Free Letters to Katie by Kathleen Fuller Page A

with the business. Well, not in the way you think.”
    “What kind of business?”
    “Mullet’s Horse Farm.”
    “You and your daed bought a farm?”
    “Nee.” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “I bought a farm.”
    She turned and glanced at the empty land surrounding a sad-looking barn. “Where?”
    He spread out his arms. “You’re looking at it.” He gave her a halfhearted grin.
    She surveyed the place more closely, taking in the sagging barn, broken, splintering
     fence, and weedy yard. When she looked at the house, she saw it wasn’t in much better
     shape. This was a horse farm?
    “I know it’s not much, but it will be once I get it going.” He started pacing. “And
     this mann —Wagner”—Johnny pronounced the W with a V sound—“he’s thinking about investing. But first he wants an authentic Amish meal.
     Don’t ask me why, but he does.” He stopped and looked at Katherine, holding his palms
     up in defeat. “I can’t cook.”
    “So you want me to make the meal?” Her confidence started to grow. Cooking she could
     handle.
    “That . . . and something else.” He motioned for her to follow him toward the house.
     He opened the door and she stepped in.
    “Ach.” Katherine looked around the grimy kitchen. No curtains on the windows. Motes danced
     in the air as sunlight streamed through filmy windows. She sneezed, sniffed, then
     turned to him. “Does the rest of the haus look like this?”
    “It’s worse.” A sheepish look came across his handsome face. “At least I spend time
     in the kitchen. Not much time, but the room gets used more than the others, except
     my bedroom.”
    She almost laughed at his embarrassed expression. Even dirty from work and obviously
     unhappy with the state of his house, he was so cute. But he was worried too. She didn’t
     want him to worry about anything.
    “I’ll be happy to help you, Johnny. I know just what to do.”
    He let out a long breath. “I’ve got a lot to do outside before the Wagners get here.
     That leaves me with almost no time to clean up the inside. I thought about ordering
     some food from the restaurant—”
    “Nee.” That wouldn’t do. “If the Wagners want a gut meal, I’ll make the best one they’ve ever had.” She started walking around the kitchen,
     mentally making a list of everything that needed to be done. When she turned, she
     saw him watching her. Her pulse suddenly thrummed, a different rhythm than it did
     when she thought about him, or the few times she’d been around him. Heat rose to her
     cheeks and she turned away. “Do you have cleaning supplies?” she asked, grateful her
     voice sounded somewhat normal.
    “ Ya . You’ll have to blow the dust off them, though.”
    She turned to see him smile. With his grin he looked a bit more like himself. “Just
     kidding. They’re underneath the sink. Mamm made sure I was well stocked after I bought the place. Although she probably thought
     I would have used them by now.”
    Katherine smiled back. “You’ve been busy.” She moved closer to him, still taking in
     the kitchen, seeing its potential. “It’s a sweet haus . How many bedrooms?”
    “Three. More than enough for me.”
    His words made her smile inwardly. So far no mention of another woman. Their district
     was small enough, of course, that she probably would have known if he was seeing someone.
     Then again, maybe not. Johnny was nothing if not private, and perplexing at times.
     But if he was dating someone, surely he would ask her for help, not Katherine. Or
     maybe he wasn’t dating anyone seriously enough for him to feel comfortable—
    “Katherine?”
    She focused on him, realizing she had been staring past his shoulder. He moved to
     the back door.
    “I’ll leave you to do whatever it is you’re gonna do.” He opened the door. “I’ll be
     in the barn if you need anything.”
    “All right.” She moved toward him. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” She smiled.