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horse. This gave her some hope, as he didn’t
seem as irritated doing this task. “How is your hand?”
    He jolted and turned to her. “I’m in no mood. What is it you want?” He took hold
of the hammer and started in again. The noise resonated in her ears, distracting
her from what she wanted to say.
    “I should take the horse to her owner.” She didn’t know whether he heard her, as
he kept pounding away. She waited until he finished and stuck the hot horseshoe in
a tub of water. The steam rose to the roof of the barn.
    “I won’t be gone long.”
    “Make it quick. I’ll be expecting an early dinner.” He glared at her with his ice
blue eyes and pulled the horseshoe out of the tub—his way of making her feel guilty,
making it hard to ignore. She had ruined his lunch, so he expected a large dinner.
She would be sure to give him one, just to keep the peace. Filling his belly would
be a sure way to do that.
    She didn’t know where these thoughts came from. She’d learned that submission was
the easiest and smartest way to deal with her life and her husband, especially with
a baby on the way. Lately that way of thinking was harder for her to do. Maybe it
was the hormones making her thoughts bolder than usual. Angry impulses crept in now
and then. Even anger toward Gott —something she’d never dealt with before, not until
the day she’d first seen Sam in action. She couldn’t forget the sight of him taking
out his anger on an unruly horse.
    Tiptoeing out of the barn in case he changed his mind, she heard him grumble but
ignored it.
    Skip nipped at her heels, wanting to play. She lifted her head and kept walking.
Never would she have imagined that she would be so tense over such actions. She couldn’t
so much as walk away from her home without worrying Sam would change his mind or
that she’d be scolded when she returned.
    Once in the buggy, with Sweet Pea tethered to the side, she felt freedom in riding
along the road by herself. One of the many things she looked forward to was being
with her little one, just the two of them enjoying the countryside as she was doing
now.
    As she came upon Manny’s place, she noticed the dried and withered flower gardens.
It would be better to strip them and have an empty garden than the dead flowers that
were there now. Her hands itched to get on them and help them thrive. She could douse
each stem with life-giving water and pull out the weeds that sucked away all the
nutrients.
    As the buggy drew closer to the farm, Lucy started to regret coming. She felt like
an intruder, but she hardly got the impression from Manny that he would feel that
way about her making a visit—especially with his horse in tow.
    “ Hallo !” She called toward the barn, which was where she suspected Manny might be
this time of day. With the milking done and morning chores completed, he should be
getting ready for lunch. As the haus came into view, she thought about how lonely
he probably was after losing his wife. Had they truly loved each other, the way she’d
hoped her marriage would be? Or was their marriage a simple business arrangement?
    “ Hallo .” Manny’s voice sounded behind her. She tried to peek out the side of the
buggy, but her stomach cramped, so she stayed put. She had started worrying about
the baby, wondering especially about different ailments she might have. With some
marrying third and sometimes second cousins, more and more babies were being born
with defects. Though she and Sam weren’t related, she knew very little about his
forebears. She often wondered if his parents were second cousins, because that would
explain much about his short temper and other traits people put down simply to Sam
being Sam.
    Manny appeared by her window and smiled. “Well, hallo there.”
    “Manny, I’ve found something of yours.” She clambered out of the buggy, holding her
stomach, and tried to stand straight. Her short legs made it difficult to step down,
and she felt for the ground