“Thank you. I’ll write to you as soon as I get back.”
Anna smiled and stepped away. Sawyer came forward.
“Can’t wait to see you again,” he said.
“I think you really mean that.”
“Of course I do.” He looked at her. Then to her surprise, he put his arms around her. “I love you.”
With shaking arms that had nothing to do with Parkinson’s, she hugged him back. Tears stung her eyes. “I . . . I love you too.”
As she and Kenneth were on the way to the airport, Cora leaned forward and passed a slip of paper to the taxi driver. “I’d like to stop here first.”
“Sure thing, ma’am.”
Cora settled back in her seat. She turned to see Kenneth looking at her. “I thought you were in a hurry to get home,” he said.
“I have some business to attend to.”
A short while later they pulled into the driveway of a modest Amish home. “I’ll be right back,” Cora said, opening the passenger door.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Kenneth asked.
“No. I need to do this myself.”
With careful steps she started toward the front porch, but stopped when she saw someone come out of the barn. Sawyer’s friend, Johnny Mullet. Just the man she wanted to talk to.
CHAPTER 28
Katherine sat in the church service, trying to concentrate on the minister’s sermon. She’d been blessed by the past couple of services, yet today her attention strayed. The coolness of Gabriel Miller’s barn offset the heat of summer. Bright sunbeams crept through the wooden slats. Above the voice of one of the ministers she could hear the twittering of barn swallows in the rafters.
Summer reflecting the warmth of God’s love. She used to sit in services searching for Johnny, thinking about him, praying for things to be different. Now her heart was free to be filled with something else.
The service ended, and she walked outside into the enveloping sunlight. She spoke to a few of her friends as she walked by, and then she saw Laura Stutzman approach. When Laura was injured in the fire, Katherine had sewn a prayer quilt for her. Since then the two had formed a friendship. But she hadn’t seen Laura in quite a while.
“Katherine.” Laura smiled and touched her friend’s hand. “I’m glad to see you.”
“Me too.” She leaned forward. “I hear you’ve been busy planning a wedding.”
“No secrets around here.” Her blue eyes danced.
Katherine grinned. At one time she would have been envious despite her happiness for Laura and Sawyer. Now she was simply happy. “All secrets come out eventually. When is the wedding date?”
“We moved it up to the beginning of October. Mei parents are able to come then, as will Sawyer’s Englisch grandmother. You knew she was building a haus in Middlefield, ya?”
“Nee. Where?”
“She bought some property nearby.” Laura took both Katherine’s hands. “How are you doing? I heard about your memory loss during your illness. If you don’t mind me asking, have your memories returned?”
Katherine shook her head. “The doctor says if they haven’t by now, they probably won’t. But I’m fine with that.”
“You’re content, then?”
She thought about everything that had happened the past few months. How she’d decided to put God first and let her desire for Johnny go. And she’d done just that. She couldn’t say she didn’t miss him, but she didn’t ache for him like she did before. And he had respected her request for distance—they hadn’t talked since that day at his farm. Even Mary Beth didn’t bring the subject up anymore. Neither did her mother.
“I am, Laura. I can honestly say I’m truly at peace.”
Laura grinned, took Katherine’s hand, and squeezed it. “You deserve it. That and so much more.”
“Katherine?”
A sudden lightness appeared in her chest at the sound of Johnny’s voice. She turned slightly to see him standing behind her.
“Could I talk to you for a minute?”
Laura looked at him, then at Katherine. “I was just about to go look for Emma.” She let go of Katherine’s hand and glanced at him. “Hello, Johnny.”
“Hi, Laura.”
She faced Katherine again. “I’ll see you later.”
Katherine waved good-bye, then slowly turned toward him. It was the first time she’d been close to him in weeks. He was as handsome as ever. She had always especially liked him in his Sunday clothes, the cut of his black vest and crisp white shirt complementing his lean frame.
Today, however, there was something different about him. She met his gaze, seeing the familiar fringe of dark hair above his chocolate-brown eyes. But instead of the strain, worry, and at times even fear she’d seen there over the years, there was something else she saw.
Peace.
He pulled a folded piece of paper out of the pocket of his black pants. “I know I said I wouldn’t bother you. This will only take a minute.” He handed her the note. “For you.”
He’d never written to her before. “What is this?”
“Read it and you’ll understand.” He held it out to her, his eyes pleading with her to accept the letter.
Reluctantly she took it from his hand. Then, without another word, he turned around and walked toward his buggy.
She looked at the letter but didn’t unfold it. Warmth flooded through her, not only from the sun, but from deep inside her soul. She’d just thought about the peace she possessed from being free of Johnny, of envy, of perceived unfairness and unanswered prayer.
Now he’d brought her back into his life.
But not forcefully. Not out of guilt or manipulation. She ran her fingers over the plain, folded paper. She could at least read the contents. But not now. She held it in her hand and looked for the rest of her family.
