“I’ll wait.”
By the time they picked up their plates and had joined the line, Kendra smiled at her softly. “Katie, you know E.A. is just funning you.”
“I know. I’m used to it, but sometimes I wish she wouldn’t go quite so far.” Almost as soon as she said those words, she felt her cheeks heat. She’d spoken impetuously most of her life. Wasn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?
“There really is something between you two. I know it,” Kendra said. “We’ve all seen the sparks that flare between the two of you.”
“I don’t know.” She paused to pour salad dressing on her plate then stopped and stared. Surely this wasn’t who she thought it was?
But Melody Miller was definitely standing right in front of her. “Hi, Katie. Hi, Kendra. I’m sure surprised to see the two of you here.”
Kendra recovered first. “No more surprised than me to see you. I thought you moved away.”
“I did. But I’m back.” She lifted her chin in that full-of-herself way that had always grated on Katie’s nerves. “I decided living in Middlefield wasn’t such a good fit for me.”
“Are you still dating Samuel?” Kendra asked. Her voice was cool.
“Sam? Oh, nee. That fell away and I’m so glad it did, too. You never know about someone until you spend hours together. He was certainly someone I am better off without.”
“If you are happy, then I am glad,” Katie said as she edged away. “Now, I guess—”
“What about you?” Melody asked. “Are you serious with anyone right now? I mean is anyone courting you yet?”
The way she asked was so rude. Katie didn’t like lying, but boy, was she tempted to do that, just to get that awful look off Melody’s face. But, of course, no good would ever come of that. “I’m not seeing anyone right now.”
“Ah. Well, it is hard to find the right man who the Lord intends for us to have.”
“What about you?” Kendra asked.
“Well, of course, I have Harley again.”
“Harley Lambright?” Katie choked out the words.
“Is there another Harley you know?” Melody asked with a chuckle. “I’m sorry. There probably is. I guess in my mind, there’s only one. No matter what happens, he and I just can’t seem to stop what’s between us. I told him as much when he came over last night.”
While Katie gaped at her, Kendra said coolly, “We need to go sit down. Elizabeth Anne is waiting on us.”
“Oh! To be sure.” Melody smiled. “I’m so glad we had this moment to catch up.”
Katie turned away before Melody could see just how much that conversation had affected her.
But as they walked back to the table, she knew it was already too late.
TWENTY−ONE
“By the time we got to Andy’s car, we were all out of breath and sweating. So we decided to go to Andy’s house. I mean, to your house, Tricia.”
Tricia wrinkled her nose. “Really? I don’t remember that.”
FRIDAY
Katie had been acting odd all day. Every time Harley attempted to start a conversation or encourage her to linger by his side a little longer, she’d rebuffed him. Honestly, it was almost like she was mad at him.
However, for the life of him, Harley couldn’t imagine why.
Eventually, he’d decided that she was simply having a bad day. Everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed from time to time. Maybe this was her day to do just that. The only problem with his hypothesis was that she was all smiles and jokes with Kyle. Harley had never been jealous of his brother but he was starting to feel that way.
He was also getting tired of the awkward silences that were pulling between them. Real tired of it, and running out of ideas of how to make her smile.
Finally, when it was close to three o’clock and he’d sent Kyle home, he walked outside in an attempt to get some answers before the weekend.
Katie was weeding in her garden. Well, rather, she was pulling each unwanted plant out of the ground like it had done her an injustice by simply existing.
“Hey,” he said after watching her for a few minutes.
She squinted up at him. “Did you need something, Harley?”
Katie had a smudge of dirt on her cheek. For some reason, that little smudge made her look even fiercer.
And, to him, rather adorable.
“I did,” he said as he knelt down on one knee. “I wanted to talk to you.”
After meeting his gaze for a moment, she looked back down. “Can it wait? I’ve got a lot of weeds to pull.”
“I know you do, but I think this is too important to wait.”
She sighed. “All right. Let me get up and wash my hands.”
He was afraid that if he let her leave he wouldn’t get her to look at him for more than thirty seconds at a time again. “Actually, we might as well do this right here. I promise, it won’t take long.”
“Is something wrong with the haus?” Her brow wrinkled. “Do you need another payment?”
Boy, she was in quite the mood! “Nee. The haus is fine. And you know I wouldn’t bother you like this about a payment.”
“Harley, what is it?”
He plunged ahead. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been really distant today. I think I must have done something to upset you, but I’m not sure what it could be.”
“You haven’t done anything.”
She wasn’t meeting his eyes. “Katie, please talk to me. Whatever is wrong, I’m hoping we can work it out.”
“There’s nothing to work out. Don’t worry.”
Feeling both disappointed and a little irritated that they were back to having stilted conversations, he said, “I thought we got past all this.”
She got to her feet. “Got past what?”
“Come on. You know. Got past us not talking. Moved beyond the two of us not sharing our thoughts. Of not being open with each other. I thought . . . well, I thought we were starting to have a relationship.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “To be honest, I thought the same thing.”
