Sisters of the Quilt

by Cindy Woodsmall

  She slid the last hairpin into place and stepped across the threshold before turning a complete circle.

  “Oh yeah.” He nodded his approval, his eyes fixed. “Definitely. Amy clearly has great taste.”

  “You hadn’t seen it before now?”

  “Too swamped. Amy Clarke picked it out and then called me with a description. I made sure she bought a jacket, just in case it showed too much skin for your liking.”

  “Well, according to the look in your eye, you’re pleased with the outcome of your joint effort with Amy.”

  “We’ve teamed up on projects for years, but we’ve never yet produced anything near this gorgeous.”

  She crossed the room. When Martin opened his arms, thoughts of Paul popped into her mind, as if he had his arms open for her. Suddenly a bit shaken and weak-kneed, she snuggled into Martin’s embrace.

  He held her for a moment before shifting and planting a kiss on her lips. Then he put a bit of space between them, keeping her face inches from his. “How’s Paul?”

  Slipping from his embrace, she stared at him. “What?”

  “Lissa was just telling me that he was injured and you helped him.”

  “Oh … yeah …” She adjusted the sleeve of her dress, unsure how to explain what’d taken place, really taken place. “A lot of good things happened for me, and I’d planned on our talking about the whole trip later tonight.”

  “I’m not interested in the whole trip, just the parts that go down memory lane with an ex-fiancé.” His eyes and his tone held the intensity of an owner of a thriving engineering firm.

  She knew right then that trying to explain what she and Paul had experienced this past weekend was a really bad plan. Martin had been her closest ally since she’d landed here, broken and friendless. But she’d become the woman he was in love with, the one he intended to marry. And maybe, inside of that relationship, full disclosure of every feeling wasn’t a wise move, at least until she understood them herself.

  Placing her hand in the center of his chest, she studied his handsome face, remembering dozens of parts of the journey that had bonded them in ways no one else could understand. “Paul and I found some closure, and now I own parts of myself that were stolen from me years ago. I came home ready to tell you what went on, feeling like I can begin life anew and having a peace with my ghosts that I never expected. And I don’t deserve the tone in your voice.”

  Do I?

  The sensation of Paul opening his arms and her slipping into them had been an unwelcome thought, one that had to be more symbolic than evidence of hidden desires. Her love for and connection to Martin completely outweighed all else. He and the children were her future, her freedom, her strength.

  Martin eased his arms around her. “I didn’t mean to have a tone.”

  She dipped her chin, allowing him to kiss her forehead. “You’re honest and to the point about whatever is on your mind. I love that about you, even if you ruined a good moment.”

  He took her left hand and cradled it in his, running his finger over the ring he’d given her. Turning her hand over, palm up, he eased her fingers open. “My heart is right here.” He lifted her hand and kissed the center of her palm. “Have I ruined this greeting completely, or can I get it back?”

  “Wow,” she whispered. “I’d say it’s definitely not ruined.”

  From the roof of the building, Matthew anchored his foot on the top of the ladder as Luke passed him another heavy piece of decking. “An drei. Eens. Zwee. Drei.”

  On three, Luke hoisted the wood upward, and Matthew heaved it toward himself at the same time. They moved the last piece of decking into place and hammered it down before taking a seat. His back was completely healed, and except for scarring, he had no signs of ever having been injured.

  Luke removed his work gloves and looked at his aching hands. “Die Arewet iss net zu hatt.”

  Matthew chuckled. Both of them were worn out and beat up. “Ya, not too difficult.” They sat in silence for a bit, resting, the cold air making every breath visible. “Phase two of getting the roof on is complete. Do we have the energy for phase three?”

  “Not at this very minute, no.” Luke cleared his throat. “So you wanna tell me what the bishop said when he came to visit yesterday?”

