Matilda laughed. “Really?”
“Jah,” Elizabeth said. “I’m here all the time so feel free to ask me questions.”
“Say Daniel,” Tyler said standing in the office doorway. “I just wanted to let you know that my sister, Jessica, can work in the café a few days a week.”
“Great! Please ask her if she can come in tomorrow so I can talk to her about the schedule.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Daniel turned back to Elizabeth. “I’m going to show Matilda around the bakery and café now. I want to talk to you later. I have an idea so you aren’t here by yourself when you work late.”
“Jah.” Elizabeth pointed to the kitchen. “I’ll be there in a bit. I need to frost two cakes that will be picked up tomorrow.”
Elizabeth went to the refrigerator and brought out one of the cakes and the frosting she had mixed up earlier. She began spreading frosting over the cake using a wide spatula. Daniel walked by with Matilda. Elizabeth was glad that Daniel was hiring more employees, but Daniel had said that it would take several weeks to train them. She couldn’t help but wonder about how hard the next few weeks were going to be. They had all of the new orders plus the wedding cakes added onto their already busy schedule. It was going to make it really tough to get everything done.
Elizabeth stopped herself. Worrying about something that hadn’t even happened yet wouldn’t help anyone. The best thing she could do was to concentrate on getting one thing done at a time and then move on to the next task.
* * *
Isaac had barely walked into the bakery when Daniel came out of the office. “Isaac, you are just the person I wanted to see.”
“I am?”
Daniel came out to stand at the counter. “I need a little help.”
“What can I do?”
“We are very understaffed. I’m hiring some new employees, but it will be weeks before everyone is trained enough to really help. Elizabeth needs to stay late a few nights to bake and decorate cakes.” Daniel looked over at Elizabeth in the kitchen. “I don’t want her to be in the bakery alone and she can’t walk home alone at night. Can you stay in town later and wait with Elizabeth, and then give her a ride home? I’ll be happy to pay you.”
“Jah, of course.” Isaac answered quickly. He would really like to spend more time with Elizabeth and he didn’t like the idea of her staying late in the bakery by herself either.
“Great! I’ll have Lucinda cook something for you both. She’s been wanting to add dinner to the menu. She can test ideas on you.”
“I’d be happy to help.” Isaac wanted to assure him that he was more than willing to stay. “Let me know which nights she needs to stay.”
“Tomorrow night will be the first night,” Daniel said. “We’ll go over her orders tomorrow morning. I’ll plan the schedule for the rest of the week and we can go over it when you come in.”
“Great. I’ll come over as soon as I’m done at the harness maker’s shop.”
Isaac looked into the kitchen and saw Elizabeth—their gazes met and she smiled. She had the prettiest smile. He sucked in a breath and waved at her.
* * *
Chapter 4
Elizabeth had just closed the oven door when Daniel came over to her.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Daniel asked.
Elizabeth set the timer before she turned to answer him. “Jah. I already have several cakes in the oven. Hopefully they will be cooled enough to decorate while the second group bakes.”
She had planned it all out to get as much done as she could.
“Gut. Do what you can, but don’t try to do everything tonight,” Daniel said. “I don’t want Isaac to have to stay too late.”
“What? What about Isaac?”
“Ach, I forget to tell you…Isaac is coming over to stay late with you tonight and over the next several days.”
Elizabeth looked at her brother with surprise. “I thought you were staying. How will I get home?”
“Isaac will give you a ride home,” Daniel said, and gave her a look that seemed to tell her that the answer to her question was obvious.
Elizabeth was thankful that Isaac was willing to help her. “That is very nice of him.”
“I’ll be here for a few more minutes. Let me know if you need me to do anything.”
“Jah.” Elizabeth nodded.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Isaac waiting with her. At first thought, she liked the idea of being able to spend some time with him. It was getting more difficult for her lately. But she also wondered if he would ever see her as anything but Sadie’s best friend or Daniel’s younger sister. Although surely that wasn’t his fault; they had grown up together and it was only natural for him to see her that way.
