sidestepping to get past him.
“I’m looking
forward to the theatre tomorrow evening.” The truth was he didn’t care where he
went as long as it was with Annie.
He was on
dangerous territory here. Annie was sweet and adorable but unlike any woman
he’d ever been attracted to. Breaking up with her would be an emotional jolt,
but then, one date didn’t constitute a relationship. They would go out, and he
would have a chance to figure out why he liked her so much. One date, and that
would be the end of it.
“If you still
want to go….” She sounded uncertain.
That stung.
Did she think he wanted to back out of his invitation?
“Of course,”
he said abruptly, a little hurt she doubted his word. “I’d better get
going.”
“Well, have a
nice day.”
“You already
said that.” He felt like a jerk when she blushed at his reminder.
The way this
day was going, he’d probably have a thousand- word e-mail from his father
reminding him of all the things he hadn’t had time to do.
Was Nathan
angry at her for doubting whether he really wanted to go out with her? It was
one more worry to add to her growing list. Although Bill Polk had been
congenial when she told him she’d have the down payment on his shop, his wife,
Shirley, had been reserved, as though she’d just heard bad news. Did they have
another buyer in mind, one who might pay more?
Although she’d
dropped off ad copy in the mail slot at the newspaper, Annie knew it wasn’t
nearly as much as usual. She hated letting Marge down, especially when the
paper was facing hard times. The deadline was noon today, and there was no way
she could make more calls before then.
Tomorrow
morning was her usual day to help out in the church office. Would she have to
let them down too? Nathan said she could leave whenever she needed to, but that
didn’t mean leaving Mattie alone for half a day or more.
“Mattie!” she
called out when she didn’t find the older woman in her favorite room, the
kitchen.
Her first
thought was she might have fallen, but before she could search for her, Mattie
came into the kitchen.
“You’re
walking without your crutches,” Annie said, pleased to see it but hoping she
wasn’t rushing her recovery.
“I’m tired of
those silly sticks. Now, what should we do today?” It was a rhetorical
question. Mattie was the one who made the work lists.
“Would you
like to get out? Maybe have lunch in the park?” Annie asked optimistically.
“Too hot. I
thought maybe we could clean the oven and do those cupboards up high. The
gardener comes on Wednesday. Maybe he knows where there’s a step ladder. You’ll
need one to reach the ones over the fridge.”
“Is he here?
I’ll go ask him.”
“He’s been
puttering around since dawn, no doubt trying to get a jump on the heat. At
least he wasn’t running the lawn mower. I can’t believe George has a lawn
service just to mow. My Tom would’ve made fast work of it with his rider
mower.”
It was rare
for Mattie to mention her husband. Annie was reminded of how much the older
woman had lost. She deserved respect for the way she was coping.
Following
Mattie’s instructions, Annie made iced tea for lunch and boiled eggs to make a
favorite of the older woman’s: pickled beets and eggs.
“We’ll have to
use canned beets,” Mattie complained. “I put beets on the shopping list for
Nathan last weekend, and that’s what he bought. I always use fresh if they’re
available.”
Annie did
convince her not to run the self-cleaning feature of the oven, using the one
argument Mattie would accept: It would be a waste of energy when the oven
looked as though it had hardly been used.
“That would be
George’s wife,” Mattie said. “She has the best oven money can buy but doesn’t
turn it on more than once a year.”
When Mattie
sent her to find the gardener, an older man she vaguely knew as one of her
friend’s grandfather, Annie lingered and watched him weeding one of the
“I’m looking
forward to the theatre tomorrow evening.” The truth was he didn’t care where he
went as long as it was with Annie.
He was on
dangerous territory here. Annie was sweet and adorable but unlike any woman
he’d ever been attracted to. Breaking up with her would be an emotional jolt,
but then, one date didn’t constitute a relationship. They would go out, and he
would have a chance to figure out why he liked her so much. One date, and that
would be the end of it.
“If you still
want to go….” She sounded uncertain.
That stung.
Did she think he wanted to back out of his invitation?
“Of course,”
he said abruptly, a little hurt she doubted his word. “I’d better get
going.”
“Well, have a
nice day.”
“You already
said that.” He felt like a jerk when she blushed at his reminder.
The way this
day was going, he’d probably have a thousand- word e-mail from his father
reminding him of all the things he hadn’t had time to do.
Was Nathan
angry at her for doubting whether he really wanted to go out with her? It was
one more worry to add to her growing list. Although Bill Polk had been
congenial when she told him she’d have the down payment on his shop, his wife,
Shirley, had been reserved, as though she’d just heard bad news. Did they have
another buyer in mind, one who might pay more?
Although she’d
dropped off ad copy in the mail slot at the newspaper, Annie knew it wasn’t
nearly as much as usual. She hated letting Marge down, especially when the
paper was facing hard times. The deadline was noon today, and there was no way
she could make more calls before then.
Tomorrow
morning was her usual day to help out in the church office. Would she have to
let them down too? Nathan said she could leave whenever she needed to, but that
didn’t mean leaving Mattie alone for half a day or more.
“Mattie!” she
called out when she didn’t find the older woman in her favorite room, the
kitchen.
Her first
thought was she might have fallen, but before she could search for her, Mattie
came into the kitchen.
“You’re
walking without your crutches,” Annie said, pleased to see it but hoping she
wasn’t rushing her recovery.
“I’m tired of
those silly sticks. Now, what should we do today?” It was a rhetorical
question. Mattie was the one who made the work lists.
“Would you
like to get out? Maybe have lunch in the park?” Annie asked optimistically.
“Too hot. I
thought maybe we could clean the oven and do those cupboards up high. The
gardener comes on Wednesday. Maybe he knows where there’s a step ladder. You’ll
need one to reach the ones over the fridge.”
“Is he here?
I’ll go ask him.”
“He’s been
puttering around since dawn, no doubt trying to get a jump on the heat. At
least he wasn’t running the lawn mower. I can’t believe George has a lawn
service just to mow. My Tom would’ve made fast work of it with his rider
mower.”
It was rare
for Mattie to mention her husband. Annie was reminded of how much the older
woman had lost. She deserved respect for the way she was coping.
Following
Mattie’s instructions, Annie made iced tea for lunch and boiled eggs to make a
favorite of the older woman’s: pickled beets and eggs.
“We’ll have to
use canned beets,” Mattie complained. “I put beets on the shopping list for
Nathan last weekend, and that’s what he bought. I always use fresh if they’re
available.”
Annie did
convince her not to run the self-cleaning feature of the oven, using the one
argument Mattie would accept: It would be a waste of energy when the oven
looked as though it had hardly been used.
“That would be
George’s wife,” Mattie said. “She has the best oven money can buy but doesn’t
turn it on more than once a year.”
When Mattie
sent her to find the gardener, an older man she vaguely knew as one of her
friend’s grandfather, Annie lingered and watched him weeding one of the
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