Mary nodded. “They were.”
“That is a fine thing. It is a blessing when family gets along well. I like my sister’s husband, Olan, very much.”
Still struggling with her attempt to say what was on her mind, Mary pursed her lips. “That’s not what I meant.” She waved a hand, obviously trying to search for words not on the tip of her tongue. “You…you’ve shaken everything up.”
Katie felt shaken up at the moment. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’ve been doing the best I can for you, but I can’t be someone I am not. I can only be myself.”
“Daed said that, too.”
That was news. Katie hadn’t realized Jonathan had spoken to the girls about her. “Does he think that is bad?”
Mary shook her head.
When the silence stretched, Katie said, “Well, soon things will be back to how they used to be. Soon I will be gone and Winnie will return.” Katie tried to keep her voice upbeat, but it was hard.
“Katie, I…” Mary sipped again, almost hiding her brown eyes as she did so. Mumbling around the rim of the ivory mug, she said, “I like you here. That’s what I’m tryin’ to say.”
“You do?” To her great surprise, Katie’s eyes filled with tears. Lately, she’d been so worried about her past and her future, and so torn with insecurities about how she was managing everything day to day, she hadn’t even hoped to hear good news from Mary. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that.”
“You don’t look happy, you look sad.”
“I’m happy. I promise.”
Reassured, Mary said, “You know so much and are so pretty, I like being around you. I like learning to quilt.” She rushed on. “You cook a lot of good food, too. I know my daed likes it.”
Katie felt a rush of pleasure. “How do you know?”
“Sometimes he comes home early to eat dinner with us. He used to never do that. Now, though, he acts like he’s waiting on you.” Mary raised a brow. “Did you make him do that? Make him join us for dinner?”
“No. But I am glad he comes in. My family eats together every evening.”
“Even with all those people there?”
“Especially with all those people there. Like the Lord, our loved ones need some special time carved out.”
Mary sipped her tea as she continued to stare at Katie thoughtfully. “Hannah seems happier, too. She used to cry a whole lot more.”
Katie almost asked what was the source of Hannah’s tears, but for the first time in a long while, she bit back her impulse and sought patience instead. “I’m glad Hannah is not crying so much.”
“Me, too. There was no way I could make things better. My mother is gone to the angels.”
“Yes, she is.”
Eyes wide, Mary whispered, “Why do you think God took her from us so early? We all ride in buggies. Why did she get hurt and no one else?”
“I don’t know.”
Mary slumped. “I guess I’ll have to ask when I get to heaven.”
That made Katie smile. “I don’t know if our eternity goes that way. I would think it would be mighty time-consuming for our Lord to sit and answer questions.”
“I’m not going to take up too much time. I just want to know why.”
“Put that way, I suppose it’s a reasonable request.”
Their tea was almost done. Staring at the scant bits of tea that had seeped through the wire mesh and sunk to the bottom of her mug, Katie said, “We should probably be getting to bed now. It’s near three in the morning. Are you more tired?”
As if on cue, Mary stifled a yawn. “No.”
“Something tells me that might not quite be true.”
In a rush, Mary blurted, “What if you wanted to stay longer? What if we wanted you to? If we were to ask you to? Would you do that?”
To her surprise, Katie didn’t know the answer to that. Would she want to stay with Mary and Hannah out of duty? To stay only as someone who could look after the house? “The answer to that would depend on your aunt and father. Remember, we don’t know what is going to happen with Winnie.”
“She might move to Indiana.”
“But she might not. She went out there to get to know Malcolm, and to get to know his family. Not to make plans.”
“But what about you? If my father said you could stay here with us, what would you say?”
There was the question. A few months ago, Katie would have thought she’d do anything to attract Jonathan’s regard. During her first few days at the Lundys’, when she was so sad and lonely, she would have said she couldn’t wait to return home. Now, though, she wasn’t sure what the future had in store for her.