[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (24 page)

She shook her head. “Russell doesn’t know enough about the plants to answer any questions folks might have. Besides, he’ll be busy helping at the dairy farm today.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Grandpa took a seat at the table and frowned as he lifted his right arm. “Wish I could do something to help out, but between my sore wrist and ankle, I’m not much good to anyone right now.”

“Once your wrist settles down, you should be able to take over the bookwork again.” Suzanne handed Grandpa a cup of coffee and poured one for herself.

“I sure miss working with wood.” He blew on his coffee and took a sip. “Guess I should be glad Nelson’s willing to take over the business for me, because I’d feel even worse if no one in the family wanted to keep the place running. Woodworking’s in my blood, and it pleases me to know that it’s also in my grandson’s blood.”

It’s in my blood, too
, Suzanne thought.
If you’d just give me a chance I’d prove it to you
.

Los Angeles, California

“What was that, Mom?” Phoebe switched her cell phone to the other ear. “I think we have a bad connection, because I can barely hear what you’re saying.”

“I’m concerned about you and the company you’re keeping. Remember, where you go and what you do tells people what you are.”

“I already know that, and I don’t need any lectures.”

“I saw Fannie Fisher the other day. She mentioned that Titus is seeing—”

“Titus saw what?” The phone crackled, making it difficult to hear what Mom was saying.

“He has a—”

More crackling, followed by a buzzing sound.

“Did you say Titus has something?”

“Jah. Titus has a—” Mom’s voice faded, and then the phone went dead.

Phoebe groaned. “Stupid cell phone! I’ll bet the battery died, and now I’ll have to charge it again.”

“You’d better quit gabbin’ on that phone and get back to work!” Phoebe’s boss called to her from the front of the ice-cream store. “There’s a line of customers out here, and your break’s over!”

Phoebe returned the cell phone to her purse and left the room where the employees took their breaks. She’d have to talk to Mom some other time.

Fairview, Kentucky

“Sure is a warm day, isn’t it?” Titus asked Suzanne when he arrived at the auction and joined her beside the rows of bedding plants she’d brought to sell.

Suzanne nodded. “Summer’s almost here, that’s for sure.”

“Have you sold many flowers so far?”

“I sure have. Things have been real busy here in the parking lot and inside the auction building, as well.”

“I’ll have to go check it out. Might bid on some lettuce or strawberries.” He grinned. “It may surprise you to know this, but I like to cook.”

“That is a surprise. Most men I know don’t like to be in the kitchen, unless it’s to eat something someone else has cooked.”

“There are a lot of things I can’t make, but one thing I can cook real well is fish.”

She blotted her damp forehead with the back of her hand. “I wish I had the time to go fishing again, but with Mom still in Michigan, there’s no time for me to do anything fun.”

“How much longer will she be gone?” he asked.

“Probably another week or so. Aunt Karen’s surgery went well, and she’s getting along okay, but Mom wants to stay and help out until my aunt Mary, who lives in Oklahoma, gets there.”

Titus’s stomach rumbled, and he held his hand against it, hoping she hadn’t heard the noise. “You mentioned the other day that there’s a place to get a meal here. Where is that, anyway?”

“It’s at the end of the auction building, over there.” Suzanne pointed to her left and giggled. “From the way your stomach sounds, you probably need to eat something real quick.”

He chuckled, although his face heated. “Think I’ll go over there and see what they have to eat. Can I bring you something?”

She shook her head. “Thanks anyway, but I brought my lunch from home.”

“Okay. Since tomorrow’s an in-between Sunday, and there will be no church in our district, guess I’ll see you on Monday morning when I come to work.” She gave a nod.

As Titus walked away, he looked back for a minute. The way Suzanne tipped her head as she plucked a dead bloom off one of the mums reminded him of Phoebe. That same old ache settled over him like a heavy blanket of fog, and he quickened his footsteps. Maybe finding something good to eat would take his mind off Phoebe.

Pembroke, Kentucky

When Titus got home from the auction that afternoon, he decided to give Zach a call and see how things were going.

He took a seat on the front porch and reached into his pocket for the cell phone. It wasn’t there, and it didn’t take him long to figure out why. There was a hole in his pants pocket.

“That’s just great,” Titus muttered. He had no idea where the cell phone had fallen, so he didn’t even know where to look. If it had fallen out of his pocket on the way to or from the auction, it had probably been run over by now.

Titus thought about going back to the auction to look for it but figured the place would be closed for the day.

Guess I’ll head out to the phone shanty and call Zach from there
, he decided. He was glad he’d called the phone company last week and had the phone connected. He’d use that until he found his cell phone or was able to get another one to replace it.

Titus stepped into the phone shanty to make the call, turned on the battery-operated light he’d put there, and was about to pick up the phone, when he noticed something he hadn’t seen before. There was a hole in the wall, and as he bent to examine it, he discovered an envelope sticking partway out.

He reached down and gave it a tug. The envelope ripped open and he gasped. There was a wad of money inside—a lot of money!

I
’m glad you stopped by,” Naomi said when Samuel entered Hoffmeir’s General Store.

“Oh, why’s that? Are you in need of some business?” he asked with a grin.

She shook her head and swatted him playfully on the arm. “Can’t a
schweschder
just be happy to see her bruder?”

“Of course a sister can be happy to see her brother, and a brother can be happy to see his sister.” Samuel gave Naomi’s shoulder a playful squeeze, glad that there were no customers in the store right now so they could talk.

“Actually, there’s another reason I’m happy to see you here today,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“Abby and I are planning a surprise party for Mama Fannie’s seventieth birthday, and since it’s still a few weeks away, we think there’s enough time for us to get everything done and make it a special event.”

He leaned on the counter. “A surprise party, huh? Think you can pull it off without her finding out about it?”

“I hope so. Even though Mama Fannie’s not our real mamm, she does so many special things for us, and we all love her so much.” Naomi smiled. “We want to make her birthday as special as we can.”

“Who do you plan to invite?”

“All of her closest friends, and our whole family, of course.” She pointed at Samuel. “Now that you know about it, would you help spread the word to a few people for me?”

“Sure. Who would you like me to tell?”

“You can tell our brothers Zach, Timothy, Norman, and Jake. I’ve already told Nancy and Mary Ann. Abby will tell Matthew and also let her brother and his family know. Hopefully, they’ll be able to make the trip from Ohio to help us celebrate.” Naomi snapped her fingers. “Oh, and we’ll have to let Titus know.”

“You think he’ll be able to take time off from his new job to come?”

“I’m hoping he can. If we have the party on a Friday evening, he’d just need to miss one day of work. If he takes the bus, he should be able to leave there Thursday after he gets off work, and then go back to Kentucky sometime Saturday. I know Mama Fannie would be thrilled to see him.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it covered. Now the only thing left for us to do is figure out a way to keep her from finding out about the party.” Samuel smiled. “Think I’ll give Titus a call right away so he can see about getting the time off.”

Pembroke, Kentucky

Titus didn’t know which problem to deal with first: his lost cell phone or the money he’d just found. He drew in a shaky breath and tried to think. He needed to find the cell phone, because if someone else got a hold of it he could end up having to pay for a bunch of texting charges that weren’t his.

He also needed to figure out what to do with the wad of bills in his hands. He counted them, and they added up to ten thousand dollars. He could do a lot with that much money: buy a new buggy or put a down payment on a place of his own—maybe even toward this place if he decided to buy it from Allen. He needed to think about this. Try to figure out what he should do. Could the old man who used to own this place have put the money in there? Could he have even had that much money? If he did, then why had he been living in a run-down trailer, and why hadn’t he put the money in the bank instead of the phone shanty?