  “At the next communion, I may not be allowed to participate. He’s frownin’ really hard about me goin’ to the city to stay with a woman.” Matthew shrugged. “And he said I had no right to be engaged to an Englischer. Of course I reminded him that it wasn’t an official engagement and that her own bishop had been convinced she intended to join the church. He then began talking about the sin of being with a woman before marriage, like going to Baltimore for those two weeks meant I shared a bed with Elle. It wasn’t like that.”

  “I believe you. Never doubted it. But what does Kathryn think happened between you and Elle?”

  “I haven’t talked to her since she left for home two weeks ago, but she never spoke of it. You think she may be holdin’ on to that quiet-like?”

  “Seems to me women are hard to figure. What might make one as difficult as a stinging nettle barely seems annoying to another.”

  The bell rang, signaling lunch was ready.

  Luke motioned. “Come on. Let’s eat and rest for a spell, then we’ll get back at it. I’d like to get the felt laid and half the roofing on by sundown.

  “Sure.” Matthew wasn’t really all that hungry, but he’d go inside and eat. It was easier than seeing the lines of concern across his mother’s face.

  Once they were on the ground, Luke placed his hand on Matthew’s shoulder. “Two weeks and no word from Kathryn, right?”

  Matthew nodded.

  “Well, for better or worse, I do believe you’re about to get a word.” Luke pointed at a car pulling into the driveway.

  Kathryn sat in the front passenger’s seat, her head tilted down as the car pulled to a stop.

  Luke smacked him on the back. “I’ll tell your Mamm you’re busy.”

  “Thanks.” Matthew went to the driver’s side of the car, pulling his billfold out of his pocket. How had he managed to only have two girls in his life and both lived far enough away they had to travel by driver in order to see him?

  The woman driver rolled down the window, told him the price, and took the money.

  “If you’ll pop the trunk, I’ll grab her bags.”

  “She doesn’t have bags in the trunk.”

  Matthew glanced up, trying to catch Kathryn’s eye, but she was looking at the shop. No bags wasn’t good news. The driver left, and Matthew wasn’t sure how to begin the conversation.

  Kathryn walked toward the shop. “It’s coming right along, ya?”

  “Ya.” Matthew followed her.

  The young woman had a head for business, a heart for people, and moods as steady as the passing of time. He only hoped she saw half as much in him as he saw in her.

  She stepped through the framing and into the shop area. “I didn’t think you’d have the decking on already.”

  “The aim was to have the roof up by the first of November. In spite of two days of rain when we could do nothin’, we’re still a couple of days ahead of schedule.”

  “If I’d stayed and had things organized like you wanted, you could have worked in the barn, filling an order during those rain days.”

  “I wanted you to stay. That part’s true enough. But I’m not all that interested in what buggy-building work could’ve been done.” He grabbed one suspender. “I take it you’re not stayin’.”

  She tightened her black shawl around her shoulders. “I didn’t tell Joseph about you wanting us to see each other.”

  “And you didn’t bring any luggage, so I guess I’ve hit the top prize, messing up our working relationship too.” He hadn’t really banked on the complications that could come out of this, but he was far more disappointed in losing her than losing a worker, albeit a really fantastic one. He figured she must care for Joseph a whole lot more than
it appeared when he saw them together, but the truth was, none of it was his business.

  She placed her hands on the framing, as if testing its strength. He studied the delicate lines across the backs of her hands, wondering what all she’d accomplish over the coming years. Like him, she was goal minded. Unlike him, she brought a sense of order to the chaos of each workday. He’d probably not even have the burned-out building removed by now if it wasn’t for her skill at organizing.

  Kathryn turned to face him. “I didn’t tell Joseph because my reasons for not seeing him anymore aren’t because of us. He’s … safe, and as much as part of me wants that, it’s not good enough anymore.”

  “But you’re not staying?”

  “Your Mamm’s up to running her own household now. We dropped my luggage off at the Bylers’ before coming here.”

  “This is sounding much better as we go along.”

  “You’re not safe, and I find that scary.”

  Matthew chuckled. “Joseph is, and it seems that’s not what you’re lookin’ for either—whatever safe’ means.” He stepped in closer. “Explain this safe thing.”

