It was the only thing she could think of to say, and she regretted the words as soon as they left her lips. She had nowhere to go, and it was snowing. Perhaps Levinia would take pity on her and give her a place to sleep for the night. She could always start over with her father tomorrow. Perhaps then he would see reason to letting her move back home and reopen the bakery.
Her father flashed her a pleading look, while the widow Yoder sent her a knowing smile. She winked at the older woman as she put on her coat. She hated the idea of walking to Levinia’s farm in the snow, but it was better than staying here and watching her father squirm. Though Bethany thought it to be rather funny, she wasn’t going to stick around to witness it for herself.
Once she escaped the thick of the kitchen dramatics, Bethany found her suitcase behind the barn and brushed off the layer of fresh snow that had accumulated on the top. Her gaze lifted to the loft apartment above the barn, wondering if the risk of being caught in there was worth getting out of the cold.
She decided it wasn’t.
The walk to Levinia’s house was going to be a long one, but perhaps it would afford her the time to think of a plan for her immediate future.
Bethany trudged up the driveway toward the main road, following the path of trodden snow from Frau Yoder’s horse. The main road would not be as easy to navigate due to cars creating a thick slush on the shoulder of the road where she would need to walk. She prayed that buggies traveling the same road had provided enough room for her to avoid oncoming traffic in safety. She had cut through the woods along the bank of Willow Creek on the walk over, but it was now late afternoon, and she feared it would be too dark in the thick of the trees.
As she approached the crossroad, gentle clip-clopping reached her ears. She stood and waited for the buggy to come up over the rise, praying it was a neighbor she could trust not to blab to her father if she should ask for a ride. Whoever it was, was traveling in the direction of her sister’s farm, so the only possible worry would be her father discovering the truth.
An unfamiliar horse and buggy came into view before she was able to distinguish the driver. Late afternoon sun shone on the lone occupant, making it difficult to determine who it could be. Perhaps it was someone from a neighboring community. It would certainly make it easier on Bethany if she could encounter someone who would not have the opportunity to reveal her shenanigans to the gossip mill in her own community.
A stranger might be the best thing for the situation. Perhaps she might even have enough nerve to give the driver the wrong name if he or she was willing to give her a ride down the road a ways. As she stood there anticipating, the sun filtered through the trees, allowing flickers of light to reflect off a familiar face.
It was Benjamin Schrock.
Bethany felt panic well up in her like a sudden gust of wind, ready to tip her off balance at the slightest move. But move she must. She couldn’t have him seeing her with a suitcase in hand. He would know she’d been fired and was now homeless. It would embarrass her that, even if she could get her feet to propel her forward, he would offer her a ride.
She wouldn’t care if it was someone like Adam, but Bethany had taken notice of Benjamin when he’d walked Miriam down the aisle at her wedding. She’d spent the entire wedding swooning over him. She’d studied him so much that day, she would recognize his strong jawline even in the dark. From this distance, she could make out his handsome features enough to be certain it was him driving the horse toward her.
It was too late for her to go back down the lane to her father’s house. He’d spotted her and tipped his hat toward her. She stood there, frozen in place, but not because of the cold.
Benjamin pulled the buggy alongside her.
“You look like you’re leaving town. Can I offer you a ride somewhere?”
His sultry baritone and mesmerizing blue-green eyes momentarily hypnotized Bethany.
“Are you alright, Bethany? How long have you been out here?”
He knows my name!
She knew he was looking for an answer, but she couldn’t keep her mind on task. What had he asked her?
Benjamin threw down the reins, jumped from the buggy and was at her side before she could comprehend what was going on.
Now she was really embarrassed.
Think fast. What should I do?
Bethany shuddered and chattered her teeth. “I think I’ve been out here for so long, it’s possible my brain might have frozen over for a second,” she swooned dramatically.
Benjamin tossed her suitcase on the floor of the buggy and put his arm around her, urging her forward.
