[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (25 page)

Guess the first thing I’d better do is to give Allen a call
, Titus decided.
Since he owns this place, I’m sure the money’s legally his
.

He reached for the phone and punched in Allen’s number. It rang a few times; then his voice mail came on.

“Hi Allen; it’s me, Titus. I … uh … found something in my phone shanty and I need to talk to you about it. I lost my cell phone today, so you can’t call me on that. You’d better call my number here and leave a message so I’ll know when’s a good time to call you again.”

When Titus hung up the phone, he decided to try calling his own cell number, hoping someone may have found it and would answer the phone.

Fairview, Kentucky

Suzanne’s driver had just pulled into the auction’s parking lot at the close of the day, when she heard a phone ring. She looked down and was surprised to see a cell phone on the ground. She hesitated to answer it at first, since she didn’t know who it belonged to, but when it continued to ring, she finally bent down and picked it up. “Hello.” “Who’s this?”

“Suzanne Yoder. Who’s this?”

“Titus Fisher. Did you find my cell phone, Suzanne?”

Suzanne’s mouth opened in surprise. “You … you have a cell phone?”

“Jah. It must have fallen out of my pocket. Where’d you find it?”

“It was lying in the auction parking lot. When it rang, I wasn’t sure whether to answer or not.”

“I’m glad you did, and even more glad that my phone’s been found. If you’re going to be there awhile I’ll come back and pick it up right now.”

“Actually, my driver’s here, and we’re getting ready to leave.”

“Why don’t you take it home with you, then? I’ll come over to get it sometime this evening.”

“Uh … in case you didn’t know it, cell phones aren’t allowed in our church district,” Suzanne said.

“I’ve heard that already, but I’m only keeping it for emergency purposes, and to stay in touch with—”

“Our ministers won’t be too happy about it if they hear you have a cell phone.”

“Are you going to tell them?”

“No, but I think you should. Unless you’re planning to get rid of it, of course.”

“I don’t know. I signed a contract for a whole year, so I’d have to pay a cancellation fee if I discontinue the service.”

Suzanne could hear the frustration in Titus’s voice, so she decided to drop the subject for now. She’d talk to him more about it when he came over this evening to pick up the phone. “I’d better go,” she said. “I need to get home so I can do some chores before I fix supper.”

“Okay. See you later then.”

Suzanne clicked off the phone and sighed. Didn’t Titus care about the rules of their church? Didn’t he want to be a member in good standing?

A
fter supper, Titus went out to the phone shanty to call Allen again and was relieved when Allen answered on the second ring: “Walters’s Construction.”

“Allen, it’s me, Titus. I tried calling you before. Did you get my message?”

“I haven’t checked messages this evening. I went over to see Connie, because I needed to tell her that I’ve decided we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”

“How come?”

“She’s opposed to religious things, and since I haven’t been able to get through to her about the importance of a relationship with God, I decided to break things off before
our
relationship had a chance to become serious.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

“Yeah, but I’ll keep praying for Connie. It’s not God’s will that any should perish, so hopefully, she’ll see the light someday.” Allen paused. “What’d you call about, anyway?”

“I found something in the phone shanty I think you should know about.”

“What’s that?”

Titus explained about the money and ended it by saying, “I thought you’d probably want to come over here right away and get it.”

Allen released a low whistle. “Wow, that’s really something. But I’m not the one who put the money there, so it’s not really mine.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Titus questioned.

“Guess I’ll notify the sheriff and see what he has to say. Could be the money is stolen, and if that’s the case, I’ll have to turn it over to the sheriff. If not, we can split the money. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Maybe if you’re still interested in buying the place instead of renting it, you could use the money as a down payment.” Allen paused. “Of course, that depends on what the sheriff has to say.”

Titus sat, too stunned to say a word. He’d never expected to find any money, much less have Allen make him such a generous offer. No wonder Allen and Zach had remained good friends since they were kids. A friend like Allen was a friend for life.

“You still there, Titus?”

“Yeah. I’m just thinking about the money.”

“If you’d rather use your half for something other than the trailer, that’s okay. Just thought you might like to own a place of your own.”

“I would, but I won’t get my hopes up about that until after you’ve talked to the sheriff.”

“That’s good thinking. I’ll call you back and let you know as soon as I have some answers. In the meantime, you’d better put the money in a safe place.”

“I already have. Oh, and by the way … Suzanne found my cell phone. Guess it fell out of my pocket when I was at the produce auction earlier today. I’m heading over to her place right now to get it.”

“Okay, great. After I hear from the sheriff, I’ll try calling your cell phone. If I can’t get you there, I’ll leave a message on your voice mail in the phone shanty.”

