“In that case, I guess I need to make some room, too.” Mitch pulled himself to his feet. Putting an arm around David’s shoulders, they ambled toward the door to the den. Mark slowly rose to his feet and followed them out.
Hattie watched them go with a look of disbelief on her face. “I can’t even move, let alone think about dessert.”
Getting up himself, Jacob grinned down at her. Bending, he kissed her lightly on the lips. “That’s okay. We men will work off some of our dinner. And have no fear, those pies will be consumed.”
Hattie smacked his leg as he went by. “Gluttony is a sin, you know.”
Jenny watched their exchange with frank envy. More and more, Jenny longed for such a marriage herself. Was that something God had planned for her or was she destined to spend her life alone? Whatever happened, she must trust the Lord to do what was best for her.
* * *
Mitch stepped to Hattie’s side and together they watched Jenny’s car disappear around the corner. Hattie looked up at him, the laughter of moments before erased from her face.
“You’re a stubborn, pigheaded mule. You’re going to lose the best thing that’s ever happened to you because of your stupid pride.”
His nostrils flared slightly. “It’s my business,” he told her coldly, turning to go back inside.
Hattie grabbed the sleeve of his sweater. “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not getting off that easily.”
Mitch glanced down at the hand curled into the fabric of his sweater. Raising one eyebrow, he told her softly, “Mind your own business, Hattie.”
He couldn’t be upset with Hattie’s blunt assessment. They had been through too much together for him to find offense with her interfering. She would say whatever she had to say and hang the consequences.
“Do you remember when Jacob asked me to marry him?”
He knew where this was going. That had been a turbulent time for all of them. “That was different.”
“Was it? Was it really, Mitch? Tell me how?”
Mitch snorted. “It was obvious that you loved each other. Someone had to do something. You’re both so pigheaded, neither of you would listen to reason.”
She watched his face closely. “You still haven’t told me how it was different.”
Mitch looked away from her. “Are you trying to say that Jenny and I are in love with each other or that we’re both pigheaded?”
“I didn’t say anything. I merely asked a question.”
Blowing out his breath harshly, Mitch raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “She wants to move to Prescott.”
“Who told you that?” Hattie asked him. She wrapped her arms around her waist. He sighed with frustration. If she wasn’t going to give up on the conversation, then he had best be the gentleman his father had taught him to be. He pulled off his sweater and wrapped it around her.
“I heard her and Annie talking.”
Hattie nodded her head. “And Jenny said she wanted to move?”
Mitch looked at her perplexed. “That’s what I heard.”
“Are you sure you didn’t hear Annie asking Jenny to think about it?”
“Same thing.”
“It’s not the same thing at all.”
Leaning his hands against the veranda rail Mitch gazed up at the stars. “She’ll go. Sooner or later. They always do.”
“I haven’t,” she told him softly.
Flicking her a glance, he smiled without mirth. “You’re different.”
“So is Jenny.”
Mitch snorted, turning back to study the stars. “I had started to think so, now I’m not so sure.”
“Is that why you’re using Amanda as a shield?”
He glared at her, but she glared back at him undaunted. “The problem is within you, Mitch,” she told him. “You have to forget the past. Forgive the hurts. Until you do, you will never be truly happy.” Reaching out, she gently massaged his shoulders. “Jenny had her own fears to conquer and she’s done that remarkably well. Now you have to face yours.”
Long minutes ticked by before he answered and then his voice was little more than a tortured whisper.
“I can’t.”
“I’ve never known you to be a coward.”
Anger flamed through him and as quickly died. She was right and he knew it, despite his reluctance to admit it. He was being a coward about jumping wholeheartedly into a relationship again. He was playing with fire where Jenny was concerned. One of them was bound to get hurt, and he didn’t want it to be him, but then again, he didn’t want it to be her, either. The best thing he could do for both of them was just to leave things as they were.
Hattie patted his arm. “I’ll pray for you.” She handed him his sweater, turned and went back inside the house, leaving him alone with his morose thoughts.
Chapter 10
The next several weeks passed in a blur of activity. With the Christmas season being so near, Jenny had more orders than she could possibly fill. Her most popular item seemed to be the quilted wall hangings she made of desert scenes. Using soft browns, pale turquoises, deep melons and rich ambers, she created swirling, shifting patterns of incredible beauty.
The trouble was that she didn’t have enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished that she wanted to do. Annie was continually calling her with new orders that customers hoped to have in time for Christmas. Added to that was her desire to get something extra special for the twins this holiday season. For the past several years they had struggled in poverty. Now she wanted to make it up to them.
Income from the craft shop had increased dramatically, but Jenny was uncertain just how long that would last. It was possible that orders might dry up after Christmas was over.
In the meantime she had been busily engaged in trying to create the perfect Christmas for them all. Although Hattie had extracted a promise from her to spend a portion of Christmas with the Ameses, Jenny wanted a Christmas of her own, complete with decorations, baking and all the regular holiday entrapments.
