Free Katie's Redemption by Patricia Davids Page A

sleeve of the Amish elder. “I’m not a runaway. I mean…I was, but I’m trying to reach my brother’s home. Malachi Lantz. Perhaps you knew him before he moved away from here.”
    “We are not from Hope Springs. We came on business and now we must go home.” They picked up their satchels and moved toward the doorway.
    Katie spun around to face the English tourists. “Please. I only need thirty more dollars to get home. Won’t you help me?”
    The man hesitated, then started to pull his wallet outof his pocket, but his wife stopped him. “She probably wants it for drug money. I’ve heard plenty stories about these Amish teenagers. Let’s go.”
    Tears filled Katie’s eyes as she watched them leave. The young soldier stopped at her side. “I’ve only got ten bucks on me, but you’re welcome to it. I won’t need it. I’m headed back to my post.”
    She shook her head. “It’s not enough, but bless you.”
    He shrugged and said, “Good luck.”
    As the people filed up the steps of the bus outside, Katie sank onto one of the chairs. Exhaustion rushed in to sap what little strength she had left.
    The man behind the ticket counter came out and began turning off the lights. “We’re closing, ma’am. You’ll have to leave.”
    Rising, she picked up her small suitcase and walked out with lagging steps.
    The bus pulled away in a cloud of diesel fumes. The sight reminded her so much of her arrival only days ago that she started to laugh. Only her chuckle turned into a broken sob. She couldn’t do anything right. Everything she touched turned to ashes. She couldn’t run away. She couldn’t even run home. How was she going to take care of her daughter?
    Dropping her suitcase, she sat on it and leaned back against the wall of the depot. She pressed a hand to her lips to stifle the next sob.
    Rachel began crying but Katie was too tired to do more than hold her. Closing her eyes, she rocked back and forth. “What will become of us now?”

Chapter Seven
    E lam finished loading the lumber he needed into the back of his farm cart. His gray Belgian draft horse, Joey, stood quietly, his head hung low, waiting to carry the load home. As Elam closed the tailgate of the wagon, he heard someone call his name. Turning, he saw Bishop Joseph Zook approaching.
    “Good evening to you, Elam.” The bishop touched the brim of his black felt hat.
    “And to you, Bishop,” Elam replied, feeling uneasy at the man’s intense scrutiny.
    “Mrs. Zimmerman mentioned that Katie Lantz has been staying with you. I didn’t know she was a friend of the family.”
    “She returned expecting to find her brother still farming here. The shock of finding him gone brought on her labor and she delivered a little girl, but they left today.”
    “She’s gone, then?” The bishop seemed relieved.
    “ Jah, she’s gone.” Saying the words made it seem sofinal. Katie had dropped into his life without warning. She had stirred up feelings he’d tried to keep buried. Now she was gone and he felt her loss keenly.
    He hesitated, then asked, “Did you know her well, Bishop?”
    “I did not. Once she was of age, she rarely attended services or gatherings. Her brother used to lament how stubborn and how selfish she was, how she thought herself better than the others in our Plain community. He expressed much worry that she meant to leave us and to entice other youth away, as well.”
    Her brother’s description didn’t match the quiet, meek woman that had come to Elam’s door. Still, her family would know her best.
    Bishop Zook hooked his thumbs in his suspenders. “I wish that I might have spoken to her to see if she has come back to the faith. My cousin lives near Malachi in Kansas and he has written that they are happy in their new home. It would be good news for them to hear Katie has found redemption.”
    Elam shook his head. “She was in trouble and seeking her family’s help, but I fear she does not mean to stay among the Plain