“Sounds good. Talk to you later, Allen.” Titus hung up the phone and went to saddle Lightning. He still preferred traveling by horseback, but when the weather turned colder this fall, he knew he’d have to start using the buggy more. He was about to mount the horse when Callie zipped out of the barn and started meowing at him.

“Oh great,” he muttered. “She wants to be fed.” Well, he couldn’t let her starve; not when she had babies who were dependent on her. He left Lightning tied at the hitching rail and headed to the barn.

Suzanne had just finished chopping some lettuce and tomatoes when Nelson came into the kitchen. “What are we having for supper tonight?” he asked, peering over her shoulder.

“Haystack. That’s one meal I shouldn’t be able to mess up.” He chuckled and gave her a pat on the back. “You’ll learn how to cook one of these days … when the right man comes along to motivate you.”

She shrugged. “I doubt that’s ever going to happen.” “What about Ethan Zook? I saw him eyeballing you at the singing the other night.”

“Right. More to the point, he was eyeballing the food. Ethan’s already overweight, and if he’s not careful, he’ll end up fat like our neighbor, Neil Parker.”

“Say, whose phone is that?” Nelson asked, pointing to the cell phone lying on the other end of the counter.

“It belongs to Titus. I found it in the parking lot at the auction this afternoon. Guess it fell out of his pocket. He’s coming over here sometime this evening to pick it up.” She frowned. “Did you know he had a cell phone?”

Nelson nodded. “I told him it wasn’t allowed in our church district and figured he would have gotten rid of it by now.”

“I don’t think he plans to get rid of it. I think he’s going to keep it and hopes that none of our church leaders finds out.”

“That’s not a good idea, but then it’s not our place to tell him what to do.”

Suzanne dropped her paring knife and put both hands against her hips. “I wasn’t planning to tell Titus what to do. He’s clearly got a mind of his own.”

Nelson frowned. “Is that how you see Titus, as a know-it-all?”

She nodded.

“I think you’re wrong. During the time I’ve been working with Titus I’ve had a few insights as to what makes him tick.”

“And what would that be?”

“He’s insecure and doubts himself. I’ve seen it in the way he questions his abilities to work with wood. Always has to check with me or Grandpa to make sure things are just right. Even then he sometimes seems doubtful about whether his work is good enough, which is lecherich, because he’s a skilled carpenter.”

She compressed her lips. “Hmm … Guess I haven’t spent enough time with Titus to see his insecurities.”
Maybe it’s because I have too many of my own
.

“He seems to have gained a little more confidence than he had when he first started working for us, but he often compares himself to his twin brother.” Nelson turned on the faucet and filled a glass with water. “From some of the things Titus has said, it sounds like his twin is very successful and confident. I’m guessin’ that Titus feels inferior to him.”

“That’s how I feel sometimes when I’m around Esther,” Suzanne admitted. “She’s such a good cook and has so many domestic skills. It’s no wonder that Titus and some of the other young men in our district are attracted to her.”

“Not all men choose a wife because she can cook,” Grandpa said as he limped into the room.

“That may be true, but if it’s not because she can cook, then it’s probably because she has a pretty face or is easy to talk to.” Suzanne grabbed the bowl of lettuce and set it on the table. “That leaves me out, because I’m neither pretty, nor easy to talk to. In fact, most men probably think I’m boring.”

“That’s just not so. You and I have had plenty of conversations, and you’re not the least bit boring.” Grandpa pulled out a chair at the table and lowered himself into it. “And as far as you not being pretty enough … well, that is lecherich! You’re just as nice looking as any of the other young women in our community—even prettier, if you want my opinion.”

Suzanne smiled. “You have to say those things because you’re my grossdaadi.”

“I’d say ‘em even if I weren’t.”

Just then Chad, Russell, and Effie entered the room. “Is supper ready yet?” Chad looked up at Suzanne with an expectant expression. “I’m hungerich.”

Suzanne smiled and thumped his shoulder. “Everything but the sour cream’s on the table, so if your hands are washed, you can take a seat.”

“I washed mine.” Effie held out her hands for Suzanne’s inspection.

“Me, too,” Chad and Russell echoed.

“Then have a seat.” Suzanne went to the refrigerator and took out the container of sour cream, as well as some salsa, knowing that the men in her family liked to spice up their haystack a bit. After she’d placed them on the table, she took a seat beside Effie.

All heads bowed for silent prayer; then Suzanne passed around the various items so each person could make their own plate of haystack: cooked ground beef, chopped onions, cut-up tomatoes, shredded lettuce, grated cheese, steamed rice, olives, and broken saltine crackers. When all those things had been passed around, she handed Russell the sour cream. He spooned a good-sized dollop on top of his haystack and took a bite. His eyebrows furrowed and his nose wrinkled. “Yuck! What did ya do to the sour cream? How come it’s so sweet?”