Caleb looked at her as she set her sandwich on the napkin he’d given her.
“You don’t like the sandwich?”
Katie looked into his kind blue eyes that held a genuine sweetness. Jessup’s eyes were tired and stressful.
“Jah, I do. I’m not used to having a mann sit with me while I eat. In my community, when there is a gathering, the menner sit separately from the women, and they are served first.”
Caleb chuckled. “They do that here too. Not really sure I like that. If it bothers you, I can sit with the kinner.”
Katie smiled. “Nee. I don’t mind if you sit with me. It’s a nice change.”
She picked up the sandwich and took another bite. It was a gut sandwich and gut company. And she liked it.
****
After school, Katie walked to the bakery to thank Rachel for the cookies Caleb had brought for her. She had never tasted anything like them; they were the best cookies she’d ever had, and there were a lot of recipes floating around her community. When she reached the small bakery, Caleb was on the porch fixing the railing. She felt suddenly shy around him, and said a quick “hello” before walking inside. She didn’t dare say anymore than that for fear her admiration of him would show in the pink tinge of her cheeks. To her, there was nothing more appealing than watching a mann work, and she didn’t trust herself not to linger over a conversation with him while he worked.
As Katie entered the bakery, the bells jingled against the top of the door announcing her presence. Rachel came from the kitchen, flour dusting her face, but a smile softened her expression, making her look less flustered from an obviously busy day.
“Gut daag, Katie,” she said cheerfully. “Are you here for more cookies?”
Katie stomped the snow off her boots onto the rug in front of the door. “Nee, I better not take any back to my aenti’s haus, but I wanted to say danki for the ones you sent with your bruder. Those dogs stole my lunch from me on the way to school today, and I would have had to go without if it hadn’t been for the generosity of you and your bruder.”
Rachel looked at her as if she was trying to process her entire statement. “But why is it that you don’t want to take anymore sweets home? Is your aenti trying to stay away from sweets?”
Katie wished she hadn’t said anything, but she owed Rachel an explanation now that she had. “Nee, it’s more like your familye she’s trying to stay away from. I’m sorry, Rachel. I want you to know I don’t share her feelings.”
Rachel couldn’t help but smile. “Everyone in the community knows of your aenti’s past with my grossdaddi.”
“I’m certain my familye knows about it since she is my daed’s schweschder, but I only learned of it yesterday. It seems that no one ever tells me anything. My daed could have at least warned me not to bring up your grossdaddi to her. He offered to fix her buggy wheel, and I thought she was going to declare war.”
Rachel giggled. “If it’s a buggy wheel you need fixing, my schweschder’s husband, Jonah Beiler, is the one to ask. He’s the buggy-maker in the community. I can let you know tomorrow if you’ll stop by after school.”
Katie slipped her knitted gloves back on her hands, preparing to battle the snow and wind for the rest of her walk home. “Danki. Would you mind if I came by in the morning to pick up some more cookies? I’ve never tasted anything like them.”
“Of course you can. They are an old familye recipe—probably why you’ve never encountered them before. You won’t find them anywhere except this bakery. Are you sure you don’t want to take a few home? I have some left over from today’s sales.”
Katie thought about it for a minute. “I better not. I’ll never hear the end of it if I do. As tempting as they are, I’ll have to wait until the morning.”
Rachel waved to Katie as she stepped onto the porch. Standing in the doorway for a minute, Rachel observed the interaction between Katie and her bruder. If she didn’t know any better, she’d have to say the two of them were sweet on each other. But she’d have given almost anything to know what they were saying to one another.
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CHAPTER 8
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Katie pulled her knitted scarf over her nose to shelter her face from the wind and icy snow that pelted her cheeks. She hadn’t seen the dogs yet, but she was close enough to the bakery that they could jump out from behind a tree at any time. Today, however, she was armed with an extra few slices of salami and cheese to keep them busy while she could get away with her lunch intact. So far, not a dog in sight. Perhaps the weather had forced them to find shelter. Suddenly, Katie felt sorry for the dogs, who didn’t seem to have anyone to care for them.
No sooner had she thought it, than one of the dogs crawled out from under a large span of evergreen bushes. Katie didn’t dare move as she sized up the snarling dog with his teeth showing. The wind and snow swirled around his head, but he shook and growled as if it made him even angrier.
Remembering the salami and cheese, Katie slowly reached into her bag, her eyes fixed on the animal with its threatening stance. She tossed a chunk of salami toward the dog and he caught it midair. She threw another piece, and the dog did the same thing, and wagged his tale. A whine escaped his throat as he tipped his head to the side and blinked, a hopeful look in his eyes.
“Caleb was right,” she said.
“What was I right about?”
Katie gasped as she turned around swiftly to find Caleb so close behind her, she bumped into him.
She pulled the scarf down from her nose and mouth so she could talk easily. “The dogs. I think they’re just hungry. Perhaps with a proper home and regular meals they wouldn’t be so mean.”
