Chapter 2
— chapter two
Nelson Harper figured he was the only person in the state of Ohio who looked forward to Mondays. So much so, he sometimes found himself pacing on Sunday evenings as his impatience got the best of him.
The thing of it was, he wasn’t a workaholic. Not anything close to that. He loved his job. Alliance Millworks was his family’s pride and joy. It had been started by his grandfather, was handed down to his father and uncle to run, and now it was in his hands.
His father and uncle had handed it over to him to run about ten years ago.
His mother wanted to see all the national parks and even visit Disneyland and Universal Studios in California.
Dad had confided that he thought she’d waited long enough to take all the vacations she’d dreamed about, and Nelson didn’t disagree.
He wanted his parents to take some time off and relax while they were still young enough to enjoy themselves.
Though every day wasn’t easy, Nelson felt well prepared to run the business. He’d worked there in some capacity from the time he was old enough to sweep floors and wipe down the office furniture.
Aside from Jimmy’s accident—which he still had nightmares about—Nelson was happy to go to work on Monday mornings and continue to do his part for the mill and his family’s legacy.
But the reason he looked forward to Mondays was because of what he did on Monday evenings at five thirty. That was when he paid a call on Jenna and Katie Graber.
Once a week, he’d bring them a box filled with items that he thought they would enjoy.
Fresh fruit. A package of chicken on sale.
Flowers. A new coloring book or stuffed animal for Katie.
Once, he’d even brought Jenna five yards of pretty pink fabric.
Jenna had flushed with pleasure when she ran a hand along the smooth cloth before attempting to hand it back.
Only when he said that a relative had been about to toss it in the ragbag did she go ahead and keep it. Later, she admitted that she’d made both a spring dress and a set of curtains for Katie’s room out of it.
Nelson was pretty sure that he’d been as happy about that as little Katie had been. He loved making Jenna’s life brighter.
It was only when he was by himself late in the night that Nelson admitted he had selfish reasons for continually looking out for Jenna and her daughter. Every time he did something that made Jenna smile, it alleviated some of the guilt he felt about Jimmy’s death.
Sure, more than a handful of men at the plant had respectfully shared their opinions on Jimmy’s accident.
Lots of the guys had said Jimmy Graber was impatient.
He was also a talker and, at times, didn’t pay as much careful attention to the machines as he should have.
He was also too cocky. There were guidelines for operating the planer, and the most important one was that men needed to work in pairs.
Jimmy had ignored that rule on the day he died.
The guys had privately confided that Jimmy could’ve done a lot of things differently that day.
Nelson didn’t disagree.
However, it was still one of the plant’s machines that he’d been using. Someone had to take the blame, and Nelson had accepted that it would be him—even though he’d gotten every machine reviewed and checked just weeks before Jimmy’s death.
So he’d accepted the blame and did his best never to say a word that wasn’t respectful about Jimmy to anyone outside of the company. Not to Jimmy’s parents and not to Jimmy’s widow.
Nelson was at peace about that too. Even if Jimmy could’ve handled things differently, it didn’t change Jenna’s reality, which was that she’d become a widow at twenty-four, and her sweet little daughter, Katie, was growing up without her dad.
Hating to think about that as he pulled up to Jenna’s house, Nelson shook his head a bit to clear it, got out of his truck, and lifted a box into his arms.
He was bringing something special today.
Jenna’s door opened before he was halfway there. But it wasn’t Jenna’s pretty face peering through the screen door. No, it was little Katie instead. Katie, who he’d nicknamed “Kitty” when she was pretending to be a barn cat one afternoon when he’d decided to sweep their barn floor.
“Hiya, Nelson!”
“Hiya, Kitty,” he replied to her through the screen. “How are you today?”
She wrinkled her nose. “It’s evening, Nelson. Because it’s after five o’clock.”
“Goodness.” He looked up at the sky and frowned. “I suppose it is.”
“Mei teacher taught us all about the proper greetings this morning,” she explained with a bit of self-important flair. “On account of Cale telling her ‘good afternoon’ when it was only a quarter past eleven.”
It all sounded rather picky, but who was he to say? Sometimes Nelson had to remind himself what day of the week it was. “My, aren’t we growing up?” he teased.
“Uh-huh. Hey, what’s in the box?”
“Something special.” In fact, his “something special” had just taken that moment to mew. He needed to get it out onto solid ground before it got too restless.
