KATIE ANN REACHED INTO THE DRAWER OF THE end table next to the couch and pulled out the letter she’d received two weeks ago. She knew it would upset her stomach to read it—as it had a dozen times already—but she unfolded it anyway. She couldn’t imagine why her husband’s mistress, Lucy Turner, was planning to travel all the way to Colorado to see her. She took a deep breath and read the letter again.
Dear Katie Ann,
I hope this letter finds you well. I heard from some of our mutual acquaintances here in Lancaster County that you had a healthy baby boy and named him Jonas. Congratulations to you. A baby is such a miracle from God.
Katie Ann rolled her eyes, the way she always did at Lucy’s mention of God. A good, godly woman wouldn’t get involved with another woman’s husband. Although she knew good and well that it took two for such deception. She let out a heavy sigh and continued reading.
I’m sure that I am the last person you want to hear from, and I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to meet with you. I know it is awkward, but I have something important to discuss, and it’s too much to say in a letter, or even over the phone. As soon as I can arrange to be off work, I will be traveling to Colorado. I hope that you can find time to meet with me to discuss this urgent matter. I thought it might be easiest for you if you knew in advance that I’m coming.
All the best to you and your new little one,
Lucy Turner
Katie Ann folded the piece of paper and put it back in the drawer, determined not to let thoughts of Lucy ruin this day. But as she crossed through the living room toward the kitchen, she couldn’t help but wonder exactly when Lucy was going to show up on her doorstep. And what she wanted.
Katie Ann poured a large bag of M&M’s into a Tupperware bowl, then put the container next to the other food she would be carting to the Detweilers’ house. Both the candy and container were a gift for the bride and groom. It was traditional to place a fun and edible gift on the eck, something that held special meaning between the giver and the recipient. Katie Ann guessed that lots of people would choose M&M’s, though. It was no secret that the candy was Emily’s favorite.
She couldn’t believe that the wedding was tomorrow. It seemed like just yesterday her husband’s nephew David was a young boy, but tomorrow he would marry Emily in front of a hundred friends and family. A small crowd for an Amish wedding. She recalled the nearly four hundred guests at her own wedding, but she quickly brushed the memory aside as she snapped the lid closed on the bowl.
“Martha! Are you ready? Is the baby ready?” She walked back through the living room, turned the corner, and strolled into little Jonas’s bedroom. It was a beautiful room, painted in powder blue and trimmed with a lively, multicolored border of dancing ponies. Matching curtains covered the two windows facing the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The fancy décor would be frowned upon by the bishop if he were to visit, but it was all Martha’s doing, and Katie Ann didn’t have the heart to change it. Martha was a widow and didn’t have any children of her own.
“This little one needs a real nursery,” her Englisch friend had said with a huff before Jonas was even born.
Martha would be upset if she knew that Katie Ann had heard from Lucy.
Katie Ann stood quietly in the doorway for a moment, savoring the view of her little miracle in Martha’s arms and the contented expression on the older woman’s face. Martha was as much a grandmother to Jonas as Katie Ann’s own mother would have been if she were still living. Katie Ann smiled as Martha gently cradled Jonas in her arms, pushing the oak rocking chair into motion with her foot.
“Why don’t you let me stay with the baby while you go on over to the Detweilers’ house? No need to drag this young one into the cold, plus he’s finally stopped crying and is sleeping soundly.” Martha touched her finger to Jonas’s cheek as her lips curved into a smile. After a moment, she looked back up at Katie Ann. “Unless it’s too cold for you to take the buggy. We