“Let’s get you up here under the lap quilt with me so I can get you warmed up.
That’s exactly what I was hoping for!
Bethany allowed him to assist her into the buggy, where he tucked her into the lap quilt and kept his arm around her, keeping her close to him.
“Where can I drop you?” he asked as he picked up the reins with his free hand and set the horse in motion.
She didn’t give an answer.
She was right where she wanted to be for the moment, and she wasn’t about to let it go just yet.
CHAPTER 5
Bethany stood on the porch of the Widow Yoder’s home, waiting for her to answer the door. She shivered a little from the long walk over, remembering how nice her ride to Levinia’s house had been yesterday afternoon with Benjamin’s arms wrapped around her. How she wished for the warmth of his arms now as snow swirled around her ankles. The porch was in need of shoveling, and she wondered if the widow had anyone to help her with such simple tasks. Perhaps her father would come in handy for the widow more than she’d originally thought.
When the door swung open, the widow pushed a shovel into her hands. It threw Bethany’s thoughts into reverse. She was expecting to begin her lessons on making shoofly pie.
She wasn’t here to shovel.
“You can start with the porch and work your way to that sidewalk. When you finish, make certain the back stoop is shoveled, and a gut path to the barn. It isn’t easy for me to maneuver around in this snow, and I’m not going to get through another winter doing it myself.”
Bethany was stunned.
She didn’t mind helping the widow, but the woman had promised to teach her to make pie.
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
“I thought perhaps mei daed could do this stuff. I thought we were going to make pie.”
The widow shook her head. “You work for me, now. This haus is in need of a gut cleaning, and I’m in need of someone to do it for me. We’ll bake pie when the work is done.”
Bethany leaned the shovel toward the house and let it drop against the clapboard siding. “You expect me to clean your house for you just so you will teach me how to make pie?”
“Jah,” she said with a smile. “I can’t entertain your vadder in mei haus when it isn’t clean enough. The rugs haven’t had a good shaking in a long time, and the whole haus is full of dust. I’m getting too old to climb those stairs well enough to clean all those rooms upstairs.”
Then you’re too old to marry mei vadder, Bethany thought.
“I’m not going to clean your entire haus just so you will teach me to make shoofly pie.”
The widow smiled again, this time with a hint of impertinence in her eyes. “It isn’t so you can learn how to make pie. It’s too keep your vadder distracted so you can work on your mamm’s bakery.”
It would seem that Frau Yoder had her over a barrel. To Bethany, it felt more like domestic blackmail. She begrudgingly withdrew the shovel and walked back down the stairs to clear the snow that had accumulated to her ankles. She would do the work required, but only because she had no other choice.
What had happened to that sweet little old widow she’d had coffee with only yesterday? The difference in her was like night and day. Unfortunately, Bethany wasn’t in a position to argue with the woman. If she didn’t do the widow’s bidding, the woman wouldn’t do
her part in keeping her father occupied long enough to allow Bethany the time it would take to clean the bakery and get it ready to open. Distracting her father was vital to Bethany’s plan.
After a few minutes of shoveling, Bethany surveyed the long path that led back to the barn. It would take her all day to shovel all of it, and by the time she finished one end, she’d have to start all over on the other end. The snow was coming down so thick, it would surely add another several inches to the walkways before she finished. How clean would be clean enough for the widow? Would the woman expect her to stay out here all day before allowing her to come in and bake a pie? What about the widow’s involvement? She needed to ask the woman what her plans were to keep her father out of the way, and just when she intended to fulfill her end of the bargain.
Bethany fumed as the shovel hit a patch of ice and dropped to the ground unexpectedly. She looked up at the house, realizing that the widow was standing in the front window watching her struggle. How long had she been there? The woman waved, and Bethany returned it with a scowl, letting the old woman know of her angst—not that she cared. She almost seemed to be enjoying it.
