An Amish Proposal. Jo Ann Brown

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       Chapter Three

      Concentrating on work wasn’t easy, and more than once during the day, Micah was glad he wore the safety rope that kept him from tumbling off the roof. He wasn’t watching where he was stepping. He was also grateful he and Sean and the two men they’d hired to assist them were preparing the support framework to hold the panels being installed on the newly constructed house. With his mind elsewhere, he didn’t want to be responsible for carrying the expensive twenty-five-pound panels up the ladder and setting them in place.

      The end of the workday arrived, and Micah came to the realization his plans hadn’t changed from that morning. He needed to talk to Katie Kay and insist she decide. She had to make up her mind and go home or go away.

      But if she chose the latter, how would he ever explain to Reuben that he’d abetted Katie Kay? He prayed God would give him the words. She’d been too distraught last night to make a gut decision. But now she’d had a day to think about her future.

      Micah stowed his tools in the rear of the van and got in on the passenger side. Sean was already behind the wheel. Reaching for the key, he started the engine as Micah hooked his seat belt in place.

      Neither of them spoke as they left the subdivision that soon would consist of nearly twenty new houses. Each would have solar panels, so he and Sean had several weeks of work ahead of them.

      “How are you doing?” Sean asked, breaking the silence.

      “If I knew, I’d tell you.”

      His friend gave him a sympathetic grin. “You’ll feel better after you get this conversation with Katie Kay over with.”

      “I hope so.” He didn’t mean to give terse answers, but he wasn’t sure what else to say.

      Sean glanced at him and then back at the road. “I think it’d be a good idea if I get Gemma and the kids out of the way so you can talk to Katie Kay without us.”

      “Sean—”

      “I promised them I’d take them out to a restaurant across from the Rockvale Outlets. It might as well be tonight.”

      “You’re a gut friend.”

      “And you’re a good partner. If you fall and break your neck because you aren’t paying attention to the job, I’ll have to find and train another.” He looked away from the road again and gave Micah a brash grin. “I know how long that takes because, after all this time, I’ve barely got you trained.”

      Micah appreciated his friend’s attempt to tease him out of his somber mood, so, though he didn’t feel the least bit like laughing, he did. “I think you’ve got it backward. I have been training you. You didn’t know which end of the panel went where when I first met you.”

      “Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that if it gives you comfort.”

      He listened as Sean continued jesting and tried to laugh at the appropriate times. The truth was, however, that nothing could make him feel better about talking with Katie Kay. No matter what the results of the pregnancy test had been, there still was the issue of her refusal to see her family.

      When Sean pulled the van into the driveway, Micah tried to breathe slowly. This wasn’t going to be easy, but he had to convince Katie Kay to do what she should and go home. If she was pregnant, she needed her family more than ever.

      Micah gave his friend a brief smile when Sean clapped him on the shoulder as they walked to the front door. As always, Micah let Sean open the door. As always, a whirl of kinder, looking more like a dozen than three, surrounded Sean. Their young voices told him about their day at the same time, each trying to talk over the other. No matter how many times Gemma or Sean urged them to take turns, they were too excited to have their daed home at day’s end.

      Standing aside to let the loving assault run its course, Micah couldn’t help envying his partner. Having a house filled with cute kinder and a loving wife who somehow found a way to stand on tiptoe and kiss him over the heads of the excited youngsters would be a true blessing. After seeing his siblings marry and begin to raise families, he’d known it was something he wanted for himself.

      As if he’d spoken out loud, the kinder threw their arms around him next, spewing out more of the stories they’d started telling their daed. To them, he was Uncle Micah, though two-year-old Jayden could manage only Mike. He hugged each one in turn, not wanting his anxiety to ruin their happiness.

      The kids cheered when Sean announced they were eating out. Gemma smiled, too, but hers was as taut as Micah’s felt. When she glanced at him, she didn’t say anything. It wasn’t necessary. He could СКАЧАТЬ