[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (28 page)

Titus had thought he might tell Mom and Dad about the money he’d found in the phone shanty, but decided against it, at least for now. If he mentioned it, Mom would probably make a big deal of it, and Dad would tell him how to spend the money.

Titus rose to his feet and turned toward the door leading upstairs.

“Where are you going?” Mom called.

“Think I’ll go to bed. It was a long bus ride to get here, and I’m tired.”

“So soon? But we haven’t had a chance to visit that much.” Mom patted the sofa cushion beside her. “Come, take a seat, and tell us about Kentucky.”

“We can talk to Titus tomorrow,” Dad said. “If he’s tired, then we ought to let him go on up to bed.”

Mom yawned. “Come to think of it, I’m pretty tired myself. I believe all the excitement of the party took its toll on my old body.”

“Mine, too.” Dad helped Mom to her feet. “When we get home from church tomorrow afternoon, we can spend the rest of the day visiting, and Titus can tell us all about Kentucky.” He smiled at Titus. “And we want to hear more about your new girlfriend. Maybe you can bring her here to meet us sometime.”

“Maybe so. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

“Is she nice? Has she got the skills it takes to be a good wife?” Mom asked.

Titus’s jaw clenched. “I’m not thinking about marriage right now, and I thought we were all going to bed.”

“You’re right.” She gave a small laugh.

Titus leaned down and hugged her; then he hurried up the stairs. He didn’t know if he’d ever feel serious enough about Esther to bring her to Pennsylvania, and if he did decide to get married, he hoped Mom wouldn’t pressure him to move back home.

O
n Monday morning, Suzanne had just started washing the breakfast dishes when she heard a vehicle pull into the yard. She peered out the window and spotted a van parked outside. A few seconds later, Mom stepped out.

Suzanne dropped the sponge into the dishwater, dried her hands on a towel, and hurried out the back door. Grandpa, who’d been sitting on the porch in his favorite chair, smiled at her and said, “Looks like your mamm’s finally home.”

Suzanne nodded. “I’m ever so glad.” She met Mom on the lawn about the same time as Nelson stepped out of the woodshop.

Mom hugged them both. “Did you miss me?”

“Of course,” Suzanne said. “It’s good to have you home.”

“Most definitely.” Nelson grabbed Mom’s suitcase. “Here, let me carry that for you.”

“How’s Aunt Karen?” Suzanne asked as they walked toward the house.

“She’s getting along fairly well,” Mom replied. “Since my sister Mary’s helping her now, I felt like I could come home.” She smiled at Suzanne. “How are the kinner? Have they been good for you?”

“I’ve had no problems with any of them,” Suzanne said honestly. “They all pitched in and helped as much as they could.”

“That’s right.” Nelson nodded in agreement. “The only problem Suzanne had was fixing our meals.”

Suzanne jabbed her brother in the ribs. “Come on now. My cooking wasn’t that bad.”

“Never said it was. Just said you had a problem fixing our meals.”

“I didn’t have any big problems,” Suzanne said. “I just kept things simple, which helped a lot.”

“Didn’t any of the women from our community bring over some meals?” Mom asked as they stepped onto the porch.

“A few were brought in,” Grandpa said before Suzanne could respond. “The rest of our meals were mostly soup and sandwiches, and Suzanne did her best.” He looked up at her and winked.

Suzanne smiled. Grandpa always tried to see the bright side of things and look past her imperfections.

“How have things been going at the produce auction?” Mom asked Suzanne when they’d entered the house. “Have you sold much?”

“Things have been busy, and many people have stopped to buy our bedding plants and hanging baskets. I’m certain it’ll be just as busy in the fall when our mums are ready to sell.”

“I’m sure you’re right about that.” Mom looked over at Nelson. “How are things going for you and Titus in the woodshop?”

“Business is doing well, but Titus has been gone for a few days, so that’s put us a bit behind on some orders. He should be back sometime today and will be at work tomorrow morning.”

“Where’d he go?” Mom asked, taking a seat in the living room.

“To Pennsylvania for his mamm’s surprise birthday party.” Nelson motioned to Mom’s suitcase. “Want me to take that to your room?”

She nodded. “Then I’ll let you get back to work. We can talk more later.”

After Nelson left the room, Suzanne took a seat on the sofa beside Mom. “I stopped by the Beilers’ store the other night, and Esther informed me that she’s been feeding Titus’s cat and his horse while he’s gone. She also said that Callie has four kittens, which I had no idea about.”

Mom’s lips compressed. “I find it strange that Titus didn’t mention the kittens. Especially since you’re the one who took Callie over to his place.”

“That’s what I thought, too.” Suzanne shrugged. “But then, I don’t understand a lot of things about Titus.”

When Titus got off the special bus that transported Amish and Mennonites from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Kentucky he was near the Beilers’ store, so he went inside to say hello.

“It’s good to see you,” Esther said when he joined her near the front counter. “How was the party? Was your mamm surprised?”

Titus nodded. “She sure was. I think me being there was the biggest surprise of all.”

“I’ll bet it was hard to leave so soon.”

“A little bit, but I knew I needed to get back to work, and I was anxious to see Lightning. How’s he doing, anyway? He didn’t give you any trouble, I hope.”

