by Jo Ann Brown
Caleb knocked snow off his boots before he stepped into the kitchen. Above his scarf, his eyes crinkled with a smile. He yanked off the scarf, letting it fall over one shoulder.
“Leanna! What brings you here today?” Caleb’s smile broadened as he walked past Annie, paying her no more attention than if she’d vanished.
Her twin brightened as she flung out her hands. “My curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn’t wait for the bakery to open to see what has kept you and Annie so busy here.”
He began to list the tasks they’d done as if her words hadn’t affected him. A bright red flush rising from his shirt told Annie otherwise. He was flustered by her sister’s comments.
When he began to repeat Annie’s tour, Leanna shot her a glance warning not to interfere. Or was it meant to tell Annie to find something else to do so her twin could spend time alone with Caleb?
Annie hated how her happiness had vanished. She should be thrilled that her twin had come to the bakery to get a preview of the shop, but being ignored stung. Or was she being too sensitive because Caleb smiled at her when he asked her what she thought of his recipe for the chocolate chip cookies?
“They’re delicious, Caleb. Once people taste them, they’re going to fly off the shelves. If...” Her voice trailed away when she realized he wasn’t listening to her as he strode with Leanna into the front of the shop.
Glancing at the timer and seeing she had a couple of minutes before the cookies were done, she rushed after them. Word had spread that Leanna was riding to the mud sale with Caleb. Thanks to Becky Sue, Annie was sure, but people would look at Leanna and Caleb differently if it was assumed they were walking out together. Though they were adults, long past teens on their rumspringas, there must be no question of impropriety.
Becoming a chaperone for Caleb and Leanna was something she hadn’t considered, and she wondered if she’d ever been more uncomfortable than she was when she joined them in the front room. They were busy talking, Caleb repeating much of what Annie had already told her twin and Leanna acting as if she was hearing it for the first time.
Did they even notice she was there?
She flinched when she heard Caleb say her name, then realized he remained focused on her sister.
“Annie mentioned,” he said as he smiled at Leanna, “that you might want to display some of your small quilts here. I’m hoping we’ll get plenty of Englisch tourists on their journeys to and from Vermont.”
“And Englischers love small quilts they can hang in their homes,” Annie hurried to add so she couldn’t be accused of sneaking into their conversation. “The colors would be pretty in the shop, as well.”
Leanna looked at the graying floorboards. “That’s true.” Turning to Caleb, she said, “I’ve got some pieces that I could bring in when you’re ready to open. Wall hangings and pot holders and other little items like that. If anyone is interested in any of them, then I can make more to replace the ones that sell.”
“What about a full-size quilt?” Annie asked. “One to put on the wall behind the tables.”
Caleb frowned. “I haven’t made up my mind about having tables.”
“I know, but I thought—”
“I said I’d think about it, and that’s what I’m doing.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when Leanna laid gentle fingers on her arm. How many times had her twin used the same motion to warn her to be silent before she spoke and got herself into trouble?
Mumbling some half-formed excuse, Annie went into the kitchen to start cleaning the baking pans and other dishes. She scraped off stuck-down pieces of cookie from the sheets before putting them in the dishwasher along with the mixing bowls. As she started the machine she’d learned to use, she heard laughter from the other room.
She felt more alone than she had in her whole life, because she had to envision her life without Leanna being a big part of it. But worse was knowing everything was about to change between her and Caleb, too. She should have been beside herself with joy, but all she could feel was sadness and loss.
* * *
Caleb drove the last—or he hoped it was the last—nail into the floorboard closest to the front door. Sitting on his heels, he looked along the floor. It wasn’t even near the trap door. Though he didn’t want his customers to trip, he’d decided against nailing that shut until he decided if he’d have to use the storage space under it. He’d seen low-pile carpet at the hardware store, but it would show wear quickly. Until he had enough money to pay for several truckloads of gravel to cover the muddy parking lot, the carpet would be filthy within an hour of his opening the door each morning. This old floor would have to do until he could find the time and the money to put in a new one.
Pushing himself to his feet, he picked up the box of nails and his hammer. He carried them into the kitchen, where Annie was emptying the dishwasher. Because the state health inspector would require such a machine in a bakery kitchen, Caleb had had it installed. It was loud and made clouds of steam, but it made sure the dishes and utensils were sanitized before their next use.
“How’s it going?” he asked when Annie didn’t greet him.
She’d been strangely quiet since her sister left. He hoped they hadn’t had an argument. He’d never seen them quarrel, but siblings had differences of opinions at times. Certainly he and Miriam had when they were growing up.
“The dishes are clean,” she replied, “and I put the cookies in a sealed container so they won’t go stale soon.”
“Why don’t you take them home? Leanna gave them her approval, and I’d like to hear what the rest of your family thinks.”
“Okay.”
