[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  She nodded. “I just hope Titus learns that and will make the most of each new day.”

  Pembroke, Kentucky

  Soon after Titus got home from work, he decided to go out to the shed to put the ladder away, as he hadn’t taken the time to do it when he’d come down from the roof that morning.

  Once he put the ladder back, he went to the barn to see if he could find anything he might use to fix up the place. He spotted a canvas tarp, and when he pulled it back, he was surprised to see an old buggy in need of repairs. He figured with some new wheels, a new windshield, and lots of elbow grease, it would be useable. He pushed the buggy to the middle of the barn. Maybe after the frolic, he’d have time to work on it. Right now, getting the trailer livable was his first priority.

  Titus’s stomach growled noisily, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since noon. “Guess I’d better get in the house and see about fixing some supper.”

  He’d just stepped onto the porch when a horse and buggy pulled into the yard. He was surprised to see Suzanne get out and secure her horse to the hitching rail.

  “I brought you something,” she called.

  Curious to see what it was, Titus joined her beside the buggy. He was even more surprised when she reached into the buggy and lifted out the same calico cat he’d seen at the Yoders’.

  “This is for you,” she said, holding the critter out to him.

  Titus took a step back. “What makes you think I want a katz?”

  “Her name is Callie, and she’ll help keep the mice down.”

  He shook his head determinedly. “I told you today, I don’t need a cat. I’m planning to set some traps for the mice.”

  “But Callie’s a good mouser, and she’ll keep you company.”

  “Don’t need any cat company. I’ve got my horse.”

  “But horses don’t catch mice.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I really don’t want a cat.”

  Suzanne’s furrowed brows, and the droop of her shoulders, let him know that he’d probably hurt her feelings.

  “I appreciate you coming by,” Titus said, hoping to ease the tension. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned and hurried into the house, eager to fix something to eat.

  He’d just taken out a loaf of bread and some lunchmeat to make a sandwich when he heard a noise on the porch. He opened the door to step outside, when the calico cat zipped between his legs and darted into the house.

  Titus glanced at the hitching rail and saw that Suzanne’s horse and buggy were gone. “That’s just great!” He gritted his teeth. “I told her no, but she left the stupid katz here anyway. Tomorrow morning I’m taking the critter back to Suzanne, and she’d better not try anything like that again.”

  CHAPTER 9

  When Titus stepped out his front door the next morning, he nearly tripped over something furry on the porch. He looked down and groaned. The stupid calico cat was curled into a ball, purring loudly.

  Before Titus had gone to bed last night, he hadn’t seen any sign of Callie, so he’d assumed she’d left and hopefully found her way back to the Yoders’.

  “Well, you’re going back now.” Titus bent down to pick up the cat, but she opened her eyes, let out a piercing howl, and leaped off the porch like she’d been hit with a bolt of lightning. Titus took after the animal in hot pursuit.

  Round and round the yard they went, until Titus was panting for breath. Was it any wonder he didn’t like cats? They were nothing but trouble.

  Callie headed for the porch again, and Titus followed, his jaw set with determination.

  Crouched in one corner of the porch, the cat’s hair stood on end as she hissed at Titus.

  “Kumme, kitty. Come here to me now.” Titus reached out his hand, and was almost touching the cat, when she swiped the end of his finger with her needle-like claws.

  “Yeow!” Titus drew back quickly, and frowned when he saw blood.

  The cat continued to hiss as she hunched her back and eyeballed Titus as though daring him to come closer.

  Titus stood still a few seconds. He lunged again. This time Callie lunged, too. She sank her teeth into Titus’s hand, and he let out another yelp. The cat let go, gave one final hiss, and tore off into the woods.

  Titus rushed into the trailer to get a bandage and some antiseptic. It was a cinch that he wasn’t going to catch the cat this morning. Maybe he’d scared her badly enough that she wouldn’t come back. Hopefully the critter had enough smarts to head for home.

  Paradise, Pennsylvania

  “Sure wish we’d hear something more from Titus,” Fannie said to Abraham as they sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. “I went out to the phone shanty and checked our voice mail this morning, but there were no messages from him.”

  “He called when he got to Kentucky, and he’s only been gone a few days,” Abraham said. “Give him some time; I’m sure he’ll call again soon.”

  “Maybe we should plan a trip to Kentucky to see him. I’d feel better if I knew what it was like and saw for myself that he was doing okay.”

  Abraham shook his head. “I don’t think Titus would appreciate us checkin’ up on him. He needs to make it on his own without our interference. Besides, Timothy and I are in the middle of planting season, and I don’t have time to be making any trips.” He patted Fannie’s arm gently. “You know what your problem is?”

  “What?”

  “You’re too protective of our kinner … especially the twins.”

