The Loyal One Read online

  “You are almost old enough to do what you want.”

  She sat down next to him. “Almost, but not yet.”

  That was Betty. Always so impatient to grow up. “Tell me about everyone else,” he said as he broke a breadstick in half and dipped it into the rich broth.

  “Daed went to the Bylers’ to help with a foal who’s sickly, Kyle’s been working in the barn all morning and should be coming in any minute.”

  “And Beth? Is she at work?”

  “She is. I doubt she’ll be back until dark.”

  It took some effort, but he didn’t smile at the wistful tone in his little sister’s voice. Beth was a nanny for an English family in town. She worked long hours and usually spent the night at the family’s home one or two nights a week, on account of both parents traveling a lot.

  But even though it was a demanding job, she was paid well and lived a very English life when she cared for the two children under her watch. All of them knew that Betty constantly yearned to leave the house and do new things.

  After releasing a little sigh, Betty said, “Let’s talk about you, Harley.”

  “Not much to talk about.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Eyeing him closely, she said, “I didn’t expect you home so early.”

  “I wasn’t doing construction today. I was just checking out a house to see if I wanted to do the remodel.” And why he was making his visit to Katie’s house sound like a formal meeting with strangers, he didn’t know.

  Betty stared at him curiously. “But I thought you were going to Katie Steury’s haus? Was I wrong?”

  “Nee, that’s where I went.”

  “Then there was no question of you taking the job, right?”

  His little sister was way too smart for her own good. She also had a cadence in her voice that echoed their father’s.

  Because of that, he could never seem to evade his answers to her. “Right,” he replied slowly. “But still, I needed to talk things over with Katie.”

  Betty’s eyes lit up with humor. “How did that go?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, only that she’s always rubbed you the wrong way.”

  Had that really been so obvious? “That ain’t true.”

  “Sure it is. You two argue more than the five of us ever have,” she said as they heard the door open and shut. “Kyle?”

  “Jah. Mamm and Jimmy are in the barn, putting up the buggy. They’ll be in shortly.” After a pause, Kyle said, “Harley, you’re back from Katie’s already?”

  He took a spoonful of soup instead of stating the obvious.

  When Kyle entered the kitchen, he was grinning. “Ha! I was right!”

  “About what?”

  “I told Jimmy that you’d be home by dinner. Good of you to help me out.”

  “You better not have bet on me.” From the time Jimmy and Harley were nine or ten they’d had a habit of betting on all sorts of things. Never for money, and the bet was never even about anything serious. No, it was all for bragging rights, and the loser had to do the winner’s chores for the day. As soon as Beth and the others got of age, Harley and Jimmy had let them in.

  There were only a few rules. The loser had to do the winner’s chores without complaint, and they could never tell their parents what they were up to. Of course, their mamm found out pretty quickly that something was going on when Beth was mucking out stalls or Jimmy was washing supper dishes. But other than a shake of her head, Harley was fairly certain she’d never told Daed about their game.

  It went without saying that he wouldn’t find either betting or shirking duties to be anything other than a bad idea.

  Harley figured that they were entitled to a small break from time to time. Their father kept them busy and expected them to do all of their tasks well. Each of them had learned the hard way what would happen if they attempted to cut corners—they’d be forced to do the job all over again, this time under their father’s watchful eye. Few things were worse than that.

  All that said, none of them appreciated being the object of a bet.

  When Kyle merely looked amused, Harley sighed and secretly vowed to get him back.

  Looking almost angelic, Kyle turned to their sister. “May I have some soup, Betty?”

  “Sure. Sit down.”

  While their sister readied the bowl, Harley leaned close. “What did you bet?”

  “Nothing that concerns you. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Kyle, for the record, me and Katie ain’t none of your concern.”

  “Sure it is,” he quipped with a bright smile just as they heard the door open again.

  “Betty, your soup smells like Heaven,” Mamm called out as she entered. “Oh. Harley. You’re home for dinner.”

