Katie Opens Her Heart Read online

  “Is something wrong, Daett?” Mabel asked.

  “Nee,” he said. “Everything’s fine, Mabel. I’m sorry I hollered. Now please go back to bed.”

  Mabel was taking in the situation, her eyes moving between the two of them.

  “Please, Mabel,” Jesse repeated. “Go back upstairs. Ruth and I need to finish talking.”

  Mabel didn’t move, but her face brightened. “Did you see our pecan pies?”

  “Yah,” Jesse said. “They look wunderbah.”

  Mabel still wasn’t leaving. “We haven’t tasted them yet, Daett. We wanted you to be the first.”

  “That’s very nice, Mabel. I’ll try them tomorrow. Now go to bed.”

  “Ruth said they might be cooled enough to eat by the time you got home.”

  Ruth stood up. “Yes, dear, they are. But your daett has other things on his mind at the moment. I’m sure he’ll enjoy the pies tomorrow night for supper.”

  Mabel disappeared a second later, and Jesse waited until her footsteps died away before he turned back to Ruth. “I meant what I said, Ruth. I want you to leave now.”

  She responded by sitting down.

  “I’m not going anywhere until I’ve had my say.”

  What was he to do? Carry the woman out to her buggy? Of course not, but neither was he going to stay here and listen to more of her lectures.

  “I’ve already told Mabel,” Ruth said. “So there’s no use hiding yourself from the truth.”

  He turned toward her. “You told my daughter what?”

  “About Emma Raber’s history—all the important points, at least. The ones that were fit for Mabel’s ears. And believe me, it was enough to make for an awful lot of explaining on your part if you continue to insist on seeing Emma.”

  Jesse gripped the back of his chair. What was the woman referring to? Emma didn’t have a rough past that he knew of—other than living alone and keeping to herself. Of course, there was that thing with Daniel Kauffman, but that was years ago.

  “I know men are blind half the time when it comes to women,” Ruth was saying. “And they can’t see out of the other eye the rest of the time. But still you don’t have to act surprised, Jesse Mast.”

  “Has anybody ever told you to mind your own business?” Jesse said between clenched teeth.

  She smiled and folded her hands in her lap. “Not when it comes to five motherless children—all of whom I love with my whole heart. And not when they have a daett who can’t see what’s plainly in their best interest.”

  He met her gaze. “If you think I’m going to marry you, Ruth, you are sorely mistaken.”

  Her face fell for a moment, but Ruth gathered herself together. “That is up to Da Hah. I have not said anything about marrying you, Jesse. It’s the children I’m thinking about, and what’s best for them. If you can find a decent woman in the community or from some other community, perhaps, who loves the children and whom they can love back as their mamm, I’ll be satisfied. I know I’m not the only gut woman around.”

  He glared at her. “Whom I marry is none of your business.”

  “It is.” Ruth didn’t blink an eye. “I’m their teacher. Well, Carolyn and Joel’s, and the rest of them love me too. Until you can do better than that, I will be here for them.”

  Jesse’s thoughts raced, but at the moment he didn’t dare speak them. He finally turned toward her. “Tell me what you told Mabel about Emma.”

  Ruth’s face beamed. “I’m glad to see you’re coming to your senses, Jesse. I was wondering there for a moment.”

  He held up his hand. “Just answer the question.”

  “I’m not your pupil,” she sputtered. “But for your children’s sake I’ll tell you about Emma. She has a history going all the way back to her young-folk days when she fell deeply in love with Daniel Kauffman. And storming out after his wedding right in front of the happy couple themselves. What a disgrace that was!”

  “Yah,” Jesse said and paused. “And half the young-folk girls were in love with Daniel Kauffman. Thankfully Millie wasn’t included amongst them.”

  “But not like Emma,” Ruth insisted smugly. “Emma thought she could hide her love from everyone, but she lived and breathed for the slightest smile and word from Daniel. Even after Daniel began dating someone else, Emma hung around, refusing to let any other boy take her home. Only when Daniel married did she give up and marry Ezra. Of course, she was older by then. But her connection with Daniel at his wedding was plain for all to see.”

