by Amy Clipston
“What?” Mandy’s gaze swung to Katie Ann’s as her forehead puckered. “Why would we want you to leave?”
“If I left, you and Ephraim could bake alone.” Katie Ann gestured between them. “You’d have privacy.”
Mandy’s mouth worked, but no words escaped.
“Don’t be gegisch.” Ephraim shook his head as he walked to the sink. “We’ll all work together.”
“Ya!” Mandy joined Katie Ann at the counter. “It will be fun. What do we do first to start the filling?”
Katie Ann tried to smile, but her day was ruined. She’d looked forward to baking with Mandy, but instead, she’d wound up serving as their chaperone. Would she ever get her best friend back?
“Would you like a kichli?” Katie Ann held up a tray of cinnamon swirl cookies as she stepped into Emma’s kitchen the following afternoon.
“Look at those!” Emma gasped as she reached for one. “Did you make them?”
“Ya.” Katie Ann shook her head. “Well, more accurately, Mandy, Ephraim, and I made them.”
Emma held up the cookie. “How fun.”
Katie Ann swallowed a sarcastic snort.
Emma took a bite and then groaned as she closed her eyes. “Katie Ann, these are appeditlich. You all did a great job.”
“Danki.” She set the tray on the counter and then crossed her arms over her chest. Yesterday’s events filtered through her mind. She’d felt like an intruder as Mandy and Ephraim laughed and flirted while they made the cookies. She found herself regretting inviting Mandy over for a “fun day” together. It wasn’t fun for anyone but Mandy and Ephraim.
“Was iss letz?”
Katie Ann looked up at Emma’s kind eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Something is always wrong if appeditlich kichlin are in the room and you’re not smiling.” Emma pointed to the kitchen table. “Let’s sit. Tell me what’s upsetting you.”
Katie Ann sat down as Emma placed the tray of cookies in the center of the table and then sat down across from her.
“What’s on your mind?” Emma lifted another cookie from the tray as she put the rest of the first cookie in her mouth.
Katie Ann ran her fingers over the table as she contemplated her words. “When I invited Mandy over yesterday, I thought we could bake together and that it would be like old times. We used to bake for hours, and we’d talk about everything from the buwe we liked to our favorite books. But now it seems like we can’t spend time together unless we include mei bruder. I want to have time with her, too, you know? I feel like I’m not gut enough to be with her now. She’d rather be with Ephraim than me, and it hurts. I just miss how things used to be.” She longed to erase the whine in her voice, but her frustration was real.
Emma reached across the table and touched Katie Ann’s hand. “I understand you miss Mandy, but you haven’t lost her. Your relationship has changed, but you still have her as your freind. I know she still cares about you.”
Katie Ann nodded as her suddenly tight throat trapped her words. Why was she so emotional?
“You’ve known her since you were seven years old, and that’s a special friendship. Mandy wouldn’t just give that up. Relationships change. That’s just part of growing up. But you’ll always have Mandy in your life. I told you about mei freind Sally. She and I have known each other since first grade, just like you and Mandy. Our friendship has changed over the years, but we’re still close.”
Emma pointed toward the window. “If she left me a message on my voice mail today, I’d call her back, and we’d pick up where we left off during our previous conversation. She’s still my best freind after all these years.”
Katie Ann nodded, but doubt filled her mind. How could she and Mandy remain close if Mandy never wanted to really talk to her? It just didn’t make sense. She needed to change the subject before it broke her heart.
“I saw a lot of young people working outside when I came in.” Katie Ann forced her lips into a smile. “It looks like the planting is just about done.”
“Ya.” Emma took a napkin from the holder in the center of the table and began to mop up the crumbs from the cookies she’d eaten. “We’ve had a lot of help. I think word about this project has spread throughout the community.”
“What a blessing.” Katie Ann’s thoughts turned to Emma’s late husband. “What would Henry say if he were here to see it?”