Later that afternoon, with her father dozing on the couch, her mother reading a copy of Family Life, and Bekah with her nose in another book, Katherine slipped outside. She walked away from the house to the field next door. As the sun set in the distance, streaking the cloudy sky with its beautiful golden color, she began to read the words on the paper. Johnny’s words.
Dear Katie,
It’s taken me a good long while to write this. I’m not great with words. You know that, since I’ve said some pretty dumb stuff to you before. I thought maybe if I wrote things down they would make more sense to you, and to me. Guess we’ll have to see.
I’ll just come right out and say it. Katie, I miss you. I know you want to wait on God’s timing to see if there’s a chance for us, and I agree. But I can’t let things end between us the way they did. Not without telling you how much you mean to me. You always will, no matter what God decides. You are a beautiful, kind, loving woman. Any man would be blessed to have you as his wife.
I promise to honor your request to let you go. I won’t bother you. I won’t pursue you. But I will always keep you in my heart. You will always be my Katie.
Love, Johnny
Katherine folded the letter and pressed it against her chest. She smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks. Knowing Johnny loved her was one thing; knowing he respected God enough to allow Him to do His will in their lives made him even more special. She wiped away her tears and hurried into the house.
“Katherine?” her mother called from the living room. “Everything all right?”
Katherine came inside and paused at the bottom of the stairs. She looked at her mother and smiled. “Everything is wonderful!”
As she ran upstairs, she could hear her sister’s voice. “What’s gotten into her?” Bekah asked.
“I don’t know,” Mamm replied. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just gut to see her happy.”
Once she reached the bedroom, Katherine sat on the edge of the bed and read Johnny’s letter again. She folded it and put it on her nightstand. She knelt beside her bed and pulled out a small wooden box, the one her father had given to her for Christmas years ago. She ope
ned it. Inside were a few keepsakes—her first crocheted granny square, a bookmark she made when she was in kindergarten, the leaf Johnny had brushed off her shoulder the day he pushed her in the tire swing so long ago. She placed Johnny’s letter in the box and slid it back under her bed.
Then she opened the drawer in her nightstand and pulled out a small notebook and pen. She sat down on the floor, leaned back against the bed, and opened the notebook.
Dear Johnny . . .
EPILOGUE
October
Katherine stood in the corner of the Ottos’ living room, watching the mass of people as they congratulated Sawyer and Laura on their wedding. Across the crowded living room she saw Laura’s parents seated at a long table, visiting with her own folks, her mother and father making sure the Stutzmans felt welcome.
In another corner of the living room she saw Leona seated next to Cora and Emma Byler, Lukas’s mother. Sawyer’s grandmother looked out of place, covered in sparkly jewelry, wearing a black sweater with a fur-lined collar that Katherine suspected was real. The contrast between the three women was startling, yet they spoke to each other as if they were old friends. Cora didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable with her flashy presence. She even used a sleek wood cane Sawyer had made for her in the workshop, painted a shiny black. His wedding gift to her, Laura had explained a few days ago. Cora gripped it tightly, as if she would never let it go.
Katherine sighed and leaned against the wall, content for her friends. For the first time, she attended a wedding where she didn’t feel the sting of jealousy. The grip of pity. The yearning for a man who would never care for her as much as she cared for him.
Everything was different now. She had put God first in her life. And she knew she had Johnny’s love. That was all that mattered.
She continued to scan the room, looking at family and friends dressed in their Sunday best, enjoying the fellowship. Her sister Bekah was talking not only to Melvin but to Caleb too. Katherine was pretty sure both young men were smitten with her. But typical of Bekah, she didn’t seem to notice.
As people meandered through the crowd, the room began to feel a bit stifling. Katherine had started for the back door when a little girl in a plum dress and black kapp tapped her on the arm. It was little Velda Miller, Moriah and Gabriel Miller’s oldest daughter.
“I’m supposed to give you this.” She handed Katherine a tiny folded piece of paper.
Katherine accepted it. She crouched down to Velda’s level. “Who is it from?”
“Can’t tell.” Velda leaned forward. “It’s a secret.”
“And you’re gut at keeping secrets?”
“If it means I get candy.” She held up a peppermint stick, stuck it in her mouth, and walked away.
Laughing, Katherine opened the paper.
Meet me outside, by the barn.
She frowned, folded the paper, and stepped outside on the back deck. The crisp October air held a fall chill, and a cool wind lifted her kapp ribbons. She stepped down from the deck and walked across the Ottos’ backyard. Past the animal shelter, past the energetic barking of dogs well cared for. All the way out to the far reaches of the yard, where a grove of trees brimming with autumn color surrounded an old oak barn.
Then she saw him, right before he disappeared behind the barn. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. The few people outside were mostly kids getting ready to play a game of baseball on the other side of the Ottos’ house. She rushed to the barn and turned the corner, expecting to see him there.
She was alone.
“Psst.”
Katherine spun around and saw his hand poking out of the barn’s open back door. He motioned for her to come inside. When she entered, she shivered, still cold from the chilly air outside.
