by Kelly Long
Katie wasn’t sure if it would be more awkward to say something or remain silent, but if they did remain silent, he would definitely lose his goat. She gave him a tentative smile. “Do you . . . do you want me to help you catch your goat?”
He seemed to snap out of his stunned daze. “Ach . . . uh . . . jah. That would be wonderful-gute. My mammi would be heartbroken if I lost her special Christmas goat. It’s a new family tradition.” He reached down and picked up her suitcase and her travel bag. “Can I help you into the house with these first?”
It was a very thoughtful gesture, considering he might lose his goat with further delay. “Maybe we should find your goat first.”
He nodded as if he thought that was a very gute idea, set her bags on the ground, and started jogging down the hill. “Her name is Beth. Sometimes she’ll come when I call. Mostly she likes to run away. Don’t be afraid of her, though. She doesn’t steal lollipops or beanies.”
He seemed like a very nice young man, not the type to expect her to say something clever or entertaining every time she opened her mouth. She followed him down the hill, calling the goat’s name and listening for a sign that she was near. They followed her tracks halfway down the hill, where they veered off into the bushes that grew along the steep incline on the right side of the lane.
The young man stopped and stared at her for a second too long. Had he forgotten about the goat again? She nearly forgot about the goat herself. His eyes were the color of a deep blue lake.
“I don’t want you to slip,” he said. “What if I hike down and herd Beth up here to the lane?”
Katie nodded. “I’ll try to grab her before she runs away.”
“There’s a red Christmas ribbon around her neck. Hook your hand onto that.”
The young man crunched through the snow and into the bushes. Katie stood with her arms wrapped around herself to keep warm, trying to breathe quietly so she would be able to hear the goat coming back through the snow. She didn’t want to risk losing someone’s special Christmas goat.
“Beth,” the young man called again.
Soon Katie heard the muted clatter of hooves in the snow, and the goat appeared from between the bushes. Katie gasped and reached for the red ribbon around the goat’s neck.
Red ribbon with a bright red Christmas bow.
Despite the goat’s quick reflexes, Katie caught her on the first try. Beth didn’t resist so much as drag Katie along with her, farther down the hill and on to a new adventure. Katie planted her feet and held on with all her might, but her winter boots met a patch of hard ice. A squeak escaped her lips as her feet slipped from under her and she plummeted to the ground, grunting as her backside met with the hard-packed snow. She’d have a very impressive bruise that she wouldn’t be able to show anyone, but at least she still had hold of the goat. Beth stopped trying to go anywhere, gazed at Katie as if Katie had just done something terribly embarrassing, and started nibbling on Katie’s coat sleeve.
“Ach. Don’t do that, little goat,” Katie said, making her voice as sweet as possible. “Mamm would never approve if I came home with one sleeve missing.”
The young man trudged out from the bushes and immediately ran to her when he saw her predicament. “Are you all right?” He offered a hand and pulled Katie to her feet. With a look of deep concern, he cupped his fingers around her elbow until he was sure she was securely on her feet. “Did Beth knock you over? I’m wonderful sorry.”
Once the young man had a firm hold of Beth’s ribbon, Katie let go and brushed the snow from her dress and coat. “Beth behaved as well as she could for being a goat. I slipped on the ice, and then she tried to eat my coat.”
“Goats will eat lollipops, but they don’t usually eat coats, even if they smell good, like yours does.” He turned bright red and stared faithfully at his boots. “I mean, even if your coat smelled good—which I can’t say that it does, because who ever notices how a coat smells?—but even if your coat smelled like chocolate and lilacs, Beth wouldn’t eat it.” He lifted his eyes and grinned at her. “Goats are like babies. Babies put everything in their mouths. Goats nibble on stuff to find out what it is. At least that’s what the man at the dairy told me.”
“Beth seems like a nice goat, except it was naughty of her to run away.”
“She can jump over any fence and wriggle through small holes. I think it’s what she does for fun. And I think she likes to see me run.” He motioned up the hill. “Are you here to see my mammi?”
Katie nodded.
He tugged on Beth’s ribbon, and the three of them started walking.