Emma’s eyes glistened in the sunshine pouring through her kitchen windows. “He would be honored, just like I am.”
As if on cue, Hank hopped up on the chair beside Emma and rubbed his head against her arm.
“Ach.” Emma smiled down at him and scratched his ear. “You always know when I need a hug, don’t you, Hank?”
Katie Ann laughed as the cat continued to rub Emma’s arm.
“Katie Ann,” Clara announced as she walked into the kitchen from the mudroom, “I didn’t see you arrive. How long have you been hiding in the kitchen?”
Katie Ann shrugged as she looked at Emma. “I don’t know. Maybe twenty minutes?”
“Oh! Did you make these?”
“Ya. Have one.”
Clara reached for a cookie, took a bite, and then moaned. “Oh. So gut!”
“I’m glad you like them.” Katie Ann pointed toward the back of the house. “I was just telling Emma I was surprised to see all the help we have.”
“Ya. I told one of my cousins, and she invited her whole youth group to come. The planting is almost done. We’re going to start watering now.” Clara finished eating the cookie. “You should take a few of these out to the barn. I bet Wayne and Chris would love them.”
“Chris is here?” Warmth filled Katie Ann’s chest as her pulse kicked up.
“Ya. He and Wayne are building the stand out in the barn.” Clara pointed to the tray. “You need to sell these at the stand.”
Katie Ann stood. “Let’s take this tray of cookies to the barn.”
Chris hammered another nail into a piece of wood while Wayne cut another piece with a saw. They must have been working for more than an hour now, and he found himself repeatedly checking the doorway to see if Katie Ann had arrived to work in the garden today too. Earlier he’d asked Clara if she’d seen Katie Ann, and Clara told him she wasn’t certain if Katie Ann had planned to come to Emma’s today. His happy mood deflated like a balloon when he heard that. He’d made plans to start building the stand today, but he’d also hoped to spend some time with Katie Ann.
He couldn’t seem to get her off his mind. Her pretty smile had floated in the back of his thoughts since he’d talked to her on Tuesday. Had she thought of him too?
“This is coming together really well,” Wayne said. “I think the maed will be froh with it.”
“I hope so,” Chris said. Who was he kidding? He wanted to impress only one maedel—
“Do you need a snack?”
Chris pushed his sweaty hair off his brow and turned toward the barn doors. His heartbeat quickened when he found Katie Ann smiling at him, holding a tray of cookies. Was he dreaming? Clara stood beside her, holding up two bottles of water.
“That sounds perfect.” Wayne set the saw on the ground and walked over to the two young women. “Wow. What kind of kichlin are those?”
“Cinnamon swirl.” Katie Ann kept her eyes focused on Chris as she spoke. “I made them yesterday. I hope you like them.”
Chris set down his hammer and started toward her. “They sound amazing.”
Katie Ann lifted her chin as if proud of her creation. She was adorable.
“Uh-uh,” Clara said as Wayne reached for a cookie. “Wait a minute, Wayne.” She held the bottles in one hand and pulled a small bottle of hand cleaner from the pocket of her apron. “Clean those hands first.”
Wayne sighed, followed her instructions, and then took a cookie.
Chris followed suit and cleaned his hands before approaching Katie Ann. “Danki.” He took a cookie from the tray. “These look and smell appeditlich.”
“Fantastic.” He shook his head as he leaned back on the barn wall. “You made these?”
She nodded. “Mei bruder and Mandy helped, so I can’t take all the credit.”
“I told her she should sell these at the stand.” Clara handed Chris a bottle of water.
“Danki.” Chris nodded. “I agree. These would sell out.”
Katie Ann’s gaze moved to their project. “How’s it going?”
He swallowed the last bite of his cookie and took another one. “Pretty well. We’ve only just started.”
Katie Ann walked around it, touching the pieces of wood he’d hammered together. “What will it look like?”
