Courting Cate (26 page)

“Jah.” And then he said the same thing, word for word, he had before, but this time in an even stronger voice. “‘Where two raging fires meet together, they do consume the thing that feeds their fury.’”

“What’s that from?”

“Shakespeare.” He smiled. Not a sarcastic smile. Or an ironic one. This one was pure pleasure.

“Really?”

He nodded. Now he was grinning.

“And we’re the two fires? Consuming what feeds our fury?”

“Jah. Us and God.” He took my hand again. “Have you read any Shakespeare?” he asked, pulling me along toward the Dawdi Haus.

I shook my head.

“You should. I think you’d like it.” He smiled again as he opened the door.

Candles, like a thousand stars and the sun and moon combined, twinkled around the room. He must have found Betsy’s stash of tea lights and, I suspected, had Dat’s help in lighting them.

Too shocked to speak, I simply followed him inside.

He pulled me down onto the couch beside him. “I never stopped knowing you were the right one for me.”

“You stopped acting like it.”

“You wouldn’t listen.”

“I was hurt.”

He smiled again. “That’s why I used reverse psychology—to win you back.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to kick him or hug him. But in another second I couldn’t help but grin back at him. “I’ve read about that,” I said.

“Jah, me too,” he answered playfully.

The candles flickered all around, bouncing both light and shadows off the ceiling. “What made you decide to do all this?” I spread my arms wide, gesturing around the room.

“You seeking me out this morning. Listening to those vows again. Overhearing what you said to Betsy in the barn.”

“Sure, that was a giveaway.”

He agreed. “Jah, but that was when I knew for sure you loved me.”

Then he said he wanted us to make a life together—a marriage, a business, a family. A place of our own, full of books. “A
home,
Cate.” He squeezed my hand. “We’ll live here in Lancaster,” he said. “At your Dat’s.” Pete’s eyes shone as brightly as the flames around us. “Unless you want to return to New York.”

I quickly shook my head.

He took my other hand and held them both together in the same manner the bishop had on our wedding day. But instead of saying,
“Go forth in the name of the Lord, you are now man and wife,”
he said, “Kiss me, Cate.”

“I thought we were being serious,” I answered.

“We are.”

I leaned toward my husband then, our lips meeting, and then our mouths, our hands still clasped as we kissed. It was tender at first, but then grew in passion as Pete embraced me.

When I finally pulled away, he whispered, “My Sweet Cate.” And for once, I was.

We stood then, and he led me down the hall, past the empty room where he’d been sleeping. When we reached the master suite he scooped me into his arms and carried me inside.

With a gentle kick, I shut the door behind us.

Many thanks to my husband, Peter, for his endless encouragement of my writing, and to our children, Kaleb, Taylor, Hana, and Thao, for their ongoing support—especially when I’m on deadline.

Thank you also to Laurie Snyder, Tina Bustamante, and Libby Salter for reading the manuscript in its early stages, and to my critique group members, Melanie Dobson, Nicole Miller, Kelly Chang, and Dawn Shipman for your invaluable feedback.

I’m very grateful to the entire crew at Bethany House Publishers, with a special shout-out to David Long and Karen Schurrer. It has been a delight to work with all of you. I’m also grateful to Mindy Starns Clark for all she’s taught me about writing and about the Amish, and to Susan May Warren for her help in shaping this story. A special thank you to my agent, Chip MacGregor, for believing in this novel when it was nothing more than a wild idea.

Thank you also to Lynn Ferber and Alan Rosenfeld for providing a much-needed writer’s retreat for me in the middle of this project. The timing was perfect.

I gratefully acknowledge the many authors whose books about the Amish I’ve read, the Mennonite Information Center in Lancaster County, and the Plain people who have shared their stories with me during my research trips and answered my questions since. Any mistakes in this novel are mine alone.

Professor Tony Wolk deserves a special acknowledgment for encouraging me, and so many others, to allow Shakespeare to be a creative inspiration. It was in Tony’s class at Portland State University, during my MFA program, that the seeds of this story were planted.

As a preschooler I remember listening with my mother, Leora Houston Egger, to recordings of Shakespeare’s plays, and I saw my first performance of
The Taming of the Shrew
as an elementary school student. Although I am by no means a Shakespearean scholar, I’ve loved his stories for nearly my entire life. The older I get, the more I am amazed by his understanding of human nature and the genius of his writing. I am humbled to have borrowed from his work.

It was also my mother who first shared God’s stories of salvation and redemption with me, stories that have shaped my life. I am forever grateful for her influence—and for God’s constant direction, inspiration, and blessings.

Leslie Gould
is the coauthor, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 CBA bestseller
The Amish Midwife,
a 2012 Christy Award winner,
The Amish Nanny
, and
The Amish Bride
. She is also the author of numerous other novels, including
Garden of Dreams
,
Beyond the Blue
(winner of the
Romantic Times
Reviewers’ Choice for Best Inspirational Novel, 2006), and
Scrap Everything
. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and has taught fiction writing at Multnomah University as an adjunct professor. She and her husband and four children live in Portland, Oregon.

Learn more about Leslie at
www.lesliegould.com
.

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bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook

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