“But not now?”
“I realized that was going to be pretty difficult, given that you are already in a relationship.”
“What in the world are you talking about?”
“I am talking about Melody Miller, Harley.” Each word she uttered felt like a poke to his chest.
It took some effort, but he kept his voice impassive. “Why are you bringing up Melody now?” Boy, that woman was starting to turn up everywhere like a bad penny.
Her eyes flashed. “Because Kendra and I saw her at the Der Dutchman salad bar yesterday.”
“And?” He was still at sea. It wasn’t like he’d had anything to do with Melody and Katie being at the popular restaurant at the same time.
“And right as I was putting ranch dressing on my lettuce, the three of us had a nice little chat about you and her.” She knelt back down and yanked another weed out of the ground. Tiny dots of dislodged dirt flew out into the air, landing on his feet. “Melody told me all about how you are hers, Harley.”
This time, he didn’t even care that he looked shocked. Because, well, he was. “There is no me and her. I’m certainly not her Harley.” How stupid did that even sound?
“Are you certain about that? Because she had no problem telling Kendra and me that things between the two of you were as wonderful as ever.” Her voice darkened. “Because you called on her last night.”
He was so frustrated, Harley didn’t know if he wanted to start yelling or start praying. “Listen to me. I didn’t go calling. I went to the Millers’ house about a job.” When he noticed Katie had stilled and was listening intently, he continued. “Furthermore, I didn’t even stay long. I realized as soon as I got there that I shouldn’t have gone in the first place. When I got up to leave, Melody and I had words. Now she’s not happy with me, and neither are her parents.”
“She didn’t share any of that.”
“Obviously.”
&nbs
p; “Harley, she really did insinuate that you two were back together.” She pointed one gloved finger at him. “And don’t even try to say that I was imagining things or that I misunderstood her. Kendra was there and she thought the same exact thing that I did.”
“I don’t understand what game she’s playing, but I’ll talk to her about it.” Perhaps he could find a way to ask her at church? It would be awkward, but at least she wouldn’t make a scene when they were in front of all their friends and family.
“So you really are planning to see her?” Hurt punctuated Katie’s every word.
Boy, he was hating this conversation. He should’ve just left with Kyle. No, he should have made his feelings to Melody so clear that she wouldn’t have been tempted to imagine that there was more to their relationship than there was.
Though, how could he have known that her family would not only return to Walnut Creek, but that Melody would also have wanted him back in her life?
And then there was Katie. They were navigating new territory with each other, and he was sadly adrift. He needed to figure out how to gain control of the little ship he was sailing.
He frowned. He really needed to stop with the nautical comparisons. He’d never been on a ship in his life.
Katie sighed. “Harley, are you even listening to me?”
“Sorry. Of course I am. And, to answer your question, jah, I am going to talk to Melody again, but not at her house. I’ll speak with her after church. I promise, I’m not anxious to see her. All I want to do is tell her to stop pretending that there’s more to her and me than there actually is.”
“If you are really done with her—”
“I am. We’ve been done.”
“Then I’m surprised that you went over to her house in the first place.”
He was, too, now that he had time to think on it. “It was for work,” he explained, though she knew that he had no need to book another job. “Her parents are interested in me doing a job for them and I didn’t know how to refuse. And Melody? Well, she likes to stir things up. I don’t know why, but she does. Melody is a woman who loves drama and to make sparks fly when there was never any thought of a fire in the first place. And her parents . . . well, they’ve always given her what she wanted, which makes not giving her everything difficult. She don’t take no for an answer easily. I don’t know what else to say.”
“I just wish you would’ve said something.”
“There was nothing to say!” When she winced, he blew out a burst of hot air. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what is going on between us. I just want it to get better.”
“Truly?”
“Truly. For the last time, Melody and I aren’t in a relationship, I don’t want to be in a relationship with her, and I have always regretted that I was in one with her in the first place.” Frustrated with both the situation and the fact that Katie could argue better than a barky wiener dog, he raised his hands. “I know you’re upset, but I’d appreciate it if you would listen to me. Can’t you at least give me that?”
Breathing hard, like she’d just gotten done with a run, she gaped at him.
Finally they were getting somewhere! Also, to his surprise, he was discovering that he was now staring at her slightly parted lips.
He wanted to kiss her.
Right there, in the middle of her garden, while they were kneeling on the warm dirt. It seemed that Katie Steury had woken him up. She made him speak more, share more, and yes, want to show her how much he cared.
Honestly, if he thought she wouldn’t push him away, he would pull her to him and kiss her, and then kiss her again.
But that would not be the right thing to do. Exhaling deeply and reminding himself that this conversation was what was important, not his fierce attraction to her, he blurted, “Do you believe me?”
“Jah.” Swallowing hard, she gazed up at him, her blue eyes wet with tears. “I owe you an apology. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
He had a pretty good idea. Jealousy and attraction. Insecurity and hope . . . all nestled together in years of friendship and the promise of love. He reckoned any one of those things was enough to keep them up at night. But all together? It was almost more than they could handle.