Pulling a fruitcake from the oven, Jenny chuckled. It seemed she spent more time in the kitchen than any other area of the house. Of course the fact that it was also the warmest might have had something to do with it.
She lifted the cake to her nose, sniffing deeply. Most people didn’t like fruitcake, although from what she could tell at the stores, someone must be buying it. They seemed to fill shelves wherever she went.
She placed the cake on a rack to cool for ten minutes before turning it out of the pan. The recipe was one she had concocted during a cooking class in college. She had won praise from the teachers and students alike.
After turning the cake out onto its side, Jenny plopped down on a kitchen chair. Reaching across the table, she lifted a sugar cookie from the platter waiting to be iced. She nibbled the cookie, mentally checking off her to-do list.
The fruitcake was the last of the baking for today. Unconsciously she sighed. She had been keeping herself busy trying to ward off thoughts that were becoming all too frequent. It wasn’t working. Mental images of Mitch wove their way in and out with each project she attempted. Making a wall hanging, she would wonder about the inside of Mitch’s house. Would a particular wall hanging look good hanging above his fireplace? She knew he had one since he and David often went to chop more wood.
When she was baking, she would imagine what it would be like to cook for him. To be married to him. At this point she would usually jump up and rush to the next task, running from her futile daydreams. Trying to get the man out of her mind was proving a lot less fruitful than the fruitcake she had just made.
She and Mitch had avoided each other as much as possible the past several weeks. At times she would catch him staring at her with an intense, enigmatic expression. When she caught his ey
e, he would quickly turn away. These occasions always left her flustered.
As usual when thoughts of Mitch got too intense, Jenny shifted gears. Dreaming seemed so useless an occupation.
Jenny inventoried the kitchen table. Fresh chocolate-chip cookies nestled in the center of a table almost groaning under the weight of the goodies weighing it down. She had kept herself busy, yes, but what good had it done her?
She wandered out to the living room, smiling when she noticed Fudge curled up on the rug close to the front door. No matter how cold it might get, he would not leave his guard position until Renee arrived. Jenny had tried to coax him close to the fire. She had even gone so far as to fix a blanket there and put the pup on it. He had looked at her with sad, perplexed eyes and from then on she hadn’t the heart to try it again.
On the other hand, Jenny was thankful for the warmth of the fire. Curling up on the sofa in her favorite spot, she reached for the wall hanging she was presently working on. She smoothed a hand across the material, marveling at the blend of colors and textures. She wouldn’t have believed it possible that these particular colors and materials would work so well together.
Although the woven wall hangings were less complicated to make and took less time, she much preferred the ones she quilted.
This specific one was a Christmas creation requested by one of Annie’s favorite clients. Dark navy blue silk shimmered as the sky with rhinestone sequins glittering in diamondlike brilliance as the stars. Soft velour curved gracefully across the bottom in various shades of gray and black, making it a picture of nighttime tranquility. Rough seersucker fabric gave texture to the adobe buildings of long-ago Bethlehem. One brilliant yellow satin star slanted its rays across the nighttime sky, lighting a path to a small cave nestled in the hills.
The wall hanging reminded her just what this season was about. Although no one knew for certain just what time of year Christ was born, the birth of Christ was the start of God’s wonderful plan for mankind’s redemption and worthy of celebration at any time.
But it was His death on the cross that made that salvation possible. She had shed many tears while working on this project, knowing that even if she had been the only person on earth, He would have died for her. Perhaps it was all that meditation that had made this one of the most beautiful pieces she had ever created. Every stitch was made with love.
The hanging had turned out much better than she had anticipated. There was a certain free license to combine unusual materials when it came to wall hangings. Annie would be pleased.
As Jenny reluctantly set the last stitches in place, Fudge lifted his head, his brown, fuzzy ears cocked forward. Glancing at the anniversary clock on the mantel, Jenny smiled. Right on time.
It was only moments before Jenny could hear the familiar footfalls on the porch. As usual, David was the first through the door.
Jenny got to her feet, ready to go through the daily ritual of reminding her brother to put his things away.
“Guess what?” he said before he even had time to take off his coat. “Mitch’s mother is here.”
Jenny looked startled, glancing behind him. “Here?”
“No,” he told her impatiently. “I mean here in town.”
Jenny stood statue-still, blinking at her brother. Her mind had gone blank at David’s declaration. “I thought she was dead,” she whispered.
“So did we,” Renee agreed, coming in and scooping up her beloved buddy.
“I can’t believe it.” Jenny moved to the fireplace, staring somberly into the flickering flames of the fire. Searing images danced in front of her eyes. “How did you find this out?”
“Mark told us at school,” David answered, pulling off his coat and dropping it on a chair. “Said she’s staying with the Ameses for right now.”
“Not with Mitch?”
“Nope.”
