Free Letters to Katie by Kathleen Fuller Page B

“Danki.”
    His brow lifted. “You’re thanking me? Why?”
    She cringed. That did sound stupid, thanking him for asking her to clean his house.
     She tried to think of a quick reply, but nothing came.
    “I should be thanking you.” He smiled again, and her knees nearly buckled. “I better
     get to the barn.”
    Katherine nodded. The door shut behind him. She clasped her hands and looked around
     the kitchen again. “First thing, open a window.” She yanked it open. The fresh spring
     air filtered through, disturbing the dust motes further. Everything needed airing
     out.
    She went through the house, taking note of what needed to be done. The dingy brown
     curtains were ragged and ill fitting, as if they’d been hanging there for years. Those
     would have to go.
    She pulled open the pitiful curtains to let some light in. The furniture placement
     in the room needed improvement too. The couch was shoved up against a wall in front
     of the big window, with a saggy chair next to it. A small coffee table was placed
     too close to the couch and covered with horse magazines, along with feed and farming
     catalogs. Everything looked second-, even thirdhand.
    The bathroom downstairs was surprisingly clean. Katherine then went upstairs to the
     bedrooms. Two of them were completely empty. A bit of sweeping the dust off the hardwoodfloors and she would be done. The third bedroom was Johnny’s. Her hand touched the
     doorknob, and she paused.
    How foolish. She was cleaning his house. Nothing else. Yet knowing she was going into
     Johnny’s bedroom gave her mixed emotions. Like she was intruding. Yet her curiosity
     was getting the best of her.
    “Katherine!” Johnny’s voice sounded at the bottom of the stairs.
    She released the doorknob and went to the top of the staircase. “Ya?”
    “I meant to tell you not to worry about the upstairs.” He took off his hat and brushed
     off some of the dust. It floated to the floor. It meant more sweeping for her, but
     she didn’t care. He plopped his hat back on his head. “The Wagners won’t be going
     up there, so there’s no need to clean.”
    “I don’t mind. Really. It won’t take me long at all.” Despite her hesitation in going
     into his room, now she was disappointed to be denied.
    “Nah, it’s fine. Don’t want you to have to do any extra work.”
    His courtesy touched her. Again the thought entered her mind that this might just
     be more than a favor. Maybe it was an excuse to be with her. To break the ice that
     had thickened between them over the years, at least on his side.
    She tried to temper those expectations, but as usual, her feelings overruled her thoughts.
     As she watched him walk away, for a brief instant she imagined what it would be like
     if the house were theirs. If they were married, and he was going to work the farm
     while she took care of the house and their kinner .
    She gripped the knob on the stair rail, forcing the dreamy thought away.

    Johnny walked out the back door, intending to head to the barn. Instead he turned
     back and looked at the house, thinking about Katie working inside. Her face had lit
     up when he asked her about cooking the meal, and she didn’t even flinch when she saw
     the mess in the house. In fact, she seemed excited to clean it.
    But he knew that excitement came from her kind heart. It had taken everything he had
     not to keep staring at her as she’d walked around his kitchen. She was so lovely,
     with her reddish-blond hair peeking out from beneath her starched white kapp . She was willowy and graceful. He couldn’t believe he ever thought her awkward. Or
     annoying. And when he recalled how he’d treated her in the past, the guilt nearly
     drove him to go straight back in the house and tell her how much he cared for her.
    Yet his feet wouldn’t move. Apparently his body was wiser than his head, because to
     reveal his feelings now would be disastrous. Certainly she would accept that he didn’t
     have