A Sister's Test

W
ANDA
E.
B
RUNSTETTER

© 2007 by Wanda E. Brunstetter

ISBN 978-1-60742-009-5

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

All German-Dutch words are taken from the Revised Pennsylvania German Dictionary used in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

Cover Design: The DesignWorks Group,
www.thedesignworksgroup.com

Cover Photo: Steve Gardner, PixelWorks Studios,
www.shootpw.com

For more information about Wanda E. Brunstetter, please access the author’s Web site at the following Internet address:
www.wandabrunstetter.com

Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683,
www.barbourbooks.com

Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

Printed in the United States of America.

O
THER
B
OOKS BY
W
ANDA
E. B
RUNSTETTER
:

D
AUGHTERS OF
L
ANCASTER
C
OUNTY
S
ERIES

The Storekeeper’s Daughter

The Quilter’s Daughter

The Bishop’s Daughter

B
RIDES OF
L
ANCASTER
C
OUNTY
S
ERIES

A Merry Heart

Looking for a Miracle

Plain and Fancy

The Hope Chest

S
ISTERS OF
H
OLMES
C
OUNTY
S
ERIES

A Sister’s Secret

B
RIDES OF
W
EBSTER
C
OUNTY
S
ERIES

Going Home

On Her Own

N
ONFICTION

The Simple Life

Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Amish Friends Cookbook

C
HILDREN’S
B
OOKS

Rachel Yoder. . .Always Trouble Somewhere Series:

School’s Out (Book 1)

Back to School (Book 2)

D
EDICATION

To my sister, Joy, who is also my friend.

But he knoweth the way that I take:
when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
J
OB
23:10

R
uth, watch out! Get out of the way!”

Ruth Hostettler halted. A hammer slid down the roof of her sister’s new house.
“Ach!”
She jumped back as it bounced off the sheets of plywood, just missing her head.

Martin Gingerich scrambled down the ladder and rushed to her side. “Are you okay, Ruth?”

Ruth nodded as she looked up at his strong, handsome face. She saw tenderness there, and something more. Did she dare believe he might be falling in love with her?

Her heart pounded like a blacksmith’s anvil as Martin pulled her to his side.

“You need to stay away from the work site. It’s too dangerous.” His hazel-colored eyes were wide with obvious concern.

“I—I was coming to see if the workers wanted something to drink.”

Martin wiped the rivulets of sweat running down his forehead; then he bent to pick up the hammer lying in the dirt near Ruth’s feet. “I think we could all use a break.” He leaned his head back and stared at the roof. “Luke most of all, since he’s the one who lost his grip on that hammer.”

Ruth’s gaze followed Martin’s. Luke Friesen sat near the edge of the roof, shaking his head. “Are you all right, Ruth?”

“I’m okay. Just a bit shook up.”

“I thought I had a good grip, but that hammer slipped right out of my hand.”

“You need to be more careful!” Martin’s harsh tone took Ruth by
surprise. Usually he was very soft-spoken.

“
Jah
, well, she shouldn’t have been standing where she was. The work site’s no place for a woman.” Luke grunted. “Hand me that hammer, would ya, Martin?”

“Why don’t you come down and take a break? Then you can get the hammer yourself.”

“Guess I will.”

As Luke descended the ladder, Martin smiled at Ruth, lifted his straw hat, and brushed back his coffee-colored hair. “Would you like me to go with you to get something to drink for the workers?”

“That would be nice.” Ruth appreciated Martin’s kindness. In all the time she and Luke had courted, Luke had never offered to help with anything. For that matter, he’d never shown much concern for her welfare, not even when her family’s home had been broken into and other acts of vandalism had taken place. Instead, Luke had admitted to Ruth that he owned a truck he kept hidden in the woods and made her promise not to tell anyone. On several occasions, he’d acted as if he might be hiding something. Ruth was sure she’d done the right thing by breaking up with him. Having Martin as a suitor made her happier than she’d ever been during her courtship with Luke.

“I’m glad you weren’t hit by Luke’s hammer,” Martin said as they started for the house. “It’s bad enough that your sister and her husband lost their home in that horrible fire a few weeks ago. The last thing we need is for anyone to get hurt today.”

Ruth nodded. “We were all relieved that nobody was hurt in the fire. I know Grace and Cleon appreciate all this help building their new home. This is the second Saturday in a row that they’ve had a large crew working on it.”

“That’s what friends and family are for.”

Martin’s dimpled smile made Ruth feel tongue-tied and tingly. She hadn’t felt like that when she and Luke were together. More than anything, she’d felt irritated the last few months they’d been courting.

“Sure is a good turnout today,” Martin said.

“Jah. The house is almost done, and it will be good for Grace and Cleon to have their own place again.”

“I heard your
daed
say that the fire chief found a cigarette lighter
on the ground outside their old house. He thinks the fire might have been intentional.”

Ruth nodded, wondering if she should tell Martin that Grace thought the English reporter she used to date might have started the fire before he left the area. She decided it would be best not to say anything since they had no proof it was Gary Walker. Besides, Dad had his own suspicions about who might have set the fire.

When they reached the home of Ruth’s parents, she turned to Martin. “If you’d like to have a seat on the porch, I’ll run inside and see if Mom’s fixed anything to drink yet.”

“Okay.”

Martin took a seat on the porch swing, and Ruth hurried into the house.

She found her mother and two sisters in the kitchen, along with a few other Amish women and their nearest English neighbor.

Mom smiled at Ruth and pushed a wisp of dark brown hair back into her bun. “Are the men ready to take a break?”

“Jah. I came in to get them something to drink.”

“There’s iced tea and lemonade in the refrigerator.” Grace motioned toward the stove. “We’ve got some coffee heating, too.” Her blue eyes twinkled like sparkling water.

“You’ll need help carrying the beverages out,” Ruth’s younger sister, Martha, put in.

“Martin’s waiting on the porch to help me with that.”

“Martin Gingerich?” Sadie Esh asked.

Ruth nodded, and her cheeks turned warm.

“That fellow’s really sweet on my sister, and I think she’s equally sweet on him.” Martha grinned at Ruth, and the skin around her blue eyes crinkled. “Look how red in the face she’s getting.”

Ruth shrugged. She couldn’t deny her interest in Martin, but she wasn’t about to admit it, either.

“Leave your sister alone,” Mom said, shaking her finger at Martha. “When you find a fellow you like more than your dogs, you’ll turn red in the face whenever his name’s mentioned, too.”

“How are things going with the new house?” Grace asked.

“Everything was fine until I nearly got hit in the head,” Ruth said
as she removed a jug of iced tea from the refrigerator.

Mom gasped. “Oh, Ruth, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. It just shook me up a bit.”

“How’d it happen?” their English neighbor Donna Larson questioned.

“A hammer tumbled off the roof. It could have hit me if Martin hadn’t shouted a warning.”

“Was it Martin’s hammer?” Cleon’s mother, Irene, asked.

“No, it belonged to Luke.”

Mom pursed her lips. “Luke Friesen’s here today?”

Ruth set the jug of iced tea on the counter and turned to face her mother. “He and his boss both came to help.”

“Your daed’s not going to like that. He doesn’t trust Luke, and if he thought for one minute—”

“Ach, Mom, surely you don’t think Luke would intentionally let his hammer fall.” Martha’s face had turned red as a pickled beet. “I think Dad’s still angry because Luke’s not working for him anymore.”