glad that she didn’t need to make the trip.” Katie watched some cattle grazing in a field as they passed. “I don’t understand that. Why wouldn’t she want to go to town?”

  “My mamm is the same way. She would rather stay home than spend a day driving to town and back.”

  “Will we be that way when we’re old?”

  Jonas grinned at the thought of growing old with Katie by his side. “Probably.”

  “Then I’m glad it will be a long time from now.” She turned in her seat to watch a flock of passenger pigeons fly above a cornfield, wheeling and turning in on themselves. “The birds are gathering for their flight south.”

  “If I had my shotgun, we could have pigeon pie for supper.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t bring it,” Katie said, her voice soft. “I like to watch them fly. If you started shooting them, they would scatter.”

  “There will be another chance. They’ll be gathering all month, and soon the flocks will be large enough to blot out the sun, and that means as much pigeon pie as we can eat.”

  “Do you like pigeon pie?”

  “Doesn’t everyone?” Jonas grinned at her. “It’s much better than chicken pie.”

  “Then I’ll make you one for supper sometime.” Katie looked at him with a little shudder. “You have to clean them, though. It takes so many to make a pie, and cleaning them is a never-ending job. I can do one or two, but then I start feeling sick.”

  “I can clean the pigeons for you.” The job made him sick too, but it was the price of enjoying the pigeon pie. He put his arm around her and drew her close. “Are there any other jobs I’ll need to do for you?”

  Katie snuggled next to him. “I’ll think of more as the years go by.”

  “Then make a list. I’ll do anything that you want me to.”

  As they neared Millersburg, the haze Katie had seen in the sky soon after they left Berlin turned into a pillar reaching toward the gathering clouds.

  “Look at that smoke. Could it be from one of the factories in town?”

  Jonas stood to get a better look. “I don’t think so. It doesn’t look like it’s near the railroad tracks.” He sat again and urged the horse into a trot.

  Katie gripped the wooden back of the wagon seat as it swayed. They were passing the outskirts of town now, and Jonas had to slow his horse again because of the pe
ople crowding the road.

  “What’s going on?” he asked a man hurrying toward town.

  “There’s trouble at the newspaper office.” The man held onto his hat as he ran.

  “What kind of trouble?” Jonas called after him, but the man was gone.

  Jonas pulled his horse to a halt next to a dressmaker’s shop at the edge of the downtown area. Two blocks ahead, the burning building was obscured by a mass of people, and the noise was tremendous. Katie held her shawl in front of her nose to filter the smell of the smoke.

  “Can you tell what happened?” she asked Jonas.

  He had stood up again, trying to get a better view. “It looks like there’s a fight going on in the middle of the crowd.” Suddenly, he handed the reins to her and jumped down. “That’s Mr. Cabot in the middle of it. I need to see if he needs help.” He looked into Katie’s eyes. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  Then he was gone. As much as Katie tried to see where he had gone, he had been swallowed up by the crowd. The spring wagon was jostled by the men running past on the street, and the horse was getting frightened.

  Katie climbed out of the wagon and went to Nan’s head. “It’s all right,” she said, trying to soothe her, but the horse’s eyes rolled wide and she pulled her head back, fighting Katie’s grip on the reins.

  Grabbing the bridle, she led Nan off to the side of the dressmaker’s shop, where an alley offered more protection. Away from the shouting crowd, Nan quieted down. Katie tied her to a post next to the building, then went back to the main street. Jonas had told her to stay with the wagon, but there must be some way she could find out what was going on.

  A woman had come out of the shop and was standing on the boardwalk in front. When she saw Katie come out of the alley, she beckoned to her.

  “Come stand with me.” The woman was dressed in a rich brown skirt and white shirtwaist. “I don’t want to be alone, but I can’t see anything from inside.”

  “Do you know what is happening?” Katie asked as she joined the woman outside the door of the shop.

  “I heard that some men threw dynamite through the window of the newspaper office. When it exploded, everything inside caught on fire.”