[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (11 page)

Pembroke, Kentucky

Suzanne had just gone outside to hang some clothes on the line, when Titus rode into the yard on his horse. She found it interesting that he rode horseback, when almost everyone else in their community traveled by horse and buggy. But then, Titus seemed a bit different from the young Amish men she’d grown up around.

She watched as he dismounted and led his horse to the barn. A short time later, he reappeared and strode over to where she stood by the clothesline.

His eyebrows furrowed, and that same look of disgust she’d seen before settled over his face. “Would you mind tellin’ me why you left your
dumm
katz at my place when I asked you not to?”

“I didn’t, and Callie’s not stupid. She jumped out of the buggy when I was driving away, and I figured she’d follow me home.”

“Well, she didn’t. She made herself at home on my porch, and then when I tried to catch her this morning, so I could bring her back here, this is what I got for my trouble.” Titus held up his bandaged finger and frowned.

Suzanne felt concern. “Did Callie bite you?”

“Jah, and then she ran into the woods.”

“I can’t believe it. Callie never bites.”

“Well, she bit me.”

“I’m sorry. Does it hurt much?”

“It sure does, and it won’t be easy tryin’ to work with a sore hand today.”

Suzanne was tempted to offer her help in the woodshop but knew Nelson would never agree to that, no matter how much work needed to be done.

“You’d better keep an eye on that bite,” she said. “Cats have a lot of bacteria in their mouths, and the wound might get infected.”

“I know all about that. It happened to me once when I was a boy.” He held up his finger and waved it around. “I put some antiseptic on it, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Suzanne was about to suggest that Titus go to the clinic and get a tetanus shot, but he started walking away.

“Wait! I wanted to say something else,” she called.

He halted and turned to face her. “What?”

When she took a step toward him, her foot slipped on a rock, and she swayed unsteadily.

He reached out to catch her. “You okay?”

Suzanne’s face heated with embarrassment. “I-I’m fine. Just lost my balance when my toe hit a rock.”

“So what’d you want to say to me?”

“I was just going to say that if Callie shows up at your place again, maybe you should consider keeping her.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Are you kidding?”

She shook her head. “She probably bit you because she was scared. If you’d give her a chance, you’d see that she’d not only keep the mice down, but would make a good pet.”

He held up his hand again. “Would a good pet do this?”

Before Suzanne could respond, he turned and stomped off toward the shop.

Suzanne clenched her teeth. It seemed like she couldn’t say anything right to Titus, and if she wasn’t saying something to irritate him, she was doing something stupid to embarrass herself. Maybe the best thing would be to stay as far away from him as possible. But with the work frolic coming up on Saturday, that might be kind of hard to do. Unless she could think of some excuse not to go.

D
on’t you just love it here?” Darlene asked Phoebe, as they flopped onto the beach towel she’d placed on the sand.

“It’s okay, I guess.” Truth was, California wasn’t anything like Phoebe had expected, although she’d never admit that to Darlene. Jobs were hard to find, prices were high, and too many people crowded around. But she did like the beach access, and she sure couldn’t have had that available to her at home. She also liked the warm sunshine and all the cute guys she’d seen on the beach.

Phoebe had been lucky to find a job at a local ice-cream parlor, but it was boring work, and her wrist hurt when she had to scoop out the hard ice cream to make a cone. Darlene was working as a waitress at a restaurant, which she said paid better tips than her wages. They’d pooled their money to pay rent on a small, one-bedroom apartment, but the place was run-down and not in the best part of town.

While Darlene stretched out on the towel with her eyes closed, Phoebe stared at the waves lapping against the shore, and her thoughts went to home. What were Mom and Dad doing right now? Did they miss her? If she decided to stay in California permanently, would they ever come for a visit? Did she want them to? If they came, they’d no doubt spend the whole time criticizing everything she did and complain about how overcrowded it was. It would probably be best if she didn’t encourage them to come.

As a group of young men started a game of volleyball, Phoebe thought about Titus and how many times the two of them had been involved in volleyball games back home. Even when she wasn’t one of the players, she’d enjoyed watching from the sidelines.

I’ll bet if Titus was here right now, he’d be involved in that game
, she thought.
He’s always liked volleyball
.

Phoebe scooped up a handful of sand and dumped it on Darlene’s bare toes.

Darlene’s eyes popped open. “Hey! What’d you do that for?”

“Let’s see if we can join that game of volleyball.”

Darlene grinned and clambered to her feet. “Good idea. Let’s do it!”

Pembroke, Kentucky

When Titus woke up on Saturday to the early morning light, he glanced out his bedroom window and was relieved to see that the sun was shining brightly. Having nice weather would make it easier for those coming to help him work on the trailer.

Titus stepped into the dim hallway, blinked, took a few steps, and stubbed his toe. “Ouch! Guess I should have put my boots away last night, instead of leaving ‘em in the hall. If this place was bigger, I’d have more room for things.”

He moved on to the bathroom to wash his face, and halted inside the door. That stupid calico cat was curled into a ball, sleeping in the sink!

He frowned. “How in the world did you get in the house?”

The cat’s only response was a quiet
meow
.