Elizabeth shook her head. It was no use for her to worry about something she couldn’t control. God had a plan for her and she needed to trust in that.
A voice suddenly startled her from her thoughts. “Elizabeth!” Susan stepped out of the office holding up a binder. “Look, what I have?”
“Is that the display folder?” Elizabeth asked.
“It is! I put the photos into a book actually.” Susan opened the book and flipped through the dozen or so photos for Elizabeth to see.
“It looks very nice.” Elizabeth felt a little odd seeing her cakes featured in the photos.
Susan turned more pages. “This section in the back is for the wedding cakes.”
Elizabeth smiled apologetically. “I guess that section will be empty for a few weeks.”
“Not that empty,” Susan said with a laugh.
Elizabeth was surprised to see photos of the cakes she had made for different weddings in the past. She looked at Susan with a questioning look.
“My mother was at all of those weddings. She loves weddings and wedding cakes, and apparently taking photos.” Susan chuckled. “I had to go through about five hundred photos to find the cakes.”
“It looks great. I really appreciate your hard work. Danke” Elizabeth smiled.
Susan looked back at the clock. “Oh, I should go. My mother will be closing up the gift shop soon.”
“Are you coming in tomorrow?” Elizabeth hadn’t really been able to talk to her much, since she had been in the office for more training with Naomi.
“Yes,” Susan answered.
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” Susan rushed to the door.
Isaac opened the door just as Susan got there. He stepped aside and held the door open for her.
“Hello Isaac. Goodbye Isaac,” she said with a little wave.
“Goodbye, Susan.” He laughed as she passed through the door.
Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile when Isaac walked in. She had been looking forward to spending more time with him, although she still felt a little nervous. She was standing at one of the worktables prepping the next cakes and gathering all of the dry ingredients into a container for each cake. When it was time, she could empty the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and add in the eggs and other wet ingredients to complete the batter.
Most everyone had gone home already. Daniel, Naomi and Lucinda were the only ones still in the bakery, other than Elizabeth and Isaac.
“Dinner is all done.” Lucinda pointed to the oven under the large stove in the kitchen. “I left it warming in the oven.”
“Danke. It was very nice of you to cook dinner for us, Mamm,” Elizabeth said.
“It was my pleasure, really.” Lucinda took off her apron. “This is giving me a chance to try out some dinner ideas for the café.”
Isaac had moved around the counter. “I’m happy to make the sacrifice to test out your dinner ideas.”
“Isaac you are just too kind. What I fixed tonight is fairly normal, but I still want to know what you think,” Lucinda said with a laugh. “Alright. I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Daniel and Naomi left soon after, leaving Elizabeth and Isaac on their own
.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Isaac asked.
Elizabeth checked the timer. The first batch of cakes would be coming out of the oven soon, so she thought she might as well get started on the next batch of batter.
“Jah, can you get the eggs, butter and milk from the refrigerator?”
Isaac was already crossing the kitchen while she pulled a mixing bowl from the cabinet under the worktable. The cake pans had been prepped already and were lined up on the other end of the table.
“Here you go,” Isaac said, setting everything down next to the mixing bowl. Starting with the container of dry ingredients that she had measured out earlier, she emptied it into the bowl. She added the wet ingredients and started mixing everything together. When the batter was fully mixed and at the right consistency she poured it into the cake pan, repeating the process until all of the cake pans had been filled.
“You really enjoy making cakes, don’t you?” Isaac asked.
“Jah,” she answered, feeling a little confused. “Why do you ask?”
“You look happy while you’re making them, even just stirring the batter. You were humming, you know.”
“I was?” Elizabeth laughed nervously, embarrassed that Isaac must think she was a silly girl. “Goodness, I didn’t even realize.”
He smiled and nodded slowly. “It was nice—lovely, really.”