  “And what has that got to do with me and my own?”

  “Why, Jesse, because she’s taking you for the same reason. Because she can’t find anyone else. If Emma did it once with Ezra, she’ll do it again with you. Do you really want a woman like that as the mamm of your children? All the rest of us married for love, Jesse. I was so in love with Homer I couldn’t see straight when he came around. Even when Da Hah didn’t give us children, I loved him with all my heart.”

  Jesse stood up. “Come now, Ruth. It’s time for you to go home.”

  “Does this mean nothing to you? Think about what—or whom—you are bringing into your house, Jesse. Think about your children.”

  “I will do that.” He motioned toward the door. “Now it’s high time for you to go home so I can get my sleep. I have a big day in the fields tomorrow, and I’m sure Mabel is probably lying awake upstairs worrying about us until we stop talking down here.”

  She didn’t budge.

  As Jesse moved toward her, Ruth jumped up. “You don’t have to treat me like this. I’m only trying to help.”

  “And I thank you for the pecan pies.” He led the way out the front door. “From now on, I don’t want you stopping by. In fact, I forbid it.”

  “We will see about that, Jesse,” she sputtered as she followed him across the yard. “I will do what’s right.”

  He left her standing by her buggy and went to retrieve her horse from the barn. He held the bridle once he had the horse hitched up as Ruth climbed into the buggy. He stepped aside and gave the horse a slap on its haunches. The horse lunged forward, and Jesse heard Ruth gasp as she drove past him.

  She would be back, he knew, as he watched her buggy lights going down the road. Ruth Troyer still had a few tricks up her sleeve, if he didn’t miss his guess.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Jesse rose well before dawn the following morning and climbed out of bed in slow motion. His head was still fuzzy, which was understandable considering all he’d been through last night. Women were enough to give any man gray hair, and Ruth was the worst. She had more nerve than a dozen foxes in one henhouse.

  Jesse rubbed his head and dressed in the dark. He’d hoped things would look different after a gut night’s sleep. Didn’t they usually? But it was apparently not to be. Ruth’s meddling still looked like the nightmare it was, even when he tried to convince himself she really did care for his children and couldn’t be entirely blamed. But there remained just as much trouble this morning as there had been last night after her buggy lights had disappeared in the darkness. She’d be back, he was still sure of it. And no doubt she’d left in her wake terrible tales to poison Mabel’s mind against Emma. What a mess this was indeed.

  Well, some things would have to change around here, beginning with straightening Mabel out. Perhaps he could have a long talk with her, explaining that Ruth’s opinion of Emma was a little misguided, especially considering her own interest in getting married. The situation was complicated by the fact that part of Ruth’s tale was true. Emma had been, or thought she’d been, in love with Daniel Kauffman. That much made sense. And she had made that mad dash out of the wedding. But so what? In the end, Emma loved the man she married. Nothing he’d ever seen in Ezra and Emma’s relationship had given any other indication. So Emma couldn’t be faulted in the matter.

  Jesse left his bedroom, opened the stair door, and hollered, “Time to get up! Everybody out!”

  He didn’t wait for a reply but walked over
to light the gas lantern at the kitchen counter before he headed into the washroom. He paused as he heard light steps coming down the stairs. That would likely be Mabel, wanting to speak with him before the chores. And he needed to take the time for a few words with her. But the real conversation would have to wait until later. There wasn’t time now to counter Ruth’s nasty news and opinion about Emma.

  “The nerve of that woman!” Jesse muttered, stepping back into the kitchen. He greeted Mabel. “Gut morning.”

  “Gut morning, Daett,” Mabel said, wringing her hands. “Did Ruth tell you everything last night?”

  Jesse sighed. The subject already made him weary. Maybe he ought to snap out orders like some daetts did instead of using persuasion on the hearts of his children. He could simply tell Mabel to accept what was going to happen. But that wasn’t his way.

  Mabel’s eyes were pleading. “I wanted to speak about this when I came down last night. But I thought it was better if I waited until this morning when Ruth was gone.”