  She shrugged. “I can’t, not really. I just know Joseph is and you’re not. You want to be. I believe that, but I’m not sure wanting to be is enough.”

  “Safe.” Matthew gazed into her eyes, seeing a beautiful, steady woman, one whose friendship gave him strength. Elle used to drive him crazy with her passionate decisions that she put no thought into. Then when the emotion faded, she had no reason to follow through. “Does this feeling that I’m not safe have anything to do with me going to Baltimore with Elle?”

  Her brown eyes studied him. “Should it?” The question wasn’t an accusation and didn’t hint of jealousy or insecurity.

  “No. But the bishop’s got me on probation over it. If you’re willing for us to court, it’ll have to be kept private, real private.”

  Her brows knit. “I don’t understand.”

  “He’d forget the trip thing if he thought I was seeing a baptized member, and I’ll not use you to get out of trouble with the bishop. And I’ll not drag your name through the gossip that will take place if he doesn’t allow me to take communion.”

  The lines of concern faded, and a beautiful smile moved clear up to her eyes. “A few years back, when the rumors about Hannah started, it wasn’t long before you became a part of them too. You and she were friends. She was pretty far along being pregnant, and you stuck by her—disobeyed the bishop about going to see her. You even stayed overnight with her when you took her to the train depot. That about right?”

  “Yes.”

  “When I heard the rumors, I hurt for Hannah—whether it was her doing for being pregnant or not. But as to your part …” Clearly hesitant, she paused. “It won’t make any sense. I mean, it’s just strange.”

  “Strange? That can’t be the right word when talkin’ about me.”

  She laughed softly. “My opinions are the strange thing, not you. See, I thought you had to be worth getting to know if you disobeyed the bishop to help her and yet were willing to return and take whatever correction he was gonna give.”

  He stopped all movement, waiting to be able to breathe again.

  “The idea of who you were had me curious.” She shrugged. “This current problem with the bishop is because you needed time away. You came back with your head on straight. I won’t hold going to Baltimore against you.”

  She made him feel as if what they had could not ever belong to anyone else, and he wanted a name for her that no one else used. “Katie.” He said it softly, and the slow, warm smile that crossed her face said she liked it. Matthew lifted the strings to her Kapp and gave them a little tug. “Just where were you when I was going to every singing lookin’ for … for you?”

  “In Snow Shoe, staying safe.”

  The back door to the house slammed, and Matthew took a step back. “Are you willing for us to court?”

  She nodded. “I am.”

  Matthew glanced up, seeing Peter walking toward them. He moved his body slightly, brushing his fingers along Kathryn’s hand. “Then we keep it a secret for now, ya?”

  She lifted her hand that he’d just stroked and stared at it. “Ya.”

  He’d had no words to express his grief. Now he lacked them to convey his hope.

  Hoping Mary would return her call before time to leave for school, Hannah patiently pointed to an equation at the top of Kevin’s math sheet. He sat at the kitchen table, pencil in hand, frown in place, and she stood beside him.

  She had an idea to share with Mary about what Sarah could do as a job—rescuing dogs or maybe training them. Her sister seemed to have a lot of misdirected feelings of affection. Maybe working with animals would harness those emotions in a positive way, but Hannah needed feedback from Mary and Luke. If Luke thought it was reasonable, he could talk to Paul about it.

  Hannah placed her thumb near the equation Kevin had just worked. “If you have no apples, can you take five apples away?”

  He pointed to the paper. “But if you have five and you take zero away …”

  “You have zero and need to take five away. You subtract the bottom numbers from the top numbers.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot.” He studied the paper for a second. “Wait. I think I got it.” He lowered his head, writing on his paper.

  Hannah ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head before glancing at the work in front of Lissa. Mary should have received her message by now. It’d been two days, but it was possible no one had checked the answering machine in the phone shanty, and since the cold November weather had set in, they probably hadn’t heard it ring.