Katie’s eyes widened. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that without your mother being here.” He tilted his head in a half-baked attempt to see past her. “Where is she?”
“In the kitchen.”
“Nee, Katie. I’m right here!” Jenna called out as she hurried toward them.
Today Jenna was wearing a gray dress that still hung loose on her. He knew it well. She’d worn it several of the times he’d visited.
He’d never liked it. The shade seemed to wash out any hint of color from her face, and it didn’t fit well. She once told him she’d made it when she had gained a little bit of weight when Katie turned three. As she mourned her husband, it hung looser and looser on her frame.
Now it fit slightly better but was rather the worse for wear. Nelson didn’t know if she kept wearing it because it was comfortable, because she didn’t care how she looked anymore, or because she couldn’t afford to make herself new clothes. He hoped it was the first reason.
Jenna’s eyes widened as she got closer. “Katie, you haven’t let our guest in yet?”
“Nee, Mamm. You said I wasn’t supposed to.”
“Jah, but this is our friend Nelson,” she chided.
“I’m glad she waited for you, Jenna,” he interrupted quickly. “That’s safer, I think.”
“I suppose . . .”
“Look, Mamm!” Katie chirped. “Nelson brought us a big box.”
“Oh my word. It looks heavy. Move out of the way, child.” Jenna reached for the door handle and ushered him inside. “Nelson, I’m sorry you had to wait.”
“No reason to apologize.”
She frowned as she looked down at the front of her dress. “Obviously, I was making bread.”
“Obviously?”
Jenna waved a hand across her front. “Look at me! I’m practically covered in flour.”
“Covered” was a bit of a strong way to describe her state. She did have some dabs of flour on her dress. “I hadn’t noticed.”
She chuckled. “Nelson Harper, what am I going to do with you?”
His heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean by that?”
“It means that when you start dating one of the Englisher girls in earnest, she’s gonna get her feelings hurt when you don’t notice things like that.”
“That’s not going to be a problem because I’m not dating any Englisher girl at the moment.” Especially not in earnest. Especially not since he couldn’t seem to focus on anything besides Jenna.
To his chagrin.
“Meew.”
Jenna narrowed her eyes. “What was that?”
“Your surprise.”
Katie jumped up and down. “Nelson, that sounds like a kitty.”
He finally set the box down. “Do you think so?”
“Jah.” She nodded her head. “I heard it meow.”
“I don’t know, Katie. Are you sure? The only Kitty I know talks a mile a minute,” he teased.
Lifting one of the box’s flaps, he murmured, “We should probably see what’s inside, though.” When he peered down, the sweet face of a black-and-white kitten stared back at him from its little bed. “Well. My goodness. Would you look at that?”
As he’d hoped, Katie edged closer, then finally curved her fingertips around the edge. She looked in and then turned to her mama with a slack-jawed expression. “There’s a kitten in there!”
“Truly?” Jenna peered in. “Oh! Aren’t you sweet?” Before Nelson could offer to reach for the cat himself, Jenna bent down and lifted it out. “So precious and tiny,” she whispered.
When she straightened, the kitten was curled in her arms like it had finally come home.
“Mamm, I think it likes you,” Katie said.
“I reckon kittens like everyone, don’t you?” Jenna glanced at Nelson before smiling down at her daughter.
“Maybe,” he said. “I’m not sure.”
Katie was still gazing at the kitten with wonder. “Can I touch it?” she asked.
“You may, but let’s sit down first,” Jenna answered.
The moment Jenna sat down on the couch, Katie scrambled next to her. And the kitten . . . well, it raised a paw and batted at Jenna’s hand before doing the same with Katie.
Katie’s laughter rang out like a beautiful chime, bringing much-needed happiness into the room. And to his heart. He was right. This tiny kitten was just what Jenna and Katie needed.
Still standing at a distance, Nelson continued to smile as he watched both Katie and Jenna focus completely on the cat. It was obvious that the three of them had already formed a connection.
After playing with the kitten for a few moments, Katie whispered, “Nelson, who’s the kitten for?”
The hint of wonder—and worry—in her voice made his heart break. This little girl was far too young to already be preparing herself for disappointment. “It’s for you and your mother, Katie.”
Her eyes were wide when she turned to look at him. “You brought us our very own cat?”
Almost afraid to meet Jenna’s eyes, Nelson nodded.
“A worker of mine found a stray mother cat and her kittens on his property. He found a home for the mama cat and the other two kittens. There was just this little guy left. He needed a home.” Feeling more awkward as each second passed, he finished up the story.
