Come to the Lake

by Macarthur, Autumn

  A huge help, provided she didn’t count the distraction he made. Watching him with the girls, she winced. Her heart ached a little.

  Just a very little. Nothing serious. Definitely nothing to worry about.

  If not for the teensy tiny issue of his article hanging over her, life would be wonderful. She loved being at the lake. She loved the cottage. She loved the girls. She’d made good friends here. And she and Daniel got on just as well together as he and the girls did.

  Trouble was, she couldn’t forget the article, especially since she knew for sure how Nancy would react. Home from her cruise, she’d sent a grudgingly complimentary email about the blog. But adding how glad she was to see the twins weren’t living in “your usual state of chaos” left no doubt over how she’d respond when Daniel revealed the truth.

  By charging cross-country to snatch her grandgirls from the bad neglectful aunt who’d only pretended to look after them, then insisting Steph came home.

  Unless, of course, Sam learned to cook well enough before he hit send. With every passing day, every lesson with Liz she flunked, her hopes shrank.

  Chances were, today’s lesson would be no different.

  The gate between the two properties opened, and Liz appeared, trailed by her grandson, Jacob. Thankfully, they stayed chatting in the yard with Daniel and the girls for a couple of minutes. Just long enough for Sam to race around the kitchen and get it almost presentable. Mostly by shoving things in the cupboards Liz was least likely to open and swiping at the worst spills on the counters.

  Whether she looked remotely presentable was a whole other matter.

  Probably not. Hair escaping its ponytail, a flushed face, and dishpan hands weren’t the most alluring of looks. The question of why she’d want to look alluring for a man who could ruin the rest of her summer was best avoided.

  The kids dashed in through the mudroom. “Auntie Sam, Liz said we get to make our own little pastry people!” Emily danced on the spot, chattering at the top of her voice.

  “That’s wonderful, Emmie.” Sam kept her tone level and a smile pinned on her face while her heart thudded to her sneakers. So her guess had been right. Pastry again. But she had to try. And then keep trying, till she got it right. “You know the routine. Wash your hands first before you touch food.”

  Little Miss Bossy herded Rose and Jacob to the downstairs washroom.

  “And use the step at the sink one at a time. No trying to all get on it at once,” Sam called after them. She’d better go supervise.

  But before she’d taken two steps toward the door, Daniel stopped her with a smile. “I’ll go.” In a moment, his deep voice echoed back to the kitchen. “One at a time, like Samantha said.”

  “Lift me up, please?” one of the girls asked.

  “Lift me, too,” Jacob chimed.

  So as usual, Emily had grabbed the step first.

  Liz entered the kitchen, her lined face wreathed in an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Sam. I didn’t plan to have a crowd for today’s lesson. But my lovely son-in-law is driving Hiram to Coeur d’Alene to collect the parts for our AC. It’s working, but only just. With Maddie so much busier now, I told her I’d take Jacob today.”

  “It’s fine.” Sam’s fixed expression began to feel more like a grimace.

  It wasn’t fine, not really. Why did Brad have to choose today for a day off from the store? She’d hoped the girls and Jacob would play outside today. The last thing she needed was a bunch of preschoolers showing what a klutz in the kitchen she was by baking better than her.

  As if Daniel watching her culinary fails wasn’t bad enough.

  Clearly, her pretense of a smile convinced Liz. Or perhaps her sweet neighbor was simply too kind to say anything.

  “Which reminds me, let’s crank your AC right up.” She turned to fiddle with the thermostat beside the door. “The cooler the better for good pastry. I’m sure you’ll get it right this time.”

  “I hope so.”

  Lord, please? You can do miracles, and I need one!

  The kids charged down the hall, holding clean hands in front of them.

  Daniel followed. “Handwashing duty completed as ordered, ma’am. Mine, too.” His exaggerated wave set all three kids giggling. And her, too. For a single guy with no nieces or nephews, he sure was a natural with children.

  Far more a natural than she was at cooking.

