[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (16 page)

A
re you sure it’s okay for you to have that thing?” Allen asked as he and Titus left the cell phone store on Saturday morning. “I mean, isn’t it against your church rules to own a cell phone?”

Titus shrugged. “It’s different with every community. Some church districts allow cell phones if you have your own business, but I know of some that won’t allow them at all.”

“What about this district? Do they allow cell phones?”

“I don’t know, but I think I’ll keep it to myself for now.”

Allen quirked an eyebrow. “You think that’s a good idea? Wouldn’t want to see you get in trouble with the church.”

“I don’t want to get in trouble, either, but I need a better way of keeping in touch with my family back home. Since Zach has a cell phone for his business, I’ll be able to call him whenever I want. I can even ask Zach to set up a time for me to call Timothy or my folks.”

Titus frowned. “Do you know how frustrating it was when I got the message that Timothy’s wife had a miscarriage, and I couldn’t speak to him directly? Had to leave a message on his voice mail, and that’s so impersonal.”

“I see your point.”

“Are you hungry?” Titus asked as they climbed into Allen’s truck. “ ‘Cause I sure am, and I’d like to treat you to lunch.”

“That sounds good to me. Where do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know any of the restaurants in town, so you’d better choose.”

“All right then, we’ll head over to Ryan’s Steakhouse and eat ourselves full.” Allen grinned. “I learned that expression from Zach after he returned to Pennsylvania to find his roots.”

Titus smiled and thumped his stomach. “I’m definitely ready to eat myself full.”

“I’m finally done with Esther’s quilt,” Suzanne said when she stepped onto the back porch and found Mom sitting in her chair, shelling fresh peas from their garden.

Mom looked up and smiled. “That’s good news. You got it done in plenty of time for Esther’s party next Thursday night.”

“I draped it over the back of the sofa, in case you’d like to see how it looks.”

“I certainly would.” Mom set the pan of peas on the porch, rose from her chair, and followed Suzanne to the living room.

“You did a nice job on it,” Mom said. “The dahlia pattern looks good with the red and gold material you used.”

“I hope Esther likes it.”

“I’m sure she’ll be very pleased.”

Suzanne glanced out the window. “Since I’m done early, I think I’ll get my fishing pole and head to the pond for a few hours. If I’m lucky, I might catch a few fish, and we can have them for supper tonight.”

“That’d be nice.” Mom smiled. “Maybe I’ll make a batch of cornbread while you’re gone. That always goes good with fish.”

Suzanne slipped the quilt into a cardboard box and hurried out the door. As she stepped onto the porch, she spotted Grandpa sitting in his favorite wicker chair with his eyes closed and his chin resting on his chest. She thought about inviting him to join her at the pond, but didn’t want to disturb him, so she stepped quietly off the porch.

As Suzanne approached the barn to get her fishing pole, she nearly bumped into Nelson, who was leading his horse out of the barn.

“What are you up to?” he asked.

“I’m going fishing,” Suzanne replied. “What about you?”

“Need to run a few errands. Then I’m heading over to the Rabers’ place for supper.”

Suzanne smiled. Nelson had been courting Lucy Raber for a few months, so he spent most of his free time over there.

“Did Titus ever get a chance to speak to you?” Nelson asked as he led his horse over to his buggy.

“About what?”

“Don’t know, but a few days ago he said he wanted to talk to you about something. Just curious what it was about.”

Suzanne’s brows furrowed. “The only time I’ve spoken to Titus this week was on Wednesday morning when I went over to his place with some primroses. I haven’t seen him since because I’ve been busy working on Esther’s quilt, and that’s also why Mom has brought your lunch out to the shop the last few days.”

“I’m guessing Titus probably forgot about talking to you because he has other things on his mind right now.”

“What other things?”

“His twin brother’s wife had a miscarriage.”

Suzanne frowned. “I hadn’t heard about that. When did it happen?”

“Sometime Wednesday morning. He seemed real upset about it.”

On the way home from Hopkinsville, Titus called Zach. He was relieved when Zach answered right away.

“Hi, Zach, it’s me, Titus.”

“Hey! It’s good hearing from you,” Zach said. “How are things going?”

“Okay. I was calling to see if you’ve heard how Hannah and Timothy are doing.”

“Hannah’s home from the hospital now, but she’s grieving pretty hard over losing the boppli. Timothy’s upset, too, but they have the support of both their families, so I’m sure they’ll get through it.”

“Jah.” Titus glanced over at Allen. “Guess who’s sitting beside me?”

“Who?”

“Allen. I’m riding in his truck.”

“It must be his cell phone you used to call me.”

“Actually, I’m talking to you on my own cell phone. Just bought it today.”

“Are cell phones allowed in the church district there?” Zach questioned.

