Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [101]
It was a pleasant surprise then, when upon Katy’s arrival at the Bylers, both Ann and Minnie wore their head coverings.
Ann acted first, hesitantly drawing Katy into a quick hug. “Thank you for coming. I’m happy we didn’t scare you away.”
“I’m sorry it ended so badly, the other day. I guess I wasn’t prepared for”—she glanced over at Minnie, whose head was tilted, intently trying to follow their exchange.
“Let’s just put it behind us.” Ann suggested. Then she brightly added, “Today Mom and I are going shopping at the discount mart and then meeting Erin for lunch at Der Dutchman.”
Minnie spoke up, “I’m having raisin pie.”
Katy smiled at the older woman’s enthusiasm.
As they slipped into their coats, Ann cast Katy a final glance. “I feel guilty going off to have fun and leaving you to do my work.”
“Don’t. You need to do something fun. I’m sure Minnie does, too.”
Ann gave her a few quick instructions, and once they’d gone, Katy brought her own cleaning supplies in from the car. In most instances, she preferred her homemade mixtures to anything store-bought. She took a quick walk through the house before she decided where to start. The kitchen was all Ann, but as soon as she left that room, the house carried Jake’s presence. A pair of his jeans lay folded beside an armchair, waiting to be mended. She forced her mind away from his tight jeans and the man who wore them.
She noticed a handmade magazine rack. In it was a Fine Homebuilding magazine. Her heart warmed to think of Jake’s love for building things. He was like her father in that regard. When Jake had brought their new chair to the doddy house, he’d ended up staying much longer than either of them had planned. In fact, he’d almost forgotten about playing basketball. They’d eaten chicken noodle soup, and he had even joined her in a game of Concentration, Jake denying he’d get sick. She wondered now if he had.
He’d talked about his dreams of starting his own business and getting his general contractor license. He told her he was going to be a hands-on boss, doing some of the work himself. At least while he was young and able. He thought it would allow him to keep better tabs on the construction process and cut down on mistakes and wasted materials. This, in turn, would allow the job to be more economical for him and the customer. It was his desire to put out a quality project. He thought that by hiring other Conservative men, who weren’t money greedy, they could build at a fair price. A quality house at a fair price. And when he got older, he wanted to design new homes. He’d explained about the software that helped with home design, and her distrust of computers had lessened one notch. She smiled, dusting the magazine and replacing it.
After cleaning the bathroom and kitchen and then dusting and sweeping the downstairs, she moved into more dangerous territory, the upstairs bedrooms. Jake’s room wasn’t on the list, and she remembered him once teasing her that he wouldn’t want her cleaning his room, yet she felt drawn to it as powerfully as she was to the man himself.
In all the times she’d been at his home, she’d never been inside his room. She ventured up now. She noticed a bathroom and another room with a closed door. Feeling the prickles of wrongdoing, she glanced over her shoulder then turned the knob. When would she ever get another opportunity to learn more about him? She pushed.
Stepping into the room, she smiled and closed her eyes, letting the scent of sawdust and soap waft over her. After a moment of basking in his scent, she opened them and surveyed his domain. His bed was made, yet the blue-and-white quilt lay uneven and lumpy. Definitely could be a twin to Lil, she smirked.
He had a desk beside the window. She moved to the blue-draped panes and peered down at the fields below. A crow flew down and landed on a furrow, poking