[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (41 page)

With a sigh of resignation, Fannie picked up the phone and dialed the Stoltzfuses’ number. It rang several times; then their voice mail came on. Fannie left a message, asking Arie for Phoebe’s address, and then she hung up the phone. “There, that’s done. Now I can get on with the rest of my day.”

Pembroke, Kentucky

Maybe I should have asked Mom to get Phoebe’s phone number instead of her address
, Titus thought after he’d hung up the phone. He shook his head.
No, a letter’s probably the best way to contact her. Don’t think I could deal with hearing her voice on the phone. It might make me start missing her again, and I sure don’t need that
.

Titus left the phone shanty and headed for the house. Callie met him on the back porch, with all four of her brood meowing and looking up at him pathetically. He really should have gotten rid of them by now, but he’d been too busy to run an ad in the paper. He’d have to do that soon, because he didn’t want to keep five cats around.

“I know you’re hungry,” Titus said as Callie brushed her tail against his legs. “Okay, follow me, and I’ll get you all some food.”

Think I might keep one of Callie’s kittens so she has some company
, he decided.
I’ll take the rest of the cats with me to the produce auction this Saturday and see if I can find them good homes
.

When Titus stepped back outside, he leaned against the barn and inhaled deeply. Fall was definitely in the air; he could smell the leaves that had fallen from the trees in his yard and were starting to decay on the ground. He felt a crisp autumn breeze and heard the chattering of squirrels in a nearby tree. He loved this rural area, where there wasn’t much traffic and tourists were few and far between.

He glanced at the old trailer he’d called home for the last six months and smiled. In two more weeks, he’d have a new home; only this one had the potential of being his own. That gave him a sense of belonging like never before.

Think I’ll go for a walk before I head inside to fix something for supper
, he decided.

As Suzanne headed home from the Beilers’ store late that afternoon, she heard the sound of dogs barking in the distance. Her horse must have heard it too, for the mare whinnied and started to run. Suzanne pulled back slightly on the reins. “Whoa, girl. Not so fast.”

To her relief, the barking stopped, and her horse slowed to an easy trot. When she neared the road leading to Titus’s place, she was tempted to stop. But what reason would she give for her visit? She didn’t want to appear to be pursuing him. If Titus was interested in her, chasing after him would probably turn him away.

“I don’t know why I’m thinking such thoughts,” she muttered. “Just because Titus has been nicer to me lately, and took me to the young people’s gathering the other night doesn’t mean he’s interested in me.”

Suzanne relaxed her grip on the reins and tried to focus on other things. The trees lining the road had lost most of their leaves, and there was a distinctive aroma of fall in the air. Soon Thanksgiving, then Christmas would be here, and there’d probably be plenty of snow on the ground.

Her thoughts turned to Titus again, wondering if he would go to Pennsylvania to spend the holidays with his family. It seemed logical that he would, but if he decided to stay here, she’d ask Mom if they could invite Titus to join them for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Suzanne’s musings were halted when her horse whinnied again and started limping.
Oh great. I’ll bet she’s thrown a shoe
.

Suzanne brought the horse and buggy to a stop and climbed down to check the horse’s hooves. Sure enough, Dixie had lost her left front shoe.

Suzanne hoped if she took it slow and easy that they’d be able to make it home okay. She was about to climb back in the buggy, when a pack of six dogs in various sizes darted out of the woods, snarling, yipping, and growling.

Suzanne hurried for the buggy, but as she was about to put her foot inside, the horse bolted and took off down the road, pulling the buggy behind.

Suzanne chased after it, hollering, “Whoa, Dixie! Whoa!”

The horse kept running, and the pack of dogs headed straight for Suzanne!

Suzanne’s chest heaved as she drew in a deep breath and released a primal scream. “Dear Lord, please help me!”

T
itus slowed his steps and listened. He thought he’d heard the shrill yapping of dogs. Sure enough, there it was again, followed by a woman’s scream.

He stepped out of the woods and hurried toward the sound. “Oh no!” he gasped when he saw several mangy-looking dogs chasing Suzanne down the road behind her horse and buggy.

“Hey!” Titus shouted, waving his hands. “Get away from her, you mangy
hund!”
He glanced around, looking for something to use to ward off the dogs, and was relieved when he spotted a limb that had fallen from a nearby tree. He bent to pick it up and also grabbed a couple of rocks, which he quickly hurled at the dogs.