“What is a Christmas goat?” Katie said. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
The young man stuffed his hand into his pocket, pulled out a toothpick, and stuck it between his teeth. “Mammi says it’s a family tradition to have a Christmas goat. The man from the dairy brought it last week. I’m taking care of her because I don’t want to be the reason that everyone’s Christmas is ruined.”
Katie furrowed her brow. “It would be terrible if Christmas got ruined.”
He reached down and patted the goat on the head. “Mammi let me name it even though it’s her goat.”
“Beth is a very nice name.”
“It’s short for ‘Bethlehem.’ I figured that since it’s a Christmas goat, it should have a Christmas kind of name.”
“That’s very clever of you,” Katie said. Bethlehem was the perfect name for a Christmas goat. She’d never been half that clever. “Is Anna Helmuth your mammi?”
“Oh, sis yuscht. I never even told you my name.” He snatched off his horned beanie as if he wanted her to get a complete and gute look at him. His white-blond hair stuck out all over his head, brought to life by static electricity. A boyish cowlick made the hair in front tumble in unruly tufts over his forehead. “I’m Titus Helmuth. Anna and Felty’s grandson. Mammi didn’t tell me anyone was coming today, or I would have come down the hill to help you with your bags.”
“Trina’s car couldn’t make it up the hill, and how could you have known what time I’d be coming?”
“I suppose that’s so. Still, I’m wonderful sorry you had to carry them up the hill by yourself.”
They made it to the crest of the hill, where Katie had dropped her bags. With one hand clasped firmly around Beth’s ribbon, Titus picked up the bulky suitcase.
“You don’t need to do that,” Katie said. She hated to be a burden on someone who already had the important responsibility of a Christmas goat.
His toothpick pointed upward when he smiled. “You shouldn’t have to carry something this heavy when I’m happy to carry it for you. My dawdi taught me better than that.” He drew his brows together in concentration. “Or maybe it was my mammi. Anyways, one of them taught me better than that. Or both of them. I can’t remember.”
Katie picked up her travel bag. “It’s so kind of you, especially with a Christmas goat to mind.”
“You look familiar,” Titus said. “Do I know you?”
“I used to live in Bonduel, but my family moved away nine years ago.”
The front door of the house opened, and Anna Helmuth, looking older but as radiant and delighted as ever, bounded down the porch steps like a sixty-year-old. She wore a bright red sweater and a hunter green dress. With her white kapp and equally-as-white hair, she looked as festive as a Christmas ornament. Everything about Anna felt as warm and inviting as Christmastime. Her blue eyes twinkled merrily, and the lines on her face looked as if she hadn’t frowned a day in her life.
Anna threw out her hands and squealed as if Katie were one of her own grandchildren. “Katie Rose Gingerich, all grown up. I was thrilled when your mamm wrote and asked if you could stay over Christmas.”
Christmas. Katie would be away from home for Christmas, trying to snag a boy who probably wouldn’t even like her. She couldn’t think of anything more depressing. Unwanted tears pooled in her eyes.
Anna wrapped her short arms tightly around Katie’s wa
ist. “Is everything all right, dear?”
Titus frowned. “Was it the goat? I’m sorry if it was the goat. I can take her back to the barn.”
Katie blinked away the tears. Titus and Anna didn’t need to hear how worried she was about getting a husband—or not getting one. “Nae. Nae. I am just missing home, I suppose.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “It’s silly. I’ve only been gone a few hours.”
“It’s not silly,” Titus said. “Everybody misses home. I cried like a baby the last time we went camping.”
Anna’s eyes danced. “I thought you liked to camp, Titus.”
“I do.” He raised his index finger. “But I nearly chopped my finger off with my hatchet.”
“That would make anybody cry,” Katie said, grateful Titus had taken the attention off of her. It was childish of her to cry, anyway. Who cried over a humiliation that hadn’t even happened yet?
A fluffy white dog wearing a red doggy sweater bounced down the porch steps. Beth bleated loudly, and the dog jumped out of its skin and yelped as if it had been stuck with a pin. Whining as if it had lost a fight, it ran back up the porch steps and into the safety of the house.
