by Jo Ann Brown
“I’ve always known it, but it’s a joy to rediscover the truth over and over again. The gut Lord may have given us a horrible winter, but he also gave us a frozen pond to enjoy.”
“I’m glad I was able to find a pair of skates in the thrift shop by the old courthouse.” Caleb pulled on his other skate after setting his boots next to each other beside the others left behind. “They had only one pair in my size.”
“A skating party wouldn’t be much fun without skates, ain’t so?” She laced her skates with easy skill. “We had extras, so Becky Sue found a pair that fits.”
“Has she said anything?”
“No.” Tying off her skates, she wiggled her toes in two pairs of wool socks. “Let’s not talk about that tonight.”
“I agree. I hear you brought hot chocolate. Your famous recipe?”
She hoped the moonlight would wash out the blush climbing her cheeks. “I don’t think it’s famous.”
“It should be. I’ve tasted your hot chocolate several times, and you add delicious flavors to it. What did you bring tonight?”
“Chocolate and raspberry.”
“Is that one of the flavors you suggested serving at the bakery?”
“One of them.”
“What about the others? Are they this gut?”
“My favorite is the chocolate and raspberry, but others prefer vanilla or the one with kaffi flavoring.”
He slid his hand over hers as he leaned toward her. “I think we need to talk more about serving hot chocolate. Your grossmammi was right when she told me how many gut ideas you have.” He finished tying his skates as he said, “Business can wait, too. Let’s have fun.”
When he smiled as she stood on her blades, Annie could have believed spring had erupted around them. Happiness wrapped her in warmth. Could Leanna be right? Was it possible that Caleb, a man she trusted and loved, could have strong feelings about her, too?
Caleb stood and stepped past her, gliding along the ice. She grinned. She’d learned that anything he did he did well because he gave every bit of himself to the job.
As she put her feet, one at a time, on the ice, Becky Sue skidded toward her. Annie halted her before the teen knocked them both over.
“Komm mol,” called Becky Sue, holding out her hand. “Are you going to skate, or have you frozen yourself to this spot?”
With a chuckle, Annie took her hand. Becky Sue pulled her along the ice as Annie and Leanna had each other when they were little girls.
Impromptu games of snap-the-whip and races among the younger boys and girls sent waves of excited voices through the crisp winter air. Annie was pulled into some games and joined others as the evening unfolded. She waved to Caleb when she passed him as he careened across the ice after being whipped off the line of skaters. She paused once to enjoy a popcorn ball and watch as her sister skated past with Benjamin Kuhns before they fell to the ice and slid into two other people. Soon the whole crowd was laughing together.
More than once, Becky Sue came looking for her. Each time, Annie agreed to skate with the girl and used the opportunity to introduce the teen to others closer to her age.
Abruptly, Becky Sue shoved her forward. Before Annie could ask what the girl was doing, she hit something hard. Hands grabbed her arms to steady her and keep her from falling.
“You should have signal lights to show where you’re going, Annie.”
At Caleb’s laugh, she raised her eyes to see him standing wondrously close. His chuckles faded as the heat in his eyes deepened until she feared the ice would melt under their feet. Releasing her arms, he held out his hand.
She put hers on it, and his fingers closed around it. They began to skate in perfect unison. Neither of them spoke, and that was fine. The song of their skates matched the eager beat of her heart as the other voices vanished. Every inch of her being was focused on him...on them...on being together beneath the cool moonlight as they slid along the ice while their eyes were focused on each other.
When he stopped and drew her toward the shore, she wanted to protest. He shook his head, and she followed, waiting while he ladled out two servings of her hot chocolate for them. Then, holding her hand again, he led her up the hill through the trees to a spot where they could watch the rest of the skaters.
They sipped their hot chocolate in the same silence, not needing words. When she finished the last in her paper cup, he took it and put it inside his. He set them on the ground and looked at her.
She searched his shadowed face, knowing every inch of it from the hours they’d spent together in the bakery and so many of her dreams. She closed her eyes as his arm swept around her waist and he brought her to him as he bent to caress her lips. What she’d imagined about this moment was tepid compared to the thrill of his kiss.
Did the shivers racing along her belong to him or her? All she knew for sure was that they had nothing to do with the chilly night and everything to do with the delight tingling along her. She slid her hands up the strong muscles beneath his sleeves and curved her arms over his shoulders, surrendering to the kiss she hadn’t dared to believe would ever happen.
Too soon, he drew back.
Again Annie was going to protest, but she heard what he must have while she was lost in the moment.
“Hey, Caleb!” came a man’s shout from closer to the pond.
Caleb leaned his forehead against hers as he murmured, “That’s Lyndon. I should go and see what he wants.”
“You should.”
“Okay.” He didn’t move.
Neither did she, except to meet his mouth for another quick kiss before he picked up their discarded cups and walked awkwardly down the hill on his skates.
She remained behind, not wanting the perfection to end, wanting to keep it close so it didn’t ebb away like a dream in the light of dawn. As the cold sifted through her coat and nibbled at her toes, she stood still.
