The Wonder of Your Love - By Beth Wiseman Page 0,33
but even as her body reacted to his touch, it was still Ivan’s face that flashed before her, and she reminded herself that this man was not her husband. She eased away.
“I know I’m supposed to say I’m sorry, Katie Ann.” Eli put his hands on his hips and stared at the floor for a moment, then looked back up at her. “But I’m not.”
“I think you’d best leave.” Katie Ann walked out of her bedroom, and Eli followed. She pulled his coat and hat from the rack and handed them to him. “Danki for a lovely time sightseeing, but I think I’ll have Samuel look at the leak on another day.”
Eli didn’t take the items. “No, Katie Ann. Don’t do this. I like you, and I want us to be friends, so let’s talk about what just happened.”
She could feel her cheeks reddening, embarrassed about her own desires and wondering if he noticed how she trembled when his lips were pressed against hers. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She pushed the coat and hat forward until they hit his chest and he was forced to take them.
He locked eyes with her. “I guess I am sorry. If this is going to keep us from being friends, then I regret my actions.”
Katie Ann put a hand to her forehead, not wanting to look at him, but not wanting him to leave either. He gently cupped her chin and raised her face.
“I’m sorry. I really would like to fix your leaky roof.” He smiled. “But maybe you’d better stay in the living room.”
The way he said it caused Katie Ann to smile.
“Okay, gut. A smile. All is not lost.” He hung his hat and coat back on the rack, then pointed a finger at her. “Now you stay here. Don’t even think about coming into the kissing room . . .” He let out an exaggerated gasp. “I mean bedroom.”
He gave his head a quick shake as he walked across the living room and toward her bedroom, and she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a grin. He wasn’t just handsome, caring, and nurturing . . . he was funny too. Strangely enough, she began to feel a bit more at ease.
“I’ll make us some kaffi,” she said as she walked toward the kitchen. She filled the percolator, the kiss playing over and over in her mind. But with each recollection, the image seemed to transform itself from Eli to Ivan, then back again. She should never have let it happen.
Eli walked into the kitchen. “I can see where Samuel repaired the area, but I’m going to need to get up on the roof to figure out why it’s still leaking. When is a gut time for me to come back tomorrow?”
“I appreciate the offer, and if it had been something simple to repair today, I would have been grateful, but I can’t let you come back and start on a project like this.” She raised an eyebrow. “You have sightseeing to do, remember?”
Eli waved a hand. “Plenty of time for that. What if a storm comes?”
“I’ll put a bucket under the leak, as I have done in the past.”
Eli pointed to the living room. “Kaffi by the fire?”
Katie Ann noticed him shivering. He must be finding the Colorado weather awfully cold. “All right.”
She followed him to the living room, thinking how inappropriate this would be if they were not grown adults. Then she found humor in that thought. As a teenager, she never would have kissed a boy in her bedroom, and yet as an adult, she’d let it happen. She sat in the rocking chair, and Eli sat on the couch across from her.
“So how long will you be staying in Colorado?” she asked.
“Until next Tuesday. Another week. I want to be home for Thanksgiving.” He stroked his beard for a moment. “Who will you spend Thanksgiving with?”
“Lillian and Samuel are having Thanksgiving, and Vera, Elam, and all their children will be there, and of course the newlyweds, David and Emily. And Martha.” She took a sip of coffee. “I’ll be making sweet potatoes and bringing the butter bread.”
“Sweet potatoes are my favorite food at Thanksgiving.”
“Really? So will one of your daughters prepare them?”
“Hannah. My oldest dochder. She’s made them every year for as long as I can remember.” Eli paused, took a deep breath. “And I hope that Hannah will be making our family sweet potatoes for many, many more years to come.”