  “Jah.” He didn’t miss the look of triumph Kyle sent Jimmy as he entered.

  As Betty brought over a bowl to Kyle, she glanced at Jimmy. “You want some soup, Jimmy? Mamm?”

  Their mother shook her head. “None for me. Sarah served us chicken salad sandwiches. I’m stuffed.”

  “I’m not,” Jimmy said. “I’ll have some, Betty.”

  Back she went to the stove.

  Jimmy, all freckles and dark red hair, closed his eyes to pray then grabbed one of the breadsticks. “How’s Katie’s haus?”

  “It was all right, I reckon.”

  All four members of his family stared at him. Obviously waiting for him to continue.

  Though he ached to share that it was crowded and uncomfortable and seemed to have more sore spots for Katie than a bad case of measles, he said, “It’s going to need a lot of work in order to be a bed-and-breakfast.”

  “Does that surprise you, her wanting to run a place like that?” Mamm asked.

  “Not really. Should it?”

  “It surprises me,” Betty said. “She can’t cook.”

  “Maybe not as well as you, sister, but I know she cooks. I think she bakes well.”

  “Not well enough to entice guests, I bet.”

  “I’ve never stayed at a bed-and-breakfast. I don’t know what is needed. And neither do you, Betty.”

  “Ouch,” Kyle said. “You’re touchy about Katie. I guess some things never change, do they?” He looked around the table, obviously expecting an answer. “Ain’t so?”

  “Watch it, Kyle,” Harley muttered.

  “Jah, you know our big brother don’t take kindly to us teasing him about any of the Eight,” Jimmy said before slurping another spoonful of soup.

  “Kyle, as always, you are incorrigible,” Mamm chided.

  And so it continued. Another meal shared around a well-worn table, with several conversations going on at once, some out loud, and others whispered or silently shared between one or two of them.

  It was familiar, and yet, now that he had a better understanding of how Katie’s family really had been, he realized that he’d probably never truly appreciated it. Despite the way they’d all had a mighty strict upbringing, there was love here.

  He finished the soup just as the door opened again. Little by little all of them stopped the bantering and teasing. Postures straightened and expressions tightened just in time for Daed to enter the room.

  He stopped, looking a bit surprised to see all of them sitting together in the middle of the day.

  “Is there a holiday I don’t know about?” he asked gruffly as he took the empty chair at the end of the rectangular table.

  “Nee,” Jimmy replied as he stood up and brought his dish to the counter. “We were all just enjoying Betty’s soup. It’s mighty gut.”

  Betty beamed. “Danke, Jimmy.”

  Looking at their little sister with an almost fond expression, Daed said, “And what did you make today, Betty?”

  “Italian meatball soup, Father,” she said primly. “Would you care for any?”

  “I would.”

  She served their father while Harley got up, washed his bowl, and set it on the drying rack. After they’d all stayed silent whil
e Daed prayed, Harley turned to Kyle. “I need to speak to you about the job over at Katie’s.”

  “I can talk with you now.” Not wasting a minute, Kyle stood up, also washed his dish.

  His father looked up from his soup. “You decided to take on that job at the Steury haus, Harley?”

  “Jah.” If they’d had a different relationship, he might have gone into more details. Oh, not about Mrs. Steury’s hoarding, but about how Katie’s longtime dreams of having a bed-and-breakfast were going to be finally realized.

  But that was not how Harley ever spoke to his father.

  After taking another spoonful of soup and then carefully wiping his lips and dabbing at his beard with the paper napkin, Daed nodded. “That’s gut. Your Katie needs you. Ain’t so?”

  A new, amused silence slid into the room as Harley struggled to answer. Katie was not “his.” But he had twenty-five years of never correcting his father.

  Finally he took the road of least resistance. “Jah,” he said at last. “Kyle, I’ll be waiting upstairs.”