  “Yah, that was for the best,” Jesse agreed, leaning against the doorframe. “Ruth didn’t share anything I wasn’t already aware of or that I care about. I think it best if we wait until after breakfast to speak at length about this. I don’t want to rush through this with you because this is a very serious situation. It’s important to me that we talk and get things straightened out.”

  Mabel hesitated, her face questioning. Then she relented and walked over to the counter where she began to take down the breakfast dishes.

  “Be sure Carolyn gets up to help you,” Jesse said before he left.

  Mabel nodded.

  Jesse walked across the lawn, swinging the lantern. When he pushed open the barn door, the first thing to meet his eyes was a smashed gate on a horse stall. The second shock was the listless form of one of his workhorses lying on the floor. An empty oat bag lay on the concrete floor with a few kernels still scattered around.

  “What’s going on here?” He hollered the question even though no one was around but the farm animals. He ran to the workhorse, grabbed its halter, and pulled up hard. The horse lifted its head, but it fell again when Jesse let go. Jesse ran over to the smashed gate, where he saw that most of the boards were broken inward. That could mean only one thing. Something from the outside had broken in. But what and who?

  In a flash he remembered dragging Ruth’s horse out of here last night. It had been dark, and his only light had been the flashlight. He hadn’t looked around. His mind had been on getting the woman on the road, not on what her horse might have done inside his barn.

  “Confound it all!” Jesse said out loud. “The nasty thing kicked down my gate.”

  Jesse looked around again. There could be no other answer. Ruth’s horse had kicked the stall door, and from there the workhorse had pushed his way out and stuffed himself with grain. Jesse returned to the listless horse and pulled on the halter again. He succeeded in getting the animal up and walking a few steps. Behind him the barn door opened, admitting Leroy and Willis.

  Jesse hollered, “Come over here boys, quick!”

  The boys rushed over, and Jesse gave the halter to Willis. “Take this horse outside and see if you can walk this off. I don’t believe the bag was more than half full. Leroy, grab a lead rope for your brother.”

  Willis took the halter while Leroy ran to get the lead rope. After giving it to Willis, he stared at the smashed gate. “What happened here?”

  “Ruth’s horse must have kicked the door in last night,” Jesse said. “I didn’t notice it when I took her horse out to hitch up.”

  “You didn’t see something like this?” Leroy looked incredulous. “That’s as plain as day.”

  Jesse wanted to tell Leroy he’d been distracted, that the woman had messed with his mind, but maybe it was best that Leroy didn’t know about his troubles last night.

  “I only had my flashlight,” Jesse said instead.

  Leroy didn’t look convinced.

  “Go, Willis!” Jesse motioned with his hand toward the back barn door. “We have to get that horse walking around. If necessary, run him around the barnyard. Anything to get that feed moving through the digestion cycle.”

  “Come on, boy!” Willis shouted as he snapped on the rope and pulled hard. With much straining he got the horse out the back door and started on the first go-round in the barnyard.

  “What a woman,” Leroy said, still staring at the smashed gate.

  Jesse almost laughed, but he coughed instead. Leroy was already putting way too many things together. Soon he would be laughing at his daett. Jesse decided he’d better make a trip back to Emma’s today and set the wedding plans in motion before anything worse happened. Would Emma be willing to rush the wedding date? Probably not. He’d have to let things run their course. And there was still much work ahead. For one thing, his children’s hearts and minds needed to be persuaded.

  “Come on,” Jesse told Leroy. “We’d better begin the chores.”

  “I thought I heard shouting last night after I went to sleep,” Leroy said. “Did you and Ruth have a fight or something? Was it somehow connected to this?”

  Jesse laughed out loud this time. “We did have a frank discussion,” he admitted. “But it had nothing to do with horses kicking in gates.”

  “I take it you’re not getting along too well with the woman,” Leroy observed. “Was that why you didn’t see the smashed gate last night?”

  Leroy was right, but Jesse didn’t feel like admitting it.