“Now, Beth,” Anna scolded with a twinkle in her eye, “I’m afraid being the special Christmas goat has gone to your head. You know how upset Sparky gets when you talk like that. Please try to have some consideration for her feelings.”
“Maa,” Bethlehem said, with a blank stare as if Anna’s lecture had no effect on her whatsoever.
Anna wrapped a grandmotherly arm around Katie and looked at Titus. “Katie will be staying with us for four weeks. I know you’ll make her feel welcome.”
Titus’s toothpick traveled up and down as he nodded eagerly. “I hope you like goats.”
Katie felt her face get warm, though she couldn’t figure out exactly why. Maybe it was the way Titus looked at her, or the embarrassment she’d feel if Titus knew why she was staying with the Helmuths. “Your goat seems very nice.”
Anna nodded as if she was extremely satisfied with that answer. “We’ve already got four gallons of goat’s milk. Cum, let’s get you into the house. My feet are freezing.”
Katie looked down and realized that Anna wore only stockings, and they were now soaking wet. “Oh dear, Anna. Your stockings.”
Anna tiptoed along the sidewalk. “I didn’t have time to put on my boots. I can’t even bend over to put on my boots. It’s a gute thing stockings dry so fast. Felty will be so glad to see you.”
Titus followed them up the steps. Anna opened the front door. “Your clothes are wonderful heavy,” Titus said, setting the suitcase just inside the door. He still had one hand attached to the goat, which stood on the porch. “I guess I haven’t carried a girl’s suitcase before. But I’m not complaining.” He blushed and smiled sheepishly. “It’s been an honor to carry your suitcase. I’ll gladly do it anytime. I didn’t mean to offend you about the heaviness of your suitcase. It wasn’t heavy at all.”
Katie giggled. She’d never met someone so eager to please. “No need to worry.” She lifted her travel bag. “I have all my clothes in here. This suitcase is full of gadgets.”
“Gadgets?” Felty Helmuth, with eyes as twinkly as Anna’s, sat in a recliner in the great room. He pulled the lever on his chair, and it catapulted him to his feet. “I love gadgets. What did you bring?”
Katie grabbed the suitcase handle to lift it onto the table. Titus, still holding on to the goat, nudged her hand aside, leaned over, and lifted the suitcase for her. This meant that Beth had to come into the kitchen with him. Her hooves clomped on the wood floor as she stepped into the house.
Whining and carrying on, Sparky jumped from her perch on the rug in the great room and tore down the hall, out of sight.
“Now, Titus,” Anna said, “you’re going to give Sparky a conniption. The special Christmas goat cannot come into the house.”
“Sorry, Mammi.” Titus looked at Katie like a little kid who wanted some candy. “Can I see the gadgets sometime?”
“Tie Beth to one of the porch railings,” Felty said, “then come and have a look.”
With a spring in his step, Titus was out and back in two shakes of a goat’s tail.
Katie opened her suitcase, and the four of them gathered around it as if it were a treasure chest. Katie pointed to the box containing one of her favorite gadgets. “This is an apple peeler, corer, and slicer.” She pulled it out of the box. “You stick the apple here and turn this crank, and it peels, slices, and cores the apple for you. It saves hours if you make a lot of apple pie.”
“That’s a handy invention,” Felty said, taking it from her and turning it over in his hand.
“This is a garlic press for fresh garlic,” Katie said, pointing to her treasures, “and this is a pomegranate de-seeder. Here is a digital thermometer for candy and cheese-making and a meat grinder to make sausage.” She rummaged through the suitcase. “I also brought a pasta maker, a lemon zester, and my maple rolling pin. I hope it’s all right I brought all this. I . . . I thought I’d need it. . . .” To impress Adam.
Anna slid an arm around her. “Of course, dear. Never underestimate the power of a good kitchen gadget.”
“Do you know how to use all of these?” Titus said.
Katie nodded.
“You must be a genius,” he said, admiration evident in his eyes. She didn’t deserve it, but it made her feel strangely warm and tingly. No one at home ever said such things to her.
But would Adam agree with Titus and save her from becoming an old maid?
