Renewing Hope (In Your World #2) (12 page)

Our future.

"Kate?"

I hummed in response, feeling at peace with his heat against me. I felt him lift up and opened my eyes to see him looking down at me in the waning light.

"If I do become the Bishop, you will be all right with that path? Truly?" he asked, his voice rough from having rested for so long.

"If you are to become Bishop, I will support you as I should. But I worry that it's not something you want," I replied.

He looked at the window and chewed on his lips, deep in thought.

"It is my duty if Benjamin does not return in time. Our classes will be over by November. It will not be easy to get him back that soon I think," he said.

I sat up and touched his cheek, bringing his worried gaze back to me.

"We'll try, Nathan. It's all we can do. But Benjamin needs to want to come home and face his future, too. It’s ultimately up to him," I said and moved to get up.

"He feels guilty for many things. I am not sure how to help him with those."

I folded up the quilt as I thought about it.

"I think he needs to see how much he is needed here. To know that he has a purpose. Maybe he hasn't felt that in a while," I suggested, and smiled when Nathan leaned in and kissed me.

"I think if we must go the route of the Bishop, you will make a very good Bishop's wife. You have such well spoken thoughts," he chuckled and kissed me again.

"We need to get going, Nathan," I sighed as his lips trailed to my neck.

One last kiss at the base of my neck and he pulled away, smiling.

“A good Bishop’s wife that knows when to do right,” he sighed.

I changed in a rush, grabbing the vegetables I had gathered that day and walked hand in hand with Nathan back to the Berger’s house. Supper passed with some talk about why Benjamin did not join us, but Nathan and I both understood. It would take time. And we would be there to help him.

I settled into bed next to Emma that night, who hugged me and watched me as I thought about it all.

"Are you worried about Nathan?" she asked.

I shook my head slowly.

"Not so much. More about Benjamin, actually," I replied. "He wants to come home, Emma. He has a purpose here and I'm worried he didn't show up tonight because yesterday spooked him." I said, explaining about how I saw him in the field during Sermon.

She nodded and thought about it.

"We are going into town tomorrow to drop off some of the corn cakes we made today and to go shopping. Perhaps we will see him in town, and invite him again," she suggested.

"Maybe. I just want to see him happy again. He was happy at Nathan's. So was Nathan," I replied.

"They were best friends, like us. They need each other," she said. "Promise me you will still be my friend when I go off and make a home with John."

Her words caught me off guard, and I felt an instinct to hug her.

"Of course. I will always be your best friend, Emma. And your sister," I whispered into her hair.

"Good," she sighed and settled into bed, her smile mischievious. "Now I assume since you did not come home with hay in your hair, you did not spend any time in the barn?"

Her eyes were sparkling in the lantern light.

"Actually, Emma, I spent a while in the barn," I quipped, stifling my laughter when her eyes widened. "Mucking out stalls, Emma. I cleaned stalls today."

She giggled and rolled over to turn down the lantern.

As we sat in the dark, waiting for our eyes to adjust, I heard her chuckle.

"Do I want to know what you did while you waited out the storm?"

"Nope. Goodnight, Emma."

She giggled again and I felt her hand squeeze mine once before letting go.

"Goodnight, sister."

I sat in the dark and for the first time in many days, I felt like perhaps we were heading in the right direction.

CHAPTER 7

"Katherine."

I cracked my eyes open, squinting at the glare of the lantern near me. Blinking, I could see Emma and Fannie, Emma rubbing her eyes as well. Fannie was fully dressed, but it felt early yet.

"What's going on?" I mumbled, the sleep lingering in my brain.

"Jonah and I must go and help with the delivery of the Lapp baby. I am leaving it up to you girls to take care of the chores and take the food to Eli to sell. Mark and Hannah will be here in the morning," she whispered.

"Of course, Mother," Emma said, her voice a little more awake than my own.

"We will be home as soon as we can," she whispered and closed the door, our room plunging back into darkness.