Esther shook her head. “Not a bit. Callie and her babies are fine, too. Those little kittens are sure sweet. I was going to head over there pretty soon and check on them, because I didn’t know what time you might get here today.” She smiled sweetly at Titus. “Unless you’ve lined up a driver to pick you up, I’d be happy to give you a ride home.”

“I don’t have anyone coming for me, so I’d appreciate the ride.”

“I’ll run in the back room and tell Mom and Dad where I’m going; then I’ll go out and get my horse and buggy.”

“I can get ‘em for you,” Titus offered. “Are they around back?”

“Jah. Ginger’s in the corral, and the buggy’s parked near the shed.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you out front in a few minutes.”

Eager to get home, Titus hurried to get Ginger hitched to the buggy. When he drove it around to the front of the store, Esther was waiting for him.

“Would you like to drive, or would you rather I did?” she asked.

“I don’t mind driving.”

“Great. Did you get your backpack?” Esther asked as she climbed into the buggy.

“Sure did. Put it in the back of the buggy before you came out of the store.” Titus took up the reins and directed the horse onto the road.

“Did your mamm like the little keepsake box you made for her?”

Titus nodded. “She got a lot of other nice gifts, too.”

“Do you think your folks will ever come here to visit?” Esther asked. “I’d like to meet them sometime.”

Titus chuckled. “If Mom had her way, they’d come for a visit tomorrow. The only trouble is, there’s not enough room in the trailer for them to stay with me right now. Maybe someday, if I should decide to buy the place, I can either add on or build something new.”

“I didn’t realize you were thinking of buying the place from Allen. Do you have enough money for that?”

“Not right now, but I’m saving up for a down payment.” Titus considered telling Esther about the money he’d found but decided it was best if he kept it to himself for now.

Their conversation turned to other things—the weather, more about Mom’s party, and Callie and her kittens. When they pulled into Titus’s yard a short time later, he was surprised to see a beige-colored horse grazing in the pasture next to the trailer.

“Where’d that horse come from?” he asked Esther.

She shrugged. “I have no idea. It wasn’t there when I came to feed the animals last night.”

“Hmm … guess he must belong to one my neighbors. I’ll chase him out of the pasture, and hopefully he’ll go back to where he belongs.” Titus handed the reins to Esther, grabbed his backpack, and climbed down from the buggy. “Danki for the ride home, and also for taking care of the animals for me.”

“You’re welcome. See you soon, Titus.” Esther hesitated a minute, like she wanted to say more, but then she waved and directed her horse toward the road.

Titus stepped into the barn, and seeing that Callie and her kittens were still there, he felt satisfied. At least they hadn’t found a way to get into the house.

Next, he went to the stall where Lightning was kept. The horse whinnied and nuzzled Titus’s hand. “Did you miss me, boy?” Titus rubbed Lightning behind his soft ears. “I sure missed you.”

After a few minutes spent talking to his horse, Titus headed to the trailer. When he entered the living room, he halted and stood there in total disbelief. The cushions from the sofa were on the floor, all of Titus’s books had been pulled off the bookshelf and were strewn about. The rocking chair had been turned upside-down, along with the lamp table and lantern, which was now broken.

He dashed into the kitchen for a look around, and discovered that all the cupboard doors hung wide open, and several dishes lay shattered on the floor.

Titus’s next stop was his bedroom, where he found that most of his clothes had been pulled out of the closet and scattered on the floor. Even his mattress had been yanked off the bed and overturned. The whole place was in complete disarray!

“Who could have done this, and why?” he grumbled. “Oh, boy! Think I’d better call Allen right away.”

Titus pulled out his cell phone to make the call, but soon realized that his battery was dead. He’d have to go out to the phone shanty to make the call.

He hurried outside, and had no more than opened the shanty door when he discovered that someone had been in there, too. The phone cord had been jerked from the wall and thrown on the floor, and several boards had also been ripped from the wall, and even the floor. What a welcome-home present! First a horse grazing in the pasture that didn’t belong to him, and now this. What was going on, anyway?

W
ith heart pounding and head swimming with questions, Titus saddled Lightning and rode out of his yard at a fast pace. When he arrived at the Beilers’ a short time later, he quickly tied his horse to the hitching rail and bounded onto the porch. The door opened before he had a chance to knock, and Esther stepped out.

“You look upset,” she said. “Is something wrong?”

“There sure is. Someone broke into the trailer while I was gone and made a big mess.” He gulped in a couple of deep breaths. “When you came over to feed the animals, did anything look suspicious, or did you see anyone snooping around?”

Esther stood with her mouth slightly open; then she slowly shook her head. “Of course I didn’t go inside the trailer, so I don’t know how things looked in there. I wonder who would do such a thing.”

He shrugged. “I need to use your phone to call Allen. My phone shanty was vandalized, too, and the phone’s not working.”

“What about your cell phone? Did you get rid of it?”

“No, but I can’t use it right now because the battery needs to be charged.”

Esther motioned to their phone shanty out back. “Go ahead and use the phone. While you’re doing that, I’ll go inside and tell Mom and Dad what happened at your place.”