Had Mitch refused to let his own mother stay with him? She could well understand it if that was the case. Although she didn’t know the whole story, she knew enough to understand that a boy of ten might have been so hurt that he was a bitter, unforgiving man at thirty-three. Having had a mother who was devoted to her children, Jenny was hard-pressed to understand someone who could desert her own child.
“Mmm. I smell something good,” Renee commented. “I love coming home and knowing that you’ll be here, Jen. And you always have a snack for us.”
Jenny watched Renee head for the kitchen, a sudden lump forming in her throat. She could never have hoped for a better compliment than that.
David finished taking off his boots and putting on his slippers that perpetually sat beside the fire. “Yep. Makes you feel kinda...I don’t know. It just makes you feel good.”
Without even looking Jenny’s way he followed his sister into the kitchen. Sudden tears came to Jenny’s eyes and she swallowed the reminder of where to put his coat. The twins rarely paid her compliments, but this had to be one of the nicest.
Later, after supper, Renee took her books and curled up by the fire. David decided to help Jenny in the kitchen, which caused her to look at him sharply.
“Are you feeling all right?” she asked suspiciously.
“Sure.” He continued drying a plate before stacking it in the cupboard. He was working so industriously that Jenny became even more suspicious.
Placing her hands on her hips, she decided to confront him outright. “Okay. Out with it.”
“Out with what?” he asked, giving her his most angelic look.
That look always portended trouble. She didn’t know who he was trying to fool, but it certainly wasn’t her. She frowned at him. “David, I know you better than you know yourself. You might as well just come out with it. What do you want?”
“Jiminy Crickets! Can’t a guy even give a helping hand around here without someone questioning his motives?”
“David.”
He looked into her eyes briefly before quickly turning away. Pulling another plate from the stack, he began to methodically dry it. Jenny waited a moment before reaching out and taking it away from him. She set both towel and plate on the counter then pointed to the table.
“Sit,” she commanded.
Reluctantly, David sat. Refusing to look at Jenny, he pulled a cookie from the top stack of chocolate chips. Jenny was really becoming alarmed now.
Sliding into the seat across from him, she reached across and took the cookie from his hand. She didn’t want him to have any excuse not to talk.
“What is it, David?” she asked softly. “Are you in trouble in school?”
He looked at her in surprise. “No way!”
“Then what is it?” she demanded, her irritation growing.
He looked down at the table, drawing circles with his fingers. “I just wondered if you might do me a favor.”
That’s what this was all about? “Well, for crying out loud. Why didn’t you just say so? What do you want me to do?”
“Actually,” he mumbled, “it’s for someone else.”
Jenny studied his downbent head. Whatever it was, he was having a hard time trying to tell her.
“Okay. What do you want me to do? And for whom?”
David remained silent for several more minutes. Jenny had to rein in her impatience.
“Mitch’s housekeeper had to go back east for a while and he’s without someone to clean for him and he doesn’t have someone to cook for him and I told him you would be willing to help,” he finally blurted without taking a breath.
Jenny felt the color drain from her face. She opened and closed her mouth several times, the words sticking in her throat.
“You told him what?” she managed to croak out. “David! You know I’m so busy right now I don’t even have enough time to finish all the things I need to get done. How could you?”
He
stared at her sullenly. “You’re always talking about wanting to help other people like Hattie does all the time. I just thought since we lived so close and all, that we could help Mitch.”
“We?” she asked him. “We?” Her voice rised at least three octaves.
“Yeah. I can help, too. Renee’s already said she’ll take over the cleaning of the cabin. We’ll be out of school next week, anyway. Besides,” he added as inducement, “he says he’ll pay you.”
“David Allen Gordon!”
David flinched. “Okay, so I shoulda asked first, but Mitch’ll be here any minute to talk to you about it.”
Jenny’s eyes widened in horror. She opened her mouth to remonstrate with him, but she could think of nothing to say that wouldn’t be scathing. Instead, snapping her mouth closed, she whirled around and stalked out of the room.
* * *
Jenny watched the blue Jeep approaching with a feeling of déjà vu. Her heart started pounding the minute she saw his vehicle turn onto their track. Shivering, she pulled her crocheted shawl closer around her. Right now she could have cheerfully strangled her brother.
What was Mitch thinking now? Since she had had so little forewarning, she had no idea what she was going to say to him. Somehow she had to politely tell him that she couldn’t do what David had suggested. She didn’t have the time. And that wasn’t just a meager excuse, either. She was already so bogged down with work; she couldn’t possibly fit in anything else.
Mitch climbed out of the Jeep and studied her slowly before finally meeting her on the porch.
“Jenny.” He nodded, his voice nothing more than polite.
“Mitch.” She returned his greeting.
“You’ll catch your death of cold out here in that,” he told her, indicating her shawl.
She smiled. She had intended to mull over her choice of words in the privacy of the porch, but there hadn’t been enough time. There was nothing else to do but invite him in. They sure couldn’t stand out here in the biting cold. She held open the door and he motioned for her to precede him.
The Rancher Next Door Page 12
