Seasons of an Amish Garden Read online

  She dismissed her questions and shrugged while continuing to rub the cat’s cheek. “He likes everyone.”

  The young man shook his head as a sheepish expression overtook his strong jaw. “No, he hissed at me when I tried to pet him.”

  Katie was surprised. “Really? He might need to get to know you before he’ll let you pet him.”

  “Maybe you can introduce me to him after the meeting.”

  “Okay.” But I’ll have to know your name first. Katie bit back a grin as she turned to the cat and rubbed his ear. As if he suddenly had become bored with the attention, Hank sauntered off toward Emma’s family room.

  Gathering up her notepad and pen, she sat up straight, opened her notebook, and prepared to take notes.

  “I’ve drawn a map of the garden,” Mandy continued, “and I have suggestions on what we can plant where.” She held up her diagram. “Carrots here, cucumbers here, corn over here, lettuce here, and melons over here.”

  Katie Ann glanced down at her notepad. Last night she’d spent two hours mapping out where she thought they should plant the vegetables and fruit. Beside the diagram, she’d listed some issues they needed to tackle, such as putting up fencing. She held her breath for a moment and stared at her notepad as Mandy continued reciting her plans.

  Suddenly, a wave of confidence overwhelmed her. She had to interject her thoughts. After all, this garden had been her idea. When she and her friends visited Emma on Christmas Eve, Emma talked about how much she missed her late husband. Together, they decided to plant the community garden to both keep Henry’s memory alive and help Emma navigate her grief. They would donate their crops to the Bird-in-Hand Shelter for the homeless.

  “I have a suggestion,” Katie Ann said.

  Mandy stopped speaking, and Katie Ann felt everyone’s gaze hone in on her. Her cheeks heated.

  “What is it?” Mandy asked.

  “We need to put some sort of fencing in. Otherwise our crops will be destroyed by animals, such as rabbits and deer.”

  “That’s a gut point,” the young man beside her said.

  “Oh.” Mandy’s eyes widened as she glanced at Ephraim. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “I can work on finding fencing,” Wayne offered.

  Clara rubbed her hands together. “I can’t wait to get started.”

  “Does this all sound gut to you, Emma?” Katie Ann turned to her friend, who stood at the kitchen counter, filling the cat’s food bowl while he walked in circles at her feet and rubbed at her shins.

  “Ya.” Emma set the bowl on the floor beside Hank’s water bowl. “Whatever you all want to do is fine with me.”

  “Great.” Ephraim grinned at Mandy.

  “I have another idea.” Katie Ann sat up a little taller. “We could have a stand down by the road to sell our vegetables and fruit. Here’s why: I found out we can’t donate food to the shelter, but we can sell what we have and then give the money to the shelter in memory of Henry. Emma, I remember you told us Henry always made a donation at Christmas.”

  “Really?” Mandy’s eyes were wide again. “I didn’t know shelters needed money instead of food donations.”

  “I was surprised, too, but I’m glad I asked. We can also use the stand to sell baked goods, such as pies and cookies. We’ll donate all the proceeds to the Bird-in-Hand Shelter. We’ll have to get our parents’ permission to use our own supplies for the first round of sales, and then we can use some of the money we make for supplies as well as any costs associated with keeping the grounds running.”

  “I can talk to our local grocery store owners about getting some baking supplies donated,” Clara said.

  “That would be fantastic.” Katie Ann wrote down the idea.

  “The bake stand sounds great.” Wayne pointed to the other young man. “Chris and I can build the stand, right, Chris?”

  “Ya. That’s no problem at all.” Chris leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his wide chest. “And I can get wood and supplies from mei dat’s cabinet shop.”

  Katie Ann turned toward him. So his name is Chris and his dat is a cabinetmaker.

  “Great!” Katie Ann wrote on her notepad. “That helps if the supplies are donated. Now we just have to buy the seeds for the vegetables.”

  “I can help with that too,” Clara said. “Mei onkel owns a nursery. I can get the seeds from him. He might even donate them.”

  “Fantastic. When do you think you can get them?” Katie Ann asked.

  Clara shrugged. “I can go to his store tomorrow.”