Annie wasn’t sure how long she remained on the hill, but her feet felt half-frozen as she lumbered down. Maybe it was time to get her skates off and put on her warm boots. A glance at the moon that was setting over the mountains to the west told her that the party had been going on for more than two hours.
A clump of shadows in front of her were, she discovered as she drew near, a group of men leaning on the trees and sipping her hot chocolate. She was about to announce herself when she caught Caleb’s voice.
“The plan is to have a full selection of drink choices.” He laughed, “Englischers are always talking about taking time to stop and smell the roses. Maybe we can convince them to stop and smell the kaffi and the hot chocolate and maybe freshly squeezed lemonade in the summer. I’ve been looking around to find some more small tables. If they’re set in one corner, we hope patrons will stay and have something to eat before they take more home with them.”
“That’s a gut idea.” Her brother slapped Caleb’s arm. “A really gut one. You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
Another man spoke. An Englischer. “I can tell that you’ve done your market research, Caleb. We’ve needed a café and a bakery in Salem since the last one was turned into a diner a few years ago.” He paused, then said, “My wife will be your best customer, I’m sure, once she tastes this raspberry hot chocolate. She raves about the bread you sold last summer. That you’ll be serving hot drinks at a place where she can get together with her friends will make her really happy.”
“You’ll get a bunch of guys in there before evening chores, too,” said another Englischer. Chief Pulaski, Annie realized, as the fire chief continued, “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’ve got so many good ideas. Your suggestion about having that Amish-style mud sale raised enough money to pay for a lot of training for our volunteers.”
“Danki.”
“Your bakery is sure to be a hit. When I was in to do the final inspection this morning, I couldn’t belie
ve the transformation of that dusty old depot into a bright and cheery shop. How did you come up with the idea of splashing color on the floor? I thought you Amish liked things plain.”
She waited, holding her breath because she didn’t want to miss a single word. Now Caleb would say some of the ideas had been hers.
“We do.” He chuckled. “But when my cousin’s little boy spilled paint, it seemed like the obvious solution when it would have taken so long to clean up those old floorboards.”
“And that bright yellow wall in the kitchen?” Chief Pulaski chuckled. “I’d guess I won’t be the only husband in Salem who’ll be repainting a kitchen once your shop opens.”
“When customers come in, the color of that wall will catch their attention. That will draw their eyes right to the displays in the cases.”
Annie reeled a half step as she heard what she’d said, almost word for word, coming out of Caleb’s mouth. He was taking credit for her ideas as Rolan had after they’d broken up. How could she have been foolish enough to let this happen again? She’d thought Caleb cared about her, but had he cared only about the ideas she brought him for his bakery?
Stop it! she told herself. It shouldn’t matter who got credit for how the bakery had turned out. To expect to be acknowledged for her help was hochmut. She should be pleased that her hard work was paying off for Caleb.
But how could she when he’d taken her ideas for his own?
She should have been more careful. If she hadn’t let flattery from her grossmammi and from Caleb turn her head, she might have thought before she let each idea burst out of her. Instead, she’d freed each one as it popped into her mind, so glad to be able to express them.
And the worst part was that he didn’t seem to have any problem with taking credit for her ideas mere minutes after he’d wooed her lips with his. Rolan hadn’t tried to keep her off-kilter like that when he stole her ideas.
Bending over, Annie loosened the laces on her skates. She tramped through the snow to where she’d left her boots. She yanked off her skates and pulled on her boots. She looked around and saw Leanna and Becky Sue talking to Juanita and Kenny a short distance away.
“Let’s go,” Annie said as she approached them.
“But, Annie—”
She didn’t give Becky Sue a chance to finish. Linking her arm through the teenager’s, she marched toward the road that twisted through the hollow. A glance back told her that her siblings were hurrying to follow and that Caleb was striding in their direction.
Talking to him would be another mistake. If she did, she might say something she’d come to regret later.
She shot another look over her shoulder. Caleb had stopped, staring after them. Puzzlement was seared on his face.
He doesn’t realize what he’s done.
That thought should have been comforting.
It wasn’t.
Her pain was too deep, her betrayal too raw. She couldn’t think about the situation logically.
What a joke! Annie Wagler, the always-logical one, the twin who didn’t lead with her emotions but worked well with everyone, was the one who refused to listen to her own rational thoughts. Instead she was wallowing in pain, a pain so deep it hurt to breathe.
No one spoke on the short walk home. Her younger sister and brother glanced at her again and again, but apparently the set of her taut lips told them it’d be wise not to ask questions. They and Becky Sue hurried up to their rooms, and she could hear the soft buzz of their confused voices.
Leanna stayed in the kitchen and watched as Annie tried to find something to do to vent her frustration. After about fifteen minutes, she took Annie by the arm and steered her to the table.
“What’s going on?” Leanna asked.
“Caleb Hartz isn’t the man I thought he was.” The words sprang out of her like soda from a shaken bottle.
