Courting Cate by Leslie Gould Read Free Book Online Page B

escaped down to the creek after we reached the house, taking along the Abraham Lincoln biography and an old quilt. With my shoes off, I plopped on my stomach and, serenaded by the melody of the water lapping against the rocks, read for quite a while—until my cousin Addie interrupted me.
    She and Betsy looked more alike than Betsy and I. Addie was taller and her blond hair was darker, but she had the same shapely figure and doelike brown eyes.
    Although they lived next door, her family belonged to the district over from us. We didn’t see a lot of them, so usually when Addie came around, I was thrilled to see her, but at that moment all I could manage was to do my best to be pleasant. I sat up, shaded my eyes as I said hello, and then noticed she had a book in her hand.
    Now I was genuinely interested. “What are you reading?”
    She held it up. “ Pride and Prejudice. ”
    “Ah, Jane Austen.”
    She nodded.
    Nan had recommended Austen, and I’d read all her booksby the time I was Addie’s age. Nan said there were centuries of stories waiting for me, but I hadn’t gone further back than the late 1700s, when Jane Austen started writing, except for the Bible and church history, of course.
    As the only girl in the Cramer family, Addie was always busy with household chores. So, no matter how much she enjoyed it, and though she visited the bookmobile now and then, I couldn’t imagine she had much time to read.
    She sat down on the quilt beside me. “Ach, Cate,” she said, her voice sympathetic, “I heard about your Dat’s edict.”
    “Who from?” I held on to my book tightly.
    “Betsy,” she answered.
    I gazed past her at the willows along the creek. The leaves turned in the breeze, one after the other, reflecting shades of light onto the water.
    “I’m sorry,” she said.
    “Jah, well . . .” I closed my book. “The male gender doesn’t seem to like me.”
    “Why do you think that?”
    “I read too much.” I held up my book.
    She held up hers. “I read too.”
    I rolled my eyes. I knew there were boys who wanted to court Addie Cramer—Uncle Cap just wouldn’t allow it yet. “Well, you look like Betsy.”
    She shook her head. “You’re as pretty as anyone.” She paused, and then said, as if it were an effort, “Maybe it’s because you’re prickly.”
    I wiggled to my knees, straightening my dress as I did. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “You’re being prickly with me right now.”
    I swallowed hard. Addie was too nice, usually, to getdefensive with. I did my best to keep my voice even. “Well, I’m a little stressed. About this whole edict of Dat’s. About courting in general.”
    Addie tilted her head. “Didn’t you used to court Seth Mosier?”
    I groaned. “Please don’t mention his name.”
    “What happened?”
    “He was courting Dat’s money—not me. Once I figured it out, I kicked him to the curb.” I’d heard that line on the radio in an Englisch store one time and thought it fit the subject.
    “Too bad.”
    I wrinkled my nose, surprised. There was some sort of rift between Addie’s family and Seth’s, although I could never quite figure it out.
    She continued. “I always thought those Mosier boys seemed like fun, regardless of what my parents think.”
    “Well, they’re not.” I stood and motioned her off the quilt. “Believe me.”
    She stepped away, and I swung the quilt up into my arms, shook it, and had just started folding it when a little boy yelled, “Addie!”
    It was her turn to groan. “Oh, no. They’re going to find me.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “I told Billy and Joe-Joe”—they were her two youngest brothers—“I’d play hide and seek with them.” She pointed downstream. “I’m going to keep walking.” She tiptoed away, and as I headed toward the trail, the boys came crashing down the bank.
    “Ah-hah!” Joe-Joe yelled.
    I turned toward him.
    “You’re not Addie!”
    “Where is she?”