That only left one place.
Her brother’s loft apartment above the barn at her father’s house.
Surely if he objected this much to her opening the bakery, her father would never permit her to live in the apartment built especially for her deceased brother.
No. She would have to endure living in the same house with her newlywed father and his widow-bride, both of whom disapproved of everything she did.
CHAPTER 14
Bethany stared out the frosty kitchen window at the snow, while she poured herself a cup of fresh coffee. It was going to be another cold day where she would be stuck inside the bakery, having to listen to Benjamin boss her around as if she hadn’t a brain in her head at all.
After the first day, he’d tried repeatedly to give her advice, but she’d worn him down by reminding him that it was her bakery. She wondered, however, how long it would be before that would no longer do the trick.
The necessary repairs had been made and the inside was cleaned and ready for Ray and his crew to paint. A new coat of whitewash was needed for the outside as well, but it would have to wait until winter thawed out.
For now, the sign and the front door had been painted, and the new windows had been put in. Truthfully, Bethany barely recognized the place after all the improvements. Levinia had promised she would be stopping by later in the week, once they had begun to bake a few things. She’d agreed to come by and sample the confections, and Bethany was more eager than ever to impress her sister with her new skills. She’d studied all her mother’s recipes late into the night, hoping it would transform her into the sort of baker her mother could be proud of.
Bethany straightened her kapp over her loosely-wound bun. She’d caught Benjamin watching her once or twice when she’d conveniently had to pull her hair down to re-pin it during the past two days. She purposely left it loose just so it would fall down a time or two during the day. It pleased her that he could be so easily distracted by her. This, she felt, gave her the upper hand when it came to the overall control of the bakery. She knew it wasn’t right to take advantage of his affections in that way, but she was more than desperate to get him out of her bakery. If a little distraction was what did it, then that’s what she would use as her weapon of choice.
It wasn’t that she wanted to get away from Benjamin; she just didn’t want him working with her—especially not as her boss in her own bakery.
“Benjamin tells me you are refusing his instruction,” her father’s deep baritone rumbled behind her.
Bethany jumped at the sound of his voice, but his statement immediately brought up anger in her.
“That is not true! He’s just bossing me around, and I don’t think it’s fair. It’s my bakery, not his.”
Jacob pulled off his snow-covered coat and hung it on the peg near the kitchen door, crossing the room to the coffee pot on the stove.
“It’s not yours either, dochder. That belongs to your mamm.”
“Nee, mamm is gone, and I think she would want me to have it.”
“Not if she could see what a mockery you have made of it. She would not be proud of you for the way you are rejecting instruction.”
Bethany swallowed the lump in her throat, turning away from her father so he would not see the tears welling up in her eyes. His words stung, and she thought it was unfair of him to put words in her mother’s mouth that way. It hurt her to think that her mother could be disappointed in her.
“You need to listen to Benjamin’s instruction,” her father continued. “He is very experienced. And you should not forget that if not for his offer to teach you, I would not have agreed to open the bakery for you. He deserves your respect and cooperation.”
He didn’t respect me enough not to betray my confidence, so why should I respect him? Especially when he’s tattling on me as if we were schoolmates. It’s obvious we aren’t even friends. If he thinks I’m going to cooperate with him, he’s going to wait forever. But I will let him teach me so I can get him out of my bakery as soon as possible.
It was obvious Bethany could not trust Benjamin. Not as long as he was under her father’s employ. She would have to bide her time with him until she could learn enough to be on her own. It angered her that she was being forced to depend on him. She really liked him, and she thought he liked her too. But perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be.
Her father took his cup of coffee into the other room to sit in front of the fireplace to warm up, leaving her alone to reflect on his hurtful words that still hung thick in the air.
If only Libby were back from Nappanee. The two of them could easily run the bakery. They’d talked about it for the past year, making plans and dreaming of making the most perfect confections that would cause the suitors to be lined up outside the door, waiting to ask for the hands of the two women who were well-known in all the surrounding communities as the best bakers for miles around.
Bethany determined she would write to Libby today and beg her to come home. If anyone could help her to get rid of Benjamin, Libby was the one who could do it.
CHAPTER 15
Bethany stormed into the bakery with such fury, she slammed right into Benjamin as he was walking through the kitchen door.
He caught her from falling backward, using the advantage to pull her into his arms. “Gudemariye,” he said cheerfully.
Bethany rolled her eyes, but didn’t make a move away from him. “Is it?”
Benjamin smiled, his hazel eyes hypnotizing her. “Why wouldn’t it be? The sun is finally shining after two solid weeks of snow and gloomy clouds, and I’ve got the prettiest girl in the community in my arms.”
Bethany pursed her lips. “Don’t be prideful, Benjamin.”
Inside, she was trying not to smile at his comment. He had to know she was angry with him, as it would seem he was trying everything he could to divert her attention away from his recent betrayal.
Bethany tried to push at his chest, but didn’t try hard enough to actually get away from him. Truth be told, she liked being in his arms.
“Let me go,” she said, pretending to struggle.
