Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [34]
“She tell you that?”
“Yep.”
“Lately?”
“No but—”
“You just saw it in her wild eyes? Or maybe you caught that from her sweet talk?”
Lil chuckled. “She’s intense, all right.”
After their call ended, Jake stuffed his phone in his pocket, stood up, and pulled up his mask. Lil was right. He had to allow Katy the right to voice her anger. He’d just cling to the hope that her anger was evidence that she wasn’t dead to him, that their love could be revived. Picking up the sledgehammer, he looked at the demolition he’d accomplished, feeling satisfaction that he was making good time.
He lifted the hammer, and another chunk of plaster met its demise.
CHAPTER 8
Saturday morning, Katy submerged chapped hands in soapy dishwater and looked through a frost-webbed window. Between snowballs and horseplay, her little brothers hand-shoveled the sidewalk, while nearby her dad steered the snowplow through fresh snow.
Was the doddy house blanketed in snow, too? Or had Ivan cleared the drive so that Jake could work? Maybe he didn’t work Saturdays. She tried to pull her thoughts away from Jake Byler, but once again they stubbornly fixed upon their unexpected meeting. Every time she went over it, she felt coerced, boxed in, and smothered, clawing to strike out at him and Lil. Katy smiled wryly, remembering how she’d vetoed the patterned dinnerware for plain white plates, just for the sake of defiance. And for once, Lil had backed down. Would they survive as roommates without Megan living with them to keep the peace?
In spite of Jake’s return and Lil’s manipulations, Katy felt a sense of accomplishment and personal freedom over her anticipated move into the doddy house. She might be trapped in a nanny job she didn’t want and forced to accept Jake’s return to the community, but she was moving into a new season of life where she could find her own niche in the community. She’d be washing her own dishes from now on, not her folks'. She’d be living out her faith, not theirs.
She dried her hands on her apron and startled. Then pressing her face to the window for a closer look, she watched a familiar automobile turn into the newly cleared lane. The shiny black car that braked next to the snowplow could only belong to one person. At that instant, she was glad she prayed over the little paper she kept in her Bible—the one where forbidden marred Jake’s name. The husband qualities below it reminded her of David. His smiling face was just what she needed.
Slathering on some lotion, she ran to a hall mirror and checked her hair, straightening her head covering. Then she answered the door. “Hey, you’re out and about early.”
“Dad sent me out to run errands. I ended up trapped behind a snowplow and thought I’d stop in to stall.”
Backing up, she held open the door. “Come in. I’ll make coffee.”
He glanced down at his snowy boots. “Actually, I can’t stay that long. But I wondered if you’d like to go on a sleigh ride tonight?”
Feeling a trickle of mounting excitement, not only because of the time she would spend with David, but also because she’d never gone on a sleigh ride before, Katy nodded. “Sure. That sounds fun.”
He brushed back a stray strand of hair and displayed his dimple. He hadn’t shaved, and she liked the rugged look. Usually, he looked so perfect, but this natural side of him brought out his masculinity.
“Great. I’ll be over about seven. Dress warm. And wear that scarf that makes you so stunning.”
Involuntarily, her hand fluttered at her waist searching for her apron pockets, but she’d removed it earlier. “Aren’t you sweet?”
A golden glint danced in his eyes. He straightened and rolled his shoulders so that his chest swelled and his coat brushed his chin, drawing her attention back to his intriguing hint of a beard. “We’ll see how long I