Page 30 of A Secret Heart
Chapter9
Ed slammed the metal tip of the shovel into the ground at the bottom of the ten-foot hole only to have it clank against a rock in the soil. The vibration jarred his arm clear to his shoulder.
He finally got a chance at making his dreams of building furniture for a living come true, then slam. Everything was halted by a poisoned well.
He clanged the shovel to the side of the rock.
He finally found someone who understood him, only to be hit with the realization it was Rebekah.
Clang.The shovel rang out as it hit the granite one more time.
He stopped to lean against the handle of the shovel, sweat trickling down his face and his back, soaking his shirt. He’d been working on this off and on whenever he had a chance the last few days. Today he’d planned to finish it. For at least part of the day, David had been available to hand the buckets of dirt up to him as he dug deeper, but it hadn’t been enough.
A rumbling protest rose from his stomach. If he’d thought it’d take until evening to get this far, Ed would have stopped for lunch instead of just eating a leftover biscuit he’d stashed from breakfast. Not like the family noticed he’d skipped it anyway. Proof he was no better off than he’d ever been.
He tugged at the gloves to slip them off, giving his hands a chance to cool. The blisters screamed at him as frustration settled in his chest. If he’d hit water today, there’d be no need to be digging again tomorrow. The deepening red of the horizon told him he’d be back in the morning after slipping over to tend to the Boutwell livestock. A task he planned to accomplish before there’d be any chance of seeing Rebekah up and about. How did he face her after she’d written those letters? Worse yet, how did he tell her who she was really writing to?
He leaned his head against his hands atop the shovel handle. For all intents and purposes, he might as well be invisible down here in this hole, trying to figure out what to do. His brothers all had their own issues. Isaac seemed so lost in his grief that riding with the herd was all that suited him until he decided to open up to the family. Nick wasn’t up to digging but had ridden out with Drew earlier to see about the animals at the Boutwells’ for him.
Nick’s dog Patch let out a bark. Ed stepped onto the ladder and climbed up to peer out of the hole, watching Patch rise from beneath the shade tree to amble his way. Ed reached out a hand, but the dog picked up his pace, tail wagging, to trot right past the hole Ed stood in. One look over the edge toward the house showed Kaitlyn headed his direction with a bundle of some sort in her hands. Jo and Tillie trotted behind her, then veered off toward the clothesline with a basket between them.
Placing both his hands along the side of the hole, he pulled himself up, kicking off the end of the ladder with his feet to hoist himself over the edge. A dirty, sweaty mess of exhaustion. Exhaustion that seeped past his weary muscles all the way to his heart.
He landed at Kaitlyn’s feet, then rolled over to a sitting position.
“I figured you needed a hot meal. The family hasn’t seen much of you lately.”
They all knew where he was. Not that he’d felt sociable.
“I have to do this job.” He brushed his hands across the only clean spot on his shirt before turning to peek at the plate she’d uncovered.
“Ham, biscuit, corn on the cob.” Bending close, she handed him a damp cloth to clean his hands with, a reminder of her prim and proper ways. “And a glass of lemonade.”
Finished wiping his hands, he reached for the glass and downed it, then he set the glass upright in the grass and dug into the plate. Patch let out a whine as he flopped close by.
“Want to see me now that I’ve got food, eh?” Ed tossed the dog a piece of ham, then shoveled another forkful for himself.
Silence fell.
“Are you all right?” Kaitlyn stood where she could keep an eye on Jo and Tillie as they worked to take clothes off the line.
“The well.” There wasn’t time between bites to offer more explanation.
Ed kept chewing, not wanting to answer.
Kaitlyn sat on the ground near him. “I doubt Drew meant for you to push this hard. If he knew you were so worn out, he’d find another way.”
Drew would find another way. One that might see him staying up into the night to do it himself. But Ed just nodded, shoving in another bite of ham and licking the salty juice from his fingers.
“Unless something else is bothering you.”
Ed stopped chewing. “Nothing else.”
He thought of the unfinished work on the display case for the bakery. Between helping the family recover and now digging the well, his chances of completing it were slipping away.
He couldn’t even think about Rebekah.
“Did you and Rebekah have a fight? I thought you were getting along.” Kaitlyn ran her hand along Patch’s back as he sidled up to her.
