A Gift of Grace (7 page)

“It’s called an iPod.” Jessica picked it up. “Kids use it to listen to music.”

“Oh. Music is forbidden too. We only sing hymns, but no instruments are allowed at all.” Katie bit her lip as if debating if she should touch it.

Even music is forbidden?
Grimacing, Jessica wondered how on earth these kids put up with all of the rules. Their lives must’ve felt like a prison sentence. Jessica glanced at the quiet, formal girl sitting in front of her on the bed. Katie looked like she needed some fun. She doubted any harm could come from listening to a few rock songs on the iPod.

She glanced up to the door, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“The door is closed.” Jessica held the iPod out to Katie. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

A slow smile turned up the corners on Katie’s lips. She took the small device from her. “How does it work?”

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S
itting at the kitchen table, Rebecca chuckled while Beth Anne recounted a story of a funny English customer at the bakery who wanted to know how to get the papers on the cupcakes after baking them.

Rebecca glanced around at her sisters-in-law and mother-in-law and couldn’t help but think how lucky she was to be a member of the Kauffman family. It was the only stable family she’d ever known. Sometimes she wondered what it would’ve been like if Grace had stayed and married a man in their community. Would she also have been present at the frequent Kauffman family gatherings?

Rebecca’s thoughts turned to Grace and their last visit together. It had been more than ten years ago when their father had passed away. He was their only living parent, since their mother had died after a long, terrible battle with cancer when Rebecca was eight and Grace was eleven.
Dat
had never remarried, leaving Grace and Rebecca to grow up without a mother to guide them. He did the best he could fulfilling both roles.

After her
Rumspringa
, when Grace decided she couldn’t stay in the church,
Dat
disowned her. It had broken Rebecca’s heart to see her older sister, her best friend, pack up and leave Lancaster County to pursue a life with her English boyfriend, Philip Bedford, whom Grace had met while he was in town on a business trip.

Since she didn’t have a phone, Rebecca tried to keep in contact with her sister through letters. After she married Daniel and began working in his mother’s bakery, she occasionally received calls from Grace on the bakery phone. Although she longed to visit Grace over the years, she never did. Now she regretted it with all her heart. She had missed so much!

Rebecca stared down at her glass of tea while contemplating her sister. Because her father refused to talk to her, Grace never came back to Lancaster County until she and Rebecca buried him. Their last meeting was such a sorrowful one, but they did continue to keep up with letters and infrequent calls after the funeral.

Rebecca took a long drink of tea. She wished
Dat
hadn’t shunned Grace. She knew it had broken her sister’s heart. However, their father was a stubborn man who would never change his mind after he’d made a decision. To him, Grace was dead, and he only had one daughter.

Rebecca always loved her father, but she lost respect for him after the way he’d treated Grace. She was thankful when the Kauffmans welcomed her with open arms. With them, she felt like more than an in-law; she felt like a blood relative.

As she lifted the glass to her lips again, an idea flashed through Rebecca’s mind. Maybe Grace had left the girls to Rebecca because she’d always known that the Kauffmans would accept her girls as they had accepted Rebecca. Perhaps Grace knew the girls would be loved unconditionally in Rebecca’s home and that Rebecca remembered what it was like to lose their mother at a young age. Her heart warmed at the thoughts.

So engrossed in her thoughts of Grace, Rebecca was startled when the back door opened and slammed against the house. Robert appeared, followed by five of his children. From his frown, Rebecca could tell he was unhappy. She idly wondered if he and Daniel had exchanged tense words yet again. It seemed the brothers were always disagreeing these days. Robert felt Daniel was too eager to make allowances and embrace the Englishers that lived nearby.

Robert’s gaze met his wife’s, and Sadie stood like a shot. “It’s time to go home,” he said.

“
Ya
.” Sadie nodded. She turned to Rebecca. “Have you seen Katie?”

“I took her up to meet my niece about an hour ago. Did you want me to check on her?” Rebecca asked.

“
Nee
.” Sadie patted Rebecca’s arm. “I’ll go.”

“
Mamm!
” Gretchen, Sadie’s youngest at age two, moaned and then started to sob.

Sadie hoisted Gretchen onto her lap and whispered in her ear. She gazed at Robert who started toward the door.

“I’ll get Katie,” he muttered. “You start loading up the
kinner
.”

Rebecca touched her sister-in-law’s arm. “I’ll help you.”

“
Danki
,” Sadie said with a smile.

Katie grinned and swayed back and forth in time to the music singing through the iPod ear buds. The ties to her prayer
Kapp
bounced along with her. “This music is really
wunderbar
.”

Jessica grinned. “I’m so glad you like it.”

“What’s the name of this musical group again?”

“Puddle of Mudd.” Jessica leaned back against the headboard. “I love alternative rock, and they’re one of my favorite bands.”

Katie tilted her head in question. “Alternative rock?”

“It’s a type of rock music. It’s kinda difficult to explain.” Jessica popped up and crossed the room to her laptop sitting on her dresser. She carried the laptop back to the bed and lowered herself onto the edge. “There are different kinds of rock music.”

“Oh.” Katie nodded, but her eyes glittered with confusion.

Flipping the laptop open, Jessica hit the Power button. She knew it wouldn’t be long before she’d have to figure out how to charge that too. “I’ll show you this awesome website that explains the different kinds of—” She stopped speaking and laughed.