  “Sure. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “Take your time.” He turned and started walking before any of the other occupants in the room could tease him about anything else.

  FIVE

  When Logan groaned, Tricia giggled. “Oh, come on. You all aren’t going to try to tell me that you were afraid of a bunch of goats. They’re as cute as can be.”

  “Not those goats,” Logan said.

  Kyle was beginning to feel like his head was about to explode. He had too many thoughts and emotions spinning around in it and not enough guts to share his feelings or worries with anyone who could help.

  After thanking Betty for the meal, he walked upstairs, needing to take his time getting to Harley’s room. Harley would be all-business, a younger carbon copy of their father, and there was only so much of that he could take without a break.

  He wandered into the bathroom, did his business, and then took his time washing his hands and splashing warm water on his face and neck. Working in the barn all morning was a dirty job. If he’d been alone in the house, he would’ve taken a shower to get the rest of the dust and dirt off.

  But his parents didn’t believe in taking unnecessary showers during the day.

  It was one of many rules that he’d learned long ago to never question, but it had always chafed at him something awful. He figured at eighteen, he was far too old to have to explain to his parents why he didn’t want to smell like barns and manure all the time.

  Realizing that he couldn’t put it off any longer, he walked down the hall and up another flight of stairs to Harley’s room. He and Jimmy shared the attic. Because of that, Kyle had his own room on the second floor. The privacy was nice, but he’d always been jealous of his two older brothers’ close relationship.

  After knocking twice, he turned the knob and looked at his brother’s desk, which was in the far corner of the wide-open space, under one of the three windows. He opened his mouth, ready to pull out a made-up reason why he hadn’t gotten there more quickly. But his brother wasn’t there.

  “Harley?” he murmured as he turned his head.

  “I’m here.”

  Harley was lying on his bed, his sock-covered feet crossed at the ankles and his hands folded on his stomach. Kyle couldn’t recall if he’d ever seen his brother relaxing like that in the middle of the day.

  It shocked him.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Hmm?” He raised up on his elbows. “Yeah. Why?”

  After debating about two seconds, he said, “Uh, don’t know if you noticed but you are sprawled out on your bed in the middle of the day.”

  “I was hardly sprawled.” He got to his feet. “And I’m not sprawled any longer.” To his surprise, Harley looked irritated that Kyle had even asked him about what he’d been doing.

  “You can lie down up here, if you want. I won’t tell.”

  “Are you giving me permission, glay broodah?”

  Little brother. Harley loved to call him that, even though Kyle wasn’t a kid any longer. “You don’t need to sound so sarcastic. I’m trying to help you. That’s all.”

  “Well, I do need your help, but not for anything here.” The defensive look on his face turned to something slightly more guarded as he continued. “I am going to need your help for a while. Katie’s haus is gonna be a far bigger job than I’d realized.”

  “What are you going to need done?” As far as Kyle was concerned, it was a fair question. He wasn’t a builder and didn’t have a lot of experience in doing the intricate jobs that Harley usually hired professional trade workers to do.

  “I’ll pay you,” came his reply.

  Becoming even more confused, Kyle tried again. “Harley, what is the job you need me to do?”

  “Honestly, can’t you ever just agree? Why do you have to be difficult?”

  Kyle stared at his eldest brother in shock. Who was this man who’d taken his steady, closed-off brother’s place? Kyle could count the number of times on one hand that Harley had lost his composure. “I’m not arguing. All I’m doing is trying to figure out what kind of job exactly you need me to do. We both know I ain’t all that skilled.”

  “Sorry.” He leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “All right, fine. I guess I need to take some of my own advice. Ain’t so?”

  Kyle didn’t answer. Simply stared.

  “Katie’s mother was a hoarder.”

  “Sorry?” He wasn’t trying to be difficult, but he wasn’t exactly sure what that was.

  “She kept things.” He waved a hand. “Lots of things.”

  “Okay.”

