Free Katie's Journey to Love by Jerry S. Eicher Page A

too.
    Approaching the group of girls, Katie stopped dead in her tracks. It couldn’t be! But, yah , there on the other side of the room was Ben Stoll standing in plain sight, his back toward her. She must be mistaken! Ben didn’t come to the Mennonite youth gatherings. But it was him. Is this the secret Margaret planned to tell her? Katie stood frozen to the spot, thinking about that question. Margaret couldn’t possibly know that Ben and I, well, that I likehim, Katie decided. Ben is probably just passing through for some strange reason—perhaps here only for one evening. He couldn’t be planning to attend often…could he?
    Several of the girls had turned to greet her.
    â€œHi, Katie,” one of them said. “Did Margaret assign you to help us?”
    If she didn’t gain control of herself soon, they would notice, Katie thought, forcing herself to walk closer. Ben still hadn’t turned around, but she pulled her gaze away from him. “ Yah , she did.” Katie smiled. “What can I do to help?”
    â€œTake a turn with this hammer,” another girl told her. “The boys are pushing everything along at breakneck speed. One would think the barn was on fire.”
    Katie reached for the hammer. The girl handed it over with a sigh, and Katie lowered her head just as Ben turned around. He probably would be surprised to see her—if he even noticed. Her Amish dress was hard to miss. Likely he’d assume she was some other Amish girl. That might get his curiosity up, but once he figured out who she was, that would be the end of his attention.
    With vigorous blows, Katie pounded away at the nails, not looking up for even a peek. If Ben wanted to ignore her, well, she would ignore him too. What right did he have to come here anyway? Ben had the whole world in which to roam, while she had only this place. Ben could have any Amish girl’s heart he wanted. All he had to do was turn on that smile and speak his charming words. What an embarrassing situation this was. What if the girls around her knew what she was thinking? Her neck was no doubt burning red already, Katie thought, pounding even harder.
    Was this why Ben had been riding around in someone’s pickup truck the other day? He’d always driven his buggy before when she passed him on the road near Byler’s. Was Ben goingMennonite? Surely not! She could never visit again if he was. The shame of being ignored by him in front of Margaret and Sharon would simply be too great. And they would find out soon enough that Ben knew her.
    â€œI think we’ll keep you here all night,” one of the girls said, interrupting Katie’s thoughts. The girl laughed. “None of us will have to do any work if you keep this pace and pound in all the nails!”
    Katie stopped, suddenly conscious of what she was doing and that she was gasping for breath. She would soon be making a scene that even Ben would notice. Handing over the hammer, she stood up, took a couple of deep breaths, and smiled. Thankfully, from the looks on their faces, the girls thought she’d been trying to get the work done quickly and efficiently.
    Did she dare sneak another look toward Ben? Perhaps he was gone now or, worse, looking in her direction. What would she do then? But, nee , Ben wouldn’t be looking at her.
    A girl standing beside Katie stepped closer, a smile spreading across her face. “I don’t think I know you. Edith is my name.”
    â€œHi,” Katie replied, returning the smile. “I’m Katie, and…” the words died in her mouth as a voice came from behind them. “Edith, I do declare! You have a nice floor-nailing party going on here. Looks like you might even get done tonight.”
    Edith was distracted and turned toward the voice. Her smile grew even wider. “Hi, Ben. Good to see you. And, yes, with everyone working so hard anything is possible. Now, if all of us worked like Katie