[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (38 page)

His brows furrowed. “It is unusual. I mean, I’ve never known a woman carpenter before. At least not any Amish women.”

“Guess I’m an exception to the rule.”

Titus wasn’t sure what to think of this. Suzanne was a mystery to him. One day she couldn’t cook at all, and the next day she’d made a real tasty meal. One day she was sanding cabinet doors in the woodshop, and the next day she’d made a table—and not a bad-looking one at that.

Suzanne may look similar to Phoebe
, he thought,
but she’s nothing like her at all. She’s got spunk, but she doesn’t show off. She’s already joined the church, so she’s settled and not likely to leave the faith. Maybe I should pursue a relationship with her. I’d better think this over some more
.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. The only sounds were the
creak-creak
of the buggy wheels and the steady
clippety-clop
of Lightning’s hooves against the pavement. Titus figured the silence was better, because at the moment, he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

When they arrived at the Beilers’, Suzanne went to speak with Esther, while Titus put his horse in the corral.

“I was surprised when I saw Titus’s horse and buggy come in, and then you stepped down,” Esther said to Suzanne. “I’ll bet you’re happy that he asked you to come with him tonight.”

“Shh. Don’t make an issue of it,” Suzanne whispered. “I think he was only being nice when he offered to take me to and from the singing.”

Esther leaned close to Suzanne’s ear. “Has he had a chance to taste anything you’ve cooked since I’ve been giving you lessons?”

“He ate supper with us the other night and said he liked my chicken and dumplings, as well as the lemon shoofly pie I made in honor of his birthday.”

“I didn’t know it was his birthday.”

“Until I listened to a voice mail message for him from his mamm, I didn’t know it either.”

“Well, if he enjoyed the meal you prepared, then I think there may be some hope for the two of you.”

“I’d like to think so, but I’m not getting my hopes up.” Suzanne motioned to the barn, where several young people were heading. “Looks like the singing’s about to begin. Guess we’d better head in there, too.”

Suzanne and Esther followed the others into the barn, and soon everyone found seats. They sang for over an hour, as their voices lifted in harmony and echoed off the barn walls. Then everyone moved outside to the bonfire Esther’s father had started. Suzanne enjoyed the warmth of the fire, and even the smoky smell didn’t bother her. She’d always loved sitting around a fire, especially on a chilly fall evening such as this. She gazed up at the three-quarter moon above, wishing Titus would join her at the bonfire, but he took a seat beside Ethan Zook instead and didn’t even look Suzanne’s way.

I’m sure by telling Titus I like to work with wood I probably ruined any chances I might have with him
, she thought.
He probably thinks, like Nelson, that a woman’s place is in the kitchen
.

“Are you going to have a hot dog?” Esther asked.

Suzanne shook her head. “I’m not hungry right now.”

“At least have some hot cider then. My daed made it, and it’s really good.”

“Okay.” Suzanne was on her way to the refreshment table when a gust of wind came up, and several dust devils whirled in the distance. As the wind increased, it grew so strong that it blew the paper plates and cups right off the table.

“Grab the tablecloth, or everything will go!” someone hollered.

Just then, another gust came up, this one a little stronger than the last, carrying debris from the yard that was quickly caught up in the air. Most of the young people started running for the barn, and someone quickly put the bonfire out so that sparks wouldn’t fly. The corral gate flew open, and suddenly all the horses were out, running all around the yard.

Titus and some of the other young men chased after the horses.

“You’d better watch out,” Ethan shouted as he raced past Titus. “I think the cover on the Beilers’ manure pit just blew off.”

Titus stepped back, and—
splat
—he stepped right into the pit.

W
hen Titus woke up the next morning, he was relieved he could no longer smell the putrid odor of manure on his body. He couldn’t believe he’d fallen into the Beilers’ manure pit while trying to chase down the runaway horses. The pit was only a few feet deep, but when he’d stepped into it, he’d lost his footing and ended up flat on his back.

The stench had been horrible, and he’d held his breath, unable to bear the despicable odor, while Esther’s dad hosed him off with water so cold it made his teeth chatter. That hadn’t helped much, other than to get most of the manure off his clothes, and he’d taken a lot of ribbing from some of the fellows. Even Suzanne had giggled when she’d seen him standing there, sopping wet. It was kind of funny, now that he thought about it, but at the time, he’d been pretty miffed.

