For Every Season by Cindy Woodsmall Page B

and Rhoda, waiting for her to get up. So he dared not move.
    Someone lifted the fabric from his face, and he stared up at Jacob.
    His brother clenched his jaw, and Samuel raised both hands in surrender. “Can I please be banned from entering this office altogether?”
    Hardness drained from Jacob’s face. “After Rhoda fell, I slipped on the letters and tripped over a dog.” He helped Rhoda up before holding out a hand to Samuel.
    Samuel took it. Jacob pulled him to his feet, their eyes met, and a hint of a smile on Jacob’s face let Samuel know his brother’s heart was softening.
    Leah came to the doorway, carrying a tray with cups of coffee and slices of cake. When she saw the letters strewn around the floor and the fallen chair, fear crept into her eyes, and Samuel knew she thought they’d been fighting.
    “Kumm.” Samuel took the tray from her. “Don’t worry about the mess. My story is the dogs did it.”
    Rhoda huffed, straightening her dress as she focused on Jacob. “Exactly who is he calling a dog?”
    Jacob didn’t respond, but it was clear that she was going to act as normal as possible until all three of them felt that way again. It was a worthy goal, and Samuel could only pray they’d reach it.
    Rhoda bent and picked up a few letters.
    “Ach, no.” Jacob gently tugged on her arm. “Let’s not have a repeat performance, especially with hot drinks in the room. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get the letters.”
    “Fine. Be that way. One little mishap, and everyone thinks I’m a complete klutz.” She glanced at Samuel, and he caught a hint of a glimmer he hadn’t seen in a while. Had she tripped on purpose?
    Rhoda cleared off a spot on the desk, and Samuel set down the tray. Since there was no more room on the desk, she stacked the papers in a corner of the floor.
    Leah whistled. “Mamm always said Jacob kept the messiest room in the house.”
    “I do. But this is a barn, decorated mostly by the lovely Rhoda Byler.” Jacob set the stuff he’d collected on top of the filing cabinet.
    Rhoda curtseyed to him, and Jacob’s half smile was undeniable.
    He pointed at the walkie-talkie on Leah’s apron. “You’ve got what you wanted—all of us here without balking. You can turn that on again.”
    Leah’s cheeks tinged with pink, but she did as he said before passing them each a plate with a slice of cake.
    Samuel took a bite. “What’s this about?”
    “Well.” Leah handed him a napkin. “Look around. Think about our dailywork list. There’s just too much for us to keep up with. Can anyone in this room deny that?”
    “I will.” Rhoda lifted her fork. “We can do it. We just haven’t done so lately.”
    Leah cleared her throat. “I think we need to hire someone.”
    “Sure we do.” Jacob took a sip of coffee. “When we can afford it and have time to interview people. Late summer. Maybe early fall.”
    Leah grimaced. “We don’t have that long.”
    “What do you mean?” Samuel asked.
    “I’ve hired someone. She’ll be here in just a bit.”
    “You what?” Samuel plunked his plate on the tray. “What are you talking about?”
    Leah explained everything.
    Rhoda’s fork clanked against her plate as she pushed it away from her. “That was inappropriate. We know nothing about this girl. We don’t have any money to pay her. And you may have just invited trouble, as if we haven’t had more than our fair share lately.”
    Leah turned to Jacob. “Every one of us knows we need help. Rhoda was going to run an ad in The Budget .”
    “Whoa.” Rhoda motioned for Leah to hush. “That was going to be for a specific type of help when the harvest began. Months from now. We’ll have a product to sell and some cash flow to hire one really good worker by then.”
    “But we need someone now. See all the stuff stacking up in this office?” Leah looked to each of them.
    “No one can tend to this except one of us three.” Rhoda gestured at Samuel and Jacob.
    Samuel was sure