The Fragrance of Geraniums (A Time of Grace Book 1) Read Free Page B

what were
you doing?” Ben set the milk pail down and took a step toward her, surely
meaning to intimidate her.
    It worked. Grace
bowed her shoulders and huddled a little deeper into the hay bale, wishing she
were the size of the mice she could hear scurrying around her; then she would
disappear into the crack in the wall. When Ben acted like this, he reminded Grace
so much of Mama, whose quiet ways could harden into ice without much warning.
    He loomed over
her, and Grace jumped up, ducking by him. She fled toward the door before
turning toward him, a fake smile plastered on her trembling lips. “Mama
probably has supper ready,” she heard herself say in a nearly-normal voice.
    Ben took two
steps and blocked her exit. Though short himself, he far towered over her mere
five-foot stature. “Never mind about supper,” he said. “Where were you, Grace?”
    She stood in
silence, staring at his chest, her heart pounding harder than the farrier
shoeing a horse. So stupid, Grace. How could you be so stupid? You knew you
would get caught…
    They stayed
still for nearly a full minute – Grace knew, for she was counting her
heartbeats. Then, she felt her brother’s fingers cup her chin ever so gently and
urge her to lift her gaze to his. The frightened pain in his eyes startled her,
and she realized that Ben seemed angry because that was the only way he knew
how to express fear. Fear of what?
    “Where were you,
canary?” Ben’s expression begged even as his voice remained so inflexible. “You
weren’t messing around with some guy, were you?”
    Grace jerked her
chin out of Ben’s hand, flushing with embarrassment and insult. She would have
to tell him. “I had to stay after and talk to Mr. Kinner,” she informed him
scornfully, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t pry farther.
    But Ben’s
forehead wrinkled. “Mr. Kinner? Ain’t he one of the English teachers?”
    She nodded.
    “Why’d he make
you stay, Grace? You do swell in school, don’t you?” he questioned.
    She nodded again;
she was a straight-A student, nearly. Ben stood staring at her, confused.
Finally, she mumbled, “He’s got a music class after school, too.”
    The confusion
lingered for a moment. “Yeah, so…?”
    Grace looked
away, toward Bessie. The small cow crunched her evening hay, her powerful jaw
moving slowly in contentment. “So…” She gave Ben a flickering glance. “He’s starting
a choir. A special one.”
    “A special one?”
Ben echoed. “And you. You wanna join it, is that it?”
    She gave a
small, stiff nod, shivering in the draft.
    “He say you
could?”
    “Yeah.” She
scuffed her toe into the old hay littering the barn floor.
    “Well,” Ben said
after a moment, “that’s great, Grace. Just great. You tell Mama and Papa yet?”
    She shook her
head. Ben didn’t realize that she and Papa barely spoke to one another. Even
less than they had before Ben left… if that was possible.
    “Well,” he
repeated, “I think it’s a swell idea. You’re the best singer in the family; you
should be in Mr. Kinner’s special choir. Good for you, kid.” His hand fell on
her shoulder, giving a rough squeeze. Grace couldn’t stop the grin. Ben was
proud of her.
    “I forgot the
permission slip at school,” Grace remembered out loud as she and Ben made their
way toward the house. Actually, she’d dropped the permission slip when running
from humiliation, but she didn’t tell Ben that.
    “You’ll get it
tomorrow, kid,” assured Ben, carrying the hefty pail of Bessie’s milk with one hand.
    Grace nodded up
at him, smiling. “I’m glad you’re home, Ben,” she said, peaceful in the
gloaming. Her eyes fell on the brick homestead, dark crimson and
double-storied, the twilight settling its deep shadows over the gables, making
the lights inside shine more brightly.
    Ben gave her a
wink. “I’m glad to be home, Grace. Whatdaya think Mama made for supper?”
    Grace rolled her
eyes and elbowed him. How like her brothers,