“No, you have Papa too. You’re the one who is pushing him away.” She hugged him close. “You need to make things right. Do it tonight.”

But the opportunity didn’t come that day. Instead a strong gale blew up and a thunderstorm moved in, bringing a chilly rain that came in sheets the wind sent sideways. Gloriana had barely managed to get the wash inside before the storm hit. She watched the lake heave huge waves upon the shore and worried about Papa and the others out fishing. Had they gotten to safety in time?

At four o’clock, JT came through the door drenched. He was shivering so much that his teeth chattered. Gloriana stripped him of his wet clothes, wrapped him in a blanket, and put him in the rocking chair by the fireplace. As she dried his hair, he told her about his day.

“I did really good at math. You would have been proud. I know my times tables up to ten.”

“You always have been good with numbers. How about your reading?”

He frowned. “I don’t like words as much as numbers. There’s only ten numbers, and then you just reuse them, but they always mean the same count unless you put them in a different column. There’s twenty-six letters, and they don’t always sound the same way, so it makes it seem like there are a whole lot more letters than just twenty-six. Then, when you mix them up in words, they make all sorts of different sounds.”

“I’d never thought of it that way.” Gloriana stepped back. “There, your hair’s much drier. Why don’t you just sit here and warm up while I get you something hot to drink?”

“Hot cider?” he asked.

She smiled. “Sure. Why not?”

She went to the kitchen and warmed some cider on the stove. Pastor Sedgwick had just brought her several gallons of apple cider in trade for fish her father had given the Sedgwicks. People often made trades in order to have what they needed. Ever since the jugs had arrived, JT wanted to drink it all. He seemed to have a hollow leg when it came to apple cider. Of course, he’d have a bellyache to end them all if he drank as much as he wanted.

When it was sufficiently warm, Gloriana poured JT a cup and took it to him. “Here you go, but no more until after supper.”

He reached out from the blanket to take the cup. He immediately put it to his lips and took a drink. “How come we don’t make cider, Glory?”

“We would need apple trees. Besides, I really don’t need the extra work. We smoke fish and pickle it, we pick berries, and I make all sorts of jam. I think that’s plenty of work, don’t you?”