“So, I got to thinking that maybe you two wouldn’t mind giving it one. ”
“Nelson,” Jenna chided. “This is mighty kind of you but not necessary.”
Ah, but there was a wealth of unsaid words in her tone. Words about him overstepping. Offering Katie a pet without thinking of consequences.
Maybe simply just making a general nuisance of himself.
But he refused to feel guilty. Not when Katie’s eyes were lit up and happiness glowed in her cheeks. He’d do a lot to see such a sight.
“I know bringing it here without asking you first was a bit cheeky, but maybe you wouldn’t mind having it? After all, kittens aren’t that much work.” When Jenna narrowed her eyes, he blurted, “Not compared to a puppy.”
“It really likes my mamm.” Katie’s eyes widened. “And it licked me with its scratchy tongue!” Turning to her mother, the little girl’s eyes looked worried. “I bet this kitten wouldn’t be too hard to take care of. He’s tiny too.”
“Kittens grow, child,” Jenna murmured. But she was petting it while she was talking.
“If he caught a mouse, that would be wunderbar!” Katie exclaimed.
Jenna grimaced. “If this cat caught a mouse, I’d have to deal with it.”
“Maybe not. Maybe we could call Nelson to come over.” Turning to him, Katie blurted, “You’d do that, right, Nelson? You’d come right over if we needed ya?”
“Of course I would.” Jenna and Katie had no idea how much he meant that. He’d drop anything he was doing if one of them called him in a panic.
Katie smiled. “See, Mamm?”
After meeting Nelson’s gaze, Jenna turned back to Katie. “I suppose a kitten might not be a bad addition to our haus.” She lowered her voice. “But he is a living, breathing little animal. You would have to help take care of it.”
“I will.”
“Even if I ask you to help me clean up its litter box?”
Katie nodded solemnly, which was the cutest thing Nelson had ever seen.
“Are you sure, Katie?”
“Oh, yes. I love her!” Katie pronounced before doubt filled her expression all over again. “Or is it a him, Nelson?”
“I think it’s a he, Kitty. He’s a little boy cat.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Nope. It’s up to you and your mom to take care of that. That is, if you want to keep him . . . unless one of you is allergic to cats or something.”
“Nee. I’m stunned and surprised . . . but not allergic.” Turning to her daughter, Jenna softened her expression. “I don’t think I could give this kitten up even if he did make us sneeze. Katie already looks besotted.”
“I think so too,” he agreed. “I had hoped you’d want him, so I got everything you’d need. I’ll be right back.”
After he went back out to his truck and retrieved the other items he’d brought, they set up the litter box and left Katie alone in the living room with the kitten.
Nelson carried the other items into the kitchen and then took a seat at the table while he watched Jenna put them away.
As always, Jenna seemed grateful for the gifts, but there was a new shadow in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. Nelson feared he’d just crossed a line.
Maybe he’d just made things even more awkward between them. But if he had? If he had, he had no idea how to go about mending the rift without making things worse.
Which was too bad.
The sad thing was that while Jenna thought he was spending too much time and money on her, he knew he was doing a lot of it for himself.
Visiting her and Katie was the highlight of his week.
Jenna and Katie made him smile. He enjoyed their company.
Helping to make their lives a little bit easier made him happy.
Sweeping her barn floor or shoveling a snow-covered driveway made him feel useful.
All of it gave him something to think about besides work.
Being around “his girls” gave him something to dream about, even though he shouldn’t.
While Jenna moved around the kitchen, Nelson continued to sit. He sipped his glass of water, tried to look like he was relaxed, and bided his time. He was a patient man and knew if he gave Jenna enough time to gather her thoughts, she’d tell him everything that was on her mind.
When she sat back down at the table ten minutes later, she had a cup of coffee and a plate of scotcheroos in her hands. The chocolatey peanut butter concoction smelled incredible. “Please have one,” she murmured.
“Thank you.” He placed one on a napkin and put it in front of himself, but he didn’t dare take a bite.
He didn’t want to do anything until he heard what Jenna had to say. He didn’t think it was going to be anything good either. Her expression looked slightly pinched.
At last, she took a deep breath, exhaled, and then turned slightly so that they were facing each other. “Nelson, I think we need to talk.”
“All right.” He folded his hands in his lap so she wouldn’t see them clench. “I’m listening.”
And tried to prepare himself for whatever was about to come next.