  “That means we can start planting Tuesday afternoon,” Ephraim said, chiming in. “I’ll bring our gardening tools. And I’ll see if I can get someone to plow the area. Our neighbor has a plow.” He pointed to Mandy’s notepad. “Write that down, okay?”

  “Wunderbaar.” Mandy wrote on her notepad and then tapped her pencil on the tabletop. “I think that’s all we had to discuss.” She turned to Ephraim. “Did I forget anything?”

  Ephraim tilted his head and looked up at the ceiling. “I think the only other issue was inviting other youth groups to help us. We decided the six of us would have our meetings with Emma on Sundays, like today, and workdays with a bigger group will be on both Tuesdays and Saturdays. Right?”

  “That’s right!” Mandy snapped her fingers. “I knew I was forgetting something. We need to invite the members of our youth group and then ask them to invite people they know.”

  “I brought my cousin.” Wayne gestured toward Chris. “Does that count?”

  Cousins! Katie Ann looked at both men. While they both had dark-brown hair, the similarities ended there. Wayne’s eyes were dark blue, and Chris’s reminded her of melted milk chocolate.

  “Ya, that counts, but we need more people to help with the planting and the harvest.” Ephraim tapped the table. “Let’s all plan to invite at least one person to join us at our next meeting.”

  “I will.” Clara held up her hand as if answering a question in school.

  “I don’t have any other freinden,” Wayne joked, and Chris chuckled.

  Katie Ann looked down at her notepad. She was thankful she’d made a list since Mandy hadn’t mentioned the fencing and hadn’t known about not being able to donate the food they were going to grow.

  “The meat loaf and potatoes are ready,” Emma announced. “Do you all want to eat now?”

  “Ya,” Ephraim said, and the rest of the group agreed. “Danki.”

  Mandy stood. “Emma, let me set the table.”

  “I’ll get the drinks.” Clara followed her to the cabinets.

  “I’ll help serve,” Katie Ann said as she pushed her pencil and notepad into her tote bag.

  “Katie Ann,” Chris said.

  “Ya?” She looked up at him.

  “I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself.” He held out his hand. “I’m Christian Lantz.”

  “Hi. I’m Katie Ann Blank. Ephraim is mei bruder.” She shook his hand, and when his skin touched hers, she felt a strange fluttering in her chest.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Chris smiled.

  “You too.” Katie Ann’s cheeks heated as she hurried to the counter and scooped pot holders from a drawer.

  “I’m so glad you got here okay,” Mandy said as she gathered a stack of dishes from the cabinet. “Ephraim and I were worried about you.”

  “What?” Katie Ann turned toward her. “Are you joking?”

  “Why would I joke?” Mandy blinked as she looked up at her. Although they were the same age, Katie Ann was nearly five inches taller than Mandy’s five-foot-two, petite stature.

  Katie Ann paused and glanced toward the table, where the three young men talked about plans for the bake stand. Did her brother truly not remember that he’d promised her a ride? If so, what did that say about their relationship? She and Ephraim had always been close. Did Katie Ann not matter in his life anymore now that he was dating Mandy?

  Mandy took a step toward her. “Why did you ask
me if I was joking?”

  Katie Ann turned back toward her friend. “Ephraim was supposed to pick me up on your way to Emma’s.”

  “We were?” Mandy’s forehead pinched.

  Katie Ann rested her hand on her hip. When had Mandy and Ephraim become a we? They weren’t married. They weren’t even engaged!

  “I discussed it with Ephraim after church,” Katie Ann continued. “He was supposed to drop by the haus and pick me up at four. When he wasn’t there by four thirty, I realized he had forgotten me.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean to.” Mandy touched Katie Ann’s arm. “We were visiting with my parents and mei schweschder, and we lost track of time. We didn’t leave mei haus until after four.”

  The excuse sounded so ridiculous that Katie Ann just turned back to the counter, picked up the pot holders, and lifted the meat loaf pan. “I’ll take this to the table.”

  Emma rushed ahead of her. “Let me put a trivet on the table for you.”