I groaned and tried to roll over. Every muscle in my body hurt. The work I had done at Nathan's was showing up in all the aches and pains of my body. Somehow I knew this day was going to be long when we woke up earlier than usual, having double the chores than we were used to.

Abigail volunteered to get the eggs; I was not going anywhere near there in the dark. I had a hard enough time being in the barn by myself while I milked the cows. We were ahead of time, so I missed seeing Nathan coming down his hill. He arrived just as I pulled biscuits out of the oven. The sausage and eggs were done, and as he put his hat up, he looked around, confused.

"Evie Lapp is having her baby," Abigail explained and Nathan nodded, his brow puckering slightly.

"I suppose I will be taking the corn to market alone then, unless I can convince Mark to come with me," he said as he took a cup of coffee from me.

"Mark is going with us to town," Hannah said as she entered.

Mark strolled in behind her, inhaling the air as he did.

"You can go without me. I can go to the mill with Nathan after we offload the corn," he said and snuck a piece of sausage off the plate as Emma laid it on the table.

"But you also have to help Katherine with her car. You said the man wanted to make a deal," she argued and smacked his hand when he reached for another sausage.

"I can go and ask John," Nathan replied. "I am not sure I like the idea of the girls going to town by themselves."

Hannah pursed her lips at Nathan and shook her head.

"We are not three, Nathan. We can take care of ourselves," she said, her tone cutting.

"I love being the wanted man in the crowd!" Mark joked, patting Hannah's hand until she leaned back and glowered across the table at Nathan.

We ate and spoke about the course of the day, Nathan wanting to be sure I was back in time for our baptism class later in the afternoon.

"We have to drop off the food at the general store. I know Fannie wanted to pick up some more flour and basic items at the market. And then there is Katherine's car," Hannah was saying.

I was a little sad about seeing the car go. But if it fetched a good price, it meant that Nathan could relax a little about the winter. I was clearing away the last of the dishes when I felt Nathan's hand on my shoulder. I looked up into smiling eyes.

"How are you this morning?" he whispered.

I returned the smile and busied myself with the dishes while I spoke. It was nice having him this close. We both knew Emma and Hannah would understand. And luckily Abigail was distracted with pretending to arm wrestle Mark.

"I'm a little sore from the stalls," I admitted but laughed and shook my head. "I have to start working out or something."

He let out a soft chuckle and let his fingers slip up onto my neck, their warmth feeling nice on my sore neck.

"I imagine you will be sore for a few days. I am grateful for your help, though. I could not stop thinking about yesterday, all night," he breathed near my ear.

"Enough flirting, Nathan!" Hannah admonished. "You will see one another plenty soon. We must get ready or we will not be home in time for your class."

Nathan straightened and let his hand slip from me. But as soon as Hannah had turned, he leaned in and chanced a swift kiss on the cheek, grinning.

"Be careful. I will be thinking of you today," he murmured and took a step back before Hannah intervened once more.

He and Mark disappeared out the back door while we packed up the treats Fannie hoped to sell at the general store. There were several pies she and Emma had made the day before, as well as her prized corncakes. It took us several trips to the buggy to pack them all in, with crates crammed between us and under our feet for the journey.

I sat in the back with Emma and Abigail, while Mark and Hannah sat in the front. I took a brief look back toward the hill, my smile playing on my lips until Emma spoke up, laughing.

"You two are inseparable now. I cannot imagine what it will be like once you are married," she said.

I pretended to scowl at her and turned back around to watch as the road took us to town. I was eager to get there. I was determined to see Benjamin today to be sure he returned to the Berger's for dinner, and hopefully to stay with Nathan. Emma and Hannah chatted about Emma's upcoming wedding. They still had not planned a date, waiting for when they were baptized. Emma had revealed that John would be going to the Bishop to ask for the two of them to be baptized within the month, so that the wedding could take place in November.