  Fannie took a sip of her coffee and was about to say something more on the subject, when the back door swung open and Timothy stepped into the room.

  “Guder mariye,” he said.

  “Mornin’,” Abraham mumbled around a mouthful of toast.

  “Help yourself to a cup of coffee and come join us at the table,” Fannie invited.

  “Don’t mind if I do.”

  “How’s your back doin’?” Abraham asked as Timothy poured himself a cup of coffee and then pulled out a chair at the table and sat down.

  “Better. The adjustment Dr. Dan gave me yesterday really helped.”

  Fannie smiled. “That’s good to hear. It’s never fun to have a sore back.”

  “I’ll be ready to join you in the field as soon as I’ve finished my coffee,” Abraham said.

  “No hurry. Take your time.” Timothy looked over at Fannie and smiled. “I thought you might like to know that I had a voice mail message from Titus yesterday.”

  She perked right up. “Really? What’d it say?”

  “He mostly talked about the trailer he’s renting from Allen. Said it’s a mess and will need a lot of work to make it livable.”

  Fannie frowned. “Didn’t Allen know the place needed work when he suggested Titus move in there? What was he thinking?”

  Timothy shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe he didn’t know the place was so bad.”

  “He should have known since he owns the place,” Abraham interjected.

  “Well, I’m just glad Titus left a message for me, because it’s strange having him gone, and I sure do miss him.”

  Fannie sighed deeply. It didn’t seem right that the twins were separated. They’d always been so close. Now that Titus was living two states away, he and Timothy might drift apart.

  She directed her gaze toward the window, focusing on two finches eating from the feeder hanging in the maple tree. She thought about how mother birds push their babies out of the nest so they can make it on their own and wondered if Abraham was right. Maybe she was overprotective where her two youngest boys were concerned.

  Pembroke, Kentucky

  Suzanne had just gone outside to hang some clothes on the line, when Titus rode into the yard on his horse. She found it interesting that he rode horseback, when almost everyone else in their community traveled by horse and buggy. But then, Titus seemed a bit different from the young Amish men she’d grown up around.

  She watched as he dismounted and led his horse to the barn. A short time later, he
reappeared and strode over to where she stood by the clothesline.

  His eyebrows furrowed, and that same look of disgust she’d seen before settled over his face. “Would you mind tellin’ me why you left your dumm katz at my place when I asked you not to?”

  “I didn’t, and Callie’s not stupid. She jumped out of the buggy when I was driving away, and I figured she’d follow me home.”

  “Well, she didn’t. She made herself at home on my porch, and then when I tried to catch her this morning, so I could bring her back here, this is what I got for my trouble.” Titus held up his bandaged finger and frowned.

  Suzanne felt concern. “Did Callie bite you?”

  “Jah, and then she ran into the woods.”

  “I can’t believe it. Callie never bites.”

  “Well, she bit me.”

  “I’m sorry. Does it hurt much?”

  “It sure does, and it won’t be easy tryin’ to work with a sore hand today.”

  Suzanne was tempted to offer her help in the woodshop but knew Nelson would never agree to that, no matter how much work needed to be done.

  “You’d better keep an eye on that bite,” she said. “Cats have a lot of bacteria in their mouths, and the wound might get infected.”

  “I know all about that. It happened to me once when I was a boy.” He held up his finger and waved it around. “I put some antiseptic on it, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  Suzanne was about to suggest that Titus go to the clinic and get a tetanus shot, but he started walking away.

  “Wait! I wanted to say something else,” she called.

  He halted and turned to face her. “What?”

  When she took a step toward him, her foot slipped on a rock, and she swayed unsteadily.

  He reached out to catch her. “You okay?”

  Suzanne’s face heated with embarrassment. “I-I’m fine. Just lost my balance when my toe hit a rock.”

  “So what’d you want to say to me?”

  “I was just going to say that if Callie shows up at your place again, maybe you should consider keeping her.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Are you kidding?”

  She shook her head. “She probably bit you because she was scared. If you’d give her a chance, you’d see that she’d not only keep the mice down, but would make a good pet.”

  He held up his hand again. “Would a good pet do this?”

  Before Suzanne could respond, he turned and stomped off toward the shop.

  Suzanne clenched her teeth. It seemed like she couldn’t say anything right to Titus, and if she wasn’t saying something to irritate him, she was doing something stupid to embarrass herself. Maybe the best thing would be to stay as far away from him as possible. But with the work frolic coming up on Saturday, that might be kind of hard to do. Unless she could think of some excuse not to go.

  CHAPTER 10

  Los Angeles, California

  Don’t you just love it here?” Darlene asked Phoebe, as they flopped onto the beach towel she’d placed on the sand.