He held up the drawing he’d created Monday night. “It’s going to have eight shelves on the front and storage on the back. It will take us a couple of weeks to build, and then I’ll have to sand it and stain it.”
“It looks perfect. It will be nice and big, so we’ll have plenty of room.” She looked up at him. “It was kind of you to offer to help build it.”
“I’m froh to help. Mei dat donated the wood and supplies.” He popped the last of the second cookie into his mouth.
“Please tell him danki.” Katie Ann turned toward him and held up the tray. “Only two left.”
“I want one.” Wayne grabbed one cookie and Chris took the other. “You have to make these again,” Chris said.
Katie Ann laughed. “I will.”
“I’ll take the tray in.” Clara took it from her. “I want to see if Emma needs any help in the kitchen.” She headed out of the barn through its large doors.
“Is Ephraim coming today?” Wayne asked Katie Ann.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. He was working on a project with mei dat in one of the barns when I left to come over here.”
“Oh.” Wayne nodded.
Chris glanced at Wayne, and an idea gripped him. If he could find a reason to send Wayne out of the barn, then he could speak to Katie Ann alone. His looked at the tools and noted that the container of nails was almost empty.
“Wayne, would you please look in my buggy to see if I have more nails? I’m almost out.”
“Sure.” Wayne took a long drink of water as he headed out of the barn.
Chris held back a sigh of relief as he turned to Katie Ann. “How have you been?”
“Fine.” She sank down onto a hay bale. “How about you? Have you had a gut week?”
“Ya.” He sat down beside her.
“Did you finish staining those cabinets you were working on?”
“I did.” He smiled. She had remembered their discussion on Tuesday. “I stained them on Wednesday, and we installed them yesterday.”
“That’s great.” She seemed genuinely interested in what he shared. “Are you working on a new cabinet project now?”
“Ya, I am.” He recalled what she’d said earlier about her brother. If her brother hadn’t come today, would she need a ride home? If she accepted a ride from him, they’d have more time alone. The thought of taking her home in his buggy made his heart seem to trip over itself. “Did you bring your bruder’s horse and buggy today?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I got a ride from mei dat’s driver. I’m going to call him to come and get me when I’m ready to head home.”
“I have my horse and buggy here,” he said. “Would you accept a ride from me?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want you to go out of your way for me.” She waved off the offer.
“How far away do you live from here?”
“Just a couple of miles.”
“Do you live in Bird-in-Hand?”
She nodded.
“That’s not out of my way at all. I’d love to give you a ride home, if you’d like one.” He took a breath as he awaited her response, hoping he hadn’t come on too strong.
“I’d like that.”
“Great.” Chris could hardly wait to get to know Katie Ann better.
“Tell me about your family.” Katie Ann hugged her sweater against her chest as she sat beside Chris two hours later. After talking with him in the barn for a while, she had watered a few sections in the garden and then swept Emma’s porch before helping store the gardening tools in the barn.
When Chris had asked her if she was ready to go home, excitement hummed through her at the thought of riding with him in his buggy. She was thrilled to spend more time alone with him and get to know him better. She was certain she’d developed a crush on him, and she hoped he liked her too.
“Well, I’ve already told you mei bruder is married and lives about a mile away.” He gave her a sideways glance.
“What’s his fraa’s name?”
“Mary.”
“Do they have any kinner?”
“They will soon.”
Katie Ann clasped her hands. “They’re expecting?”
“Ya, their first.” He smiled, and his dimple came out to play as he guided the horse through an intersection.
“Your parents must be thrilled.”
“They are.” Chris nodded. “It’s all mei mamm talks about. She’s been sewing for months. I don’t think the boppli will need any clothes or blankets for at least a year.”
Katie Ann laughed. “That’s wunderbaar. How long have they been married?”
“Almost three years.” He kept his focus on the road ahead as he spoke. “They had hoped to start a family sooner, but God’s plan was different.”
“Oh.” Katie Ann fingered a button on her sweater.