She glanced at the bird clock on the wall. She wouldn’t have much time to wonder. “I’d better get to work. He’ll be here in less than two hours.”
Titus suddenly looked concerned. His toothpick drooped on his lip. “Who’ll be here?”
“Adam Wengerd,” Anna said, when Katie didn’t answer. “Katie is making him dinner.”
Katie couldn’t have answered. She’d been rendered speechless by the thought of the boy she hoped would fall madly in love with her chocolate chip cookies.
She really didn’t want to be an old maid.
CHAPTER 3
Titus chewed on his toothpick. Why was Adam Wengerd coming to Huckleberry Hill? Adam and Katie must be cousins. That was the only explanation for it. Titus thought about some of the cousins he hadn’t seen for a while. Max and Mary. Gideon and Aaron. If they came to town, for sure and certain he’d be up to see them in a heartbeat. With other relatives, like Norman Coblenz and Aunt Esther, he might take his time. Adam and Katie must be very close.
Titus vaguely remembered Katie from when she lived in Bonduel. They hadn’t gone to the same school or been in the same district, and he hadn’t known that Katie and Adam were cousins, and that had to be his excuse, because Titus couldn’t fathom why he hadn’t fallen in love with Katie Rose Gingerich nine years ago. Not that he was in love with her now or anything, but he surely would have fallen nine years ago. Katie had the silkiest chocolate-brown eyes he’d ever seen and the silkiest chocolate-brown hair. Not to mention she smelled like chocolate.
He probably shouldn’t mention to her that chocolate was his favorite thing ever. She might get suspicious.
But that wasn’t the reason he would have fallen in love with her nine years ago. In the fifteen short minutes he’d known her, she’d been kind and sweet and didn’t think she was better than other people. She’d helped him catch Bethlehem, and she hadn’t even gotten annoyed when she fell. Titus was sort of growing attached to Bethlehem, and he appreciated that Katie was nice to his goat.
Of course, that would have been nine years ago. Now he didn’t know whether he would fall in love with her or not. “What are you going to make for dinner?” Titus asked.
Katie’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, and that would have been very bad. “What am I going to make for dinner?”
Titus clamped his mouth shut. He hadn’t meant to upset her. He always seemed to say the wrong thing.
Katie glanced at the clock again. “I’m so sorry, Anna, but do we have time to go to the store?”
“I can go to the store, if you need me to,” Titus said, feeling sorry for how pale Katie looked all of a sudden.
Katie sighed as if she’d been holding her breath for a long time. “Oh, Titus. Would you?”
Mammi didn’t seem the least bit ruffled by Katie’s sudden panic. “Why don’t we see what we’ve got in the fridge? And I’ve got a whole cellar full of maple syrup, huckleberry jelly, and green beans. We should be able to come up with something.”
Katie nodded. “Okay. That is a gute idea. I’m sorry to be so difficult, but I want to make a gute impression.”
“Of course you do, dear,” Mammi said, patting Katie on the arm.
She must be wonderful excited to see her cousin.
Mammi’s fridge was crammed full of bottles. Titus moved in for a better look. Three bottles of ketchup, at least that many of mustard, salad dressing, mayonnaise, Tabasco sauce, horseradish. Titus couldn’t see anything but condiments and a bag of carrots. If Katie couldn’t come up with an idea, maybe he could help. He was very gute with ketchup.
Did she know that ketchup and carrots made a gute appetizer?
Mammi opened the freezer for good measure. Peas, corn, a bag of something icy, another bag of something icier, and an actual bag of ice.
A deep line appeared between Mammi’s eyebrows as she and Katie stared at the contents of the freezer. “You could make green bean and corn casserole with ketchup sauce.”
“I love that one,” Felty said.
Katie slid her arm around Mammi’s shoulder and planted a kiss on her cheek. “You are so kind, Anna.” She poked at one of the icy packages in the freezer. “Is this chicken?”
“Jah,” Mammi said. “But it’s been sitting in the freezer for almost a year.”
Katie smiled a tentative, hopeful smile. Titus thought it was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen next to her chocolate-brown eyes. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