What was going on? They might as well have been strangers for how little she was talking to him. If the problem was between her and her sister, he’d be wise not to get in the middle of it. Anytime Annie had had a problem with him, she hadn’t been averse to letting him know right away.
“Caleb?” she called as he turned to put his tools away.
“Ja?”
“As we’re going to use the dishwasher regularly, the detergent should be stored under the sink. Where did you put it?”
“Under the sink.”
“It’s not there now.”
“No?” Baffled, he asked, “What did you use to clean those dishes?”
“There was a small cup with detergent in it. That’s empty. Where else could the big container be?”
“I don’t know. Maybe in the storage closet,” he replied, though he wondered how the plastic container, which he remembered placing under the sink, had moved.
He didn’t need enigmas. He must concentrate on the dozens of tasks waiting for him. Catching a flash of motion out the window, he reminded himself that if he didn’t order the blinds they wouldn’t be ready for the bakery’s opening. The front of the building faced west, and the afternoon sun would be pitiless on his customers and his products.
Annie went to the closet, opened the door and walked inside, holding out one hand to keep the door from slamming shut. A moment later, she shouted from the closet. “I see the detergent, but it’s up too high for me to reach.”
Knowing that there wasn’t enough space for the step stool in the closet that was stacked high with unpacked boxes, he put down the hammer and crossed the kitchen. He motioned for her to move so they could exchange places.
She stepped into the kitchen, and he squeezed into the cramped space. He shifted a couple of the heavy cases into the kitchen before he could bump into them and knock them over. Nothing was breakable in them, because they contained napkins and other paper supplies, but he wanted to keep the cardboard boxes from breaking and spewing paper everywhere.
He ran his fingers along the topmost shelf, but didn’t find the plastic bucket. When the cleaning supplies had been delivered, he’d put it against the right wall within easy reach for hi
m. But then he’d moved it under the sink.
“Can you guide me to where it is?” he asked. “I can’t see it from where I’m standing.”
She slipped into the closet, letting the door close behind her. She pointed up. Her fingers were a bare inch from his nose, and she edged her arm away.
He realized she couldn’t move more because there wasn’t much space between him and the filled shelves and crates. Since he’d been depending on her to get supplies out of the cramped closet, he hadn’t guessed how difficult it was to retrieve anything. He should build more storage space, but that would cut into the kitchen area. Something else to put on his to-consider list once the bakery was open and he had a better idea of how many customers would be stopping by each day.
“To your left,” Annie directed.
“Left? It should be on the right.”
“Maybe it should be, but it’s on the left side. Second box in. A bit farther to your left,” she added when he ran his fingers along the shelf again. “A little bit farther. There!”
He rose on tiptoe and closed his fingers around what he hoped was the correct container. “This one?”
“Ja. I think so. Your head is blocking my view.”
“Sorry. I don’t think it’s removable.”
When she laughed, he was delighted that his weak joke had shattered her coolness in the wake of her sister’s visit. The sound made his heart hitch and then beat faster.
As he pulled the container off the shelf and lowered it between his chest and the shelves, he heard her turn the doorknob so she could get out of his way.
“Anything else you need?” he asked when she didn’t open the door.
“The key.”
“What?”
* * *
Annie tried the doorknob again. It refused to turn. She tried to jiggle the door, wondering if something had got stuck in the latch.
“What’s going on?” Caleb asked as he eased away from the shelves. When he bumped into her, he repeated the question.
“The door is locked.”
“What do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes. “I mean it’s locked. The door won’t open.”
“Let me try.”
Wanting to tell him she doubted he’d have different results, she edged aside, giving him room. She tried to make herself small so he could reach past her to grab the doorknob.
His bare forearm beneath his rolled-up sleeve stretched past her, touching hers. Her skin prickled where his brushed against her. His muted, quick intake of breath told her she wasn’t the only one aware of the enticing sensation. She jerked her arm away, holding it close to her like a shield.
He didn’t look at her as he yanked on the doorknob. It didn’t move.
“Here.” He handed her the bucket of dishwasher detergent. “Can you move back?”
“I don’t think so.”
Glancing everywhere but at her, he startled her as he grasped her by the waist. A squeak of surprise burst from her when he lifted her and sat her on one of the boxes as if she were no older than Joey.
“This might give us a bit more room,” he said.
“Okay.” Her voice shook with the tempest of emotions roiling through her like a summer storm.
As he turned to try the door again, Annie took a steadying breath. What was wrong with her? She’d witnessed him spending time with her sister and lavishing attention on Leanna. Anyone seeing them together would have assumed they were a couple. If all went as Annie planned, Caleb and Leanna soon would be walking out together.
She was saved from having to imagine a future with Caleb as her sister’s husband when he slapped the door with his palm. It didn’t open.
“How could it be locked?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a half grin. “I didn’t expect you did. That was my frustration talking. But the door shouldn’t be able to lock on its own.”