“Don’t know yet, but I’m hoping they are.”

“Shouldn’t you have asked someone first, before you bought the phone?”

Titus gritted his teeth. He might have known he’d get a lecture from his older brother. It seemed like he could never do anything without someone in his family questioning him. But then, maybe Zach was right. Buying a cell phone without finding out if it would be allowed was probably a stupid thing to do. However, he’d been desperate to make a more direct contact with his family.

“You still there, Titus?” Zach asked.

“Uh, jah. Just thinking is all.”

“I’ll be seeing Mom and Dad at church tomorrow. Is there anything you’d like me to tell them?”

“Just say that I’m doing okay and will call and leave them a message soon. Oh, and tell Timothy and Hannah I’m sorry about the boppli, and that I’m praying for them.”

“I will. Nice talking to you, Titus. Take care.”

Titus clicked off the phone. “It was good talking to Zach, but it made me feel kind of homesick, too,” he said to Allen.

“That’s understandable. This is your first time living away from your family, so you’re bound to miss them.” Allen tapped the steering wheel a couple of times. “With me being an only child, it was hard on my folks when I moved away, and it was hard on me at first, too.”

“But you’re used to it now?”

“Mostly, but that’s probably because I keep so busy with my job. When I’m not lining out subcontractors to do the work I’ve taken on, I’m busy scouting around for land and homes to buy.” Allen motioned to a large white house with peeling paint and blue shutters that looked like they were about to fall off. “See that old place?”

“Uh-huh.”

“It used to belong to an elderly couple who I understand lived in the area for a long time. Guess the husband died a few years ago, and the wife was put in a nursing home last month. I’ve been waiting to see if the place comes on the market, because if it does I’m hoping to buy it as another piece of investment property.”

“What would you do with it?” Titus asked.

Allen shrugged. “Don’t know for sure, but from the outside it looks like it’s in pretty bad shape, so I’d either tear it down and build a new house, or I might remodel and sell the place, hoping to make a profit.”

Titus studied Allen a few seconds. For a young man just a few years older than him, Allen sure had a lot of drive and determination to succeed. Even more than Timothy, who’d always seemed to know exactly what he wanted.

Not like me
, Titus thought.
I’m nearly twenty-three, and I’m still floundering with no real purpose or goals. Is it any wonder my family treats me like a boppli and tells me what to do? If I could only find a way to prove to them that I’m mature and successful in something
.

“Here we are,” Allen said, as he pulled his truck into Titus’s yard. He motioned to the trailer. “The place sure looks better since we had the work frolic. Are you more comfortable here now?”

Titus nodded. “ ‘Course, I’d like to own a home of my own someday.”

“You’re welcome to buy this place,” Allen said. “I could lease it to you with the option to buy.”

Titus lifted one corner of his straw hat and scratched the side of his head. “I’ll give that idea some thought.” Fact was, he wasn’t sure he’d want to buy this old trailer, even though it was a lot more livable now. Still, if he bought it, he’d have a place he could call his own, and eventually he could replace the trailer with a real home.

“Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?” Titus offered as he opened the truck door.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’d better be on my way. I’m taking a lady friend of mine out to supper tonight, and I don’t want to be late.”

“Didn’t realize you had a girlfriend. Are things serious between you?”

Allen shook his head. “Not really. We’re just friends right now, but I guess time will tell.”

“Well, have a good evening.” Titus lifted his new phone and grinned. “I’ll give you a call on this real soon.”

Allen smiled. “Maybe we can go somewhere just for fun some Saturday. I’d like to show you the Jefferson Davis Monument if you’re interested.”

“That’d be great. Seeing that was one of the things I thought I’d like to do on one of my days off.”

“Great. Let’s make plans to do it soon.”

Titus hopped out of the truck. “See you, Allen.”

“Sure thing,” Allen called as he got his truck moving.

Titus had just stepped onto the porch when he spotted Callie chomping on the remains of a mouse. He grunted. “You’re gettin’ fat, ya know that, cat? I think maybe you oughta slow down on the mice you’ve been eating.”

The fat cat ignored him, just kept chomping away.

Titus rolled his eyes and opened the front door. When he stepped into the trailer, a blast of warm air hit him in the face.
This place sure gets stuffy when it’s closed up for the day. Think I’ll go out to the shed and get that old fishing pole I saw hanging on the wall. Then I’ll head to the pond I discovered down the road a piece and cool off
.

I
don’t know what I can do to help Hannah,” Timothy said to his mother, as the two of them sat on her porch, drinking a glass of sweet meadow tea. “She just won’t stop talking about how she lost the baby, and now she’s beginning to question God.”

Mom placed her hand on Timothy’s arm. “Would you like me to talk to her about this?”