Katie's Forever Promise (25 page)

Mabel raced to the door, opened it, and rushed outside.

Katie couldn't hear the conversation, but Mabel soon stuck her head back in the doorway and motioned for Katie to come out.

Katie had her plan ready. It had come to her while Jesse was praying. This situation wasn't Mahlon's fault, and she should be nice to him. He probably didn't even know what was going on.

Mabel was all smiles when Katie stepped outside. “Norman and I have some plans to make, so if the two of you would sit on the porch swing, we'll be back before long.” Mabel didn't wait for an answer as she led Norman through the front door with a gentle tug on his hand.

“Hi!” Katie greeted them, giving Mahlon a warm smile.

He turned quite red.

“Do you want to sit on the swing?”

“Ah,
yah
, I suppose,” Mahlon said.

Katie sat on the swing as Mahlon also found his seat.

“So how was your day?” Katie asked.

Mahlon hesitated. “Okay, I guess. I worked on the farm.”

“Is your fall plowing done? I've heard you're pretty industrious. I figure you're one of those early ones, you know, someone who always gets things in on time. My guess is you never get your hay cutting rained on now, do you?”

Mahlon turned red again. “I…well…I…I mean…well, that's a little much to say, really. I'm not that
gut
a farmer. But I do try to get things done on time.”

The poor man was way out of his depths, Katie thought. Mabel was meaner than she'd even imagined.

Katie kept smiling. “Now don't be modest, Mahlon. You've got all your fall plowing done, don't you?”

He finally grinned. “
Yah
, I finished last week.”

“And how many hay cuttings have you had rained on this year?”

Mahlon didn't hesitate now. “None. But that might have been an accident…or the blessing of
Da Hah
. I pray hard about such things.”

Katie nodded. “I suppose all farmers do. I expect Jesse does, and Leroy and Willis. Farming keeps one close to
Da Hah
through prayer.”

Mahlon showed a greater interest now. “Did you grow up on a farm?”

Katie shrugged. “I don't know if you'd call it a farm.
Mamm
had five acres or so left by the time I was old enough to help with the chores. We kept two cows, but it wasn't really farming.”

Mahlon smiled gently. “Your
daett
died when you were young, didn't he?”

“
Yah
,” Katie replied. Did Mahlon remember her as “Emma Raber's odd daughter”? she wondered. Likely not. He probably had others things on his mind back in those days.

Mahlon was gazing across Jesse's fields. “I've always been on a farm, from little on up. I don't know any other way of earning a living. Lydia was born on a farm too. Lots of acreage. Her
daett
's one of the best farmers around. Sort of in our families on both sides, I guess. I wouldn't have it any other way.”

“She was your wife,
yah
? You still miss her a lot, don't you?” Katie reached over to give Mahlon's hand a quick squeeze.

Tears sprang to Mahlon's eyes. “More than I can ever say. I didn't know how much I loved her until she was gone. But I guess it's always that way. And now I'm left wishing I had loved her better. Lydia deserved so much more than anything I ever did for her.”

Katie touched his hand again. “But she's in the arms of
Da Hah
now. Don't blame yourself, Mahlon. We all do the best we can.”

He wiped his eyes. “We always wanted children, but I suppose that wasn't
Da Hah
's will either. It was related to her illness, it turned out. Those were short years we had together. All of them are treasured greatly in my mind.”

“I'm sure they are.” Katie gave his hand another quick squeeze. Mahlon was a nice man. Perhaps some
gut
could come out of
their time together in spite of Mabel. They spoke on into the evening—about Mahlon's farm, the corn harvest, the coming silo filling.

Finally Mabel and Norman appeared at the front door. She took in the two of them chatting away, and her smile grew broad. “Well, Norman's ready to go. I see you two are getting along just fine.”

“
Yah
,” Katie said, giving Mahlon another warm smile. Let Mabel draw the wrong conclusion.

“Then let's go,” Norman said, leading the way off the porch.

“Now that was easy, wasn't it?” Mabel smiled at Katie while the two men were climbing into the buggy.

“It's not what you think,” Katie replied. Then she turned and headed inside and up the stairs for bed.

Chapter Twenty-Five

On Thursday afternoon of that same week, after school had been dismissed, Katie sat behind her desk as the clock on the wall ticked the minutes away. Had she done the right thing today? The question wouldn't stop whirling in her mind. Noah Stoll, Ben's brother, had been caught cheating. He'd been copying answers from Abram Kuntz's arithmetic book. At least that's what Abram claimed when he ran in to report the infraction during the first recess. Abram said he'd spotted Noah peering over his shoulder and writing down the correct answers immediately afterward. This was a charge that sounded perfectly possible, since the temptation could be strong for those pupils struggling with arithmetic.

Her first inclination was to believe Abram, until she thought of the fact that Noah had never shown any signs of cheating before. Nor was he having a hard time learning the arithmetic they were studying. Noah could work out the early introduction problems in fractions blindfolded. In fact, she'd caught herself thinking just yesterday of how proud she was that Noah came from such a
smart family. The thought was very sinful, of course, and one she should never have entertained. She might be in love with Ben, but that was no excuse for such loose thinking.

In the end, she'd called in Noah from the playground for a quick conference at her desk. Noah had come in frowning at being interrupted from his precious minutes of playtime.

“Tell Noah what you told me,” Katie directed, while looking at the stony-faced Abram.

“I saw you looking over my shoulder and copying down arithmetic answers,” Abram accused.

Horror flashed over Noah's face. “I did no such thing. I know how to do fractions better than you do.”