  While he entertained the kids rolling out Liz’s ready-made pastry and competing to see who could give their pastry person the funniest face, she struggled to follow her neighbor’s patient instructions.

  Her hands were too hot and melted the butter she was supposed to rub into the flour with her fingers. She dumped in too much water. Then she over-kneaded the pastry. When Liz took pity on her and advised letting it chill in the fridge till tomorrow’s lesson, she collapsed into a chair.

  This must be how exhausted runners were after finishing a marathon. Except she felt a lot more disheartened. Runner’s high might be a real thing, but she was yet to experience baker’s high. Why couldn’t she get it? No admission pass to the magic circle of real homemakers, yet again.

  The kids’ pastry people, on the other hand, came out the oven looking great.

  Even Daniel’s. Especially Daniel’s. She tried not to feel jealous. They did have the head start of pastry made by Liz.

  All she could do was keep trying.

  Maybe she’d get a nice surprise when she rolled her pastry out and tried making something from it. And maybe not. Fifteen days till she needed to cook a pie for Daniel.

  It wasn’t quite impossible.

  Even if it felt that way.

  The following week, Sam hummed a worship song as she washed the breakfast dishes. She seemed to spend a crazy amount of her life with her hands in this sink. Once again, cleaning the kitchen slipped far later than it should, but she couldn’t regret it. She’d get it all done before they went out for lunch at the resort across the lake.

  Plus, she got to skip her cooking lesson today.

  Though some of what Liz taught her had finally clicked into place, some things definitely hadn’t. Unfortunately, the things she needed to master most. Like pie.

  A tap at the window interrupted her. Maddie, smiling and pointing to the freezer bag she held.

  “Come in,” Sam called through the open window.

  Her friend strolled in via the mudroom. “Finish your washing up. I’ll take care of these. It’s not so many, since you’re able to cook some things on your own.” Walking to the fridge, she unpacked several containers of prepared food while Sam rushed through the rest of the dishes.

  It made mealtimes so much simpler if all she needed to add was bread rolls and lettuce leaves from the garden. Even when they’d first arrived, she could manage that most of the time.

  Plopping into a chair, Maddie frowned at her watch. “It’s later than I thought. Shouldn’t you be getting dressed for your date with Daniel?”

  Sam turned her back to wipe down the countertops before Maddie could notice her heated cheeks.

  “My jeans will be fine. It’s hardly a date with the twins tagging along. Liz offered to sit with them, but she already does so much for us. I don’t want to tire her. Anyway, I don’t have any dresses with me. Only jeans or cutoffs.”

  So she’d made sure to put on her most flattering jeans and the one nice blouse she’d packed. That didn’t make it a date. The less she thought of this as a date, the less likely she was to get nervous and tongue-tied, the way she always did on dates.

  Time to change the subject before Maddie offered to lend her a dress.

  “I’m running late because the girls wanted me to play with them. I’d love to be organized and efficient enough to clear up straight away, but playing felt more important. If you were here an hour ago, they’d have roped you in, too.”

  “What was it today?” Maddie laughed. “Astronauts, cowboys, or sailors?”

  Chuckling, Sam risked facing Maddie again since her c
heeks had cooled a little. “Knights and dragons. The kitchen table was the castle, and the chairs became horses. You’re sitting on Emily’s Moonlight right now.”

  “Whoa, Moonlight. Easy, boy.” Maddie patted the chair and raised an eyebrow. “So what part did you play? Surely not the dragon. You’re the least dragonish person I know.”

  Sam snorted. She’d leave that role for Nancy.

  Sorry, Lord. Forgive my unkind thought. I’m sure she means well.

  “Bear did that. I was the damsel in distress, perched on top of the castle.” She switched to falsetto. “Help, help, I need a brave knight. Only the bravest can save me!”

  Emily poked her head around the door. “I’m not a knight anymore. I’m far too busy to rescue you now.” Her little voice squeaked with annoyance.

  Somehow, Sam suppressed her laughter. Just about.

  “Ignore me, sweetie. I was only showing Maddie what we did earlier. I don’t really need rescuing.”

