The Harvest of Grace Read Online Free

That she knew for sure. But were they ready to marry? And how could he make plans with her Daed to change the operations of the farm and never once consider asking her opinion?
    She didn’t expect her Daed to understand her. He lived in a man’s world and made do with daughters to help him. But Elam was supposed to know and love the real her, oddities and all.

    Now that she understood what had bothered her so much, she was ready to talk to him about it. If he could see her side of it, and if she could see his side, they could work this out.
    The house came into sight, and a bitter wind chilled her as she pulled into the driveway.
    Elam . Her heart raced as if it’d been tapped by the reins. He and her father were hurrying into the barn. Surely this meant Elam was over being angry at her. It could mean that he’d decided to start working with her Daed in spite of her, but why would he wait until a Friday night?
    Gusts of wind nipped her face as she brought the rig to a stop near the back door. She hopped down and ran two bags of groceries inside. “Hello?”
    Her Mamm hurried toward her.
    “Elam’s here,” Sylvia said. “Will you get the others to finish unloading the wagon?” She spun on her heels, ready to shout Elam’s name and run for the barn the moment she was outside, but her Mamm caught her arm.
    “Beckie wants to see you.”
    “Can’t she wait?”
    “No. It’s best if you go on and talk to your sister. She’s in the wash house.”
    Sylvia stared at her mother, waiting for an explanation, but Mamm simply nodded toward the washroom. Sylvia unbuttoned her coat and went through the narrow hallway that connected the wash house to the main house. Maybe now she’d find out what her sister and their parents had been whispering about for more than a week. Other than a few hints of being excited about something, Beckie had been unreadable, which had never happened before. Her sister had remained silent whenever Sylvia had asked her about it. Whatever it was, her Mamm seemed quite displeased.
    “Beckie?”

    The moment Sylvia saw her sister, she noticed several things. She wasn’t happy, she didn’t have on her prayer Kapp , and she wasn’t making eye contact. Beckie stoked the fire in the small potbelly stove, closed the door to the stove, and set the face of a pressing iron on it.
    Since learning what Sylvia had told Elam the night he left, Beckie had been distant and quiet, not offering any words of comfort. And she’d been going out every evening.
    Sylvia pulled off her gloves. “You’re ironing on a Friday afternoon? What’d you do wrong while I was out?”
    Beckie turned to her. “Nothing. I washed my prayer Kapp, and I want it to look just right for tonight.”
    “Ah, you must be going out again.”
    Beckie nodded, but Sylvia could read no emotion in her face.
    “Mamm said you wanted to see me.”
    “Ya.” Beckie fidgeted with a few loose strands of hair, tucking them carefully back into place.
    “And …”
    Beckie had obviously done something she shouldn’t have—borrowed a dress and stained it or ruined another of Sylvia’s prayer Kapps or borrowed money from Sylvia’s stash. “Whatever is on your mind, dear sister, can we speed this conversation along? I forgive you. There. It’s done. Elam is here, and I want to go see him.”
    Beckie licked her lips. “He’s not here to see you.”
    “He said that?”
    She nodded.
    “I guess he’s still mad at me after all. Is he here to help Daed?”
    “No. Well, maybe a little. But Elam’s not upset that you turned him down. Not anymore.”
    Tightness moved into Sylvia’s chest. “I didn’t turn him down. You know that. I only said I needed a little time. You reminded him of that, right?”
    Beckie shrugged. “I’m sorry, but it’s for the best, Sylvia.”

    Panic began to race through her. What had happened? “Beckie, it’s not for the best to let Elam think I don’t want to marry him. It’s just that twenty-two feels