  Laura was out running a few errands, picking up items Kevin needed for a science project he’d forgotten to mention was due tomorrow. After three weeks of Laura’s working full-time, the edge of impatience in Martin’s voice had faded.

  Hannah grabbed the potholders and opened the oven. The back door swung open, and a cold blast of early November air swept through the room as Martin walked inside, looking every bit the executive. Like rockets taking off, Kevin and Lissa jumped up from their seats. Martin lifted Lissa into his arms and kissed her cheek before she wrapped her arms around his neck and stayed there.

  Kevin leaned in and hugged Martin around the waist. “I saw a Porsche today on the way to school.”

  “You did?” Martin gave him a one-arm hug, patting his back while his gaze met Hannah’s.

  The image of the children clinging to him warmed her. When Faye first left, Kevin and Lissa were most comforted by Hannah’s presence, but over the months they’d grown to love him, and he’d gone from tolerating them to loving them as if they were his own, which said a lot since he’d never wanted children.

  Kevin nodded. “And on the way home I saw a convertible, a Corvette.”

  Hannah took the lasagna out of the oven. “How does he know that stuff?” Closing the oven door with her hip, she glanced his way before setting the hot dish on the stove.

  “It’s guy stuff.” Martin raised his eyebrows, teasing her. He put Lissa’s feet on the floor and came up behind Hannah, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Smells good.”

  From his college years on, Martin had avoided eating at home, but with a new family underfoot, he conceded to the routine without complaint.

  Hannah glanced at the clock. “Laura ran to the store. I need to leave for class in forty minutes. Let’s clear the homework off the table and eat. Kevin, you get each of us a bottle of water and set it on the table.”

  Martin slid out of his winter coat and hung it on a peg just inside the back door before he grabbed Lissa’s papers and backpack off the table. “Only six more weeks of nursing school left, not that I’m counting or anything.”

  Hannah laughed softly while passing four plates to Lissa. The way he said it, mixed with the look in his eyes, made her realize he’d been counting for a long time. “Yep, I graduate on the Friday before we leave for …” She stopped herself. J
ust the mention of the two-week Hawaiian trip over the Christmas holidays made Kevin and Lissa spiral out of control with excitement.

  He caught her eye, assuring her he knew what she meant. He’d been right that all of them flying to Hawaii, along with his top employees and a couple of friends, would distract Kevin and Lissa from missing their mother over the holidays. He continued clearing off the table while she placed rolls in a basket. The kids were eager, but Martin seemed to long for this trip more than anyone.

  “Oh, Dr. Lehman asked if I’d join him full-time at the clinic after the first of the year.”

  His face twisted with displeasure.

  Holding a handful of flatware, Hannah stopped directly in front of him. “Actually, I’m thinking about it.”

  “Come on, Hannah. Working more hours for him means being on call more. We can’t schedule a life around on-call hours.” Martin took the utensils from her.

  “I would only be on call eight days a month. Four of those days would be every other weekend, and four would be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I’m there every Tuesday anyway. It’s quite doable.”

  He placed the flatware in the wrong spots near the plates. “You make nearly nothing there.”

  Lissa went behind him, straightening them.

  Hannah grabbed a spatula and began cutting the lasagna. “But this is really important to me.”

  The phone rang, and Hannah glanced at the caller ID. Mary. Or maybe Luke.

  “Sorry, but I’ve been waiting two days to hear back from Mary.”

  He shrugged. “As long as no one expects you to drop everything and blast off to Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania.”

  She grabbed the phone. “Hello?”

  “Hannah.” Mary sounded a little breathless.

  “Hey, Mary, it’s about time you returned my call.”

  “Your call? I didn’t know you called. How … how are you?” Mary’s voice sounded hollow.

  Trying to hear over the clatter of plates and the conversation between Martin and the children, Hannah motioned for them to begin without her, and she took the cordless into the other room. “I’m fine. We’re about to eat dinner, and then I’m off to school. A better question is how are you? Did you like the obstetrician Dr. Lehman found for you?”