Letters to Katie (31 page)

Sawyer left work a little earlier than usual. Lukas had stayed behind to visit with
his parents, who lived next door to the shop. As he drove home he prayed for God to
take away his worries. If he was to fully pledge his faithfulness to the Lord, he
had to turn everything over to Him—especially what he couldn’t control. Bishop Esh
had emphasized that during their first visit together, when Sawyer expressed his desire
to join the church. Too bad he hadn’t told Sawyer how difficult it would be.

He arrived home, took care of his horse, and went inside. In
the mudroom, he hung his hat on the hook and brushed the dust out of his hair, which
now touched the back of his collar. The house was unnaturally quiet. Anna must be
out visiting, and Cora was probably still in her room. He started toward the storage
room, when the sweetest voice he ever heard stopped him.

“Sawyer.”

He turned and saw Laura behind him, smiling. He hurried toward her and gently, very
gently, touched her face. Then she was in his arms, leaning her head on his shoulder.
His pulse thrummed as he drew her closer. Kissed the top of her
kapp
. Held on to her as if he never wanted to let go. He kissed her tenderly. A short,
sweet kiss that held the promise of more as he entwined his fingers with hers.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I missed you too.” She stepped away, a serious expression on her face. “We have a
lot to talk about, but there’s someone I want you to meet.” She took his hand and
led him to the living room, separating from him as they entered.

A plump, blond-haired woman with Laura’s delicate features sat on the couch, talking
to Anna. Laura said,
“Mamm.”

The woman stood. She was several inches shorter than Laura, and everything about her
was round. Her blue eyes narrowed in scrutiny as she approached Sawyer. “So. This
is him.”

“
Mamm
, meet Sawyer.”

He held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you—”

“Ella.” Her firm grip surprised him. “I was just visiting with your
mudder
.”

“Adoptive mother.”

Sawyer winced as everyone turned at the sound of Cora’s voice. He glanced at Anna,
who didn’t react to his grandmother’s correction. Instead, she went to her. “Cora.
I’m glad you can join us. You remember Laura?”

Laura moved a little closer to Sawyer. Anna didn’t know about Cora attempting to pay
off Laura to leave him. It needed to stay that way.

“How could I forget?” Even on crutches, she managed to put on an air of dignity. Or
snobbiness. Sawyer could rarely tell the difference with her.

“Why don’t you sit down?” Anna moved one of the chairs closer to her. “I was about
to get everyone something to drink.”

Cora didn’t reply—she just hobbled to the chair, leaned her crutches against the wall,
and sat down. She kept her gaze fixed on Ella. The two women took each other’s measure.

“You’re not Amish,” Ella said.

“How perceptive.”

“Grandmother—” Sawyer said.

But Ella held up her hand. “Are you planning to join the church, like your grandson?”

“Heavens, no. As soon as I’m healed, I plan to return to my home in New York.” She
looked at him. “I had hoped to convince Sawyer to come with me, but—”

Sawyer frowned. Why had she stopped speaking? His gaze went to Ella, whose expression
was cold enough to plunge the equator into a deep freeze. Now he knew why his grandmother
had clammed up.

Laura was right, they did have a lot to talk about.

“Sawyer, could you
geh
to the ice machine for me?” Anna smiled but kept twisting the ribbons of her
kapp
, as if she also noticed the tension. “Laura, you could
geh
with him while I fix our guests a snack.”

“Nothing for me,” Cora said. She kept her attention on Ella.

“I’m fine.” Ella seemed just as interested in Cora.

“We’d be happy to.” Sawyer hardly thought they needed ice, given the climate in the
room, but he was glad to get out of there. He whispered thanks to Anna as he and Laura
hurried out of the living room.

As soon as they got outside, Sawyer turned to Laura. “Want to tell me what’s going
on?”

With everyone else gone, Cora continued to look at Ella. She didn’t seem happy to
be here, and unlike the other Amish Cora had met, she wasn’t overly friendly. Ella
Stutzman even seemed suspicious of Sawyer. Which was preposterous. She ought to be
counting her lucky stars that Laura had nabbed a man as wonderful as her grandson.

Cora didn’t appreciate Ella’s attitude, but she thought she might be able to use it
to her advantage. “I understand you hail from Tennessee?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Her voice held a soft Southern twang, similar to Laura’s. “And you’re
from New York.”

“Manhattan. Upper west side.” Cora lifted her chin.

Ella didn’t reply.

Cora leaned forward. “Let’s dispense with the chitchat, Ms. Stutzman.”

