Where the Heart Leads by Kim Vogel Sawyer Page A

in her ears to block the sounds. Or you are welcome to come sit in my parlor while Thomas works.”
    Malinda huffed and slammed herself inside the house.
    Summer sighed and put her hand on Thomas’s arm. “Don’t take offense.”
    Thomas forced a light laugh and brushed his hands together, ridding himself of the remaining cookie crumbs. “I learned a long time ago not to pay attention to anything a Schmidt says. Her words are water off a duck’s back.”
    Summer returned to her house, and Thomas climbed back onto the roof. He made no effort to tiptoe, and he continued to toss the shingles rather than climb down the ladder and place them quietly in a pile, as Malinda Schmidt had suggested, but he did stop whistling. Every now and then Malinda appeared in the yard, her face turned upward with a hand shielding her eyes, a sour expression on her face. Each time, he gave a wave and returned to work.
    By the time the sun was straight overhead, Thomas had cleared a third of the old shingles on the back half of the house. He stood, hands on hips, surveying the stripped area. If a rain came, the Schmidts would have a mess with the sheeting unprotected. Should he spend the afternoon shingling the area he’d just cleared? He shifted his gaze to the sky. The cloudless expanse of endless blue gave no threat of rain, but he knew wind could stir up a storm quickly on the plains of Kansas.
    “Boy!”
    Thomas jerked then flailed to keep his balance on the steeply pitched roof. His balance restored, he turned slowly to find his father and Belinda Schmidt in the middle of the Schmidts’ backyard, looking upward. At the horrified look on Belinda’s face, he released a little laugh. He inched his way to the roof ’s edge and crouched, elbows on knees. “You thought I was going to fall, didn’t you?”
    “A mountain goat you are not,” Pa said, shaking his head. “It is time to see what Summer has fixed for our lunch.”
    Thomas wouldn’t argue about eating. Accustomed to sitting in a classroom during the day, a morning’s hard labor had built his appetite. He climbed down the ladder to the security of even ground. Walking toward Pa, he slapped at his dust-coated trousers.
    He heard a small sneeze from somewhere beside him. Belinda held her fingers beneath her nose, obviously fighting off another sneeze.
    “ Gesundheit ,” Pa said.
    Belinda sniffled. “Thank you, Herr Ollenburger. I must have caught a cold. I’ve been sneezing a lot lately.”
    Thomas flicked a surprised glance in her direction. Her sneezing seemed to be related to dust, and he’d just created a cloud of it by slapping at his filthy pants. Yet she hadn’t pointed a finger of blame.
    “Sneezing clears the head,” Pa said, chuckling. “So you will be fine now.”
    Belinda peeked past Pa to Thomas. “I didn’t realize Herr Bark-man had hired you to repair our roof, Thomas.”
    Pa beamed. “ Ja , a job Barkman gave him. So now he earns a wage.”
    Long-legged for a woman, Belinda was tall enough that her head reached Thomas’s chin. Perspiration glowed on her forehead and nose, yet she showed no signs of moving into the comfort of shade. “So you’ll be staying in Hillsboro, then, Thomas?”
    Thomas knew whatever he said would be repeated. He chose his words carefully. “I’ve promised to see that your roof is repaired.”
    Belinda’s fine brows came down, the scowl a familiar sight from their childhood. But a moment later, her expression cleared and she gave a nod. “Of course. There aren’t many job opportunities in Hillsboro, and you’ll want to find something more suited to your degree, I’m sure.”
    When Thomas didn’t answer, Belinda shifted her attention to Pa.
    “ Herr Ollenburger, I will be going to the mangle house this afternoon. If Frau Ollenburger has sheets or clothes to be mangled, I would be happy to take them for her.”
    Pa threw back his head and hooted. “ Ach! One does not often hear the word ‘happy’ when speaking of