Turning her back to the widow, Bethany tried to ignore the woman, who seemed to hold her future in her hands. She knew if she didn’t do exactly as the widow instructed, her chances of opening the bakery would not be likely. On the other hand, if she was going to be too busy doing the widow’s house-work, she would be too exhausted to get the bakery cleaned up and ready for business.
A sudden thought occurred to Bethany. What if the widow turned on her and told her father she’d been fired from her position at the B&B? If she did that before Bethany had the chance to show her father what she could do with the bakery, it would be all over for her.
Bethany shoveled faster and more vigorously. She had to get this chore done so she could move onto the next one before the widow changed her mind about helping her.
This was going to be a long, hard road to travel, and her already sore back was going to pay for it.
CHAPTER 6
“How long do you think we should leave your dochder out there?” Frau Yoder snickered, as she watched from the warmth of her front window while Bethany struggle with the snow shovel.
Jacob tugged at his long, wiry, graying beard and sighed. “I suppose for as long as it takes for her to learn her lesson.”
“From the look of it, she might freeze to death before that happens,” the widow said, closing the curtains.
“Mei dochder has to be taught that she can’t manipulate her elders,” Jacob said sternly. “When she gets too cold, she will give up and realize what she’s doing is not worth the effort.”
Outside, Bethany had furiously worked to clear the walkway, and had nearly made her way to the barn, where her father’s horse and buggy were safely stowed away from her sight.
“What if she doesn’t?” the widow asked. “She seems pretty stubborn.”
“Jah, that she is, but only time will tell.”
“In the meantime, how about a piece of shoofly pie and a cup of kaffi to warm you up? I’m certain you’re still cold from fixing the hinges on my barn door. That wind was something awful last night, wasn’t it? I thought that door was going to blow clean-off.”
“Jah, winter has set in for sure and for certain.”
Jacob watched his daughter from the kitchen window. He thought about how much she had her mother’s determination in her. Perhaps he should reconsider her request to open the bakery. If only she’d inherited her mother’s natural ability to bake. The poor girl couldn’t bake her way out a flour sack. If she could, she might have been able to keep her employment at the B&B.
Jessup King had reluctantly told Jacob of his daughter’s release from his employ at the B&B after she nearly burned down the kitchen from her inability to cook. Jacob felt so sorry for his daughter, he hadn’t had the heart to tell her he knew she’d been let go. The stubborn girl certainly was in need of some positive direction in her life, and he hoped the widow’s influence would make a difference. He knew working for Jessup King could not have been easy on Bethany. Although he was a fair employer, he was a stern man.
Jacob’s gaze focused on Bethany, who’d nearly finished the chore in record time. He would have done the shoveling himself if not for her showing up at the most opportune time. He’d just come in from fixing the barn door when she’d shown up. Although he didn’t like the idea of deceiving his daughter, he realized it was a necessity to chip away at her rebellion.
Jacob sipped the last of his coffee and raised from the chair about the same time Bethany headed toward the front porch. “That’s my cue to leave before I get caught here. I’ll be back later to pick you up for that sleigh ride. Danki for the kaffi, Frau Yoder.”
“I thought we agreed that if we are going to keep each other company, that you would call me by my given name, Anna.”
Jacob smiled. “Alright, Anna. I will see you this evening.”
Anna blushed, though her name sounded foreign coming from a man, but she smiled as she let Jacob out the kitchen door. She watched him disappear into the barn while Bethany knocked on the front door for the second time.
My, but she’s an impatient girl.
The widow couldn’t help but feel sorry for Bethany. If she’d had a daughter, she’d have taught her how to make her shoofly pie.
Perhaps it’s time for mei mudder’s shoofly pie recipe to be handed down to someone.
The widow went to the door and welcomed Bethany with a stern smile. She couldn’t be too soft on the girl, or the lesson Jacob wanted her to learn would not be taught.
