Free Letters to Katie by Kathleen Fuller

hand, giving her a small nod.
    Katherine watched him walk away, the sounds around her dimming to nothing. Johnny
     needed her. She could barely comprehend it.
    She came to her senses and hurried to the kitchen, leaning against the counter as
     she tried to catch her breath.
    “Katherine?” A coworker pulled her out of her thoughts. “We need to get this food
     out there.”
    Katherine nodded and hid a smile.
    Tomorrow she would see Johnny. Alone. The thought made her giddy and nervous and thrilled—more
     emotions than she knew what to do with.
    Could it be true? Could he finally be interested in her?
    After all this time, perhaps her fervent prayers were coming true.

C HAPTER 8

    The next morning Katherine turned into Johnny’s driveway at five minutes to eight.
     Never mind that she’d been up since four thirty, unable to sleep. She’d read her Bible,
     cleaned her room, rearranged her closet, and ended up pacing for the last hour before
     it was time to go downstairs and help Mamm with breakfast. Now she was here, in her parents’ buggy and parked in Johnny’s narrow
     dirt driveway. She put her hand on her chest, felt her heart flutter. She then checked
     to make sure her hair was tucked into her kapp .
    All her determination to move on from Johnny had vanished. She was as excited as she
     had been all those years ago when he had pushed her on the swing, giving her that
     smile that never failed to capture her heart.
    God had given her this chance. Whatever Johnny Mullet needed her to do, she would
     gladly do it.
    She took a deep breath. Don’t act stupid. Calm. For once, be normal around him .
    A memory from sixth grade swam unbidden to the surface of her mind. Johnny had been
     playing baseball at recess with his friends. While he waited his turn to bat, she
     had brought him a bouquet of wildflowers she had spent most of her recess time picking
     just for him. When she finally got the nerve to hand it to him, he laughed.
    “ Buwe don’t get flowers.” He looked at the bouquet with childish derision. “They give flowers.
     I don’t want those dumm things.”
    Fighting tears, she’d taken the flowers and thrown them away before going back inside
     the school haus . The rest of the afternoon she tried to hide her humiliation, from him and everyone
     else. She wasn’t super smart, like Mary Beth and some of the other children in class.
     Sometimes she said dumb things, and sometimes she wasn’t as quick to catch on to a
     joke or sarcasm as other people were.
    Yet despite that horrible day, she forgave Johnny. It wasn’t his fault she didn’t
     know better.
    She shook her head, releasing the memory. Now wasn’t the time to dwell in the past.
    As she stepped out of the buggy, the back screen door banged against the door frame.
     When she reached the front of the horse and grabbed his reins, she saw Johnny across
     the yard, dressed in dirty work pants and shirt. Had he been outside working all morning?
     His boots were caked with mud, dirt, and straw. From the smell as he came closer,
     she knew for sure he’d been in the barn.
    “Here, I’ll take him for you.” Johnny reached and took the reins. He looped them over
     the wooden tie.
    “Danki,” she croaked. She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Thank you.”
    “No problem.” He turned toward her, pushing his hat back from his head. He stared
     for a moment before averting his gaze. Silence stretched out between them, making
     her ill at ease. She shifted on her feet until he finally spoke.
    “I don’t know how else to say this. And I don’t want to ask, but I don’t have a choice.”
     Worry clouded his eyes. “I need your help.”
    She stepped toward him, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
    He took a step back, widening the space between them. “I’m having company over tomorrow.
     A couple from Akron. For a business meeting.”
    “Okay.” She frowned. “I don’t know much about running a business.”
    “I don’t need help