He looked into her blue eyes, smiling, as his gaze traveled to her full, pouty mouth. “What if I don’t want to? What if I want to kiss you instead?”
Her lashes fluttered, showing helplessness against his affection. Not wanting to miss his window, Benjamin bent his head and touched his lips to hers. She sighed vulnerably, giving into his hunger for her. He deepened the kiss, capturing her mouth as if to satisfy an insatiable love for her.
Forgetting herself, Bethany fell limp in his arms, allowing him to keep the kiss going. She no longer resisted him. She wanted his kiss to last forever—to make her forget she was mad at him. She wished it would take away the feelings of betrayal, the feelings of distrust she had for him. But it couldn’t. It wouldn’t.
Bethany pushed herself from him, still in a daze from his touch. “This isn’t going to work.”
“I thought it was working out just fine,” he said, leaning back in for another kiss.
Backing away from him, she wriggled from his grasp and turned her back on him. “I can’t continue to believe you like me enough to be kissing me if all you do is betray me to mei vadder.”
“Jah, I can see where that might be a problem for you,” he said thoughtfully.
Bethany whipped her head around, a glint of hope in her sparkling blue eyes. “Then you’ll stop doing it?”
Benjamin hated to hurt her, but she needed to be taught a lesson. If they were ever to consider a relationship beyond the wonderful kisses, he couldn’t live with her unruly behavior and prideful ways.
“Nee,” he said. “I won’t lie to your vadder just so you can continue to act like a spoiled, prideful woman. He agreed to open this bakery for you, yet you make a mockery of it as if it will run itself. You will run it into the ground and defile your familye name if you continue your unruly behavior.”
Bethany leered at him, lips pursed, brow furrowed. “It
’s a gut thing I see now what you really think of me before I even consent to an engagement with you.”
“I don’t remember asking you!”
Bethany fumed. “I wouldn’t consent even if you did ask!”
Benjamin tried to keep a straight face. “So it’s settled, then.”
What just happened? Did he trick me again?
“Nee, it is not settled.”
Benjamin crossed his arms over his muscular chest. She couldn’t help but admire the contour of muscle that showed beneath the arms of his royal blue shirt. With the sleeves cuffed at his elbows, tan arms and strong hands invited her to embrace him, as did the slight smile across his jaw, peppered with two day’s growth. She tried to imagine him with a beard—the beard he would grow if they were to marry. She was certain he would be even more handsome as the years wore on him. She imagined a life in his arms—his strong, waiting arms.
Could she go to him now? Probably not, after the way she’d just spoken to him. Unfortunately, she was caught between her anger for him, and feelings of desire for a future with him. In the forefront of her mind, her first concern was the bakery. Getting it away from Benjamin’s clutches had to be her priority.
“What is left to settle? You are spoiled and refuse my instruction, and you no longer want to kiss me.”
I never said I didn’t want to kiss you anymore. But not at the expense of being called spoiled!
Bethany gritted her teeth. “I will accept your instruction. But we will keep a relationship that is strictly for the sake of the bakery.”
She knew it was the only way she would get it back from him. She was at his mercy. She needed him to teach her, but she would not continue to let him play games with her heart. She wanted him oh so much, but she would not compromise her heart in lieu of her mother’s bakery. It was everything to her.
Bethany looked at Benjamin. He was too handsome for words. If the bakery was everything to her, then what was to become of her feelings for him? Could she keep her feelings in check while spending so much time with him?
“It looks like we finally have an agreement,” he said sadly. “You will be serious about learning how to bake from me, and will not resist my instruction anymore. In exchange, I agree not to kiss you anymore.”
There is was. He’d decided for her—for both of them. What if she changed her mind about him? Was it too late? She’d enjoyed his kisses, but she knew she couldn’t have it both ways. She had to choose. That meant rejecting her feelings for Benjamin and accepting his instruction. It was to keep her mother’s bakery—to keep her mother in her heart.
If only she could have them both in her heart.
She looked at Benjamin one last time. She knew that to reject him, she would lose him. She swallowed hard the lump that formed in her throat, pushing down the love she already felt for him. She blinked away tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.
“Agreed,” was all she could say.
CHAPTER 16
Bethany watched Benjamin crack eggs and sift flour with such ease she didn’t know whether to be impressed with his skill or intimidated by his perfection. He didn’t even have to follow recipes. Even her mother had followed recipes. Hadn’t she? The box full of recipes was proof of that. Wasn’t it?
“Are you paying attention, Bethany?” Benjamin snapped at her.
She cleared her throat. “Of course I am!”
He handed her the whisk. “Stir the cake batter while I prepare the remainder of the cake pans. Do I need to go over pan preparation with you again, or do you have it?”
Bethany rolled her eyes and nodded.
I’m not stupid! Stop telling me what to do! You think you’re so perfect. I bet your precious cake batter wouldn’t be so gut with eggshells in it!
Bethany looked over her shoulder at Benjamin, whose back was to her. She grabbed a handful of eggshells from the counter and crushed them between her hands, allowing the crumbles to fall into the batter. She stirred them in, hiding the evidence.
