Seeds of Deception: A Kate Burkholder Short Story Read Free Page A

hair that had been pulled from her kapp . That the kapp itself was askew. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips devoid of the lipstick she’d put on minutes before going into the barn.
    “What happened?” Katie asked.
    “Nothing happened, silly.”
    “But I saw Billy,” she blurted. “He had a scratch on his face. He looked … upset.”
    Mattie huffed. “Billy Marquart is dumber than a chicken.” Brushing hay from her dress, she headed for their wagons. “Looks like you’ve been busy.”
    Katie wasn’t ready to let it go. “How did he get that scratch?”
    “Probably ran into a tree.”
    “Mattie, you were in the barn for fifteen minutes. What were you doing? Why was he so angry? Did you argue?”
    “ Er harricht gut, awwer er foligt schlecht. ” He hears well, but obeys poorly. “So I put him in his place.
    Katie paused. “What did he do?”
    “If you must know…” Mattie swung around to face her. “He tried to kiss me.”
    All Katie could do was put her hand over her mouth.
    Mattie laughed. “Don’t worry,” she added. “I sent him packing.”
    “You’re sure you’re okay?”
    A slow smile spread across Mattie’s face, telling Katie she was not only unfazed by what had happened, but she’d enjoyed it. “Has anyone ever told you that you worry too much?” Mattie asked.
    “Yeah,” Katie muttered. “Me.”
    Elbowing her good-naturedly, Mattie motioned toward the wagons. “Come on. Let’s go work down at the other end with Jacob.”
    “We’ve got plenty of apples to pick here,” Katie returned.
    “I want to say hello to him.” Scooping up the wagon’s handle, Mattie started toward the opposite end of the orchard. “Are you coming?”
    Grumbling beneath her breath, Katie followed, but she was only mildly annoyed. Mostly, she was glad Mattie was all right—and Billy Marquart was gone.
    Neither girl spoke as they made their way down the row of apple trees, the wagons bumping over tufts of grass and uneven ground.
    They’d only gone a few yards when Katie caught a whiff of something burning. “I think you smell like smoke,” she whispered.
    Frowning, Mattie looked down at her clothes. “Do you have any perfume or hand lotion?”
    “Did you really just ask me that?”
    They’d nearly reached the end of the row when Katie spotted Jacob through the trees. A look at his baskets told her he’d already filled three—to her one.
    “We’d best get picking,” she said.
    The girls set to work, barely speaking now to make up for their lack of productivity. Katie was still pondering the scratch on Billy Marquart’s face and Mattie’s nonchalant attitude about what had happened in the barn. She loved Mattie, but there were times when she didn’t like her ways, especially when it came to boys. Mattie had known from the get-go that Billy was trouble, and yet she’d willingly gone into the barn with him. Worse, Katie didn’t think she was telling the whole story about what had happened. But what could she do?
    She’d just twisted an apple from a branch when she caught another whiff of smoke. Not cigarette smoke, but something stronger carried on the breeze.
    “Do you smell that?” Katie asked.
    Pausing, Mattie sniffed. “I bet someone is burning trash or brush.”
    The wind was from the south. Katie glanced that way. Uneasiness quivered through her when she spotted dark tendrils of smoke rising into the air. It seemed to be coming from the general direction of the barn.
    “I think the barn’s on fire!” Katie exclaimed.
    “ What ?” Dropping the fruit she’d been holding, Mattie spun and looked. “Oh no!”
    As if by mutual agreement, the girls ran toward the barn. They’d gone only a few yards when Katie saw orange flames leaping twenty feet into the air. Through the open barn door, she saw a good-size fire blazing inside the structure.
    “What’s going on?”
    Both girls started at the sound of Jacob’s voice. Katie glanced at him, but his eyes were fastened to the flames