The dogs barked continuously as they turned away from Suzanne and headed for Titus.

“Run to your buggy, schnell!” Titus shouted, noticing that Suzanne’s horse had stopped running and was now standing along the shoulder of the road.

As Suzanne ran to the safety of her buggy, Titus wielded the limb, smacking first one dog and then another. They snarled and yapped, snapping at him, and tearing his pant leg with their sharp teeth. He kicked at one dog and sent it running into the woods.

One of the other dogs turned toward Suzanne’s horse and buggy again, but Titus smacked it in the rump, and it took off for the woods, along with three of the others. Just one dog was left, the biggest and meanest-looking one of the pack. Baring its teeth, it lunged for Titus’s leg.

Titus hated to hurt any animal, but this could be a life-or-death situation. A pack of wild animals could take a man down, and Titus felt as if he was fighting for his survival. With what seemed like superhuman strength, he charged at the animal with the tree limb, wielding it back and forth as he shouted for the dog to go. One more quick swing with the hunk of wood, and the critter went whimpering into the woods to join his crazed companions.

Titus stood for several terrifying moments, waiting to see if the dogs would return.

When the dogs’ barking and yapping faded into the distance, he hurried to Suzanne’s buggy and climbed in beside her. Seeing that Suzanne was trembling and sobbing, he pulled her into his arms.

“It’s okay. The dogs are gone,” he said, gently patting her back.

She continued to sob, wetting the front of his shirt with her tears.

“Look at me now,” he whispered. “The dogs are gone, and you’re okay.”

Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked at him. “Danki for coming to my rescue. I … I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t showed up when you did.”

“What were you doing out of your buggy?” he asked.

“My horse threw a shoe. I got out to check on her, but then those horrible hund came charging out of the woods.” Suzanne’s chin trembled. “I was never so scared in my life.”

Titus tipped her chin up with his thumb and gazed at her pretty face. Every instinct, every fiber of his being, made him want to kiss her. But he figured that wouldn’t be appropriate, and he didn’t want to scare her off. So instead of kissing Suzanne, he pulled slowly away and reached for her hand.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Suzanne asked.

“No, I’m fine.” Titus pulled up his pant leg. “It’s torn, and there’s a welt on my ankle, but thankfully none of the dogs drew blood.”

“I couldn’t believe it when those hund came charging after me like that.” Suzanne’s voice quavered, even though she felt much calmer than she had a few moments earlier. The whole ordeal had left her feeling drained. “I had no idea a pack of wild dogs was running around here.”

Titus frowned. “When dogs are abandoned, they sometimes form packs. Without proper feeding and care they can become wild and will go after anything that moves. I’m going to notify the local Humane Society and see if they can trap those dogs before they end up hurting someone.”

A cool breeze blew into the buggy, and Suzanne shivered. “It scares me to think some child might fall prey to any of those ferocious animals.”

Titus looked over at her with obvious concern. “If you’re too upset to drive, I’d better take you home.”

She shook her head. “After my horse threw a shoe, she started limping. Then when the dogs showed up and started chasing her, she ran like there was no tomorrow. I’m afraid if I try to take her the rest of the way home, she might become lame.”

“She won’t if we go slow and easy, but I think it might be best if we take her to my place. It’s closer, and you can leave Dixie there until you’re able to get someone to come out and give her new shoes. As soon as we get the horse settled in my barn, I’ll drive you home in my rig,” he said.

“That’s nice of you.” She managed a smile, despite the fact that her eyes still stung with tears. “I’ve already been gone longer than I’d planned, and I need to get home and help Mom with supper.”

“Where were you coming from?” he asked.

“I’d been to the Beilers’ store.”

Titus gave Suzanne’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “During lunch today when our conversation was interpreted by the customer, I was about to ask you a question.”

“What were you going to ask?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to visit the Jefferson Davis Monument with me on Saturday. I really liked it when I went before, and I thought it would be fun to see it again before the bad weather sets in.”

“Saturday’s the day of the produce auction, remember?”

“I was thinking we could go to the monument in the afternoon, after things wind down at the auction.”

Hope welled in Suzanne’s soul. Titus was asking her to go out with him. That must mean he was interested in pursuing a relationship with her.

He nudged her gently with his elbow. “So what do you say? Would you like to see the monument with me?”

“Jah, I would.”
You have no idea how much I would
.