Abram shot back, “I saw what I saw! You were cheating.”

“I did not!” Noah declared.

Katie motioned to Noah. “Go get your tablet.”

He did, opening it to the last page full of fraction problems. Katie studied them. Several had been erased, so she flipped back several pages. The same pattern existed there. Noah must correct his answers frequently, which might be part of the reason he received such
gut
grades. Which could also be what Abram had noticed him doing. This was a trait that shouldn't be reprimanded but praised.

Katie checked several more pages, finding the same pattern.

“He cheated!” Abram declared. “Didn't he?”

“I'm afraid it's not conclusive.” Katie closed the notebook. “I see no evidence to back up your claim, Abram.”

“Do you think I'm lying?” Abram's face was red again.

“
Nee
, I think you might have been mistaken. I don't think Noah was cheating. He often erases his answers and corrects them.”

Abram huffed. Apparently he wasn't giving up so easily. “Then check my two answers where I saw him cheating, and see if they are the same.”

Katie shrugged. “That might work if you have the wrong answer. But if you both have the right ones, then they would be the same.”

Abram thought long and hard on that before going back to his seat. He returned with his notebook. “Check them anyway.”

Katie did, and the answers in both notebooks matched. They also matched the answer key. She showed both boys the matches. “See, this proves nothing. So I think we'd better just let it go. And from now on, Noah, don't look over Abram's shoulder during school time. Okay?”

Noah nodded and was gone, racing back toward the playground. Abram didn't move.

“You can go now,” Katie said, waving her hand toward the playground.

“It's because he's Ben Stoll's brother,” Abram said. “That's why you're protecting him.”

Katie's heart sank. She'd honestly not even considered that angle, but now it was out in the open staring at her. It wasn't true, but such accusations didn't have to be true to create trouble. They just had to
look
true. And now this looked very suspicious.

“It's true, isn't it?” Abram was obviously waiting for the answer he wanted.

Katie took a deep breath. “It is not, Abram. You are mistaken. And you are out of line saying such things to me. I won't allow thoughts like that in my classroom. Do you understand?”

Abram glowered for a few moments before retreating to the playground. Nothing more was said all day nor would it be said tomorrow, Katie decided. At least not by Abram. But that didn't mean he wouldn't tell his
daett
the story, and that might mean another visit from Enos. And then most of the community would hear the tale. People would cluck their tongues and shake their heads. If a teacher was capable of bringing an inappropriate book like
Tom Sawyer
to school, she might also play favorites regarding
her former boyfriend's brother.
Yah
, that's what they would think, Katie decided. It would make perfect sense to them.

What a mess! And she had no one to blame but herself.
Tom Sawyer
was out of the schoolhouse and back in Willis's hands. Following a brief explanation and apology to the students, she'd started reading aloud a “safe” book, one written by Christmas Carol Kauffman. But the damage had been done, and such a blunder wasn't easily undone. To say nothing of the accusation that she was too easy on students who transgressed. Now this situation with Abram and Noah might add fuel to the fire.

And there was Mabel's wrath that still had to be faced at home. She hadn't said anything all week to anyone but
Mamm
about the visit from Norman and Mahlon on Monday night. Mabel assumed, no doubt from seeing how Katie had engaged Mahlon all evening in conversation, that her plan was working.

Well, sitting here worrying about things wasn't going to help, Katie told herself. The music might as well be faced. And she couldn't think about schoolwork anyway with all this on her mind. At home
Mamm
would have work which needed doing in preparation for Mabel's wedding. That would be much more profitable than doing nothing here.

Locking up the schoolhouse, Katie brought Sparky out of the barn. She was glad Joel had gotten a ride home with a friend so she could have some peace and quiet. She hitched her horse to the buggy and climbed in. Minutes later she was on the road, heading homeward. An
Englisha
car pulled up behind her. Instead of passing, the horn blew. Katie pulled off to the shoulder, yet still the car didn't go around. Her heart pounding, Katie quietly assessed the situation. She was on an open stretch of road, and there were plenty of houses around. No harm was going to come to her here.

Just as she was ready to pull out on the road again, the car
pulled out and came alongside the buggy. The man on the passenger's side waved. Katie clutched the reins and gasped when she caught sight of his face. It was Ben! What was he doing flagging her down right out in the open?

Katie leaned out of the buggy door.

“Hi, Katie!” Ben called out.

“Ben!” She couldn't overcome her astonishment.

“I was hoping to catch you still at the schoolhouse.”

“I left early.” A great desire to speak with him overcame her. Whoever was driving Ben surely wouldn't mind spending a few minutes more of his time. Not if they'd been hoping to catch her still at school. She shouted, “I'll turn around and go back. Meet me there.”

Ben nodded. The car raced forward and turned around in a driveway.

Katie turned Sparky around at a broad sweep on the road, urging him back toward the schoolhouse. She soon turned in the lane, entered the schoolyard, and tied up Sparky at the hitching post.

Ben jumped out of the car parked nearby.

Katie waited for him. If someone saw them, well, so be it. Besides, she was partly hidden by the buggy, so what did it matter? She reached out for his hand.

Ben laughed, taking both of hers in his. “My, my, what a greeting. I think I should come more often!”

Katie grinned. “That you should! Is something wrong?”

“
Nee
, I just had to see you.” Ben pulled her close and gave her a long kiss.

Katie clung to him. “Hold me tighter, Ben.”

“Why?” His fingers brushed the hair dangling under her
kapp
. “Is there something going wrong for you?”