“Now hold on there. You still haven’t seen his brother this morning. This is the nicer of the two. You can’t just take an animal home with you because he ate from you without biting off your hand. What if he has rabies?”
“He doesn’t have rabies. He’s just hungry. I’d be angry too if my owner put me out in the cold. Where do you suppose they came from?”
Caleb stared her down as she tossed a piece of cheese to the dog. “You are not the same person I met two days ago.”
Katie smirked. “Living with a cranky aenti will change a person right quick.”
The other dog sauntered out from under the evergreens, teeth showing, a low growl stopping Katie and Caleb from moving.
“You still think you can just take them home with you? Maybe I was wrong about them.” Caleb wasn’t so sure they should be standing so close to the meaner of the two. “Throw him some food before he bites us.”
Katie looked over her shoulder at him. “I thought you said they were harmless?”
Caleb chuckled nervously. “That was before that one started looking at me like I was dinner.”
Katie tossed the dog a handful of cheese and salami chunks, and watched him gobble it up. She tossed another few pieces to the first dog, who was sitting patiently on his haunches for another bite. “Animals understand kindness. They were just hungry. The big one has stopped growling.”
Caleb raised an eyebrow at her. “This coming from the same girl who came screaming into the bakery two days ago thinking they were after you!”
The wind had died down and the snow had let up a little, making it easier to talk. “I’ll admit I was afraid that first day. And the second day. But today, I decided I was going to shower them with kindness and make friends with them since we’ll be seeing each other every morning on my way to school. At least until I get my aenti’s buggy wheel fixed. Even then I’ve decided to bring them food so they won’t terrorize anyone else. How long have they been around here?”
Caleb stood beside her now that the dogs were happily eating the last of the treat Katie had brought them. “I’ve been seeing them hanging around for about three months now—just after Christmas. I’m amazed they never bothered your aenti all those mornings she walked to school.”
Katie flashed him a smile.
“My aenti is too ornery to let a couple of dogs get the better of her. They’re probably afraid of her.”
Caleb laughed. “Ornery, huh? My grossdaddi seems to think awful highly of her.”
Katie’s eyes widened at his words. “If he thinks so highly of her, why did he leave her when they were young and marry another woman?”
Caleb held up a hand in defense. “I don’t know the details, but I’ve heard it was your aenti who turned my grossdaddi away. Not the other way around.”
Katie had forgotten all about the dogs, who had gone back under the evergreen bushes to get out of the cold. “They way I heard it, your grossdaddi married her best friend.”
Caleb held up both his hands. “This isn’t our argument. I never had a chance to meet my grossmammi, because she had passed away before we even met my grossdaddi. But I do know that my schweschder, Rachel was named after her.”
Katie was confused. “You aren’t blood-related to Hiram Miller?”
“Nee. But he’s been my grossdaddi since I was ten years old. He’s my new mamm’s daed, and he’s a gut mann.”
Katie conceded. “He was very nice when he offered help to my aenti. Maybe he wants to make amends with her. She was pretty clear that she wanted nothing to do with him, but I think it’s a front. I could see the hurt in her eyes.”
Caleb smiled. “Maybe we should help them.”
Katie wasn’t sure she should be spending so much time in Caleb’s company since she was promised to Jessup, but that wasn’t what she wanted, and no one, not even her own parents seemed to care about what she wanted. For now, it was her decision what she would do with her time, and helping Caleb mend fences between his grossdaddi and her aenti might be the last thing she did of her own free will.
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CHAPTER 9
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Katie happily accepted a ride to school after getting her cookies from Rachel, who wanted to help with the plan to reconcile things between their familye. Caleb had been asked by the Elders of the church to chop wood for the school, and so he would be spending the morning getting under Katie’s skin like he had the day before. She knew it was wrong to feel attraction toward Caleb since she would probably end up marrying Jessup when she returned to Nappanee, but that didn’t stop her from wishing things could be different. That she could hope for a different future for herself—one where she could do her own choosing of a husband.
Caleb enjoyed the closeness with Katie as he urged his horse to walk a little faster through the deep snow. He wished they could get to know one another better, but the fact she was betrothed stood in the way of anything more than friendship between them. It bothered Caleb that he felt he’d finally met his match, but she was promised to another mann. It didn’t matter that she didn’t seem happy about the arrangement because a promise was a promise—and it was one to be honored.
When they reached the school yard, Katie jumped out of the buggy before Caleb could say anything to her. Because of all the excitement over the dogs, she was a few minutes late—again. He knew it would not look gut for her to continue to be late, and he knew the Elders would give report of her tardiness to her aenti. He also knew that it would be reported that he had driven her to school each day, and her aenti would surely discipline her for such unacceptable actions. Caleb didn’t want to be in the middle of the old squabble between his grossdaddi and Katie’s aenti, but it was a little late to think about that now. Right now, his biggest concern was chopping the wood without freezing, and getting a peek at Katie’s reading lessons while he warmed himself by the fire.