Almost.
“At least we talked about it instead of stewing, jah?”
Looking amused, she nodded. “At least we did that.”
“So, are we better now?”
“We are. I mean, we are . . . if you can forgive me?”
Reaching for her hands, he carefully pulled off her garden gloves and tossed them to the ground. Then, he brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed each hand softly. “There’s nothing to forgive, Katie.”
TWENTY−TWO
After sharing a look with the others, Harley said, “Tricia, that’s because when we got there, nobody was home.”
Three hours later, when they were all seated at supper, his father and Jimmy had a long discussion about the prices of some new seed for the north field. While they weighed the pros and cons of paying the price or contacting other sources, Harley focused on his plate of roast pork and mashed potatoes.
And the fiery exchange he’d had with Katie. What would life with her be like? Would they always rub each other the wrong way, say things they shouldn’t, speak before thinking?
It was in direct contrast with the usual way things were around this house. Everything was so contained, they might as well be confined to the inside of a Mason jar.
In contrast, he’d had enough meals at Melody’s house to know that an even different way of communication reigned there. At the Millers’ everything was always wonderful, fantastic, and good. Melody was a champion of smiling even when she wasn’t happy and of saying the exact right thing even when it didn’t ring quite true.
Was one better than the other? He didn’t know. He wasn’t even sure if one was supposed to be thinking about things like that. He reckoned everyone had their own way and it did no good to try to analyze it. Maybe one simply had to decide what one could live with.
Or, perhaps, live without.
“What do you think, Harley?” Daed asked. “You’ve been mighty quiet.”
“Hmm? Oh, I have no opinion about the price of alfalfa.”
To his surprise, everyone at the table burst out laughing. Even his father.
He felt his ears burn in embarrassment. “Uh-oh. What did I say?”
After dabbing at her lips with her napkin, Mamm said, “Nothing, son. Which is why it’s now even more obvious that you haven’t been listening to any of the conversation we’ve been having. What’s so important that it’s taken all of your attention?”
When he hesitated, Beth learned forward. “Is it Melody?”
Her, again? Before he thought the better of it, his temper snapped. “Do I have to talk about visiting Melody with you, too?”
He could practically feel the tension in the air get thicker. Ugh. What had he done?
After another couple of seconds passed, Jimmy frowned. “Oh, Harley. Really?”
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what you’d think it does,” he replied.
“Come now, James,” Daed admonished. “That ain’t no way to speak to your brother.”
“Daed, you know I’m right,” Jimmy protested. “Melody is no good for Harley—or for the rest of us.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think Harley actually said that his mind was on Melody,” Betty murmured. But still, there was a thread of distaste in her voice.
“You didn’t like her either?” Harley asked. How had he been so wrong about her?
“Nee.” Betty raised her chin. “I tried to, but it was difficult.”
“Nee, she was difficult,” Jimmy muttered under his breath.
Harley glanced at his mother, half-waiting for her to chide Jimmy for not being more kind. But his mother looked across the table and smiled softly at his father. “Relationships can be difficult, that’s true. But only when the two peopl
e aren’t meant to be together. But it’s much different when it’s the right person, ain’t so?”
Daed looked surprised, then chuckled softly. “Indeed.”
Harley could barely stop himself from staring at his parents. “Daed, Mamm, are you talking about the two of you?”
“Jah, what happened?” Beth asked. “You two are acting like there’s a story there.”
Their father leaned back in his chair. “That’s because there is, Beth. When we first met, I was courting someone else.”
Betty blinked. “Truly?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I was once a strapping young man.”
Jimmy shared a smile with Harley before speaking. “What happened with the other girl, Daed?”
“Her name was Evelyn,” he said softly. “Her parents and my parents were friends and wanted us to be together, but she and I weren’t a gut match.”
“Evelyn didn’t like your daed being so quiet,” Mamm supplied. “She was always nagging him, or saying that he needed to try harder.”
“She told you that?” Harley asked. He couldn’t imagine anyone daring to criticize his father.
Daed shrugged. “All that really mattered was that she and I thought we were supposed to get married because our parents wanted that to happen. But love don’t work that way.” Glancing over at their mother again, his eyes warmed. “Everything changed when I met your mother. I took one look at her and knew she was special.”
“Where did you first see Mamm, Daed?” Betty asked.
“At the park. She was chasing after a puppy—”
“I had a tiny poodle named Silver,” Mamm said. “She never listened.”
“Nee, she never did,” Daed said quietly, still looking at their mother. “But because Silver wouldn’t mind, you were chasing her, and I? Well, I fell in love.”
Harley had so much emotion churning inside him, he felt like a giant rock was lodged in his throat. He glanced at his siblings. Each looked as affected as he did. “That’s . . . that’s a gut story.”
“The best,” Betty said.
Mamm chuckled. “That’s why it’s gut that our Harley here didn’t settle for the wrong person. When it’s right? Well, one knows.”
The Loyal One Page 14