Bethany stomped her feet on the porch before entering the widow’s home. As she crossed the threshold, she heard a buggy in the driveway that she’d just shoveled. She turned to see who it was, when the widow whisked her inside and closed the door. The woman oddly steered her toward the fireplace in the front room.
“Let’s get you warmed up,” she said as if in a hurry. “You can’t make pie with cold hands.”
“I think you might have company,” Bethany said.
“Nee, I had to have mei barn door repaired after last night’s storm nearly blew it off its hinges. He is leaving now.”
Bethany hadn’t remembered seeing a buggy in the driveway when she’d been shoveling, and the widow was acting a little strange. Was she up to more than Bethany thought she was? She shook off her suspicions as the fire roared in front of her. It felt good to get out of the cold and snow, but she worried the widow was only letting her warm up long enough to go back out and shovel the driveway again after she’d had a chance to warm up.
“Would you like some kaffi? Or perhaps hot cocoa would be better for a girl your age.”
My age? Does she think I’m twelve?
“Danki, but I would prefer kaffi.”
“Nee, I think cocoa would be better for you,” the widow insisted.
Then why did you even ask?
“Do you know how to make gut cocoa, dear?”
Your “sweet little old widow” routine isn’t fooling me. You’re up to something, and I aim to find out what.
“Nee, I suppose I don’t know how to make gut cocoa,” Bethany said in her sweetest voice.
It was no use fighting the woman. It was a battle she would not win. Since Levinia had refused to get involved with her scheme to reopen her mother’s bakery, she had no other choice but to rely on the widow to teach her basic baking methods. Unfortunately, Bethany feared she would probably be making more crow than shoofly pie.
CHAPTER 7
“How is it that I’m lucky enough to find you out here two days in a row?” Benjamin asked.
Bethany shrugged, feeling embarrassed that she was in need of a ride again. But the snow and wind were cutting right through her, so she wasn’t about to turn down a ride from the man. Her teeth chattered and she shivered as he assisted her into his buggy.
Wait, did he say he was lucky to run into me again?
B
ethany smiled, her teeth chattering so furiously, she almost couldn’t close her mouth.
Benjamin pulled two lap-quilts over her and hugged her tightly to him for a few minutes. “If you’re going to keep walking in this weather every day, I wish you’d tell me where I can pick you up, and I’ll be happy to give you a ride.”
“I’m w-working for th-the w-widow Y-Yoder,” she said as best she could around her chattering teeth.
“Now that I know, I can’t be responsible for you freezing to death. I’ll pick you up every day about this time so you won’t have to walk. I’ve been working odd jobs in town until I can find a permanent position somewhere. I’d like to stay close to mei schweschder at least until after she has her boppli.”
“The w-widow l-lives at the end of th-that l-last turnoff if y-you w-want to p-pick me up th-there.”
Benjamin pulled her closer and tucked his warm face against hers. “It’s settled then. Right now, let’s get you warmed up.”
Bethany was more than comfortable in his arms. In fact, she couldn’t help but think this was something she could get used to.
Benjamin leaned down and picked up a thermos from under the seat, poured hot cocoa into the cap, and handed it to Bethany. Grabbing the cup with both hands, she lifted it to her face and blew on the cocoa to allow the steam to warm her cheeks. She sipped the steaming liquid, feeling the heat permeate her insides. Soon, her teeth stopped chattering, and her muscles began to relax.
The widow had worked her to the bone today, and she was so exhausted, she fought to keep from dozing off in the comfort of Benjamin’s arms. Though they hadn’t conversed too much, there was an obvious, mutual attraction between them.
“What sort of work do you do for the widow?” Benjamin asked, breaking the silence.
He lifted the reins and set the buggy back in the direction of Levinia’s house where he’d dropped her off the day before. She didn’t want to go back there, but at the moment she had no other choice. Her back hurt from the stiff mattress in her sister’s spare room. Her own bed would feel perfect right about now, but the painful reality of her circumstances kept her from going home.
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