“True, and we’ve got to figure a way to get out of here.” She rested her hands on her apron that was spotted with water from her work in the kitchen.
“If you don’t show up for supper, someone will come here to look for you, ain’t so?”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about the kettle on the stove. I was going to make us some tea.”
“You left it on?”
As if answer to his question, the whistle from the kettle announced the water was boiling.
When Caleb whirled to face her, she gave him a scowl to match his. “I wasn’t planning to take more than a couple of seconds to get the detergent. I didn’t think I needed to take the kettle off.”
“Of course not.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “We’ve got to get out.”
“The kettle is pretty full, so it shouldn’t boil dry for a while.”
“Fifteen minutes?”
She nodded. “Do you have that cell phone you borrowed?”
“No. I returned it a couple of days ago.”
“How about that pager thing you wear?”
He looked at his waist and the small device the volunteer firefighters wore. “It lets us know where there’s an emergency. It doesn’t call out.”
“Pounding on the door won’t get us anywhere.”
He sighed as he looked around the cramped space that was lit by the faint light coming around the door. “If I had my tools, I could pop the pins out of the hinges and remove the door.”
“But they’re outside in the kitchen.”
“Ja.”
The kettle’s whistle went up in pitch as if it sensed the urgency of the situation.
He eased past her knees, the momentary contact of his chest against them propelling the powerful awareness through her again. With a mumbled apology, he faced the outer wall. He pushed on one side of what once had been the sliding door, but it was securely nailed in place.
The kettle continued singing out its warning.
They had to get out.
“It’s going to be okay,” Caleb said.
Annie stared at her hands, knowing her distress must have been visible on her face. “I should have taken the kettle off when I came to get the detergent.”
“You couldn’t have known, Annie. If you want to blame anyone, blame me for not checking the door’s lock.”
She shuddered when the kettle’s whistle seemed to reach a higher pitch. Did that mean the water was boiling away faster?
“I’m sorry, Caleb,” she whispered.
His hand under her chin tilted her face up so she couldn’t avoid looking at him as he stood right in front of her. Whatever he’d intended to say was lost as his gaze locked with hers. Unlike ever before, they were on the same level, and she saw silvery flecks in his vivid green eyes.
Her breath caught when his fingers uncurled along her cheek, cupping it. All thought vanished but of how sweet his touch was. His eyes sought something in hers. What? She didn’t know, but she was willing to let him discover every secret in her heart...even how much she longed for him to kiss her. She slanted toward him, not closing her eyes because she didn’t want to break the connection between them.
Suddenly he pushed forward into her. His hands caught her by the waist, steadying her so she didn’t tumble off the box. She grabbed his shoulders before her chin slammed into his.
Annie gasped as she looked past him and saw his cousin standing in the doorway. Becky Sue pushing the door open must have been what had shoved Caleb into her.
“What are you two doing in the closet?” the girl asked with a giggle.
Realizing it must look as if she and Caleb were embracing, Annie lifted her hands away from his shoulders. He stepped back, and she jumped off the box, straightening her clothing that had got mussed beneath her. Without a word to either of them, she rushed to the stove and turn
ed off the burner. She took the kettle off it, wincing as the heat scorched her hand.
Caleb put the detergent container by the sink before facing his cousin and asking, “Did you lock the door, Becky Sue?”
“Why would I do anything like that?” She motioned toward where Annie was cradling her burnt hand in the other one. “I was out, so I stopped by to see what you two were up to. I heard the kettle screeching, then heard noise from the closet. I opened the door, and there you were.” Her smile became sly. “Looking very comfortable together.”
Shocked by her insinuation and worried that Becky Sue would carry the tale to Leanna and others, Annie said, “Comfortable was the last thing we were. Hearing the kettle, knowing the water was boiling away and the bakery could go up in flames doesn’t make anyone comfortable.”
The girl gave them a flippant shrug and then a wave before she left. As the door closed behind Becky Sue, Annie frowned. The teenager had said she was “out,” but not where she’d been or where she was going or why. It was suspicious.
Saying the same to Caleb, Annie added, “She must have locked us in.”
“I agree. I wish I had some idea why. My thought when I saw her on the other side of the door was she’d changed her mind about planning to use the time to slip away from Harmony Creek Hollow while we were shut in the closet.”
“I’ve given up trying to figure out what she’s thinking.”
“I should, too.” He gave Annie a smile that sent delight swirling through her middle again. “How about that cup of tea you had planned?”
There was so much Annie wanted to say about how his touch had thrilled her. So much she wanted to ask about whether or not he’d shared her feelings. Would he have kissed her if the door had remained shut a moment longer?
It was better, she told herself as she went to find tea bags, that she didn’t know. Better for her matchmaking plans for her twin. Better for Caleb, who wouldn’t be torn between them. Better for everything...except her aching heart.