“How about you?” he asked. “Tell me about your dat’s farm.”
“Well, there’s not much to tell. We have horses, cows, a couple of donkeys, chickens, and a few dogs. And kittens in the barn. I like to play with them.”
“It’s nice that your parents support your helping Emma.”
“Ya, I’m thankful they allow both Ephraim and me time to help her out. It all started on Christmas Eve. Emma was supposed to come for supper, and when she didn’t arrive, we were worried about her. Ephraim, Mandy, Wayne, and I went to check on her, and we wound up baking with her.”
“Wayne told me you were snowed in, and that you had to sleep in her schtupp.” He grinned, and she enjoyed how his handsome face lit up.
“Ya.” She chuckled. “That was unexpected. It’s rare that we have a blizzard here on Christmas.”
“That’s true.” He pointed to the street sign. “Do I turn here?”
“Ya.”
A comfortable silence fell over the buggy, and Katie Ann settled back against the seat. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so comfortable with a young man other than Ephraim.
“The garden looks great,” Chris finally said.
“Ya, it does. I’m so excited to see it come together. It seems like just yesterday we decided to plant it.” The idea of the garden had been hers, but Ephraim and Mandy had helped turn her dream into a reality. Katie Ann’s chest tightened as she recalled how much had changed since Christmas Eve, when Mandy and Ephraim had first seemed to show interest in each other, and the disappointment and frustration of the past four months.
She turned toward Chris, and the urge to share the feelings that had been troubling her heart for months overtook her.
He gave her another sideways glance. “Are you okay?”
“Ya.” She took a deep breath. “Are you close to your bruder?”
“Ya, I’d say we’re close.”
“Did your relationship change when he met Mary?”
Chris paused as if contemplating the question. “Ya, it did.”
“How?”
“Well, we didn’t talk as much as we used to, and he wasn’t around as much since he spent a lot of time with her and her family.” He looked over at her. “Why?”
“Ephraim started dating Mandy right after Christmas,” she began. “Mandy has been my best freind since we were kinner, and now she’s always
with Ephraim. I hardly ever see her now, and if she comes to see me, mei bruder is always there too. I always feel like I’m in the way.”
Chris nodded. “I remember how that felt when Arlan always had Mary with him.”
“How did you adjust to it?”
He shrugged. “I guess I just got used to it.” He smiled at her. “You’ll get used to it too.”
“Oh.” She bit back a frown. She’d hoped he’d offer her a solution that would solve all her problems, but she was thankful to get some of her troubles off her chest. She pointed to her driveway. “This is my farm.”
Disappointment wafted over her as Chris guided his horse up the long rock driveway that led to the two-story, white farmhouse that had always been her home.
When he halted the horse, he turned toward her. “I enjoyed our time together today.”
“I did too.” And I don’t want it to end. “Would you like to meet my family?”
His expression brightened. “Ya. That would be nice.”
Katie Ann climbed out of the buggy and led him up the path to the back porch. Inside, they stepped into the kitchen and found her mother taking baked chicken from the oven. Her father and brother already sat at the table.
“Katie Ann,” Mamm said. “You’re home.”
“Ya, Chris gave me a ride. Mamm and Dat, I’d like you to meet mei freind, Chris Lantz.” Katie Ann introduced Chris to her parents. “Chris, these are my parents, Marlin and Leona Blank.”
Dat stood and shook Chris’s hand. “Welcome to our home.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Chris said. He greeted her brother and then turned to her mother and shook her hand. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, danki.” Mamm smiled. “Would you like to join us for supper?”
“Oh no, but danki. Mei mamm is expecting me.” Chris turned to Katie Ann. “I hope to see you soon.”
“Ya.” Katie Ann smiled up at him. “Danki for the ride home.”
Chris said good-bye to her parents and Ephraim and then headed out to his waiting horse and buggy.
Katie Ann turned to her mother, who grinned at her. “May I, uh, help you set the table?”
