[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey Read online

  © 2011 by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Print ISBN 978-1-60260-681-4

  eBook Editions:

  Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-60742-254-9

  Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-60742-255-6

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.

  All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

  All German-Dutch words are taken from the Revised Pennsylvania German Dictionary found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

  For more information about Wanda E. Brunstetter, please access the author’s Web site at the following Internet address: www.wandabrunstetter.com

  Cover design: Faceout Studio, www.faceoutstudio.com

  Cover photography: Steve Gardner, Pixelworks Studios

  Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, OH 44683, www.barbourbooks.com

  Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Table of Contents

  Fisher Family Tree

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Suzanne’s Lemon Shoofly Pie

  Discussion Questions

  About the Author

  DEDICATION/ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  To Joe Thompson, who first introduced me to the Kentucky Amish and shared helpful information. To Lida Conkle and Patricia Thompson, who have also told me interesting facts about the area and answered many of my questions. And to our new Amish and Mennonite friends, whom we’ve enjoyed visiting during our trips to Kentucky.

  I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

  PHILIPPIANS 4:11

  Fisher Family Tree

  Abraham and Sarah Fisher’s Children

  Abraham and Fannie Fisher’s Children

  Fannie’s Children from her First Marriage

  OTHER BOOKS BY WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER:

  INDIANA COUSINS SERIES

  A Cousin’s Promise

  A Cousin’s Prayer

  A Cousin’s Challenge

  BRIDES OF LEHIGH CANAL SERIES

  Kelly’s Chance

  Betsy’s Return

  Sarah’s Choice

  DAUGHTERS OF LANCASTER COUNTY SERIES

  The Storekeeper’s Daughter

  The Quilter’s Daughter

  The Bishop’s Daughter

  BRIDES OF LANCASTER COUNTY SERIES

  A Merry Heart

  Looking for a Miracle

  Plain and Fancy

  The Hope Chest

  SISTERS OF HOLMES COUNTY SERIES

  A Sister’s Secret

  A Sister’s Test

  A Sister’s Hope

  BRIDES OF WEBSTER COUNTY SERIES

  Going Home

  On Her Own

  Dear to Me

  Allison’s Journey

  White Christmas Pie

  Lydia’s Charm

  NONFICTION

  The Simple Life

  A Celebration of the Simple Life

  Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Amish Friends Cookbook

  Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Amish Friends Cookbook, Vol. 2

  CHILDREN’S BOOKS

  Rachel Yoder—Always Trouble Somewhere Series (8 books)

  The Wisdom of Solomon

  CHAPTER 1

  Paradise, Pennsylvania

  Titus Fisher liked horses, dogs, and shoofly pie. What he didn’t like was a cat that scratched, and a woman he couldn’t trust. Today he’d dealt with both.

  Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his horse’s bridle and led him into the barn, wishing he hadn’t gotten out of bed that morning. The day had started on a sour note when Titus had come to the barn to feed the horses and accidentally stepped on one of Mom’s cats. Five of the irksome critters lived in the barn, and every one of them liked to bite and scratch. Whiskers, the smallest of the five, was the most aggressive. The crazy cat had been so miffed when Titus stepped on her tail that she’d clawed her way right up his leg, hissing and yowling as she went. When Titus had tried to push Whiskers off, she’d let him have it—leaving a nasty scratch on his leg.

  Titus pulled up his pant leg and stared at the wound, still red and swollen. It reminded him of the time when he and his twin brother, Timothy, were six years old and had found a wild cat in the woodpile behind their barn. The mangy critter had bitten Titus’s hand, and when the bite became infected, he’d started running a fever. Mom had taken him to the doctor’s, where he’d been given a tetanus shot and an antibiotic. Ever since then, he’d had an aversion to cats.

  “In my opinion, except for catching mice, cats are pretty much worthless,” Titus mumbled as he guided his horse into one of the stalls. When he patted the horse’s ebony-colored flanks, the gelding whinnied and flipped his head around to nuzzle Titus’s hand. “Not like you, Lightning. You’re worth every dollar I paid for you. You’re dependable and trustworthy.” He grimaced. “Wish I could say the same for Phoebe Stoltzfus.”