He appeared in the center of the barn, his jacket slung over one shoulder. He didn’t move toward her, didn’t say anything. Just stood there, looking at her. Then he smiled.
And something inside her shifted.
She gasped, the sensation so strong, so real, she couldn’t describe it. An emotion she’d never felt before. Her hand rested on her chest, feeling her pulse thrum beneath it.
“Hi, Katie.”
“Hello, Johnny.”
“I see you got my anonymous note.”
She chuckled. “Not very anonymous. I can tell your handwriting anywhere.”
“Well, we’ve been writing to each other for months now.” The smile never left his face.
Katherine grinned. Since he’d sent her that letter in July, they wrote each other at least once a week. Through his letters she found out that Cora Easley had purchased his farm, offering to rent it back to him, with him eventually owning it outright. He had taken her up on the offer, but instead of moving back into the run-down house, he stayed at home, doing some part-time work for Byler and Sons and picking up a few jobs at Gabriel Miller’s blacksmith shop. Gradually he was fixing up the place, making it his own.
I’m going to do this right, he wrote to her shortly after signing the deal with Cora. That house isn’t going anywhere.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he said.
They gazed at each other for a moment. Katherine could barely stem the emotions running through her. She felt as if she were looking at Johnny Mullet through new eyes—and indeed, she was. But he was different too. His last few letters had detailed how he was forging ahead with the life God wanted him to lead. She hadn’t realized how afraid and insecure he was until they spent time apart, getting to know each other all over again through their constant stream of correspondence.
She looked at him. The bu she thought she loved all these years had become a mann. A man of God.
And suddenly she knew.
“Johnny—” She choked on his name.
He nodded and closed the distance between them. He draped his black jacket over her shoulders, swallowing her in its warmth. Then he held out his arms and she stepped into them.
This was what she had wanted all along—the security of Johnny’s love. Until now he couldn’t offer it. Until now she couldn’t accept it. They had to be apart and discover who they were as God’s children before they could be together.
He moved away but kept one arm around her waist, rubbing his fingertips over the small of her back. “Does this mean we can start over?”
She nodded. “Ya.”
“There’s a singing this Sunday . . .”
“I think we’re a little bit past singings. Don’t you?”
He stroked the top of her cheek with his thumb. “I suppose so.” He gazed at her, dropping his hand from her cheek and removing his arm from her waist. “Then what should we do?”
“This.” She took his face in her hands and drew his mouth to hers, his jacket slipping off her body and falling to the ground. When their lips touched, she closed her eyes. He pulled her against him.
After the kiss, his chest heaved. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Was it all right?”
He moaned and stepped away. “More than all right.” He shook his head as if he was clearing it and picked up his jacket. This time he handed it to her, keeping his distance. “You never cease to surprise me.”
She took the jacket and put it over her shoulders. “Sometimes I surprise myself.”
Johnny laughed. Moved closer to her, but just out of reach. Then he took one more step and entwined his fingers with hers. “I love you, Katie.”
“I love you too.”
“The time is right, ya?” He grinned again.
Katherine gripped his hand. “Ya. It’s exactly right.”
READING GROUP GUIDE
from Treasuring Emma
1. Have you experienced loss like Emma’s? What words offered you the most comfort in such a time?
2. What is your first impression of Adam? Do you immediately judge him?
3. Why do you think Emma’s grandmother wrote to Adam? Do you think she is a nosy old lady, or do her intentions appear sincere?
4. As the story unfolds, there is obvious discord in Clara and Peter’s marriage. Discuss the steps both could be taking to work out their problems.
5. Adam’s return home mirrors the biblical story of the prodigal son. What differences do you see between that story and Adam’s return?
6. Characters often reflect on the phrase “God will provide.” Do you believe that? Has there been a time in your life when you’ve doubted that God would come through for you?
7. Discuss Norman Otto and his relationship with his son. How do you react to Norman’s attitude toward Adam? Do you think that Norman is wrong?
8. At what point do you become suspicious of Mark?
9. Emma’s grandmother comforts her and tells her at one point, “We’re not guaranteed an easy life.” Do you disagree? How have you dealt with bitterness concerning the not-so-easy parts of your life?
10. Do you feel pity toward Mark? Why or why not?
11. In order for Adam to return to the community, he was required to stand in front of the entire church and confess his sins. He had to completely embrace humility. Have you ever had to do that?
12. How do you feel about where the author leaves Mark King, or Matt Kingston, as he tells the young Amish girl? Do you believe that he can be brought back from the path he is on?
13. The title of this story is Treasuring Emma. What does it mean to actively treasure someone? In what ways do you see characters in this story treasuring each other?
14. What is your biggest takeaway from this story? Do you feel encouraged after seeing God’s faithfulness through so many difficult circumstances?
from Faithful to Laura
1. Sawyer is in an unusual situation—he’s a Yankee raised during his teen years in an Amish world. He struggles to find his place and purpose in life. Have you found yourself in a similar situation? How did you resolve it?
The Middlefield Family Collection Page 66