  Katie Ann delivered the meat loaf and side dishes to the table, and Clara poured glasses of water while Mandy set out plates and utensils. Then Katie Ann took a seat between Clara and Chris. Ephraim brought a folding chair from the utility room and squeezed in between Mandy and Emma.

  After a silent prayer, they filled their plates, and conversations popped up around the table. Katie Ann peeked at her brother and found Mandy whispering to him as his lips pressed into a thin line. Was she telling Ephraim he’d forgotten his sister?

  “Emma, you make the best barbecue meat loaf,” Clara said after swallowing a bite. “What’s your secret?”

  “It’s all in the barbecue sauce,” Emma responded before revealing the recipe.

  “How’s your family, Wayne?” Clara asked a minute later.

  Katie Ann stabbed a forkful of meat loaf. As she chewed, she pushed around the pile of green beans on her plate.

  “Do you like to cook and bake?”

  Katie Ann’s head whipped up, and she found Chris looking at her. “What?”

  His dark eyebrows lifted. “I asked if you liked to cook and bake.”

  “Oh.” Katie Ann nodded. “Ya, I do.”

  “Will you make pies and kichlin to sell at the stand?” he asked before taking a bite of meat loaf.

  “I will.” She studied his handsome face. Was he always this friendly with girls he’d just met? She ignored the question as the urge to know him better piqued her curiosity. “Are you a cabinetmaker like your dat?”

  “Ya, mei dat owns a shop, and mei bruder and I work there.” He buttered his baked potato.

  “Is your bruder older or younger?”

  “He’s three years older than I am. He’s married, and he and his fraa live just a mile away.” He finished buttering his potato and then offered her the butter.

  “Danki.” She began to butter her own potato.

  “I think the plans for the garden sound really gut,” Chris said.

  “I do too.” She tried to smile, but her disappointment in her brother continued to nip at her.

  “I can’t wait to see it when it’s harvesttime,” he added.

  “Ya,” she said, agreeing.

  They made small talk while they ate. When everyone had finished, they drank coffee and ate the cookies Katie Ann brought and the chocolate pie Clara brought.

  After dessert, the three young women helped Emma clean the kitchen, and the young men went outside to continue talking on the porch. Katie Ann kept her head down as she washed the dishes and set them in the drying rack. Mandy worked beside her, drying the dishes and setting them back in the cabinets, while Clara wiped down the table and swept the floor. No one said much.

  “Danki for supper, Emma,” Clara finally said when the kitchen was clean. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”

  “Gern gschehne,” Emma said. “Be safe going home.”

  Mandy looked at Katie Ann, and her expression clouded with what looked like concern. “Are you going outside now?”

  “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Mandy hesitated and then nodded. “All right. Gut nacht, Emma. Danki for supper.”

  “Gern gschehne.” Emma gave her a little wave before Mandy disappeared through the mudroom. Emma turned to Katie Ann. “Was iss letz? Why didn’t you walk out with Mandy?”

  “Nothing is wrong.” Katie Ann busied herself by folding the damp dish towels. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t left with a mess.”

  “Katie Ann.” Emma touched her shoulder. “I’ve gotten to know you very well during the past few months, and I can tell when something is bothering you. I don’t mean to pry, but you can always talk to me.”

  “I know.” Katie Ann bit her lower lip as she debated how much to share. “I’m just upset because mei bruder forgot to pick me up today. He and Mandy visited with her family after church, and they were supposed to get me on the way here. That’s why I was late. When Ephraim didn’t show up, I had to ask mei dat if I could use his horse and buggy.”

  “I’m sure it was an honest mistake.”

  “It’s not just that.” Katie Ann could hear her voice thicken. “Everything is different now that he’s dating Mandy. I’m invisible when they’re together. I feel like I’m losing mei bruder and my best freind.”

  “They don’t mean to ignore you.” Emma smiled. “They’re just all wrapped up in each other right now. The relationship is new, and they’re getting to know each other. I’m certain Ephraim would never want to hurt you.”

  Katie Ann looked down at the worn tan linoleum as doubt swirled through her mind.

  “You should just talk to Ephraim alone and tell him that he hurt your feelings. Then he’ll apologize, and everything will be fine.”

