Katie's Journey to Love Read Free

possibly have gone out to the barn with Jesse and his boys out there. That would have raised eyebrows. And barging back into the kitchen would have raised questions with Mabel she didn’t wish to answer. Yah , I’m feeling hurt, Katie admitted. But I’m trying hard to do my part in this family, which included not provoking Mabel.
    Only moments ago she’d heard Jesse and his boys come in from their chores and bang around in the washroom as they cleaned up. No one had called her, but how could they since even Mamm didn’t know where she’d gone. Katie was content to let it appear to Mabel and the others that she’d overslept.
    Mamm ’s face showed relief when Katie walked into the kitchen.
    â€œ Gut morning,” Mabel said, all smiles.
    â€œ Gut morning,” Katie replied.
    Mabel was carrying a plate of eggs to the table, and she’d obviously been frying bacon. Mabel looked quite pleased, so Mamm ’s decision about the morning routine must have had the desired effect. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Katie asked.
    â€œI think we’re almost done,” Mabel said, managing a smile. “Maybe you can set the last of the table. Daett and the boys are almost inside.”
    I know that , Katie wanted to say. Their loud chatter in the washroom was obvious. Mabel was treating her like a small child, offering her the lowest of tasks, one worthy of her youngest sister, Carolyn—not a soon-to-be-twenty young woman. But Katie kept smiling as she took the dishes to the table, thinking how much worse things could be this morning. Mabel’s red-faced outbursts before the wedding had been common occurrences. Even for a sixteen-year-old she hadn’t been afraid to make a spectacle of herself once her daett had chosen Mamm over the children’s choice of teacher Ruth Troyer.
    The washroom door burst open, and Mabel’s two oldest brothers, Leroy and Willis, spilled in. They were soon followed by Jesse. Leroy and Willis stopped short at the sight of Katie and Mamm , as if they hadn’t been expecting them. Yah , this would definitely take some getting used to by everybody.
    â€œ Gut morning to everyone!” Jesse exclaimed over the silence of his sons. “What a sight for sore eyes you women are. Isn’t this wonderful? I can’t say how blessed we are that Emma and Katie have come to live with us. Have a seat boys, and stop staring like you’ve never seen women before.”
    Leroy and Willis grunted and took their seats on the back bench. The two boys hadn’t been staring at Mamm , Katie thought. They’d been staring at her. It was the shock, no doubt, of seeing strange Emma Raber’s daughter in their house.
    Katie smiled as she stood by the table, her hands clasped in front of her. She wasn’t quite sure where she was supposed to sit. When no one said anything, she took a chair beside the one she assumed her mamm would sit in.
    â€œWhere are Carolyn and Joel?” Jesse asked, taking his seat at the front of the table.
    â€œI’ll call them!” Mabel jumped up to rush to the bottom of the stairs. She hollered up, “Carolyn, Joel!”
    When there was only silence, Mabel took off up the stairs.
    â€œHow’s Mabel doing?” Jesse asked Mamm when his daughter’s footsteps had faded.
    â€œOkay,” Mamm said, taking the seat beside Jesse. She reached over and touched his arm.
    Across the table, Leroy quickly stared up at the ceiling. A smile crept across Willis’s face.
    Mamm noticed and turned bright red as she pulled her hand away from Jesse’s arm.
    Jesse, taking it all in, laughed and took Emma’s hand in his.
    â€œNow, boys, this is your new mamm ,” Jesse said, his eyes twinkling. “Get used to it.”
    There was no doubt that Jesse was working to make Mamm feel comfortable. Katie allowed a smile to creep over her face.
    Soon Mamm joined in the shared laughter. She