Spring's Gentle Promise Read Free Page A

She had a keen mind and could have offered some real serious competition if she hadn’t been so impatient. As it was, she played more for the fun than for the challenge, and for three games in a row I turned out the victor.
    At the end of the third game I stood and stretched.
    “Is that enough ‘celebratin’ for one evening?” I teased Matilda.
    “It’ll do,” she answered with a flip of her head that made her pinned-up curls bounce. “But next time I’ll insist on lawn croquet.”
    Matilda was an expert at lawn croquet. In fact, whenever there was a matchup, I always hoped Matilda would be my partner. Now I just smiled and tried to stifle a yawn.
    Mary laid aside her handwork. “Would you like something to eat or drink before bedtime, Josh?” she asked me and started to leave her chair for the cupboard.
    “No, thanks. It’s been a long day. I think I’ll just go on up to bed.” As soon as I said the words, I realized the day had been equally long for Mary. “You must be tired, too,” I said, studying her face. “You’ve been up ’most as long as I have.”
    Mary brushed the remark aside and went to put on a pot of coffee for Grandpa and Uncle Charlie.
    There was the rustle of paper as Grandpa put down what he was reading and took off his glasses.
    “I’m plannin’ to go on into town tomorrow, Josh,” he said, folding up his glasses and placing them on the bureau beside the sputtering radio. “Anything you be needin’?”
    I tried to think but my head was a bit foggy. I finally shook it. “If I think of anything I’ll leave a note on the table,” I promised. “Can’t think of anything now.”
    “You got a list, Mary?” went on Grandpa. “Or would ya rather come on along and do yer own choosin’?”
    I stood long enough to watch Mary slowly shake her head. “It takes too much time to ride on in and back,” she said. “I’ll just send a list.”
    I took three steps toward the stairway and then turned. “I’ve been thinkin’,” I said, half teasingly but with a hint of seriousness, “maybe when we get in this year’s crop, we oughta get us one of those motor cars. We could be in town and back before ya know it.”
    I don’t know just what I expected, but I sure did get a reaction. Grandpa raised his shaggy eyebrows and studied me to see if I was serious. Uncle Charlie stopped rubbing his gnarly fingers and stared open-mouthed. And Mary stopped right in her tracks, one hand reaching out to set the coffeepot on the kitchen stove. But Matilda’s response was vocal. “Yes!” she exclaimed, just like that, and she clapped her hands and ran to me. “Oh, yes, Josh!” she said again, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining. “Get one, Josh. Get one.” And she reached out impulsively and gave me a quick hug that almost knocked me off balance.
    “Whoa-a,” I said, disengaging myself from her arms. “I said ‘maybe’—after the crop is off. I’m just plantin’ it, remember? We’ve got a long time to wait.”
    Matilda stepped back, her eyes still shining. She clapped her hands again, not the least bit daunted. “Now, that’s what I call really celebrating, Josh,” she enthused, her hands clasped together in front of her.
    I let my eyes travel back over the room. Mary had finally set down the coffeepot. Uncle Charlie had closed his mouth and was chewing on a corner of his mustache, and Grandpa’s eyebrows were back where they belonged.
    I shrugged my shoulders carelessly. “It’s just something to be thinkin’ on,” I repeated lamely and headed for the stairs and my bed.

C HAPTER 3

Visitors
    T HE SPRING PLANTING WENT steadily forward. The tractor chugged on with only minor adjustments and repairs. The family continued to help with evening chores and work about the farmyard. Only one rain slowed me down and then it was just a few days—enough for me to sort of catch my breath and do a few little extras that always seem to need doing around a farm.
    Matilda never gave me