"That does not leave you much time, Emma," Hannah was saying. "And you need to work on your dress. Both of you do. Then there are the invitations to family and friends, coming out and planning the feast. It is more work than you realize."

"I know that, Hannah. I was planning on starting my dress this week, now that most of the crops are done. Besides the canning, we have more time for that," Emma said and smiled over at me.

"Katherine will need help. She has never sewn a dress before. Or did your mother show you?" she asked.

I frowned and looked out at the fields, many clear or in the process of being cleared.

I hadn't thought about my mom much since arriving here.

"My mom didn't show me much of anything before she died," I murmured and continued to look out the window. I felt Abigail lean in and take my hand, her bright blue eyes taking me in with more wisdom than any ten year old I had ever known.

“We will show you. That is what sisters do.”

I wrapped my arm around her and held her close, happy to have the support of my new sisters. It made me think wistfully of Stacie, and I had to wonder where she was and what she was doing. It would be sad to not have her here when my own wedding happened.

I missed her with a sudden, sharp pang of loss.

Perhaps Nathan had been earnest in his words to her that she could remain a part of my life. I needed to write to her and tell her the news, knowing she would worry about me.

It’s what family did.

The buggy pulled up to a car yard, tearing me away from my idle thoughts. Old cars littered the property near a large garage, many beyond their years and looking more like junk for parts than serviceable vehicles. Inside the covered work area was my car, sitting there as Mark and I passed it on our way to the office. Seeing it there, knowing I would never drive again, was a dose of reality to what my life would be life before long.

A life with no technology, no cars. Simple things. No luxuries.

"Are you all right, Katherine?" Mark asked as we stepped into the small office.

I forced a smile and nodded.

I wasn't going to dwell on things I was leaving behind.

I was looking ahead to what there was to build here.

"Mark!"

I looked up to see an older man, greasy and weathered from working on cars, stepping in from a door behind the counter in the office.

Mark leaned over the counter and shook the man's hand. The man glanced at me for a moment before turning his attention to Mark as he spoke.

"I hear you have an interest in the car we had brought in," Mark said with an easy going smile.

The older man nodded, his face becoming that of the businessman as it grew serious. He wiped some of the grease off his hands with the work towel while he discussed my car.

"It needs a lot of work. Not a bad body but under the hood, it will need a lot of tender loving care to bring the best price," he was saying, his voice sounding a little wearied, like my car was too much work for him to fix up.

I bristled at his words.

If there was one redeeming quality about Sean, it was that he knew cars. And he took care of mine like it was his child. He had even haggled a price for it when I bought it. He had inspected it thoroughly and berated me when I didn’t change the oil or rotate the tires per his orders. It wasn’t the newest and greatest, but it was in far better condition than this man was letting on.

Mark was listening to him, his reaction contemplative as the man ticked off the problems.

"The engine will need a rebuild. The tires are worn. Cracked radiator. New brakes, and I would think probably work on the struts..."

I shook my head and put my hand up.

The man stopped talking at my reaction, his eyes trained hard on me when I opened up my mouth.

"The engine was still under warranty. The tires do need to be replaced, I agree. But the radiator is most definitely not cracked and the brakes have less than five thousand miles on them. It is in much better shape than you are telling us," I said firmly and watched his eyes slowly widen.

He stood there in silence for an instant before looking over at Mark, poking his thumb in my direction.

"Is this your wife?" he asked, and I could hear the bite to his words.

Mark cleared his throat and shook his head.

"She's my sister-in-law and the owner of the car," he mumbled and glanced at me as if embarrassed for my speaking up.

Had I done something wrong?

The man was trying to short us. And I wasn't having it. Not when this sale might get us through the winter. The man looked me over once more, obviously confused as to why an Amish woman would own a car. But I tilted my head up in defiance and stood my ground.

"The car is worth Blue Book, which last I checked was over twelve thousand. It's been taken care of and all the receipts are in order for repairs. I won’t take less than," I started but was cut off by Mark, who put his hand on mine that gripped the edge of the counter.