Read [Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey for Free Online

car and closed her eyes. They’d left Lancaster County earlier that evening, after a tearful good-bye from Phoebe’s parents. Mom had begged her not to go, and Dad had given her a stern lecture on not becoming caught up in worldly pleasures.
     
    I still can’t believe Titus went to Kentucky without telling me
, Phoebe thought bitterly.
What’s in Kentucky, anyhow? Will Titus find someone else to take my place? Will he end up marrying someone there and stay in Kentucky for good? Should I have listened to him and stayed in Pennsylvania? Should I have agreed to join the church and marry him? But if I’d stayed in Pennsylvania, I might never have had the chance to see California. Besides, I have a lot more living to do before I tie myself down to a husband and kids
.
     
    “I’ll bet he doesn’t stay in Kentucky even a year,” she muttered under her breath.
     
    “What was that?” Darlene asked.
     
    Phoebe’s eyes snapped open. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking out loud.”
     
    “Thinking about Titus Fisher, I’ll bet.” Darlene flipped her blond ponytail over her shoulder. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a pink T-shirt, she looked nothing like the plain Amish girl who’d gone to the one-room schoolhouse with Phoebe for eight years.
     
    Phoebe glanced at her own pair of jeans. Mom and Dad had never approved when she’d worn English clothes. They rarely approved of anything she did.
     
    Darlene nudged Phoebe’s ribs with her elbow. “Were you thinking about Titus or not?”
     
    “Yes, and I still can’t believe he moved to Kentucky.”
     
    “Maybe it’s for the best.”
     
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
     
    “If he’d stayed in Pennsylvania, you might have felt obligated to return home and join the church. This way, you’re free to stay in California if you want to.”
     
    “I guess you’re right.” Phoebe yawned. “Sorry. I can hardly stay awake.”
     
    “Well, go to sleep then. I’ll wake you when I’m ready to stop for the night.”
     
    Phoebe closed her eyes and rested her head against the window. She was bound to feel better once they reached Los Angeles.
     

     
    Pembroke, Kentucky
     
    When Titus woke up the following morning after a restless night on a lumpy bed, he hurried to get dressed, then made his way to the kitchen. As he passed through the small living room, he stopped and surveyed his surroundings, wondering if he’d been out of his mind for agreeing to stay here. The paneling on the living room walls had been painted an odd shade of yellow; the upholstery on the old rocking chair and sofa was torn; and the only throw rug on the floor was frayed around the edges.
     
    He moved on to the kitchen to check out that tiny room. The hinges on the cabinets were rusty; only one burner on the propane stove worked; the porcelain sink was full of rust stains; the curtains were faded; and several places in the linoleum had been torn, revealing the wooden floor beneath it. Titus had left all the windows open last night, in an effort to air the place out, but he could still smell some mustiness. Obviously nothing had been done to maintain this trailer in a good many years.
     
    Titus opened each of the cupboard doors and groaned. Not a stick of food in the house, of course. Allen had offered to take him shopping last night, but he’d gotten an urgent call from one of his contractors and said he had to rush off. Titus had assured him that he could survive for a while on the snack food he’d brought from home and would get to a store on his own after work today.
     
    Think I’d better eat that granola bar in my backpack, saddle Lightning, and head over to the woodshop
, Titus told himself.
It wouldn’t be good for me to be late on the first day—especially since I haven’t proven myself to Isaac Yoder yet
.
     

     
    It was almost noon when Suzanne’s mother suggested that Suzanne take the sandwiches she’d made out to the woodshop for the men.
     
    “Can’t