Titus had given up trying to return the critter to Suzanne. Every time he’d made an attempt to catch the cat, she’d escaped his grasp. He’d resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck with her, and after seeing the remains of a few mice in the yard, he had to admit, she was a pretty good mouser. He figured as long as she stayed outside he could put up with her, but he wasn’t about to invite the mangy critter into his house.

He glared at the cat. “So how’d you get in? I know I didn’t leave the front or back door open, and I closed all the windows that don’t have screens.”

The cat continued to sleep, apparently oblivious to Titus’s presence.

Well, he couldn’t worry about how she got in right now. What he needed to do was find a way to get her outside without picking her up, because he didn’t want to chance getting scratched or bitten again.

Maybe if I throw something over the cat, I can pick her up that way
. Titus pulled a bath towel off the hook behind the door, and was ready to drop it over Callie, when she came awake, leaped into the air, and landed on his shoulder.

Her sharp claws dug into his flesh, and he let out a screech. Callie hopped off his shoulder and raced out of the bathroom like her tail was on fire. Titus followed, hollering, “Stupid katz! You’re nothing but trouble!”

When he reached the kitchen, where the cat stood, hunched and hissing, he opened the back door, grabbed the broom from the utility closet, and pushed the animal out the door. “Get outside! You don’t belong in here!”

Titus slammed the door behind Callie and drew in a deep breath. If that crazy cat was going to stick around, she’d better learn her place.

He started making a pot of coffee, figuring it wouldn’t be long before people began showing up for the work frolic. Beyond the benefit of getting the trailer fixed up, today would give him a chance to meet more of the Amish people who lived in this community.

Titus had just set a bowl of cereal on the table, when he heard a vehicle rumble into the yard. He moved over to the sink and peered out the window in time to see Allen step out of his truck.

Titus opened the back door cautiously, to make sure the stupid cat wasn’t waiting for another chance to get inside. Fortunately, she was nowhere in sight.

“Come in for a cup of coffee,” he said when Allen stepped onto the porch.

“That sounds good. I need something to wake up this morning.”

“You’re the first one here,” Titus said, leading the way to his cramped kitchen.

Allen glanced around the room and released a low whistle. “I know I saw it the night I brought you here, but it looks even worse than I remember. If I’d known how bad it was, I would have found you somewhere else to stay until we could get the place fixed up.”

Titus handed Allen a cup of coffee and motioned for him to take a seat at the table. “If my folks saw where I’m living, Dad would probably say it was the kind of challenge I need, and that it would do me good to rough it for a while. But if Mom saw the way the trailer looks, especially the kitchen, she’d get all worked up and insist that I come right home.”

Allen chuckled. “Most mothers are like that where their kids are concerned. They don’t want to see them go through any trials or deal with hardships.” He blew on his coffee, then took a sip. “When I left Washington to move here, my mother fussed and carried on like I was moving to a foreign country where nobody spoke English and no one had indoor plumbing.”

Titus grimaced. “When I first laid eyes on this place, I had my doubts about whether there was indoor plumbing. Figured for sure I’d be stuck using an outhouse and would have to take a bath in a galvanized tub.”

“I guess in some parts of the country that’s still how it is,” Allen said, “but most of the Amish, as well as the Horse and Buggy Mennonites who live around here, have indoor plumbing. Although I do know of a few women in the area who do their laundry in a tub outside.”

Titus’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared into his coffee. “My mom wouldn’t like that, and most of the Amish women I know wouldn’t either.” His thoughts went to Phoebe. He was sure that she’d never put up with such primitive conditions. She didn’t even like using her mother’s gas-powered wringer washer, which they kept in the basement. She’d sometimes taken her clothes to one of the local Laundromats in Lancaster County, saying it was easier, and that the clothes came out softer when they’d been dried in an automatic dryer, rather than on a line.

“Why the furrowed brows?” Allen asked Titus.

“I was just thinking about having to wash clothes in a tub outside. Since there’s no gas-powered washing machine here in the trailer, I’ll probably have to look for a Laundromat someplace nearby.”

“There’s none close that I know of, but there are a few in Hopkinsville,” Allen said. “If you can’t get to town often enough to keep clean clothes in your closet, you could always wash them in the bathtub, I guess.”

Titus shook his head. “Not if I can help it.”

“Then maybe you’d better find yourself a wife who’s willing to wash your clothes.”

“No way! I’m not interested in marrying anyone right now.” He glanced out the window toward the barn. “I am interested in the old buggy I discovered the other day, though.”

“What buggy?”

“Found it in the barn, under a tarp. It’s in pretty bad shape, so it’ll need some work to make it useable, but if you’re willing to sell it for a reasonable price, I’d be interested in buying it from you.”

Allen looked at Titus like he’d taken leave of his senses. “Why would I want to sell you an old, beat-up buggy?”

“Figured since you own this place, the buggy’s yours.”

“Legally it is, but I wouldn’t think of charging you for the buggy. Especially since you’ve had to put up with this dump of a house for the last several days.” He made a sweeping gesture encompassing the kitchen. “The buggy’s yours to do with as you wish.”