Once again, Katie found it difficult to keep from stumbling over her words as Caleb stood by the fire to warm himself after chopping a considerable amount of wood. She could feel his stare on the back of her neck as if the fire from the stove was close enough to overheat her. She tried to keep her eyes on the chalkboard and the letters she was reviewing with the young students. The older students worked quietly on an assignment while she worked with the younger group.
Unable to resist his stare any longer, she glanced at Caleb, realizing it was her lesson he was watching so intently and not her. His eyes didn’t leave the chalkboard as she scribbled a few more letters on the board. From the corner of her eye, she could see his lips forming the letter sounds with her students as they repeated them.
Was it possible that Caleb couldn’t read? It wasn’t unheard of in the community—and for any community, for that matter. After all, her job in her own city was to assist in teaching the adults at the adult center how to read. There were many adults that didn’t know how to read. But why would Caleb not have learned that from his aenti when he attended school? Her aenti, she knew, had been teaching in the community for almost forty years, so Caleb surely would have been one of her students. She didn’t dare inquire about it to her aenti, or the woman would know she’d been talking to one of Hiram Miller’s relatives. But she could ask Rachel when she visited with her after school.
****
Caleb tried really hard to keep up with Katie’s lesson, but found it difficult to follow along when he’d had to continuously return to the outdoors to chop more wood. He tried to be as discrete as possible, but he feared he’d gotten caught mouthing the letter sounds more than once. If she was aware that he was paying attention to her lesson, she didn’t let on. He would be embarrassed if she knew his secret. But why should he care so much what she thought of him? After all, she would be leaving in a few weeks to return to her own community, and she would be marrying one Jessup King.
****
Katie’s afternoon seemed to drag on slowly after Caleb finished stacking the wood pile. He hadn’t even stayed for lunch, much to her disappointment. Though she was eager to find out from Rachel if what she suspected about Caleb’s inability to read was true, she also wondered if it would be impolite for her to even ask such a thing. Knowing she could never take such a concern to her aenti without raising a red flag, she decided that Rachel would be the best one to approach about the subject. She told herself that her interest in knowing was simply out of concern as a teacher, but she also couldn’t quite admit that her interest was purely selfish.
Am I really such a snob that I would judge a mann simply because he couldn’t read? He doesn’t seem dumm by any means, but my familye would consider him an unsuitable match because of his lack of education. Not that I care what they think…
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CHAPTER 10
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Katie thought about her reasons for wanting to know Caleb’s personal business as she trudged along in the deep snow. The path from the school to the bakery had been well-defined by buggy tracks, making it a little easier for her walk. She both dreaded and eagerly awaited spring. Dreading it because it meant she would be going back to Nappanee and back to Jessup. But eagerly awaiting the flowers and the sound of birds chirping.
Spring planting was something she always looked forward to, but this year she was supposed to begin a kitchen garden at the King haus in preparation of her wedding. How could she have let things get this far out of control? Maybe if she made nice with her aenti, the ornery woman would let her stay. And with the teaching position open, perhaps she would be chosen to be the permanent replacement. But that wouldn’t make Aenti Nettie happy. In fact, it would probably prompt her to insist on Katie’s immediate departure.
The only thing Katie could see in her future was being the wife of a thirty-three-year-old widower she didn’t love, and being a mamm to his kinner.
Walking into the bakery, Katie’s ears were assaulted with the sound of large dishes clanging on the floor. She rushed to the kitchen when she heard Rachel squeal.
“Do you need some help?”
Rachel stared up at her from where she sat on her haunches gathering utensils into a cake pan.
“Ach, I knocked the whole pan of clean utensils off the counter, and now I have to wash them again. I’m never going to fini
sh all these dishes before tomorrow.”
Katie looked at the counters that were filled with dirty pans, flour dusting every surface, including the floor. Grabbing an apron from a nearby hook, she removed her coat and pulled the apron over her head, ready to dive in and help.
Rachel saw her new friend donning that apron and put up her hands. “Ach, you don’t have to help me. I’m the dummkopf who isn’t domesticated enough to clean a kitchen. I’m gut at the baking part, but not so gut at the cleaning.”
Katie smiled as she bent down to help pick up the mess. “Well then you’re in for a treat because I’m wunderbaar at cleaning up messes. But not so gut at baking. I’d say we’d make a gut team. We should have this mess cleaned up in no time at all.”
Rachel giggled. “You are already such a gut friend, Katie. And perhaps someday you might be more.”
Katie put the dirty utensils back into the dishwater. “What do you mean?”
Rachel smiled. “Perhaps we will one day be schweschders. I see the way you look at my bruder.”
Katie’s heart kicked up into high speed at such a forward statement. “Ach, he’s handsome, but you have it all wrong.”
“I don’t think I have anything wrong. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
Amish Winter of Promises: Book Four Page 3