Letters to Katie (3 page)

When he left to find Laura Stutzman two months ago, he swore he’d return. But he hadn’t.
She wasn’t sure he ever would.

“Señora?”
Manuela repeated. “
Por favor
. Did you hear me?”

“Sorry. Lost in my thoughts, I suppose.”

“Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine.” But it couldn’t be further from the truth. She walked away from
the window. “I need a glass of sparkling water.”

“
Sí
. Anything else?”

“No, just the water. Bring it to my bedroom.”

Manuela nodded and disappeared from the room. Cora made her way to her spacious bedroom.
She sat on the edge of her bed, the silk comforter rustling from the movement. She
picked up the landline phone on the mahogany end table. Dialed a familiar number.
Tensed when she heard the voice mail.

“This is Sawyer. Leave a message.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but words failed. She couldn’t tell her grandson about
her diagnosis. Not like this. She’d have to find another way. But she had no idea
how.

C
HAPTER
2

The next morning was a busy one at Mary Yoder’s. Katherine had served four tables
nonstop. It was nearly lunchtime before she got a moment to catch her breath, and
then another customer showed up in her section—an Amish man. He looked to be about
her age, but she didn’t recognize him. She ran a hand across her brow, took her pad
out of her apron pocket, and went to the table.

“Wie gehts,”
she said. “What can I get you to drink?”

He looked up from the menu. When he met Katherine’s gaze, he grinned. A small dimple
dented his lower right cheek. “What do you recommend?”

“We have iced tea, lemonade, water, soda pop.”

“Hmm.” He kept looking at Katherine. “Iced tea sounds
gut
.”

“I’ll have it right out for you.”

“Thank you.” He lifted an eyebrow and looked at her name tag. “Katherine.”

She nodded and headed for the beverage station. Chrystal, a Yankee waitress, came
up beside her. “Do you know that guy?”

Katherine glanced over her shoulder. Instead of looking at his menu, he seemed to
be focused on her. Or maybe he was noticing Chrystal, with her tall, slender figure
and long black hair. “No. I’ve never seen him before.”

“Me either. But he sure seems interested in you.”

Katherine shrugged, her cheeks heating at the thought. “I doubt that.”

“I don’t.” Chrystal started to walk away. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since
he walked in.”

Katherine shook her head. “You’re imagining things.”

She picked up the tea and took it to him. “What else can I get you?”

“I don’t rightly know.” He pointed to the menu but continued to look at her. “I’ve
never been here before. I’m new in town.”

“That’s nice.” She kept her pencil poised above her pad.

“Name’s Isaac. From Walnut Creek. I’m staying with a cousin of mine, helping him with
his logging business. This is my first day in Middlefield.”

Katherine nodded. “Your order?”

Still he didn’t answer. Instead he kept staring at her, smiling. He had kind blue
eyes and sandy-blond hair. She had to admit he was handsome.

“Why don’t you surprise me?” he said.

“What?”

“Surprise me,” he repeated. “You decide what I’m going to have.” He leaned back in
the chair.

“That would be hard, considering we don’t know each other.”

His grin widened. “Maybe someday we can change that.”

Katherine froze and stared at him, then mechanically wrote down an entrée. “Our fried
chicken is
gut
.”

“Fried chicken it is.”

She made her way back to the kitchen. Chrystal leaned against the door frame and winked.
“Told ya. Never seen someone flirt so hard in my life.”

“I don’t understand.”

Chrystal chuckled and patted Katherine on the arm. “Sweetie, if that guy has his way,
you will.”

“Are you sure about this?” Laura asked.

Sawyer Thompson reached for her hand as they sat in well-worn rockers on Adam and
Emma Otto’s front porch. “Like I said before, I’m more sure of this than anything.”

“Anything?” Laura smiled.

Sawyer stared at her in the dimming evening light. He could see the outlines of the
thin scars on her face, damage Mark King had caused. But they didn’t detract from
her beauty. Now that Mark was in jail and Laura had let go of her revenge, peace enhanced
her loveliness, making her more attractive to him than ever before.

But she wasn’t referring to their relationship. They were discussing something far
more important. “Laura, I want to join the church. And I want to marry you. But like
I told everyone else, my faith is the most important thing. Becoming Amish is what
I want above all.”

Laura smiled wider. “As it should be.” She rubbed her soft fingers against his rough
ones, his skin callused from working for so many years in his adoptive father’s carpentry
shop. They remained silent for a few moments, enjoying the quiet of the evening and
the loving security of that simple touch.

