Adeline let out a mirthless chuckle. “Let’s face it, if we really do leave, we’ll be in even bigger—oh, here she comes.”
The twins lay absolutely still as the lighter sound of sneakers came down the hallway—and when the footsteps paused in front of their bedroom door, they sucked in their breath, wide-eyed. For seemingly endless moments, Leah just stood out there.
When she finally moved on, Alice clutched Adeline’s hand. “That was close!” she whispered. “What do you think she was doing?”
“Well, we know what we’re doing when we stand on the other side of the wall or the door, ain’t so?” she remarked. “We’d better get dressed and get downstairs. Let’s start cooking some hash browns and ham and eggs, with cheese sauce, for haystacks. Dat’s not as likely to get on our case if we make his favorite breakfast.”
“He’s working that big sale over in New Haven today, jah?” Alice asked as she threw off the covers. “So he’ll have to scoot along, rather than hanging around to keep track of us.”
As Adeline’s feet landed on the rag rug beside the bed, she smiled. “That’s right! See there—every cloud has a silver lining, and by the time the sun’s up we can be on our way out of here!”
Chapter 6
When Jude opened the mudroom door for Leah, the aromas of ham, onions, and other breakfast fixings made his stomach rumble. While they had fed the livestock and checked the twin goats that had been born during the night, they’d discussed the talk they planned to have with the twins over supper, when he returned from the large livestock auction he was working for most of the day. Jude was pleased that Leah was ready to stand with him if Alice and Adeline got sassy, and together they’d devised a list of chores he was going to present to the twins during breakfast. If the girls had enough time to taunt their stepmother and leave home to run with their friends, he’d reasoned, they needed more work around home to fill their hours.
As Leah removed her work boots and slipped into her sneakers, she winked at him. “Breakfast smells really gut,” she called into the kitchen. “Denki for starting the cooking this morning, girls.”
Jude noticed that Alice and Adeline were standing at the stove, stirring hash browns and scrambled eggs in skillets without looking at him or responding to Leah’s compliment—because they’re in yet another of their teenage moods, he surmised. As usual, they were dressed alike, and he became aware that their forest green cape dresses had grown snug enough to accentuate their slender waists and full breasts, to the point that their figures would draw more attention than Old Order modesty allowed.
When did they mature into women? he wondered wistfully, even as he realized it was time to insist that they sew new clothing—before Bishop Jeremiah made the same observations. Jude considered his words carefully, to avoid ruffling the girls’ feathers. To Adeline and Alice, sewing was a necessary evil that ranked right up there with scrubbing floors and cleaning the bathrooms.
“How about if we all head to the Cedar Creek Mercantile tomorrow?” he asked jovially, opening his arms to Stevie. “What with spring just around the corner, I bet you girls are ready for some new clothes—”
“And I’m ready for some candy sticks, Dat!” his son exclaimed as he launched himself toward his father.
Jude caught Stevie and hefted him toward the ceiling to make him laugh. “How did I know that?” he teased, reveling in the boy’s laughter. Stevie’s light brown hair was mussed and needed trimming and his shirt was untucked, bunched around his twisted suspenders, yet Jude was pleased that his son had taken on the task of dressing himself.
“We’re getting low on feed for the chickens and horses, too,” Leah said as she took plates from the cabinet. “I’ll start a list of what we need to buy.”
Alice and Adeline shared a look Jude couldn’t interpret, except to realize that they weren’t nearly as excited about a trip to the mercantile as they’d been when they were younger. Silently the twins filled serving bowls with hash browns, fried onions and green peppers, cubed ham, and cheese sauce—the makings for haystacks, his favorite breakfast because it was filling enough to get him through a busy livestock sale until the lunch break. When everyone was seated at the table, Jude bowed his head, leading their time of silent prayer.
Lord, You know what’s going on and I hope You’ll give me words that will guide my daughters back to being the lovable, helpful girls they were before Frieda passed. Comfort their young hearts as You give Leah the patience to be a mother my kids will come to love. We trust You to provide for—
One of the twins cleared her throat much more loudly than was necessary, ending the table grace—usurping the privilege that was his, as the man of the house. Jude raised his head and felt nailed by identical pairs of icy blue eyes . . . eyes so reminiscent of Frieda’s that he was momentarily taken aback. “What’s so important that you’ve cut short our table grace?” he asked, carefully controlling his irritation.
Alice glowered, pointing across the table at Leah. “Why did you tell her that you’re not our father, yet you’ve never told us?” she demanded angrily.
Jude’s heart stopped. As his mind scrambled for an answer, he realized that he had indeed heard a floorboard creak in the wee hours. How much of his and Leah’s conversation had the girls heard?
“Why have you lied to us about who we really are?” Adeline drilled him bitterly. “You didn’t even love Mamm—did you?”
Seated at his left, Leah had gone pale, yet her eyebrows rose resolutely. “So
