beds.
The fragrance of the flowers and the bright splashes of color enchanted her,
but after a few minutes her conscience prompted her to ask about a ladder.
When he
carried it into the kitchen for her, Mattie beamed with pleasure and offered
him iced tea. She obviously took pleasure talking to someone closer to her age,
and Annie wondered if Nathan had made a mistake not finding an older woman as
her companion.
While they
talked about things ‘back in the day,’ Annie eyed the small ladder with
misgivings. In order to reach the high cupboards over the fridge, she would
have to stand on the top. The rungs wouldn’t allow her to reach high enough.
She wasn’t exactly afraid of heights—but she had a healthy respect for
them. Maybe it was more accurate to say she was afraid of falling.
The gardener,
Mr. Baines, left with a smile on his face matched by Mattie’s, and Annie
resolutely climbed the ladder.
“You can hand
me the things you find,” Mattie said, hovering beside the creaky ladder. “We’ll
give then a good wash and line the shelve with nice contact paper.”
Annie’s knees
trembled as she leaned over the top of the fridge, hoping there was nothing
behind the first small door she opened.
“It looks like
things they never use,” she said, hoping Mattie would decide to forget it.
“George’s wife
never uses anything in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean the cupboards
shouldn’t get a good cleaning.”
Annie handed
down the first item, a heavy mixer that required both hands to lift. If she
fell, all her hopes for a business of her own could be ruined. She clutched at
the fridge as soon as Mattie took the mixer and tried to see what else was in
the cupboard. There seemed to be a collection of empty glass canning jars. She
reached for one with an unsteady hand.
“Sakes alive!”
Mattie said. “This stuff should go to a charity shop, but it’s not mine to give
away. I guess we’ll have to wash it and put it back.”
We’ll have to?
Annie wanted to say. Mattie wasn’t the one risking life and limb to clean a
cupboard that Nathan’s mother might never open.
Did she only
imagine she heard the sound of a door opening and closing? She peered into the
depths of the cupboard, hoping it was empty. Unfortunately there was something
at the very back, almost too far away to reach. She stretched forward, tempted
to pretend nothing else was there. How on earth was she going to line it with
contact paper when she could barely reach it?
The ladder
wobbled under her feet as she attempted to grab whatever it was. Just as her
fingers touched the elusive object, Nathan came into the kitchen calling out in
a loud voice.
“What on earth
are you doing?”
She could feel
her precarious perch giving way, the ladder slipping away from her feet. She
tried to clutch at the fridge to keep from falling, but it was too slippery.
Time seemed to stop as she desperately treaded air, crying out in distress.
Instead of
landing on the floor in a bone-breaking heap, she felt strong arms around her,
lowering her gently to her feet on solid ground.
“Why would you
climb a ladder that should have been put in the trash years ago? What was so
important you had to get into those cupboards?”
It was the
first time Annie had seen Nathan angry, and even Mattie seemed to cower for a
moment.
“You startled
me!” Annie said. “I was perfectly all right until you came barging in.”
His face was
pale, and he seemed genuinely frightened. She wanted to reassure him, but
Mattie didn’t give her a chance.
“For goodness
sake, Nathan! Annie had a bad enough fright without you hollering at her. It
was my idea and my fault she was on the ladder.”
Annie started
to breath normally after her scare, but she didn’t want her fall to cause
trouble between Nathan and his great aunt.
“I wasn’t
doing anything I didn’t want to do,” she insisted.
“Can’t I leave
the two of you here alone?” he asked in a weary tone.
The fragrance of the flowers and the bright splashes of color enchanted her,
but after a few minutes her conscience prompted her to ask about a ladder.
When he
carried it into the kitchen for her, Mattie beamed with pleasure and offered
him iced tea. She obviously took pleasure talking to someone closer to her age,
and Annie wondered if Nathan had made a mistake not finding an older woman as
her companion.
While they
talked about things ‘back in the day,’ Annie eyed the small ladder with
misgivings. In order to reach the high cupboards over the fridge, she would
have to stand on the top. The rungs wouldn’t allow her to reach high enough.
She wasn’t exactly afraid of heights—but she had a healthy respect for
them. Maybe it was more accurate to say she was afraid of falling.
The gardener,
Mr. Baines, left with a smile on his face matched by Mattie’s, and Annie
resolutely climbed the ladder.
“You can hand
me the things you find,” Mattie said, hovering beside the creaky ladder. “We’ll
give then a good wash and line the shelve with nice contact paper.”
Annie’s knees
trembled as she leaned over the top of the fridge, hoping there was nothing
behind the first small door she opened.
“It looks like
things they never use,” she said, hoping Mattie would decide to forget it.
“George’s wife
never uses anything in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean the cupboards
shouldn’t get a good cleaning.”
Annie handed
down the first item, a heavy mixer that required both hands to lift. If she
fell, all her hopes for a business of her own could be ruined. She clutched at
the fridge as soon as Mattie took the mixer and tried to see what else was in
the cupboard. There seemed to be a collection of empty glass canning jars. She
reached for one with an unsteady hand.
“Sakes alive!”
Mattie said. “This stuff should go to a charity shop, but it’s not mine to give
away. I guess we’ll have to wash it and put it back.”
We’ll have to?
Annie wanted to say. Mattie wasn’t the one risking life and limb to clean a
cupboard that Nathan’s mother might never open.
Did she only
imagine she heard the sound of a door opening and closing? She peered into the
depths of the cupboard, hoping it was empty. Unfortunately there was something
at the very back, almost too far away to reach. She stretched forward, tempted
to pretend nothing else was there. How on earth was she going to line it with
contact paper when she could barely reach it?
The ladder
wobbled under her feet as she attempted to grab whatever it was. Just as her
fingers touched the elusive object, Nathan came into the kitchen calling out in
a loud voice.
“What on earth
are you doing?”
She could feel
her precarious perch giving way, the ladder slipping away from her feet. She
tried to clutch at the fridge to keep from falling, but it was too slippery.
Time seemed to stop as she desperately treaded air, crying out in distress.
Instead of
landing on the floor in a bone-breaking heap, she felt strong arms around her,
lowering her gently to her feet on solid ground.
“Why would you
climb a ladder that should have been put in the trash years ago? What was so
important you had to get into those cupboards?”
It was the
first time Annie had seen Nathan angry, and even Mattie seemed to cower for a
moment.
“You startled
me!” Annie said. “I was perfectly all right until you came barging in.”
His face was
pale, and he seemed genuinely frightened. She wanted to reassure him, but
Mattie didn’t give her a chance.
“For goodness
sake, Nathan! Annie had a bad enough fright without you hollering at her. It
was my idea and my fault she was on the ladder.”
Annie started
to breath normally after her scare, but she didn’t want her fall to cause
trouble between Nathan and his great aunt.
“I wasn’t
doing anything I didn’t want to do,” she insisted.
“Can’t I leave
the two of you here alone?” he asked in a weary tone.
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