  Titus poured some oats into a bucket, and as his horse ate, he replayed the conversation he’d had with Phoebe on his way home from work that afternoon. …

  “I’m not ready to join the church yet, and I’m too young to get married.” Phoebe flipped the strings of her head covering over her shoulders and blinked her blue eyes. “Why do you have to put so much pressure on me, Titus?”

  “I-I’m not,” he stammered, “but I’ve been waiting a long time for you, and I’d thought that when I joined the church two years ago, you’d join, too.”

  “I wasn’t ready then. I was only sixteen and had other things on my mind.”

  “How well I know that. You were too busy runnin’ around with your friends and tryin’ out all sorts of worldly things.” Titus groaned. “Figured you’d have all that out of your sy
stem by now and would be ready to settle down.”

  She shook her head. “Maybe in a few years I’ll be ready.”

  “You said that two years ago.”

  “Things have changed.” She placed her hand gently on his arm. “My friend Darlene Mast is planning a trip to Los Angeles, and she’s leaving in a few days, so—”

  He held up his hand. “Please don’t tell me you want to go with her.”

  “I think it would be fun, and I’ve always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean.” She looked up at him and smiled. “You’re full of adventure and like to try new things. Wouldn’t you like to see California?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe someday, but not right now. What I want is for you to join the church this fall so we can get married.”

  She shook her head. “I just told you—I’m not ready for that.”

  “Will you ever be ready?”

  “I don’t know.” She pushed a wisp of soft, auburn hair under her white organdy head covering and turned her gaze away from him. “I—I might not join the church. I might decide to go English.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “No, I’m not. I don’t know if I want to be Amish.”

  Titus’s jaw tightened as the reality of the situation set in. If Phoebe went to California, she might never come back. If she didn’t join the church, they couldn’t get married. Titus had been in love with Phoebe since he was seventeen years old, but she’d been four years younger than him, and their parents had disapproved. He’d waited patiently until Phoebe turned sixteen. Even then, his folks had been opposed to him courting her because she seemed so unsettled and ran with a wild bunch of kids.

  Now Titus, at the age of twenty-two, still wasn’t sure he and Phoebe would ever get married. If she did go English, the only way they could marry would be if he broke his vow to the Amish church, which he did not want to do.

  “Can we talk about this later?” he asked. “After you’ve had a chance to think about this some more?”

  “There’s nothing to think about. I’m going to California.” She tipped her head and stared up at him. “If you don’t want to come, then I guess it’s over between us.”

  “You can’t do this, Phoebe. Are you just going to give up on us like this?”

  She shrugged.

  “Don’t you love me anymore?”

  “I—I’m not sure. Maybe we’re not meant to be together.”

  Titus flinched. He felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach by one of his dad’s stubborn mules. He had a sinking feeling that once Phoebe left home she’d never come back. All his years of waiting for her had been for nothing.

  Titus’s horse whinnied and nudged his hand, pulling his thoughts back to the present.

  “Stop it, Lightning. I’m not in the mood.” Titus kicked at a bale of straw and winced when Lightning whipped his head around and bumped his sore leg.

  Lightning whinnied again and stomped his hoof. Then he moved to the other end of his stall and turned his backside toward Titus.

  “It’s all right, boy. I’m not mad at you.” Titus stepped up to the horse and reached out his hand. “I’m upset with Phoebe, that’s all.”

  As though accepting his apology, Lightning nuzzled Titus’s neck.

  Horses and dogs—that’s about all that ever held my interest until Phoebe came along, Titus thought. If there was only some way to get her out of my system. If I could just tell myself that I don’t care anymore.

  Pembroke, Kentucky

  As Suzanne Yoder stared out the living room window, a sense of discontentment welled in her soul. She enjoyed living in Christian County, especially in the spring when the flowers and trees began to bloom.