Her twin frowned and tapped her foot on the floor. “I’m not going to ask you what happened between you, but I can tell you that pouting about it and going around crashing into things and cutting short the kinder’s fun won’t change it.”
“I’m not doing anything different from what you’ve been doing.”
“Me?” Her twin looked shocked.
“Ja. You’ve been in mourning since Gabriel Miller got married.”
Leanna recoiled as if Annie had struck her. “I have not!”
“You don’t see it, but you’ve been acting as if you’re attending a wake for months and months. You used to laugh and sing and delight in making your quilts. I don’t think I’ve heard you sing, other than during services, in a year. Each time you pick up a needle, you act as if quilting is drudgery instead of the joy it used to be. You enjoy taking care of your goats, but you’ve handed the job to me a lot lately. It’s as if you’ve forgotten how to be happy.”
Her twin stared at Annie. More than once, she opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t break the silence that clamped around them.
Leanna threw her arms around Annie. “I’m sorry. I have been so focused on what I didn’t have that I’ve forgotten what I do have. I’ve been selfish and let you carry too much of the load of moving here and watching over the others. My sole excuse is that you do everything so well that I’ve been going along with whatever you say and do.”
“I don’t do everything well.” She’d made a mess of her relationship with Caleb.
She admitted to herself what scared her most: that, after tonight, they couldn’t even be friends any longer.
Chapter Sixteen
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
The last time Caleb had been smothered by such silence at the bakery was the day before he hired Annie to work for him. Since then, the space had been alive with her gut humor and lively questions and endless suggestions aimed at helping him make his dream come true.
It was coming true, but at what price? Last night, Annie had stormed away from the pond without explaining why she was upset. He’d stopped by the Waglers’ house earlier to pick her up. Leanna had met him on the porch and informed him Annie wouldn’t be coming to work that day.
“How about tomorrow?” he’d asked.
Leanna had deflected his question, and he’d realized he wasn’t going to get a straight answer. Unwilling to storm into the house and demand Annie explain—though the idea was tempting—he’d thanked Leanna, got into his buggy and headed toward the bakery.
But the silence taunted him. The bright colors on the floor and the shining appliances and display cases were mute reminders of how hard she’d worked by his side.
Now she didn’t want to see him.
Like Verba when he didn’t do as she wanted. She’d dumped him because she told him that she was tired of being less important to him than his dream of a successful bakery. Had he made the same mistake again? No. Verba had ended their courtship because he refused to become the man she wanted for a husband, a man who met each of her very precise specifications.
After that, he’d vowed to himself and to God that he’d never put himself in such a situation again. And he hadn’t, had he?
No, he hadn’t.
Annie was, he realized with a start, the complete opposite of Verba. Instead of trying to change him, Annie had spent hours coming up with ideas to make his dream better than he could have devised on his own. She’d accepted his hopes for his future as if they were as integral a part of him as his hair color and his faith.
She’d enhanced those dreams, caring about them as much as if they were her own.
Every time he’d needed her help—even when he hadn’t known he could use her assistance—she’d stepped up and offered to do what she could. It hadn’t mattered that what she volunteered to do added to her already heavy burden of taking care of her family and their farm. She’d smiled and taken over the task and done it well.
Better than he could
have many times.
Would he have thought about the color on the kitchen wall and how it would draw customers’ eyes to his baked goods on display in the front room?
Would he ever have conceived the idea of putting tables and chairs in the open space to one side of the display case so people would buy extra kaffi, other drinks and extra sweets from him? And turning the boppli’s splattering of paint on the floor from a disaster to something fun never would have entered his mind.
The bakery seemed like a dead thing. Annie was gone, and he didn’t know why. Because he’d kissed her last night? He’d thought she was willing when she stepped into his arms. She must have had second thoughts after their kiss, but why hadn’t she told him? She’d been honest about so much else, even when he hadn’t liked her honesty.
Caleb flinched when he heard a knock on the door. Who could be there? He didn’t want to see some chirpy salesman or curious neighbor. He wanted to be alone with his misery.
With a sigh, he went to the door and opened it. He didn’t recognize the lanky teenager who stood in front of him. The lad was overdue for a haircut because dark bangs covered his eyes. He was dressed in plain clothing, though it wasn’t the style worn in their district.
“Gute mariye,” Caleb said.
The young man shuffled his worn boots. “My name is Elson Knepp. I’m looking for Becky Sue Hartz, and I’ve been told I might find her or her cousin Caleb here.”
“I’m Caleb Hartz. Why are you looking for Becky Sue?”
The young man ducked his head, then squared his shoulders and looked Caleb in the eye. “Because she’s going to be my wife. We’ve got plans to build a life and a family together.”
“Aren’t you a bit late for that?”
Elson’s brow threaded with confusion, and then dismay dimmed his eyes. “Late? Are you telling me that she’s decided to marry someone else?”
“No, I’m telling you that she already has a family.”
“Do you mean her family in Lancaster County?” His lip curled. “That’s no family for her.” His brows rose. “Or do you mean her cousins here? I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell me.”