Seeds of Deception: A Kate Burkholder Short Story by Linda Castillo Page A

them out in the field. Daniel hadn’t said a word to Katie, but he’d smiled when she handed him the glass. Her legs weren’t quite steady when she walked back to the house. Later that night, she’d dreamed of him.
    She’d just twisted another apple off the branch when something hit her in the back hard enough to hurt.
    Drawing back to defend herself from her marauding brother, Katie spun. “Mattie!”
    The Amish girl doubled over with laughter. “You should have seen your face! Like you were under attack and you were going to beat the crap out of someone!”
    The image struck Katie’s funny bone and for a full minute the girls’ laughter rang out. Mattie Erb had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. In the past, Katie had seen her at school, which made learning so much more tolerable, even though they’d gotten their knuckles rapped for speaking out of turn or laughing when they weren’t supposed to. But the Amish only went to school through the eighth grade; both girls had finished last year. Katie didn’t get to see Mattie as often now. She missed those easy, carefree days. Mattie was funny and pretty and, like Katie, had a penchant for getting into trouble. They were a match made in heaven.
    “What are you doing here?” Katie asked.
    “Picking apples—same as you, dummy.”
    Dropping a piece of fruit into her basket, Katie walked over to her friend. Mattie wore an Amish dress like the gray one Katie was wearing, but maroon, and an off-white cardigan with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Like most of the other Amish girls their age, they wore sneakers and matching organdy kapps .
    “Mamm needs three bushels for pies.” Mattie tilted her head, her eyes sparking. “Is Jacob here?”
    Mattie had a crush on Katie’s brother—though he wasn’t the only boy she had her eye on. It was one of the reasons Mamm didn’t approve of their friendship. She said Mattie was “boy-crazy and wild.” Of course, Katie loved her even more for it.
    “He’s two rows over at the other end,” Katie replied.
    “You’re lucky to have such a cute brother,” Mattie said breezily.
    “Cute like a pig, maybe.” But the blues that had been weighing her down all morning began to lift. Now that Mattie was here, the day was looking up.
    “Have you seen anyone else we know?” Mattie asked.
    “No such luck.” Tugging an apple from a branch, Katie checked it for worms and took a bite. “Just us boring girls.”
    “Speak for yourself.” Digging into her apron pocket, Mattie withdrew a tube of lipstick. “Peach Berry Dew is definitely not boring.”
    Katie watched as her friend swiveled the tube and glided the lipstick over her mouth. It was the color of a ripe, wet peach. It looked good on Mattie, she thought. And not for the first time, Katie found herself wishing she were as pretty as Mattie. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too much longer before her figure filled out.
    “Where’d you get it?” Katie asked.
    “Fox’s Pharmacy. They’ve got the best colors.”
    Wearing makeup was forbidden by the Ordnung , which made Katie wonder if Mattie had bought it—or if the lipstick had somehow found its way into her pocket. She didn’t ask.
    Mattie offered the tube to Katie. “Try it.”
    Katie shook her head. “Jacob will tell.”
    “So wipe it off before he sees you. He’ll never know.”
    Glancing toward the far end of the orchard and seeing no sign of her brother, Katie accepted the tube. Never taking her eyes from Mattie’s, she applied the color. It glided on like silk. “It smells like strawberries.”
    “A little dark for you.” Mattie reached out and touched the side of Katie’s mouth, erasing a smudge with her thumb. “But you look good. Sexy.”
    Katie grinned and felt herself blush. “You, too.”
    Pulling their wagons, the girls strolled between the endless rows of trees, picking apples as they went. Mattie wasn’t quite as careful not to bruise hers. Every now and then she’d