  I wish I could be outside right now, tilling the garden or even mowing the lawn, she thought with regret. It was too nice to be stuck indoors, yet she knew she needed to work on the quilt she’d started several months ago for her friend Esther Beiler’s twenty-fourth birthday, which was less than a month away.

  Suzanne’s gaze shifted from the garden to the woodshop, where her grandfather and twenty-year-old brother, Nelson, worked. Due to painful arthritis, Grandpa’s fingers didn’t work well anymore, so he’d recently decided to look for someone else to help Nelson in the shop. Someone younger and more able-bodied. Someone who knew the woodworking trade.

  Grandpa wasn’t one to sit around or take life easy while others did all the work, but Mom had convinced him that he could still have a hand in the business by ordering supplies, waiting on customers, and keeping the books. Grandpa wasn’t happy about it, but at least he wouldn’t be sitting on the porch in his rocking chair all day, wishing he could be in the shop.

  “I thought you were supposed to be working on Esther’s birthday present,” Mom said when she joined Suzanne in the living room.

  “I was, but my eyes needed a break. I was thinking about going out to the woodshop to see if there’s anything I can do to help out.”

  Mom’s dark eyebrows furrowed as she slowly shook her head. “You’ll never get that quilt done if you keep procrastinating, and there’s no need for you to run out to the woodshop, because I’m sure you and Nelson would only end up in a disagreement. You know how he feels about you hanging around the shop.”

  Suzanne frowned. No one in the family understood her desire to be in the woodshop, where she could enjoy the distinctive odors of wood being cut, sanded, or stained. It was a shame nobody took her interest in woodworking seriously. Not long ago, Suzanne had borrowed some of Grandpa’s tools so she could make a few birdhouses and feeders to put in their yard. She’d never gotten any encouragement in making them, though. She guessed compared to the cabinets, doors, and storage sheds Grandpa and Nelson made, the birdhouses and feeders were insignificant.

  Mom touched Suzanne’s shoulder. “I’m going to plant some peas and lettuce this afternoon, so if you think you’ve worked long enough on the quilt today, I could use your help.”

  Suzanne didn’t have to be asked twice. Any chore she could do outdoors would be better than being inside, where it was warm and stuffy. “I’ll meet you outside as soon as I put away my quilting supplies,” she said.

  “That’ll be fine.” Mom gave Suzanne’s arm a light tap and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Suzanne glanced out the window once more and sighed as her gaze came to rest on the woodshop. “Guess I won’t make it out there today—except to take the men their lunch.”

  Paradise, Pennsylvania

  Titus left the barn and was about to head for the house, when a dark blue pickup rumbled up the driveway. He didn’t recognize the vehicle or the young English man with dark curly hair who opened the cab door and stepped out.

  “Is this where Zach Fisher lives?” the man asked as he approached Titus.

  “Sort of. My dad owns this place, and Zach and his family live in the house behind ours.” Titus pointed in that direction.

  “Oh, I see. Is Zach at home?”

  “Nope, not yet. He’s up in Blue Ball, painting the outside of the bowling alley. Probably won’t be home till sometime after six.”

  The man extended his hand. “I’m Allen Walters. I knew Zach when he lived in Puyallup, Washington.”

  “That was when he thought his name was Jimmy Scott, huh?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Zach’s my half brother. My twin brother, Timothy, and I were born during the time Zach was missing. He was about six or seven then, I think.”

  “My mother and the woman Zach thought was his mother became good friends, so Zach and I kind of grew up together.”

  “Zach’s mentioned that,” Titus said. “Sure is somethin’ the way he was kidnapped when he was a baby and never located his real family until he was twenty-one.”

  “I really missed Zach after he left Washington, but I’m glad he found his way home.” Allen folded his arms and leaned against the side of his truck. “The last time I saw Zach was before he got married, and that was seven years ago. We’ve kept in touch thro
ugh letters and phone calls, though.”