“What?”

“I just remembered.” Jessica gave a sweeping gesture with her arms. “I don’t have Internet access here. I’m in an
Amish
home.”

“
Ya
. That would make it difficult.” Katie touched her arm, and they laughed together.

Jessica’s eyes widened in surprise at Katie’s openness and welcome. For the first time since arriving in Lancaster, Jessica felt as if she had a friend.

The bedroom door suddenly whooshed open and slammed against the wall.

“Katie,” a gruff voice enunciated the name.

Jessica glanced over to see a tall man bearing the same blue eyes, blond hair, and beard as Daniel. She deduced this was Daniel’s older brother Robert glowering in the doorway. He scanned the room, his glare focusing on the iPod and then the laptop. The stern look of his eyes sent a chill skittering up Jessica’s spine.

Katie gave a soft gasp, stood up straight, and smoothed her apron and dress. “
Dat
, I—”

Interrupting, he said something to her in Pennsylvania Dutch, and Katie dropped the iPod onto the bed and hurried out the door. She gave Jessica an apologetic expression before bolting down the hallway.

Jessica sighed and contemplated how sad it was to see Katie run off like a misbehaving child. She wondered what Katie could’ve possibly done to be treated this way.

A frown formed on Jessica’s lips. It seemed that Katie should’ve at least had a chance to say good-bye to Jessica. Jumping up, she started for the door, determined to say good-bye to Katie whether that man liked it or not.

Jessica reached the bottom of the stairs and found Katie standing silently next to her stoic father while he spoke to Daniel in Pennsylvania Dutch. Daniel’s expression was stony as he listened.

“Katie,” Jessica called.

Katie looked over at her, and her eyes widened in surprise. She shook her head as if to tell Jessica not to speak. Her gaze moved to her father, and her expression became stony.

Jessica’s mouth gaped. What on earth could Katie have done to make her father so angry? The whole scene seemed ridiculous. Although she longed to say good-bye to Katie, Jessica bit her lip. She worried that speaking to Katie might make the situation worse, even though she wasn’t sure exactly why the situation was bad already.

Robert continued to speak in Pennsylvania Dutch and then turned to go. Jessica stepped forward and reached for Katie’s arm.

“Jessica,” Daniel said, the word soft but deliberate.

She pulled her hand back and cut a sideways glance to him. His expression was blank, but she got the feeling he was silently scolding her. She shook her head in disbelief, wondering if she’d ever understand this culture. She turned to head upstairs and slammed into a young man who looked a couple of years older than she was. He was handsome with his hair and eyes mirroring the rest of the Kauffman family.

“I’m sorry.” She stepped to the side. “I didn’t see you coming toward me.”

“My fault. In a rush.” He smiled, revealing a dimple in his right cheek. He cut his eyes to something behind her, and his smile faded. “Pardon me,” he muttered, heading for the door.

Studying the handsome man, Jessica wondered if he was a member of Katie’s family. When she looked toward the door, she found Robert staring at her, and she got her answer—the young man had to be the older brother Katie had mentioned upstairs.

Too bad she didn’t have a chance to introduce herself to him. It would’ve been nice to know who he was. Instead, he was rushed out the door, and Jessica was treated like an outsider. She absently wondered if that was why her mother had left the community. Had she felt like an outsider in her own home? Jessica shuddered at the thought.

Shaking her head, Jessica trotted upstairs.
What a strange family
.
Trisha has to find a way to get us out of here
.

Rebecca yawned while pulling her nightgown over her head. The evening had flown by, yet she felt as if she’d plowed the back field. She climbed into the bed, snuggling down under the quilt.

Daniel stepped into the room and sighed while pulling off his shirt. “It was a long evening.”

Rebecca sat up. “I was just thinking the same thing. The gathering was nice, no?”

“
Ya
.” His tone betrayed the word.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

He frowned, and her heart sank. She had the sneaking suspicion Robert had said something to upset her husband. She wished the brothers would work out their differences once and for all for the sake of the family.

“What is it?” she asked softly.

“It seems Jessica was giving worldly ideas to Katie tonight.” He scowled while walking to the bed.

“Worldly ideas? What do you mean?”

“Robert found them listening to music, and Jessica was showing Katie her computer. He was not happy, to say the very least.”

Rebecca blew out a sigh. She’d hoped introducing Katie to Jessica would simply foster a friendship, not cause a family problem.

“Robert doesn’t want Jessica near his
kinner
,” Daniel said. “He said he won’t permit Jessica to impose her worldly views on his family.”

Rebecca grimaced at the ridiculous statement. “It sounds like Robert is blowing it out of proportion. I’m sure she wasn’t imposing anything on Katie. Jessica is a good girl.”

Daniel sat on the edge of the bed. “I know she’s a good girl, but keep in mind what I said about guidance. We need to remind her of our rules.”

“Of course she needs our guidance, but she just lost her parents. I remember when my
mamm
died. Grace and I were completely devastated. I didn’t know how I’d make it through a day without her.” She touched his warm hand. “We need to give her a little bit of leeway and patience.”

“I’m not sure everyone else would agree with you on that,” he said, holding her hand. “Robert is always looking for something to argue about, and he won’t give her the benefit of the doubt. We need to make her accountable for her actions and not make excuses. She’s almost sixteen. She’s been disrespectful to you, and she needs boundaries.”