  Emily flounced back to the living room where she and Rose played a complicated game involving all six of the Barbie dolls, with rules no grown-up could possibly follow.

  As soon as she heard them giggling again, Sam dissolved into giggles of her own. “So serious. Gotta love them.”

  “My Jacob is the same.” Maddie grinned. “And talking of Jacob, he hasn’t seen the twins for nearly a week. He’d love for them to stay with him today. Bear, too. Then your lunch with Daniel can be a real date.”

  Sam rolled her eyes. It hadn’t taken long to learn how persistent her friend could be when she set her heart on something. And that “something” was matchmaking her and Daniel.

  “I thought I already said no the last two times you asked? It’s not a date.”

  Mimicking her, Maddie rolled her eyes right back. “Isn’t it? You and Daniel seem to have become mighty friendly. I’m sure he eats as many meals here with you as he does in the café.”

  “That’s an exaggeration.” Sam struggled to keep her dignity intact while her face flamed again. “He sometimes stays to eat after my cooking lesson, that’s all. What Liz cooked, of course. My attempts give even the trash can indigestion. Anyway, the girls are always with us, and often Liz and Hiram, too. There’s no way to avoid each other.”

  She left the rest of her thought unsaid. Even if she wanted to.

  Which she didn’t. Not nearly as much as she should. The last thing to admit to Maddie was wondering once or twice what cute blue-eyed kids she and Daniel might produce.

  “So, since it’s not a date, you won’t mind me taking the girls for the afternoon, will you? It’s not like you’ll need chaperones.” Maddie folded her hands on the table, and her satisfied tone announced she knew she’d backed Sam into a corner.

  No matter what she said, Maddie would think she protested too much. “Please don’t encourage anyone else to get the wrong idea.”

  “Oh, and what idea could that be?” Maddie winked, her accompanying smile way too innocent. Probably all Sunset Point had them tagged as a couple.

  Sam shook her head. “Remember, he’s going back to New York in nine days.”

  Reminding herself didn’t erase the warm glow thinking of Daniel created. She felt comfortable around him. He was kind to the girls. They’d read a lot of the same books, enjoyed the same movies, laughed together over the same things. They even agreed about politics.

  Her almost-perfect match, if not for a few pesky issues.

  One of those, Maddie couldn’t argue with. His cynicism about everything, including God.

  To stop her friend from launching into an inevitable speech about long-distance relationships, Sam jumped in. “Though he believed as a kid, he tells me he’s lost his faith. I can’t risk getting serious about him, even if he wanted to get serious about me. Which he doesn’t.”

  Maddie wrinkled her nose. “Hmmm, the faith thing is a problem. When only one of you is actively following the Lord, things get messy. Brad and I had that for a while. I’ll pray.” Then her face cleared. “He’ll still be here when we do church this Sunday. The pastor from Spring Valley comes out every eight weeks. I’ll ask Daniel along.”

  She brushed her hands together as if reigniting his faith was a done deal.

  The hopeful what-if jump her heart gave heated Sam’s cheeks again. Biting her lip, she ducked her head.

  Lord, please help me to get my priorities right. I want Daniel to find You again, but for his own sake. Not so I have permission to date him. Definitely not. Even if his faith is restored, it doesn’t change the other issues.

  He lived on the East Coast. She preferred the West.

  He dug up dirt on people for a living and, as long as his story was factual, showed no sign of compassion for the consequences.

  And if she couldn’t manage to cook that pie, he’d go ahead and write an article for a national newspaper, branding her a fraud.

  But none of that stopped hasty words emerging from her mouth. “Okay, if you really want them there, I’ll leave the girls with you. They adore Jacob. A few hours with him will suit them far more than having to behave themselves in a child-unfriendly restaurant.”

  Maddie’s jubilant grin showed it was too late to take it back.

  She’d just agreed to time alone with the man who, far from being her Mr. Right, could be her worst enemy.