She broke the silence first. “Have you spoken to your grandmother lately?”

“Have you talked to your parents?” He wanted to bite back the words, but he’d already
put them out there.

As he expected, Laura’s smile dimmed. She tried to pull away, but Sawyer wouldn’t
let go. “Laura, I know why I’m avoiding Cora. We both do. What I don’t understand
is why you’re avoiding your parents.”

“I’m not. I’ve written to them.”

“It’s been three months since they’ve seen you. I’m sure they miss you.”

“I’m not ready to go back yet.” She looked out into the yard. “Tennessee doesn’t feel
like home anymore. I don’t know how to explain that to them.”

“You’ll figure out a way.”

“I hope so. I’ve let them down so much.”

Sawyer knelt down in front of her. “No more regrets, remember? No more punishing yourself.”

“I know, but I’ve made so many mistakes. And I still need to pay Cora back—”

He put his finger on her lips. What he wouldn’t do to sneak a kiss, even a small one
. . .

But he stopped himself. For one thing, he respected Emma
and Adam too much. Laura had become like a member of their family. Adam had admitted
as much to him the other day. “Emma likes having her around,” he’d said. “So does
Leona. Laura is like the
schweschder
I never had.”

More importantly, he respected the Amish way. He might not be Amish yet, but Sawyer
had grown up in an Amish home during his teen years, and he understood their courting
customs. The chaste attitude toward each other. No public displays of affection.

He not only respected it, he appreciated it. Outward expressions of emotion in front
of others had never been his thing, even when he attended a Yankee high school, where
it seemed there were couples holding hands—and trying to do more—everywhere he looked.

Some things were meant to be private.

Still, that didn’t keep him from
wanting
to kiss her.

“Sawyer?” Laura said against his fingertip.

He moved his hand away. “What?”

“You’re staring.”

“Don’t I have the right to stare at my future bride?”

She blushed and smiled at him. “I can’t believe how blessed I am.”

He looked at her for a few more moments, feeling equally blessed. Finally he pulled
his gaze away and stood up, sighing. “It’s getting late. I better get back home.”

“Is that your way of not answering my question?”

“What question?”

“Have you talked to your grandmother?”

Sawyer turned away from her. “Not lately. I know she wants me to come back to New
York.”

The last conversation he’d had with his maternal grandmother, Cora Easley, hadn’t
gone well. He’d been in New York, in her huge penthouse apartment. She had tried to
stop him from leaving to find Laura, who had gone to track down Mark King and exact
vengeance upon him.

At the time, Sawyer had promised Cora he would return. Yet he’d done little more than
answer her phone calls. Within a few months he would be baptized in the church. After
that he wouldn’t have access to a cell, or the ease of traveling like he did now.
He’d sold his truck and was adding that money to a down payment on a house for the
both of them. He had his life planned out. That didn’t include his rich grandmother,
who wanted to bequeath him her business interests. Business he had no interest in.

“Does she know you’re getting baptized?”

“She wouldn’t understand.”

“Then you should explain it to her.” Laura moved to stand in front of him. “You can’t
pretend she doesn’t exist.”

“But she can’t be part of my life either. Not the way she wants to.” He sighed. “I
know. I need to see her. I made a promise.”

“And you’re always faithful to your word.”

“Tell you what. I’ll visit Cora if you’ll go back to Tennessee and see your parents.
You can let them know about the wedding.”

“But we haven’t set a date yet.”

He looked around and, despite himself, kissed her cheek. “How does November sound?”

Laura smiled. “Sounds
perfekt
. All right, I’ll visit them in a
week or so. I promise.” But her smile faded as she said the words.

He took her hand. “I’ll be praying for you.”

“
Danki
. I’m going to need it.”

Sawyer thought about his impending visit to Cora. He would need a few prayers too.

“So?” Johnny turned to his
daed
. “What do you think?”

His father tilted back his straw hat but said nothing. His salt-and-pepper beard lifted
in the slight summer breeze. He took a step forward. Still he remained silent.

“I know it needs work.”

Daed
nodded and walked around the property, making his way through knee-high grass. Johnny
trailed after him. When they reached the backyard,
Daed
stopped. “I didn’t realize you were in such a hurry to leave us.”

“I’m only ten minutes down the road.”

“
Ya
. But this purchase—it’s sudden. Very sudden.”