Elizabeth felt her face begin to turn red. Thankfully, the oven timer went off at that very moment. She turned away and went to the ovens.
Isaac immediately felt embarrassed for allowing those words to spill out. He wasn’t quite sure yet of how Elizabeth felt towards him. His thoughts echoed hers; he was thankful the timer went off at that moment. “What can I do now?”
The cakes were ready to come out of the oven. Elizabeth handed him the oven mitts. “I set out some cooling racks on that table there. Could you set these cake pans on the racks?”
He was already pulling on the oven mitts. “Jah, of course.”
“Danke. I can put the next batch of cakes in the oven and then we can eat dinner.” Elizabeth moved back to the table to start putting the cake pans into the oven.
“Is there anything else to do?” Isaac asked again.
“How about pulling dinner out of that oven?” She pointed to the oven under the stove and smiled. “Since you still have the oven mitts on.”
He held up his hands and grinned. “I forgot I had them on.”
Elizabeth giggled. “Jah, I thought so.” She set the timer for the cakes and went to the sink to wash her hands. She joined Isaac at the stove. “So what’s for dinner?”
Isaac began to uncover the containers. “Hmm. Looks like roasted chicken, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes with gravy.”
Elizabeth set two plates on the counter and pulled a serving spoon from a drawer. “If it tastes half as good as it smells we are in for a treat.”
“Can I get you something to drink?” He put the oven mitts on the table.
“Jah, I would like some water,” she said and then looked back. “Do you know where the glasses are?”
Isaac was already walking into the storeroom. “Jah, Sadie gave me a tour last week.”
Elizabeth loaded up their plates and brought them to one of the tables in the seating area. She had barely sat down when Isaac set a glass of cold water in front of her. “Danke.”
“You are most welcome.” Isaac smiled and sat down across from her. “This looks great. I appreciate you filling my plate. Danke.”
When they had finished eating, Elizabeth worked on decorating the first group of cakes. She covered the sheet cake with white frosting and began to lay a swirly line of frosting around the top edge. When that was done, she picked up a bag of lavender frosting and carefully wrote HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JANICE AND KENT. Elizabeth changed the tip on the frosting bag and piped three large roses in the upper corner.
She continued working on the remaining cakes, answering Isaac’s questions as she worked. Before she knew it the cakes were all finished.
“Is that it?” Isaac asked.
“Jah. The first batch of cakes are decorated and the second batch has cooled.” Elizabeth set the empty frosting bowl next to the sink. “They all need to go into the refrigerator.”
Isaac opened up the refrigerator and she slid in the last cake.
“Well, that’s done. I’ll get started on washing the dishes.”
“I’ll wipe down the counter and all of the tables,” Isaac said.
“Great! Danke.”
It surprised her how quickly the evening had gone.
“Ach. I forgot about our water glasses,” he said, setting them down next to the sink.
“I haven’t drained the water yet so you have perfect timing.”
Elizabeth turned back to the sink picking up the second water glass. Her hands were wet and the glass slipped from her fingers falling with a thunk into the soapy water.
She reached into the water to get the glass when she felt a sharp pain. “Ach!”
Isaac had been wiping down the tables in the seating area when he heard Elizabeth cry out.
“What happened?” Isaac asked, as he rushed into the kitchen.
“I…I cut my hand,” Elizabeth said, her voice wavering.
She held her arm over the sink and he could already see blood dripping off her hand.
“Dear Gott!” Isaac grabbed a clean towel from over the sink and wrapped it around her hand. Elizabeth’s face was white. He led her to one of the chairs in the seating area. He was worried she would faint, and at least she would be seated if she did. “Do you feel okay to sit here for a minute?”
She nodded quickly. “Jah.”
He went and grabbed several more towels since red spots were already seeping through the first towel. Folding two towels together he wrapped it around her hand. “I’m going to call Doctor Wilson’s office. Stay here. Call me if you need me or feel like you are going to faint.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay.”