  A little over an hour later, sitting in the front of the small motorboat with Daniel while Brad sat in the back steering them across the lake to the resort, she couldn’t suppress a quiet singing joy she’d allowed Maddie to keep the girls at the store.

  Instead of delighting in the cool breeze tangling her hair and the shimmering sunshine, she’d have let the constant need for vigilance stifle her enjoyment. When Brad last took them out in his boat, she hadn’t been able to relax for a moment. They’d moaned about wearing life jackets, and she’d spent most of her time sitting between them and hauling them back as they leaned dangerously over the side trying to dangle their hands in the water.

  Though with them here, she wouldn’t be as aware of Daniel’s presence. Her heart wouldn’t be turning cartwheels at his nearness. She wouldn’t be noticing how his navy-blue Polo shirt intensified the blue of his eyes.

  He sat close, impossible not to in the small boat. To be heard over the roar of the motor and whoosh of splashing water as the boat chugged nearer the far lakeshore, their heads needed to dip together. Almost but not quite touching.

  Thankfully, he didn’t try to talk too often.

  No matter how much she wanted to pretend the sparkling lake or the dazzling summer day or the thrilling boat trip made her senses dance with exhilaration and brought her joyously alive, she couldn’t deny the truth. It was Daniel.

  The last man she should fall for.

  So she wouldn’t fall for him. She’d enjoy his company while he was here, learn to cook as well as she could, serve him a meal she’d made herself, and pray his final article wasn’t too horribly condemning.

  As long as whatever he wrote didn’t upturn her sister’s plans or the girls’ summer, that would be enough. And then she’d never see him again.

  The thought shouldn’t bother her so much.

  “Penny for them.”

  She jolted at his voice close to her ear and almost grasped his arm to steady herself. Angling her head away from his, she got ready to shout. “My thoughts aren’t worth that much.” Her words croaked from her dry throat.

  “Why not let me be the judge?” His warm smile invited her to confide in him.

  That would be risky. Even riskier than letting herself think of this as a date.

  Daniel was always a journalist, never only a man. Nothing she said would be off the record. The interview she’d expected would last a couple of hours had stretched into weeks. That was all.

  Shaking her head, she pointed to the dock fronting the glass and chrome resort ahead of them. Maybe once they stepped ashore, she’d have safer and more shareable thoughts.

  But when Brad maneuvered the b
oat alongside the dock, Daniel scrambled out and reached down to help her.

  One touch of his hand evaporated logical thought. All her awareness centered on their simple connection. And he didn’t let go once she stood beside him and Brad roared away.

  Part of her insisted she should pull her hand free. Another part longed to leave it right where it was. Surely, something as innocent as holding hands couldn’t be wrong.

  Could it? Even though it left every nerve ending tingling?

  She hoped it wasn’t wrong, because she didn’t let go.

  Chapter 6

  Daniel didn’t let go of Samantha Rose’s hand after helping her from the boat. It felt so right and so natural in his, he didn’t release it till they stepped past the sliding doors and into the building.

  As they followed their waitress through the restaurant, he glanced around the glossy interior. The stylishly presented but meager servings on the plates of the equally glossy chattering guests suggested he’d leave with a significant dent in his credit card and an empty stomach.

  Beside him, Samantha Rose tugged at her blouse and finger combed her wind-tangled hair. That insecurity of hers again. He barely resisted the urge to tell her she looked far more beautiful than any of the overly made-up and heavily coiffed women.

  At least the window table he’d booked didn’t disappoint. The view across the lake to Sunset Point and the mountains beyond might almost be worth putting up with the place.

  Though he tried to keep a straight face, a smile quirked his lips as the young waitress struggled to recite the day’s specials. The meals’ pretentious names, laced with mangled French, reinforced his first impression. Tiny amounts of complicated food with a huge price tag. When he was at a restaurant, he liked to eat, not just taste.

  Brad and Maddie had tried to warn him.

  Not his sort of restaurant, even in New York. Clearly not Samantha Rose’s, either. He knew her well enough to guess she’d raised her menu to hide her giggles.