  “It’s okay, I guess.” Truth was, California wasn’t anything like Phoebe had expected, although she’d never admit that to Darlene. Jobs were hard to find, prices were high, and too many people crowded around. But she did like the beach access, and she sure couldn’t have had that available to her at home. She also liked the warm sunshine and all the cute guys she’d seen on the beach.

  Phoebe had been lucky to find a job at a local ice-cream parlor, but it was boring work, and her wrist hurt when she had to scoop out the hard ice cream to make a cone. Darlene was working as a waitress at a restaurant, which she said paid better tips than her wages. They’d pooled their money to pay rent on a small, one-bedroom apartment, but the place was run-down and not in the best part of town.

  While Darlene stretched out on the towel with her eyes closed, Phoebe stared at the waves lapping against the shore, and her thoughts went to home. What were Mom and Dad doing right now? Did they miss her? If she decided to stay in California permanently, would they ever come for a visit? Did she want them to? If they came, they’d no doubt spend the whole time criticizing everything she did and complain about how overcrowded it was. It would probably be best if she didn’t encourage them to come.

  As a group of young men started a game of volleyball, Phoebe thought about Titus and how many times the two of them had been involved in volleyball games back home. Even when she wasn’t one of the players, she’d enjoyed watching from the sidelines.

  I’ll bet if Titus was here right now, he’d be involved in that game, she thought. He’s always liked volleyball.

  Phoebe scooped up a handful of sand and dumped it on Darlene’s bare toes.

  Darlene’s eyes popped open. “Hey! What’d you do that for?”

  “Let’s see if we can join that game of volleyball.”

  Darlene grinned and clambered to her feet. “Good idea. Let’s do it!”

  Pembroke, Kentucky

  When Titus woke up on Saturday to the early morning light, he glanced out his bedroom window and was relieved to see that the sun was shining brightly. Having nice weather would make it easier for those coming to help him work on the trailer.

  Titus stepped into the dim hallway, blinked, took a few steps, and stubbed his toe. “Ouch! Guess I should have put my boots away last night, instead of leaving ‘em in the hall. If this place was bigger, I’d have more room for things.”

  He moved on to the bathroom to wash his face, and halted inside the door. That stupid calico cat was curled into a ball, sleeping in the sink!

  He frowned. “How in the world did you get in the house?”

  The cat’s only response was a quiet meow.

  Titus had given up trying to return the critter to Suzanne. Every time he’d made an attempt to catch the cat, she’d escaped his grasp. He’d resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck with her, and after seeing the remains of a few mice in the yard, he had to admit, she was a pretty good mouser. He figured as long as she stayed outside he could put up with her, but he wasn’t about to invite the mangy critter into his house.

  He glared at the cat. “So how’d you get in? I know I didn’t leave the front or back door open, and I closed all the windows that don’t have screens.”

  The cat continued to sleep, apparently oblivious to Titus’s presence.

  Well, he couldn’t worry about how she got in right now. What he needed to do was find a way to get her outside without picking her up, because he didn’t want to chance getting scratched or bitten again.

  Maybe if I throw something over the cat, I can pick her up that way. Titus pulled a bath towel off the hook behind the door, and was ready to drop it over Callie, when she came awake, leaped into the air, and landed on his shoulder.

  Her sharp claws dug into his flesh, and he let out a screech. Callie hopped off his shoulder and raced out of the bathroom like her tail was on fire. Titus followed, hollering, “Stupid katz! You’re nothing but trouble!”

  When he reached the kitchen, where the cat stood, hunched and hissing, he opened the back door, grabbed the broom from the utility closet, and pushed the animal out the door. “Get outside! You don’t belong in here!”

  Titus slammed the door behind Callie and drew in a deep breath. If that crazy cat was going to stick around, she’d better learn her place.

  He started making a pot of coffee, figuring it wouldn’t be long before people began showing up for the work frolic. Beyond the benefit of getting the trailer fixed up, today would give him a chance to meet more of the Amish people who lived in this community.

  Titus had just set a bowl of cereal on the table, when he heard a vehicle rumble into the yard. He moved over to the sink and peered out the window in time to see Allen step out of his truck.

  Titus opened the back door cautiously, to make sure the stupid cat wasn’t waiting for another chance to get inside. Fortunately, she was nowhere in sight.

  “Come in for a cup of coffee,” he said
when Allen stepped onto the porch.

  “That sounds good. I need something to wake up this morning.”

  “You’re the first one here,” Titus said, leading the way to his cramped kitchen.

  Allen glanced around the room and released a low whistle. “I know I saw it the night I brought you here, but it looks even worse than I remember. If I’d known how bad it was, I would have found you somewhere else to stay until we could get the place fixed up.”