the long run, even though it’s a bit awkward now. And you can deal with him here in private, not at the meetinghouse with everyone watching you guys.”
The image of her wiping out on the ice with David flashed in Katy’s mind. She probably would have made a fool of herself at the meetinghouse if she hadn’t been forewarned of his appearance. And she hated pity. “I guess I’ll deal with it. Get over it.” She’d never get over it—him. She could still feel his arms sheltering her, as they had in the kitchen. If she didn’t hate him so much, she’d be running right back into his embrace.
“Guess what? Jake said he’d throw in the beds for free.”
“What?”
“He can make furniture.”
Katy shoved her finger in Lil’s face. “He is
not
making my bed!”
Ducking away, Lil backed down. “Fine.”
“You don’t get it, Lil.” Katy lowered her voice then. “Just having him here is going to cause me pain. Just remembering him standing in the kitchen or looking at a piece of furniture he’s made. I’m going to have to work through forgetting him all over again. Especially if he’s here at the doddy house. At church.” Her voice trailed off. “Everywhere I go.”
I see his face.
“That’s just it. He’s back to stay. So why not deal with him on your terms? You can heal faster that way. I’m doing this for your own good.”
Face-to-face.
Those dark mournful eyes, that crooked grin. A mouth she’d once kissed, cherished, owned for her own. No, she wasn’t falling for it. “It feels like you’re treating me like a child. Giving the contract to my dad before you let me see it, and now this. Why the big surprises? Why couldn’t you just be straightforward?”
“Because you wouldn’t have been able to see clearly in this situation, to see what’s best for you.” Lil pulled out her list and made a poor attempt at diversion. “We can talk about this later. We’re wasting shopping time. Let’s go over this and hit the stores. It’s going to be fun.”
“I’ll tell you what. You go over the list. I’ll wait for you in the car, having the time of my life.” She heard Lil sigh as she stomped down the hall without even looking in the direction of the kitchen.
Jake swung the sledgehammer, and a chunk of plaster caved in, some of it crashing to the floor and filling the air with white powder. After Katy’s rebuff the night of the skating party, he hadn’t expected her to give him an open-armed welcome as her surprise contractor, but her rejection still hurt. He’d overheard much of her ranting and raving, wanting Lil to fire him. Mennonites might be antiwar and noncombatant when it came to flesh wounds, but his fellow brethren could wield weapons that slashed through flesh to the soul. What was the term he’d learned in college? Passive-aggressive. Yeah, that described his Katy. He’d rather she’d just come at him swinging. That he could handle. But when she employed her smoldering eyes and pouty lip, he’d rather scoop her up and kiss her to her senses. Only he’d tried that. It hadn’t been successful at all.
Still, her reaction to him today, treating him like he was some lowlife, was a twisted blade to his heart, reiterating the very words she spat at him the night of the incident:
Stay away.
Those words had hardened him then, but now that he’d let God back in, they just plain hurt. And she’d added even more meaning to them today.
I don’t want you to go to hell. I just don’t want you.
He knew a few things about Katy. She took life seriously, categorizing everything in labeled cubbies. Six out of ten of these cubbies she labeled off-limits: lying, missing curfew, stealing crackers from the church cupboard marked C OMMUNION, watching movies through his neighbor’s window when he was mowing, driving over the speed limit, and kissing in the church parking lot.
But being stuffed into a cubby didn’t suit his style, and he had no intentions of staying there. The thing
The image of her wiping out on the ice with David flashed in Katy’s mind. She probably would have made a fool of herself at the meetinghouse if she hadn’t been forewarned of his appearance. And she hated pity. “I guess I’ll deal with it. Get over it.” She’d never get over it—him. She could still feel his arms sheltering her, as they had in the kitchen. If she didn’t hate him so much, she’d be running right back into his embrace.
“Guess what? Jake said he’d throw in the beds for free.”
“What?”
“He can make furniture.”
Katy shoved her finger in Lil’s face. “He is
not
making my bed!”
Ducking away, Lil backed down. “Fine.”
“You don’t get it, Lil.” Katy lowered her voice then. “Just having him here is going to cause me pain. Just remembering him standing in the kitchen or looking at a piece of furniture he’s made. I’m going to have to work through forgetting him all over again. Especially if he’s here at the doddy house. At church.” Her voice trailed off. “Everywhere I go.”
I see his face.
“That’s just it. He’s back to stay. So why not deal with him on your terms? You can heal faster that way. I’m doing this for your own good.”
Face-to-face.
Those dark mournful eyes, that crooked grin. A mouth she’d once kissed, cherished, owned for her own. No, she wasn’t falling for it. “It feels like you’re treating me like a child. Giving the contract to my dad before you let me see it, and now this. Why the big surprises? Why couldn’t you just be straightforward?”
“Because you wouldn’t have been able to see clearly in this situation, to see what’s best for you.” Lil pulled out her list and made a poor attempt at diversion. “We can talk about this later. We’re wasting shopping time. Let’s go over this and hit the stores. It’s going to be fun.”
“I’ll tell you what. You go over the list. I’ll wait for you in the car, having the time of my life.” She heard Lil sigh as she stomped down the hall without even looking in the direction of the kitchen.
Jake swung the sledgehammer, and a chunk of plaster caved in, some of it crashing to the floor and filling the air with white powder. After Katy’s rebuff the night of the skating party, he hadn’t expected her to give him an open-armed welcome as her surprise contractor, but her rejection still hurt. He’d overheard much of her ranting and raving, wanting Lil to fire him. Mennonites might be antiwar and noncombatant when it came to flesh wounds, but his fellow brethren could wield weapons that slashed through flesh to the soul. What was the term he’d learned in college? Passive-aggressive. Yeah, that described his Katy. He’d rather she’d just come at him swinging. That he could handle. But when she employed her smoldering eyes and pouty lip, he’d rather scoop her up and kiss her to her senses. Only he’d tried that. It hadn’t been successful at all.
Still, her reaction to him today, treating him like he was some lowlife, was a twisted blade to his heart, reiterating the very words she spat at him the night of the incident:
Stay away.
Those words had hardened him then, but now that he’d let God back in, they just plain hurt. And she’d added even more meaning to them today.
I don’t want you to go to hell. I just don’t want you.
He knew a few things about Katy. She took life seriously, categorizing everything in labeled cubbies. Six out of ten of these cubbies she labeled off-limits: lying, missing curfew, stealing crackers from the church cupboard marked C OMMUNION, watching movies through his neighbor’s window when he was mowing, driving over the speed limit, and kissing in the church parking lot.
But being stuffed into a cubby didn’t suit his style, and he had no intentions of staying there. The thing
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