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“I’m sorry, but this is the best I can do for tonight.”
His eyes caught Hedvika’s. A wave of shame flooded through him. Hedvika’s pretty clothes were so out of place here. Hopefully, she wouldn’t hate him for this. Fred would gladly sleep with the horses and give them his room. Mother would be fine with that, but what about Father?
“Sorry about the smell.”
But the family remained standing outside, seemingly unsure of what to do. Fred needed to get them out of sight in case Father woke up and looked out the window.
“Come. Take these.” He held out two tattered horse blankets. Hedvika passed the sleeping baby to her mother and smiled at him. The silver moonlight glinted in her eyes as she accepted the meager offering from his trembling hands.
“Thank you,” she whispered. When their eyes met, Fred knew at that moment that he would do anything for her; all she had to do was ask.
“Thank you,” Dr. Weiss placed his hand on Fred’s shoulder, “for helping my family to get away before?—”
Mrs. Weiss pressed baby Isaac closer to her chest and stared at them. Her face seemed so pale; Fred wondered if she was going to faint. This was no place for a lady, the wife of a dentist and chair of the Woman’s Charity Club. How could he make her more comfortable? Jakob pulled at her arm. She looked at her son as if woken up from a trance.
“Yes,bubbale.”
“I’m tired, Mama.”
Dr. Weiss placed his hand against the small of his wife’s back, guiding her into the barn. Jakob followed.
Hedvika’s mother peered around the dark space. “Where—?” Her voice was so soft that Fred almost missed the question.
“I sleep in the hayloft during the summer,” Fred said under his breath. “But if I light the lamp?—”
“Don’t.” Dr. Weiss interrupted. “No light. We’ll settle down here.” He pointed to a stall.
“I have to unhitch the horses,” Fred mumbled.
“Do you need help?” Dr. Weiss asked.
Fred looked up. “You know how to do that?”
Dr. Weiss nodded. “You need to get to bed too, young man. There are only a couple hours left till dawn.”
“Hedvika, come.” Mrs. Weiss motioned toward the stall. “Let’s settle the boys in.”
Fred wished it would be her and not her father helping him to unhitch the wagon. Of course, he wouldn’t let her do any of the work. He wouldn’t mind if she watched him. They could talk. He would tell her how happy he felt when she approached him this afternoon as he delivered flour to the grocers. His heart thudded so loudly he could hardly concentrate when she said her family needed a favor. Upon seeing her beautiful brown eyes full of tears, his heart filled with overpowering compassion. He couldn’t have refused her, even if she had asked for his right arm.
Risking Father’s wrath, Fred had waited till everything grew quiet in the mill, and his parents turned in for the night. Hitching the wagon in the dark wasn’t hard. But driving the horses down the narrow forest road without light—that had been almost impossible. But he did it for her.
“Let me help you to bring the horses in.” Dr. Weiss’s voice brought him back to the task at hand.
“The stall on the left belongs toBlesk,” Fred whispered. “I’ll tieMilato one of the hayloft posts. He ran his hand down the white mare’s neck. “She will be fine. Right girl?”
Dr. Weiss closed the door to the stall.Bleskwhinnied.
“They will settle once I shut the barn,” Fred said confidently. “I will come first thing in the morning. You can tell me then what your plans are.”
“Thank you,” Dr. Weiss placed his hand on Fred’s shoulder. “I will never forget what you did for my family. See you in the morning.”
“You are welcome,” Fred said, his throat thick with emotion. How could he tell this respected man that he would do anything for the Weiss family, especially if Hedvika looked at him with those beautiful brown eyes?
“It stinks in here,” Jakob whispered in the stall’s darkness.
“Come here, son.” Dr. Weiss joined his family. His voice was strong yet calm and carried through the night. “Sit on my lap; I will tell you a story from our Torah. We will pray to Yahweh and thank him for giving us this shelter.”
The muted rustle told Fred that the boy did as his father asked.