  Katie Ann forced a smile as she looked at Emma. “Okay. I will.”

  “Gut.” Emma gave her a quick hug. “You get on home now before your parents start to worry. I’ll see you Tuesday.”

  “Okay.” Katie Ann thanked Emma for supper, and then she shoved her cookie plate into her tote bag and retrieved her sweater from the mudroom. She walked outside and shivered as she made her way down the porch steps.

  Her feet slowed when she spotted Ephraim and Chris standing in front of what she assumed were Chris’s horse and buggy. Chris laughed, and his laughter was loud and boisterous, causing her brother to join in. She was intrigued by Chris’s contagious laugh, and for a brief moment, it brightened her dark mood. But when Ephraim and Chris looked at her, she nodded, frowning, and kept walking.

  “I’ll see you at home,” Ephraim said.

  “Bye, Katie Ann!” Mandy called from inside Ephraim’s buggy.

  Katie Ann gave her a halfhearted wave before untying her father’s horse and climbing into his buggy.

  As she grabbed the reins, she looked at the two men one last time. When Chris gave her a big smile, her pulse galloped. Why did a man she barely knew cause her heart to react that way? Something had to be wrong with her.

  A knock drew Katie Ann’s attention to her bedroom door later that evening. She looked up from the Christian novel she’d been reading on her bed. “Come in.”

  She felt her lips press together in a scowl as her brother entered.

  “Can we talk?” Ephraim’s tall stature filled her doorway.

  “Ya.” She closed the book and set it on her nightstand as her stomach clenched. “What do you want?”

  He stopped at the footboard of her double bed. “Mandy told me you were upset because I didn’t pick you up on our way to Emma’s today.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I completely forgot I was supposed to give you a ride.”

  Katie Ann sat forward as her temper flared. “How can you say that? We talked about it after church, when I said good-bye to you before I went home with Mamm and Dat. I asked you if you’d stop by the haus and get me, and you said yes.”

  He gave her a palms up. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”

  “So you weren’t listening to me.” A heaviness settled in the center of her chest.

 
Ephraim swiped his hand down his face. “I don’t know, but I’m sorry, okay?”

  She studied him as a thought occurred to her. “When did Mandy tell you I was upset?”

  “While we were eating at Emma’s haus. Why?”

  “So you’ve known for three hours, and you’re just now apologizing?”

  “I wanted to earlier, but you were talking with Mamm. I thought I should wait until we were alone.”

  Katie Ann leaned back on her headboard as she continued to study her brother. He’d waited three hours to apologize to her. Did that prove how insignificant she now was in his life? The question sent hurt and anger swirling through her.

  “Look, I made a mistake.” He tapped her footboard. “Will you forgive me?”

  “You’ve never forgotten me before. I feel like I’m invisible when you’re with Mandy.”

  He blew out a puff of air. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. Mandy is important to me, but you’ll always be mei schweschder.”

  “Do you love her?”

  A smile turned up his lips and spread across his face. “Ya. Ya, I do.” He jammed his thumb toward the doorway. “I need to take a shower. Gut nacht.”

  As Ephraim disappeared into the hall, Katie Ann reeled at the information her brother had just shared. He was in love with Mandy. He was in love with her best friend!

  Katie Ann wanted to be happy for him, and she knew she should be happy for him. But instead, her heart seemed to break a fraction. Nothing would ever be the same. And she missed the way things used to be.

  CHAPTER 2

  Chris glanced at the clock on the wall in his father’s shop as he wiped his hands with a red shop rag. He smiled as his plans clicked into place in his mind. It was almost three, the time he’d hoped to leave so he could meet up with Wayne and head to Emma Bontrager’s house for their first Tuesday meeting. He’d finished all his tasks in record time today. Now he just had to convince his father to allow him to leave early.

  The familiar sweet scent of wood and stain filled his nostrils as he crossed the shop lined with workbenches, all cluttered with an array of tools. The soft yellow light from lanterns perched around the large former barn illuminated the shop. A pile of wood sat beside cabinets in various stages of development that were perched on the benches in the corner.