happier when they were standing on fresh straw.
But those reasons didnât mean that he wanted to drag the task out longer than necessary.
âI told you I got this, Levi,â Randall said under his breath.
âAnd I told you that taking care of these stalls is my job.â With a scowl, he snatched the rake out of his hands. âI promised Junior I would still do it after he left.â
It made no sense, but his youngest brotherâs reminder that Juniorâs word was still heededâeven though he was living on his own nowâgrated something awful.
Enough to pick a fight.
âAnd I told you that I have time, and I donât mind doing it. Let me be and go on to work.â
âI donât start my shift until eleven today,â Levi said as he neatly ran the rake along the side of the stall, easily picking up more soiled straw in one pass than Randall did in three. âPlus, you arenât doing it right.â
âAnd we both know that thereâs only one way to clean out a stall.â
âThereâs only one way to do it the way Bright likes.â
âSheâs a horse.â
âSheâs a gut gaul . Even I remember Daed saying that we needed to care for her well, because she cares for us,â Levi snapped. âDonât you remember that?â
âOf course I do. Daed told me that a whole lot longer ago than you.â As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. The reason Levi hadnât heard his fatherâs words of wisdom for as long was because he was so young when their father passed away. âIâm sorry. I shouldnât have said that.â
â Bruder , whatâs wrong with you? Youâre not acting like yourself at all.â
Randall immediately felt ashamed. His brother was right. There was no reason for him to be taking out his frustration on a horseâs stall anyway. âYouâre right. Iâm sorry.â
âYou know, if youâre upset with the way you treated Elizabeth, you should just go over there and apologize. It might take a while, but I bet youâll find the right words to say to her sooner or later.â
âI didnât know you were now in the business of giving advice, bruder .â
âIâm not. But if you arenât going to be paying a call on Elizabeth, let me know. Iâll go over there and apologize.â
Against his will, a burst of jealousy hit him hard. âHave you developed a crush on her, Levi?â
Taking a deep breath, Levi rested the rake against the slats of the stall before facing him. âYou know, I used to really admire you. Out of all my older brothers, I admired you the best. I liked how you were always so easygoing. I liked how you kept to yourself and worked construction and always had a joke or a smile for me. But now I get it.â
âAnd what do you get?â
âYou werenât easygoing; you were selfish. You were happy because you were doing exactly what you wanted, when you wanted. And now that you canât, you donât know how to deal with it.â
âThat is not true.â At least, he really hoped it wasnât.
âIt sure seems like it is. If you donât want to be in charge, tell Micah or Neil. Or tell Junior. I bet heâd come back and do everything again. And then you could go back to doing what you wanted.â
âListen to you,â he said sarcastically. âYouâve got all the answers this morning.â
âNot really. Because Kaylene is still sad, weâre going to have hockey-puck chicken again tonight, and you probably hurt Elizabethâs feelings. Sheâs probably wondering how sheâs going to be able to take care of her grandmother now.â Looking even more irritated, Levi thrust his rake at Randall. âHere, you want to finish up? Go ahead. Iâm going to walk Kaylene to school.â
âWait. I havenât made her lunch
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