While some of the young men had continued to round up the horses, Titus had gone into the Beilers’ house and taken a warm shower. Then Esther’s mother had given him a shirt and some trousers that had belonged to Esther’s older brother, Dan, who was married and no longer lived at home. Even after the shower, Titus had been able to smell the sickening manure aroma. It reminded him of the time when he and Timothy were boys and had fallen into a pile of manure when they’d been fooling around. They’d gotten in big trouble with Mom for it, too.

Not wishing to subject Suzanne to sitting beside his smelly body, Titus had asked Ethan Zook to take her home. Then Titus had headed to his place and taken another long shower with plenty of soap and shampoo. It sure wasn’t the way he’d intended the evening to go. He’d hoped that on the way home he might talk to Suzanne more about woodworking and see if she’d like him to put in a good word with Nelson about it.

Guess I’d better not say anything to him until I’ve spoken to Suzanne
, he decided as he left his bedroom and headed to the kitchen to fix breakfast.
She might not want me to say anything to Nelson about the table she’d made
.

Paradise, Pennsylvania

Samuel had just entered the kitchen when Elsie, who was stirring a kettle of oatmeal, motioned for him to come over. “I’ve something to tell you,” she said. “What’s up?”

“I was going to tell you this last night, but you came home from work late and fell asleep before I had a chance to say anything.”

“Tell me what?”

“I went to see the doctor yesterday. What I’ve suspected is true. I’m going to have another boppli, and it’ll be born next spring.”

Samuel slipped his arm around Elsie’s waist and pulled her to his side. “That’s real good news. Have you told anyone else yet?”

She shook her head. “I wanted to tell you first, and then our kinner and both sides of our family.”

He smiled. “Think I’ll stop by my folks’ on the way to work this morning and give them the good news.”

Elsie sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m hoping we have another boy this time. Then Jared will have someone to play with who’s closer to his age.”

“That would be nice, but I’ll be happy whether God chooses to give us a boy or a girl. The main thing is that the baby’s born healthy.”

“I agree.” Elsie removed the kettle from the stove. “The oatmeal’s ready now, so if you’ll call the kinner to the table, we can eat and give them our news.”

Pembroke, Kentucky

As Suzanne helped Mom with breakfast, she thought about how things had gone last night. Not only had the unexpected wind put a stop to their young people’s gathering, but Titus hadn’t even brought her home. Of course, he’d used the excuse that he smelled bad when he’d told her that he’d arranged for Ethan to give her a ride, but she wondered if the real reason had something to do with her telling him about the table she’d made.

He’ll probably blab to Nelson or Grandpa about what I’ve been doing
, she thought as she placed a plate of buttermilk pancakes on the table.
Maybe I ought to tell them myself and get it over with. But if I do that, they might not let me go out to the shop anymore. S
uzanne got the pot of coffee from the stove.
Or maybe Titus was upset because I laughed when he fell in the manure pit. But then, some of the others laughed, too
.

“Everything’s ready now,” Mom said, placing a platter of bacon on the table. “Would you please call everyone in for breakfast?” she asked Suzanne.

“Sure.”

Suzanne felt a nip in the air as she stepped onto the porch and rang the bell so those who were outside doing their chores would know breakfast was ready. When she stepped back inside, she cupped her hands around her mouth, and called for Effie to come downstairs to eat.

A short time later, everyone gathered around the kitchen table. After the silent prayer, Mom passed the platters of bacon and pancakes.

Grandpa sniffed deeply. “Ah, I do love the smell of maplecured bacon.” He forked a couple of pancakes onto his plate and poured syrup over the top. “Who made these?” he asked after he’d taken his first bite.

“Suzanne did, while I cooked the bacon,” Mom replied.

Grandpa looked over at Suzanne and smiled. “Good job! For a young woman who’s always disliked being in the kitchen, you’re turnin’ into a pretty fine cook.” He winked at her. “I’ve got a hunch it won’t be long until you find yourself a husband.”

The heat of a blush warmed Suzanne’s cheeks. She was pleased that Grandpa liked the pancakes but worried that he might suspect she was interested in Titus. She certainly didn’t want him to know that she’d asked Esther to give her cooking lessons in the hope of gaining Titus’s approval.

“Say, Grandpa,” Nelson said after he’d taken a drink of milk, “do you know anything about the table inside the storage closet in the woodshop?”

Grandpa shook his head. “I saw it there, too. Thought maybe you’d made it.”

“Nope, it wasn’t me.”

“Must have been Titus, then. I’ll ask him about it when he shows up at the woodshop this morning.”