blond, wispy hair. And . . .” he added, with a meaningful look at Katie, “her name is Katherine Weaver.”
Everyone else gasped and then cheered.
Katie smiled, too, but she really only felt relief. Ella was okay. And her baby was, too! God had answered her prayers!
With a creak and a groan, Loyal got to his feet, smiling softly at her all the while. “Katie, you don’t understand why Ella named her baby Katherine, do you?”
She shook her head. Did it even matter?
“She named our little girl after someone special. After a certain Katherine she is mighty fond of. A Katie who she loves very much.”
“She did?” Loyal’s words hardly made sense. Could she really mean so much to Ella? It didn’t seem possible.
Leaning a little bit closer, Loyal said, “Ella named our baby after you, Katie Weaver. The baby is your namesake.”
“I’m that special?”
“Yes, shveshtah . You are that special, indeed.”
Katie thought about saying something, but she had no more words in her head. All she could think about was that Ella was okay, and that God loved her so much that He gave her a little girl, a little niece to take care of and play with.
For some reason, the tears came back. But this time, they were happy tears. Giving in to temptation, she wrapped her arms around Loyal and hugged him tight.
With a chuckle, Loyal hugged her right back, just as if he never intended to let her go.
Chapter Twelve
A FTER MUCH DEBATE, Connor decided to take Jayne to the Dutch Inn for dinner. They specialized in Amish home cooking, and since the Amish were such a big part of the Geauga County community, he figured they might as well enjoy the specialties of the area.
But though she’d agreed to his choice, he noticed that she barely looked at the menu and didn’t seem to be all that happy to be in the restaurant. He couldn’t understand why—until she told him her reason.
“Last year, I dated an Amish man. It wasn’t really serious, but I really liked him.”
“I didn’t know the Amish dated outsiders.”
“Well, it’s complicated. His name is John Weaver. He’s, uh, Katie’s uncle. He never joined the order. He left when he was eighteen and lived in Indianapolis for twenty years. But then his brother died and he wanted to be there for his brother’s family. When we dated, he didn’t intend to return to his childhood faith. But then he did.”
“Wow. So, he’s still around?” With a bit of a shock, he realized that he was feeling jealous. Mentally, he shook his head. He needed to concentrate on keeping his expression schooled and open. Jayne needed to know that she could trust him to be a good listener.
“Yes. He owns the Kaffi Haus.”
“Wow,” he said again. “I’ve been in there a lot. And I’ve talked to . . . John, though I didn’t know his name. He’s a nice guy.”
“Yes, he is.” Looking a bit miserable, Jayne added, “Not too long after we broke things off, he married an Amish woman. I didn’t mean to feel hurt, but I guess I did.”
“I can understand that.”
“Can you?” Her lips turned up slightly, as if she was pleased by the news. Then she took a sip of water. “So, that’s why I’m not a big fan of Amish cooking,” she said, looking a little flustered. “It’s stupid, but it just seems to remind me of what I didn’t measure up to. Aren’t you glad you asked?”
He noticed that she looked embarrassed. “I’m glad you told me, but I’m sorry if was I asking you too many questions about something you didn’t want to talk about. It’s a bad habit of mine—the nature of the job, I’m afraid.”
She reached out and pressed her hand against his. “Actually, I’m glad we talked about it. Not everyone knows we dated, but enough people do that I’d feel terrible if you found out about it from someone else.”
“Are you okay now?”
“You know what? I think I am. I saw him today. I needed to drop off Katie. What I discovered was that the two of us are
Everyone else gasped and then cheered.
Katie smiled, too, but she really only felt relief. Ella was okay. And her baby was, too! God had answered her prayers!
With a creak and a groan, Loyal got to his feet, smiling softly at her all the while. “Katie, you don’t understand why Ella named her baby Katherine, do you?”
She shook her head. Did it even matter?
“She named our little girl after someone special. After a certain Katherine she is mighty fond of. A Katie who she loves very much.”
“She did?” Loyal’s words hardly made sense. Could she really mean so much to Ella? It didn’t seem possible.
Leaning a little bit closer, Loyal said, “Ella named our baby after you, Katie Weaver. The baby is your namesake.”
“I’m that special?”
“Yes, shveshtah . You are that special, indeed.”
Katie thought about saying something, but she had no more words in her head. All she could think about was that Ella was okay, and that God loved her so much that He gave her a little girl, a little niece to take care of and play with.
For some reason, the tears came back. But this time, they were happy tears. Giving in to temptation, she wrapped her arms around Loyal and hugged him tight.
With a chuckle, Loyal hugged her right back, just as if he never intended to let her go.
Chapter Twelve
A FTER MUCH DEBATE, Connor decided to take Jayne to the Dutch Inn for dinner. They specialized in Amish home cooking, and since the Amish were such a big part of the Geauga County community, he figured they might as well enjoy the specialties of the area.
But though she’d agreed to his choice, he noticed that she barely looked at the menu and didn’t seem to be all that happy to be in the restaurant. He couldn’t understand why—until she told him her reason.
“Last year, I dated an Amish man. It wasn’t really serious, but I really liked him.”
“I didn’t know the Amish dated outsiders.”
“Well, it’s complicated. His name is John Weaver. He’s, uh, Katie’s uncle. He never joined the order. He left when he was eighteen and lived in Indianapolis for twenty years. But then his brother died and he wanted to be there for his brother’s family. When we dated, he didn’t intend to return to his childhood faith. But then he did.”
“Wow. So, he’s still around?” With a bit of a shock, he realized that he was feeling jealous. Mentally, he shook his head. He needed to concentrate on keeping his expression schooled and open. Jayne needed to know that she could trust him to be a good listener.
“Yes. He owns the Kaffi Haus.”
“Wow,” he said again. “I’ve been in there a lot. And I’ve talked to . . . John, though I didn’t know his name. He’s a nice guy.”
“Yes, he is.” Looking a bit miserable, Jayne added, “Not too long after we broke things off, he married an Amish woman. I didn’t mean to feel hurt, but I guess I did.”
“I can understand that.”
“Can you?” Her lips turned up slightly, as if she was pleased by the news. Then she took a sip of water. “So, that’s why I’m not a big fan of Amish cooking,” she said, looking a little flustered. “It’s stupid, but it just seems to remind me of what I didn’t measure up to. Aren’t you glad you asked?”
He noticed that she looked embarrassed. “I’m glad you told me, but I’m sorry if was I asking you too many questions about something you didn’t want to talk about. It’s a bad habit of mine—the nature of the job, I’m afraid.”
She reached out and pressed her hand against his. “Actually, I’m glad we talked about it. Not everyone knows we dated, but enough people do that I’d feel terrible if you found out about it from someone else.”
“Are you okay now?”
“You know what? I think I am. I saw him today. I needed to drop off Katie. What I discovered was that the two of us are
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