Isaac rushed into the office and dialed the phone.
A deep voice answered the phone, “Doctor Wilson.”
“Hello, Doctor. This is Isaac Weaver. I’m so glad you’re still at your office.”
“Hello, Isaac.”
“Doctor, I’m at the bakery and Elizabeth Hochstetler has cut her hand badly on a broken glass. She’s bleeding a lot.”
“Alright, stay there. Put pressure on the wound. My daughter, Karen, is here and I’ll send her right over to pick you up.” He heard Doctor Wilson move the phone away and talk to someone else. “Karen is leaving now.”
“Thank you, Dr. Wilson.” Isaac tried to take a deep breath.
“You’re welcome, Isaac. I’ll see you shortly.”
Isaac hung up and went back to Elizabeth. She was tapping her foot and making a humming sound. He couldn’t imagine how much pain she must be in.
“Doctor Wilson sent his daughter, Karen over to pick us up. She should be here any minute.” The doctor’s office was on the other side of the square. It wasn’t very far. If she hadn’t been injured, walking there would have been fairly quick, but he didn’t want to make her walk and it would take him several minutes to get to his horse and hook up the buggy.
“Why don’t we go stand outside?”
“We need to lock up the bakery,” Elizabeth said.
“I can do that. Where are the keys?”
She pointed with her other hand. “On the hook just inside the office.”
Isaac ran into the office and found the keys. He checked the back door and then joined her back at the table.
“Let’s go.” He helped her up and led her to the door.
“It’s still bleeding. I don’t want to ruin Karen’s car.”
Isaac grabbed a plastic bag from behind the counter. He put her hand in the bag and grabbed the extra towels. Then he moved around her to open the door. “Let’s go.”
He had barely turned around when a gray car pulled
up next to the bakery. Karen jumped out and opened the back door. “Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. C’mon in.”
Elizabeth sat down and Isaac slid in next to her.
Karen was already back in the front seat and pulled away as soon as Isaac shut the door.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back at my dad’s office in just a few minutes.”
Elizabeth was breathing fast. Isaac was trying to stay calm, but he was worried. Susan turned the corner. Elizabeth shifted and let out a whimper.
Isaac wrapped his arm around hers, holding her hand up and away from her body. “I know you must be hurting. We’re almost there.”
She looked at him for a long moment and nodded. Her breathing began to slow. “I’m so thankful you were here to help me. Danke.”
“I’m glad I was here too, Elizabeth. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.
* * *
Chapter 5
“Ach! Elizabeth, I heard what happened. How are you feeling?” Naomi exclaimed, when she came into the bakery the next day.
“I’m fine.” Elizabeth answered, holding up her bandaged hand. “Doctor Wilson had to put several stitches in and I have to keep it bandaged for at least two weeks. I’ll have to go back to see him every few days to check my hand and change the bandage.”
What had started out as a pleasant evening had turned into a horrible night. The cut to her hand was awful, and she had been scared at how much she had bled.
Daniel had been concerned about her the night before, but today he was very serious. Elizabeth was worried that he was upset at her, or perhaps at Isaac. She hoped that was not the case, because Isaac had been wonderful. He had acted quickly and been so careful with her and kept her calm. Once they had arrived at Doctor Wilson’s office, Isaac had offered to go get her parents. Elizabeth had asked him to stay with her, so Karen kindly picked up Kathryn and Ben. Isaac had held her other hand while Doctor Wilson had cleaned out the cut and then carefully stitched it up.
Daniel came out of the office to stand next to Naomi. He looked at Elizabeth’s bandaged hand. “Let’s go talk in the office,” he said.
Daniel and Naomi walked into the office and Elizabeth followed, sitting on one of the chairs that sat against the wall.
AMISH ROMANCE: The Amish Bakery Boxed Set: 4-Book Clean Inspirational Box Set - Includes Bonus Book Page 14