  “Nee, it ain’t okay. It’s awful inside. I’m fairly sure that something died in one of the rooms. That’s how bad it was.”

  “Something died and Katie Steury couldn’t clean it up?”

  With a jerk, Harley leaned forward. “Don’t talk about her like that. It would have been impossible for her to clean out that house by herself.”

  “She is one of the Eight, right? Why don’t you get all of them to help?” It was a fair question and he was sure that this time his voice was so even it didn’t betray his usual jealousy whenever he mentioned his older brother’s tight group of friends.

  “She is embarrassed about it.” He waved a hand. “I couldn’t believe it, but she acted like she didn’t want even me to see the house.” His voice rose. “What do you think about that?”

  Well, he thought that their father had been exactly right. Katie really was Harley’s Katie. That’s what he thought, but he would rather be poked with a stick instead of being subjected to another one of his older brother’s lengthy lectures. “I don’t know,” he murmured instead.

  After staring at him a long moment, Harley grunted. “I didn’t know how to respond either. I was shocked, I’ll tell you that. I thought she would’ve trusted me more. Why do you think she doesn’t?”

  “I couldn’t say.”

  “Me, neither.” Harley turned and looked out the window for almost a full minute before looking back at him. “So, will you do it?”

  “Will I help you clean Katie’s haus?”

  “Jah. Will you help me empty the house of all the trash, help her organize the items that she wants to keep, and then get the whole place ready for remodeling?”

  Harley was talking lots and lots of hours, which meant he’d have lots more spending money than he did at the moment. “Jah. Sure,” Kyle said eagerly. “When do you want to get started?”

  “I’d like to start this afternoon, but I guess tomorrow morning would be better. Katie acted like she needed some time before I got started.”

  “All right. Do you want to tell Daed about the job or shall I?”

  Looking lost in thought again, Harley blinked. “Huh? Oh, you can, if you want.”

  “What, exactly, should I tell him?” Their father wasn’t a man to accept vague explanations.

  Harley started to shrug, then groaned. “You’
re right. He’s going to ask questions about Katie’s haus. I’ll talk to him. Just . . . just be ready tomorrow at six thirty.”

  Kyle had been more concerned about their father getting upset that Kyle wasn’t going to be able to do most of his chores. That was going to be a problem. But if Katie was who Harley wanted to protect, so be it. At least now he wasn’t going to have to have that conversation.

  His brother looked lost in thought again. “Hey, Harley?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you okay?”

  His expression sharpened. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

  Because his older brother didn’t usually lie on his bed, stare off into the distance, or act so distracted. “No reason. I’ll see you later.”

  He walked downstairs. Paused on the second floor and considered sneaking into his room for another fifteen minutes. But there were still chores to be done and he wasn’t going to be around tomorrow to do them. So he kept walking.

  Besides, if he got through with his chores early enough, he could head down the road and maybe see Gabby.

  Gabrielle, but always Gabby to him. Even though she was everything wrong for him, he couldn’t help but wonder if the Lord had also thought maybe she was everything right.

  No woman who was so perfect could ever be anyone’s idea of wrong.

  Well, no one would ever think that, unless they were a part of his family. Then all they would see was that she was English.

  And because she was, Gabrielle Allison Ferrara was everything that was wrong.

  Now all he needed to think about was if he cared enough about that to stay away from her.

  SIX

  “Logan ain’t lying,” Harley said. “That herd of goats was huge. There had to be at least thirty of them, and they were worse than ornery. They also didn’t take too kindly to us trespassing through their property.”

  Elizabeth Anne grunted. “That’s for sure. They were downright mad.”

  They’d been working hard for two hours. Katie, Harley, and Harley’s youngest brother, Kyle. She knew Kyle, of course. All of the Eight knew one another’s families. And, since they were both in the same church district, she’d had the chance to talk to all of Harley’s siblings on more than one occasion. But while so many of the members were more open, Harley’s family was not.