  His son didn’t seem bothered by his daett’s silence and continued with his thoughts. “I think she’s using Mabel’s heart to wrap you around her apron strings. Maybe you ought to get rid of the woman before something worse happens than her horse kicking down the gate. She might take to burning down the barn.”

  Jesse laughed again. It felt gut to finally have one child on his side—and so suddenly. But then maybe it hadn’t been so suddenly. Leroy was smart. They all were smart, even Mabel. It was just that her heart strings were being plucked by Ruth. Mabel shouldn’t be blamed for that woman’s manipulation.

  “I’m still going to enjoy her pecan pies tonight though,” Leroy commented. “So maybe on second thought you ought to marry the woman so we can have pecan pies every day.”

  “Come on now,” Jesse said through a smile. “Enough talk. We have to get these chores done without Willis’s help. I expect we’ll do good to save that horse without a large vet bill.”

  Leroy nodded and disappeared into the hayloft. Jesse took a quick look into the barnyard to check on Willis’s progress. Willis was doing a great job. He was already moving the horse along at a brisk trot. “That’s the way to do it!” Jesse hollered to Willis before going to open the gate for the cows. The cows pushed past him to get to the feed.

  “I’m going back and forth, except I just walk him when I get tired,” Willis hollered back. “Is that okay?”

  “That’s the best we can do.” Jesse slapped the last cow as she stopped half in and half out of the doorway. The cow lunged forward, and Jesse followed her inside. With the cows eating, he closed the stanchions and then began the milking. Leroy soon came to help, and they finished only fifteen minutes later than normal.

  Willis was still working the horse in the barnyard when Jesse let the cows out.

  “How’s it going?” Jesse asked.

  “Okay.” Willis slowed to a walk. “He’s passed gas several times.”

  “That’s what I was hoping for. Come on. We can go for breakfast now. I think the horse will be okay now. If things still look iffy after breakfast, you can walk him some more.”

  The three men walked back to the house and entered through the washroom door after cleaning up.

  Mabel had the table laid out with eggs, bacon, oatmeal, and toast.

  Jesse seated himself at the head of the table and bowed his head. They prayed silently and, after a few moments, Jesse said, “Amen.” Mabel passed the plates of food around like usual, though Jess
e noticed her face seemed drawn.

  Behind them the first light of day came through the window, overwhelming the weak kerosene-fueled lamplight.

  “When is teacher Ruth coming again?” Carolyn asked, breaking the silence.

  Jesse cleared his throat. “I don’t know, honey. But not very soon.”

  “I like having her here,” Carolyn said. “She can make pies in just a jiffy. I don’t think Mabel or I will ever learn how to make them that fast.”

  “It doesn’t matter how fast you can make pies,” Jesse said. “And you will see teacher Ruth at school.”

  “You don’t like her pies?” Carolyn asked.

  “Of course Daett does,” Leroy answered the question. “Everyone likes pecan pies.”

  Carolyn didn’t look satisfied. “I think Ruth wants to come and live here all the time. That is, if Daett will ask her to be our mamm. She could teach us how to make pecan pies fast someday.”

  “She’d probably burn down the house first,” Leroy muttered.

  Mabel gasped and flew to her feet. “Don’t you be running down Ruth, Leroy. She is already as close to a mamm to me and Carolyn as we’ve had since Mamm passed.”

  “Yah, Leroy. Let’s not tear someone down.” Jesse kept his voice low. He had to soothe this situation or they would all be fighting each other before long. But Leroy wasn’t paying attention to any soothing words.

  “Well, I’m telling you that Ruth’s horse kicked down our gate last evening. And for no gut purpose. And that nearly got one of our workhorses killed by this morning.”

  “That’s not possible!” Mabel shouted. “Neither Ruth nor her horse would do anything like that. At least not on purpose.”

  Jesse opened his mouth to say that Leroy was indeed telling the truth, but he changed his mind.

  Leroy wasn’t backing down either. “I think this woman is completely out of her place. I finally figured it out last night. Not that I was totally blind to her schemes before, but I see clearly now. That woman is using you and Carolyn to weasel her way into this home and get Daett to marry her.”