The Zion Trail: Lije thinks about girls

Lije Marshall has expressed his concern to his parents about his sister's suitor and the man's connection to Pa's beating.
~~~

I stopped myself from saying anything about the lying tales Hans had spun for her, knowing I'd be in trouble for eavesdropping on my sister, no matter that it had been inadvertent. After all, I had continued to listen to their conversation in the henhouse. And watch their amorous embraces.

A different sort of energy pulsed in my body, something new to me. I wondered if it was time I started to take notice of the girls in the vicinity.

Samantha Calhoun. She had a wall-eye. I'd spent a fair amount of time watching it wander about as she sang in the choir at church, but could I live all my life looking at the spectacle? No. Cordelia Brock. Fair-haired and growing into womanhood well. I could take notice of her. Tilly Kressler. We boys called her Silly Tilly for good reasons. Her giggle was overdone. Annie Lea—

Ma brought me back to the situation at hand with a quiet, "I knew she was daydreaming far too much these last weeks." She rose, patting Pa's hand before she laid it gently on the quilt. "Let's see if her mind wandered off her cooking."

"She has a pot of soup going," I said, backing out of Ma's way as she advanced upon the doorway. "It smells nearly edible."

Ma raised an eyebrow. "You must stop teasing your sister."

"I wasn—"

"You do it often, Lije. The day will come when you will regret treating her lightly."
~~~

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