“Mrs.” She sat back, folding her hands over her large belly. “I can appreciate a plainspoken
woman. I can also see you disapprove of my daughter.”

“As you do my grandson.”

“I don’t disapprove of him. I just want Laura to be happy. I reckon she’s runnin’
into this marriage a mite too fast.”

Cora adjusted her glasses, but inside she rejoiced. Finally, an ally. For the first
time in months she thought she might have a real chance at convincing Sawyer to come
home with her.

“Mrs. Stutzman, we have much to discuss.”

After a quiet supper, Katherine approached her mother, who was darning a pair of her
father’s socks in the living room. She sat down on the edge of the couch. Even though
she was tired, she couldn’t go to bed yet.

“What did you say to Johnny when he dropped me off earlier?” she asked
Mamm
.

Her mother didn’t look up from her sewing. “I told him he’s not welcome here anymore.”

Katherine twisted her fingers together. It wasn’t like her mother to be so rude, even
when she was upset with someone. “Why?”

“Because I’m tired of you being hurt. There are other men who are interested in you.”

“Please don’t mention David Esh.”

“All right, perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything to
Frau
Esh.” She put down her sewing. “But there’s also Isaac, who’s written you three times
in a little over a week.”

“I don’t even know him.”

Mamm
went back to her sewing. “These things take time to develop.”

Katherine glanced away. “I think you don’t trust
mei
decisions.”

“The
bu
is fickle. You know that better than anyone. And don’t you find it coincidental that
he’s suddenly showing up here, acting like he cares? You’ve gone through a major illness.
By next week he’ll be back to ignoring you.”

Katherine looked away, tears pooling in her eyes. She didn’t want her mother’s words
to make sense, but they did.

“I don’t mean to be harsh, Katherine. But you need to forget about him. Once and for
all.”

The tears she’d been holding back spilled. “I don’t know how.”

“You find someone else. You pray for God to bring you the right
mann
.”

“But what if He doesn’t?” She wiped the tears from her face. “What if I never get
married? It’s all I ever wanted. A husband,
kinner
. A
familye
of
mei
own, like Mary Beth has. Like
mei schweschder
Leah does. What if I can’t have that?”

Her mother didn’t say anything for a long time. She looked down at
Daed’s
socks in her lap. “Then God will give you another desire,
lieb
. One that will serve His purpose. You must be content with that.”

C
HAPTER
24

Johnny awoke after a restless night, still trying to figure out what to do about Katherine.
He couldn’t show up at her house anymore, her mother had made that crystal clear.

But what about Katherine’s father? He hadn’t seemed upset with him when he came to
pick Katherine up yesterday. Maybe
Herr
Yoder could get through to his wife. It was worth a try. But they didn’t have a phone.
And he didn’t dare risk sneaking over there.

He sat up in bed. Before getting dressed, he went downstairs and searched his junk
drawer in the kitchen for a pencil and some paper. He scribbled a note to Katherine’s
father, then ran back upstairs, dressed, and headed back to the kitchen. He was about
to leave the house when his cell phone rang. Since he hadn’t heard it ring for days,
the noise made him jump.

“Hello?”

“John?” James Wagner’s voice bellowed through the speaker. “How have you been, son?”

Johnny froze. He hadn’t even thought about the Wagners, except when Katie had picked
up the drawing yesterday. “I’m fine.”

“Good to hear. Just checking in to see when we can draw up that partnership paperwork.
Lois is eager to get started with her plans.”

“I really haven’t had a chance to think about it.”

“Son, we’ve given you two days. That’s plenty of time to decide.”

Johnny shoved his hat on his head. “I’ve been caught up in a couple of things. Can
I get back to you next week?”

“No. I need to know your decision now.”

Johnny sat down at the table. He paused, wrestling with the decision.

He took a deep breath. “All right, Wagner,” he said, “let’s talk.”

After his conversation with the Wagners, Johnny left the farm and went to his parents’
house. As he pulled into the drive, he thought about everything that had happened
since he moved out—most of it things his folks had no clue about. But despite his
desire for independence, he felt an odd sense of separation from them. He hadn’t thought
he’d miss their closeness, not this soon. Not this much.

He put that out of his mind and searched for Caleb. He found his brother chopping
wood behind the house. He approached him quietly, not wanting to startle him. When
Caleb reached for another chunk of wood, Johnny spoke.

“Hey.”

Caleb looked up and grinned. “You came to help me with the wood?”