The Journey: Kentucky Brothers Series #1
As Titus ate breakfast that morning, he thought about Suzanne and how much she resembled Phoebe. He knew it wasn’t fair to compare the two women when their personalities weren’t the same, but it was hard to look at Suzanne without thinking about Phoebe, which only reminded him of her betrayal. Titus wondered if the ache in his heart would ever heal. He wanted to settle down and get married someday, but would he ever find a woman he loved as much as he had Phoebe?
He added a spoonful of sugar to his coffee and stirred it around. I’ll never find a wife if I don’t get a grip on my anger toward Phoebe. And I won’t make any points with Isaac if I don’t start being kinder to his granddaughter.
Yesterday, after Suzanne had come into the shop and made a nuisance of herself, he’d stupidly said something to Isaac about his granddaughter being a pest. The elderly man had shaken his arthritic finger as he looked Titus in the eye and said, “Suzanne may be a pescht sometimes, but she’s my The Journey.indd 98 1/11/11 11:04 AM grossdochder, and I’d appreciate it if you kept any negative remarks about her to yourself.”
A verse from Proverbs 15 that Titus had heard at church last Sunday popped into his head: “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” He knew he’d been unkind to Suzanne several times, and he owed her a thankyou for the flowers she’d planted for him. If she’s still outside, I should probably speak to her before I leave for work, he decided.
He pushed his chair aside and opened the back door. Suzanne’s horse and buggy were gone. “Should have come out here sooner,” he mumbled. “Shouldn’t have let her leave without saying thanks.”
When he got to work, he’d stop by the Yoders’ house first and talk to Suzanne.
Titus returned to the kitchen and halted. Callie was perched on the table, lapping milk from his bowl of cereal. He clapped his hands and shouted, “Get down from there, you stupid katz! I should have left you trapped in that soup can.”
Callie leaped off the table and raced outside. That’s when Titus realized he hadn’t shut the door when he’d gone out to look for Suzanne.
He groaned and set his bowl in the sink. This was not starting out to be a good day. Hopefully things would go better after he’d spoken to Suzanne….
Excerpt from The Journey, © 2011 by Wanda Brunstetter. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio.
