Hope at Dawn Read Free Page A

heard about an opening at one of the township schools, north of here, near Hilden. I’m hoping they’ll take a teacher with only one year of college behind her.”
    “Is that so?” He glanced at her, and though she couldn’t see his expression from the shadow of his hat, she sensed he was studying her face. “Would that make you happy, sugar? I know leaving school wasn’t what you planned to do.”
    “It’s more than that.” She fiddled with one of the buttons on her coat, anxious to have him understand but not sure how much to share. “Things have been a little strained with Robert, and I think some distance would be good, for both of us.”
    “So there’s more to it than him missing out on your birthday tonight?”
    “Yes.” Livy feared he’d ask more questions, ones she didn’t want to answer. Tonight needed to be about hope and the possibility of new beginnings, not uncertainty and past frustrations.
    His answer nearly made her fall off the wagon seat. “Then I think you ought to give the teaching job a try.”
    “Really?” she squealed. She twisted on the seat to face him straight on. “Are you sure? What about needing me here, to help around the farm?”
    “You’ve done a great job of that already, Livy.” Josiah pushed up the brim of his hat and smiled at her. “We would’ve been hard-pressed to run the farm this last year, without Joel and Tom around, if you hadn’t come home. But your younger brothers are growing and learning more responsibility now. I think we’ll be just fine.”
    “You could use some of the money I earn to hire one of Allen’s friends to help out, if I do get the job.”
    His head dipped in a thoughtful nod. “That’s an idea.”
    “I can apply then?” She already knew the answer, but she couldn’t quite believe the gift he’d just presented her. Not something material, like the new mirror and powder compact he and her mother had given her earlier that day, but something infinitely more important—a promise of better days ahead.
    Josiah shifted the reins to his left hand and put his arm around her shoulders. “If that’s what you want to do—need to do—sugar, then you do it. The kids up there would be lucky to have you as a teacher. We’ll be all right here. Don’t you worry.”
    “Thank you, Daddy!” Livy kissed his cheek. His confidence and approval were worth more to her than a night full of fox-trots. “Could you drive a little faster?”
    He chuckled at her impatience. “Anxious to get a slice of your birthday cake?”
    “Nope.” Though the thought of her mother’s chocolate cake did make her mouth water. “I’ve got to write a letter to the school superintendent in Hilden.”
    “Well, in that case, I suppose we’d better hurry.”
    Livy laughed and gripped the wagon seat as he urged the horses to pick up their pace. With any luck, this birthday would mark the beginning of a new chapter in her life.
    *  *  *
    Friedrick stepped silently through the front door and eased it shut. The smell of the family’s bread, sausage, and cheese supper still hung in the air. Murmurs of conversation and the clatter of dishes came from the kitchen, where his stepmother and half siblings were cleaning up. He quietly removed his dirty boots, a grin on his face. He was going to win their little game tonight.
    He crept down the hall toward the parlor. A glance over his shoulder assured him he was near victory, until he brought his weight down on the squeaky floorboard. The loud creak that erupted brought squeals of protest from the next room.
    “It’s Friedrick,” Harlan shouted. “Hurry!”
    In his stocking feet, Friedrick skidded into the parlor, the sound of footfalls close behind him. He dove for the sofa, but not before Harlan’s small frame slid past him. The two ended up in a laughing heap among the cushions.
    “Boys, boys,” Elsa Wagner scolded in German from the doorway, her hands on her hips.
    Friedrick had been nine when his father had