Patricia Davids - Katie's Redemption

If that time did come, it would be only with a woman he was certain shared his love of God and his Plain faith.

“Once burned, twice shy,” he confided to his tiny listener, Katie’s newborn daughter, nestled in the crook of his arm.

He waited for the anger to surface, but it didn’t. For the first time in over a year he was able to think about his broken engagement without bitterness. Maybe the sweet-smelling babe in his arms had brought with her a measure of God’s peace for him. To her, life was new and good and shouldn’t be tainted with the sins of the past.

He began to sing a soft lullaby. Baby Rachel stared back at him intently for a few minutes, but she eventually grew discontented with his voice and the fingers she couldn’t quite get into her mouth. Her little fussing noises became a full-fledged cry.

“I guess I can’t fix what ails you after all. I reckon I’ll have to wake your mother.”

“I’m awake.” Katie’s low voice came from the bed.

He looked over to find her watching him with dark eyes as beautiful and intense as her daughter’s. How long had she been listening to him?

After thirty-five years as a nurse, Pat has hung up her stethoscope to become a full-time writer. She enjoys spending her new free time visiting her grandchildren, doing some long overdue yard work and traveling to research her story locations. She resides with her husband in Wichita, Kansas. Pat always enjoys hearing from her readers. You can visit her on the Web at www.patriciadavids.com.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

—Psalms 84:3

This book is dedicated to my family.

You have supported me every step of the way

and I couldn’t do it without you.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

“Lady, you sure this is where you wanna get out?” The middle-aged bus driver tipped his hat back and regarded his passenger with worry-filled eyes.

“This is the place.” Katie Lantz glanced from his concerned face to the desolate winter landscape beyond the windshield. A chill that owed nothing to the weather crawled over her skin.

It was her destination, but rural Ohio was the last place in the world she wanted to be. She had agonized over her decision for weeks. Now that she was here, the same worries that had robbed her of sleep for endless nights cartwheeled through her mind.

Would her brother take her in? What if Malachi turned her away? What would she do then? If he did allow her to return to his home would she ever find the strength to leave again?

“It don’t feel right leaving a gal in your condition out here alone. You sure I can’t take ya into town?”

“I’m sure.” She pressed a protective hand to her midsection. Her condition was the only reason she was here. She didn’t want to get off the bus, but what choice did she have?

None.

All her plans, her dreams and her hopes had turned to ashes. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “I’d just have to walk back if I went into Hope Springs. Thank you for letting me off. I know you aren’t supposed to make unscheduled stops.”

The driver pulled the lever to open the doors with obvious reluctance. “I don’t make a habit of it, but I figured it was best not to argue with a gal that’s as pregnant as you are.”

A gust of wintry wind swirled in, raking Katie’s face with icy fingers. A tremor raced through her body. She turned up the collar of her red plaid coat, prolonging the moment she would have to actually step out of the bus and back into the life she dreaded.

The driver seemed to sense her unwillingness to leave. “Is someone meeting you?”

She hadn’t bothered to write that she was coming. Her previous letters had all been returned unopened. Proof, if she needed any, that her family hadn’t forgiven her for turning her back on her Amish heritage.

She lifted her chin.

I don’t have to do this. I can stay on the bus and go to the next town.

And then what?

As quickly as her bravado appeared it evaporated. She closed her eyes. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

All she had in her pocket was twelve dollars. All she owned was in the suitcase she clutched. It wasn’t enough, not with her baby due in three weeks. For her child’s sake, returning home was her only option.

For now.

Clinging to that faint echo of resolve, she drew a steadying breath, opened her eyes and faced her bleak future. “My brother’s farm is just over the hill. It’s not far. I’ll be fine.”

Oh, how she hoped her words would prove true.

She didn’t belong in this Amish world. She had escaped it once before. She would do so again. It would be harder with a baby, but she would find a way.

With no money, without even a driver’s license and nothing but an eighth-grade education, the English world was a hard place for an ex-Amish woman on her own.

Matt had taken her away and promised to take care of her and show her the wonders of the modern world, but his promises had been empty. He’d disappeared from her life three months ago, leaving her to struggle and fail alone.

The bus driver shrugged. “All right. You be careful.”

“Danki. I mean…thank you.” When she was upset the language of her childhood often slipped out. It was hard to remember to speak English when the words of her native Pennsylvania Dutch came to mind first.

Gripping her small case tightly, Katie descended the steps and walked toward the edge of the roadway. The doors slammed shut behind her. The engine roared as the driver pulled away, followed by a billowing cloud of diesel fumes.

There was no turning back—nowhere left to run.

Shivering as the frigid air found its way inside the coat she couldn’t button over her bulging stomach, she pulled at the material to close the gap. Now she was truly alone. Except for the child she carried.

Standing here wasn’t helping. She needed to get moving. Switching her suitcase to her other hand, she arched her back to stretch out a persistent cramp. When it eased, she turned and glanced up the long lane leading over the hill. For her baby she would do anything. Endure anything.

With the late-March sky hanging low and gray overhead, Katie wished for the first time that she had kept some of her Amish clothing. If she at least looked the part of a repentant Plain woman, her family reunion might go better.

She had left before her baptism—before taking her vows to faithfully follow the Plain faith. She would be reprimanded for her errant behavior, but she might not be shunned if she came asking forgiveness.

Please, God, don’t let them send me away.

To give her child a home she would endure the angry tirade she expected from her brother. His wife, Beatrice, wouldn’t intercede for Katie. Beatrice would sit silent and sullen, never saying a word. Through it all Malachi wouldn’t be able to hide the gloating in his voice. He had predicted Katie would come to a bad end out among the English.