Suddenly, Benjamin was at her side, and she feared he may have seen what she’d done. If he had, he didn’t say a word. He simply set the round pans to the side of the oversized stainless mixing bowl and took over as if she wasn’t even there. Bethany stood to the side and watched him pour the cake batter into each pan that she’d greased and floured.
After placing them in the oven, Bethany took a moment to fix her hair near the sink in the back. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Benjamin watching her, and that pleased her. She chuckled inwardly.
Keep on wanting what you can’t have, Benjamin! You can’t have me and the bakery. I’m going to force you to choose.
When she finished, she grabbed a fresh linen towel and dabbed at her neck. “Is it warm in this kitchen, or is it just me?” she complained.
She watched him clench his jaw.
She was getting to him.
“If you’re too warm, why don’t you open the back door for a minute; let some of that cold November wind in here. That should do it.”
He walked past her, avoiding eye-contact.
Bethany crossed to the back of the kitchen and propped open the back door with the broom handle.
“If you’re done cooling off, I could use some help filling these whoopie pies. The filling needs just a pinch more cinnamon. Would you mix that in really quick while I get the extra wax paper from the box in the back?”
Bossy, bossy, bossy! Perhaps a handful of pepper instead of a pinch of cinnamon might teach you to stop bossing me around in my own bakery.
She quickly mixed pepper into the whipped filling while Benjamin was in the back room. She giggled thinking of how much he would cough and gag when he tasted the whoopie pie filling.
Sabotage might just be the best way to get him out of my bakery! When he sees he’s not as perfect as he pretends to be, he will give up and leave.
Now more eager than ever to ruin everything the man baked, she began to dream up in her head what she could do next. She would be diligent and write down the recipes as he made them, but she would leave out her special ingredients she would add after he was done. Then after they baked, he would be confused, and she could blame him.
He has some nerve calling me prideful. He’s so full of himself, he thinks he’s the best baker this side of Ohio.
She’d tasted the batter before putting in the pepper, and she had to admit she’d never tasted anything quite like it before, and she’d tasted a lot of whoopie pies in her days. He’d added some unexpected ingredients in there, ingredients that she hadn’t remembered seeing in any of her mother’s recipes. Perhaps he did have a knack for baking, but she wasn’t about to feed his ego over it.
When they’d finished filling and wrapping about a dozen whoopie pies, she’d had enough practice. Presentation is everything, Benjamin had told her repeatedly. She’d bought plenty of whoopie pies around the community, and they hadn’t wrapped them as fancy as he’d made her do them.
“Don’t you taste-test them before you sell them?” she asked, hoping to get the chance to see him gag on his own confections.
“Nee, if you follow your recipe every time, there is no need to taste every batch. If I did that, I’d weigh as much as my horse and buggy!”
“But you didn’t follow a recipe, so how do you know it is gut?”
Benjamin winked at her. “The recipes are part of me. I know them like I know my own heart.”
Ach, you’re full of whoopie pie filling!
“Besides,” he continued. “I saw the look on your face when you tried it, so I know it’s gut.”
Bethany shrugged. “It wasn’t anything special. I’ve tasted a lot of whoopie pies in my day, and if you’ve tasted one, you’ve tasted them all.”
She was hoping to make him think he’d done something wrong so he would taste the filling, but he didn’t fall for it.
“I suppose if I hope to impress you with my baking skills, I will have to try harder.”
Bethany scrunc
hed up her face. “Why would you try to impress me?”
Benjamin winked at her a second time and smiled warmly. “What would be the point if I couldn’t use my confections to gain your affection?”
His smile was the sweetest smile, and it caused Bethany to swoon—just before guilt flooded her heart.
CHAPTER 17
Bethany arrived late to Sunday service at the Widow Yoder’s home. She’d dawdled over Libby’s letter she’d been too tired to read the night before. After a long day at the bakery, she’d fallen asleep and hadn’t read past the first line. This morning, however, she was so excited to read that her best friend would be home in the middle of next week, she was nearly beside herself.
When she walked in through the kitchen so as not to interrupt the service, she wasn’t so distracted that she didn’t see the widow arranging the casseroles and deserts that would feed the community after the service. Her heart did a somersault behind her ribcage when she spotted the cakes she’d frosted at the bakery just yesterday—the same cakes in which she’d added egg shells to the batter. Her eyes scanned for the whoopie pies until she set her gaze upon them at the far end of the counter.
Bethany froze, unable to move or think or breathe.
What am I going to do? I can’t let anyone eat those. I put pepper in the filling—a lot of pepper!
“H-how did those get h-here?” she stammered.
The widow looked up at her face that must have been as pale as the snow. “Your daed picked them up this morning from your bakery. The entire community has been anticipating the first treats from the bakery ever since they heard it was reopening. Your daed thought this would be a gut preview and might draw in some business for you.”
Bethany was numb to the widow’s ramblings. All she could think about was the Bishop biting into one of those whoopie pies and shunning her for such sinful behavior. But not before her father took her behind the widow’s barn and gave her a sound lashing—most certainly within earshot of Benjamin.
Amish Brides of Willow Creek 1-4 Omnibus Page 24