Annie's Answer (19 page)

“It sounds
like Mattie is willing to take a chance on you. Are you willing to take a
chance on yourself?”

He smiled, but
his answer told her what she needed to do: make her own decision. It also
forced her to realize it wasn’t Mattie who was holding her back. She just
wasn’t entirely sure Nathan wasn’t behind the idea. If there was any chance at
all that this was his idea of charity, it was totally unacceptable.

“I have to get
ready for work,” Annie said, avoiding an answer to her grandfather’s question.

Business was
slow that evening, and customers were few and far between. It was fortunate
because by the end of her shift she was making rookie mistakes: writing down a
wrong order, dropping a plate of hash browns and eggs, and forgetting to check
back at several tables.

“Where’s you
head tonight?” her boss snapped at her.

For once he
had a right to admonish her.

At least by
the end of the evening, she knew what she had to do. She couldn’t accept
Mattie’s offer without talking to Nathan. If it had been his idea, she
absolutely couldn’t accept.

Instead of
going home, she drove to the Sawyer house. Mattie went to bed early, so it was
Nathan who answered the door when she rang.

“Annie!” He
was still wearing his white dress shirt, but it looked rumpled with the top
unbuttoned.

“Can I talk to
you?”

“Sure, come
in.” He stood aside to let her enter, but she shook her head.

“I don’t want
to wake Mattie.”

“We can talk
out here, I guess,” he said, leading her to the front step and sitting down
beside her.

“It’s about
Mattie becoming my partner,” she said, unsure how to approach the subject. “It
took me by surprise.”

“I’ll be happy
to answer any questions, but I left all the paperwork at the office.”

“You have
paperwork already?” He made it sound like a done deal.

“Just a
preliminary draft. It’s entirely up to you whether you want to go into a
partnership. I know my aunt isn’t the easiest person in the world to get alone
with.”

“It’s not
that.” Was it all his idea? Maybe he was even behind the financing. Would a
good attorney let his client risk retirement money on a long shot like a flower
shop run by an inexperienced business woman?

Now that she
had a chance to explain her reluctance, she didn’t know how to ask if the whole
idea was his. He quietly explained the proposal, but he didn’t tell her
anything Mattie hadn’t done already.

What if he’d
only hired her because she was so pathetic, trying to save up to buy a well
established business on her salary as a waitress? She stared down at the
pavement in front of her and wished she were a little worm so she could wiggle
out of sight in a crack. Maybe her dream had been too big and too impossible
from the beginning.

“Tell you
what,” Nathan said. “Think it over this week, and we can get together on
Saturday to finalize it—but only if that’s what you want.”

“Saturday.”
She tried to visualize her crowded calendar and remembered an obligation she’d
almost forgotten.

“Saturday is
the big community pancake breakfast. The church sponsors it three times a year
to raise money to help neighbors in need. It represents a big donation to
things like the food pantry. I’ve promised to help.”

“Don’t you see
enough pancakes at your job?” His tone was quietly teasing.

“Why don’t you
come help? They always need volunteers, especially in the summer when people go
on vacations. I might have  time to talk between cleaning up at church and
going to my job.”

“I’m really
not into that kind of volunteering. I have too much to do for the firm, but
I’ll be happy to donate to the effort. How about a check to cover the cost of
supplies?”

“I’m sure the
committee would appreciate anything you’d like to donate,” she said in a cool
tone.

She wanted to
tell him he couldn’t always buy his way out of giving of himself, but he was a
Sawyer from the town’s wealthiest family. Would he even understand if she tried
to explain?

She felt
totally deflated. He didn’t have a clue what it meant to serve others in the Lord’s
name. The gap between them seemed to widen, and it was only with difficulty she
held back tears.

“You sound as
if I did something wrong,” he said. “I only offered….”

“I know what
you offered,” she said, standing to leave.

He stood in
front of the house without saying anything. She knew there was nothing she
could say to mend the rift between them. Nathan lived in a different world from
hers, one where writing a check—or hiring a pathetic
dreamer—substituted for giving of himself.

When she
reached the privacy of her bedroom at home, she let tears roll down her cheeks.
She had to sever all ties with the Sawyer family even though it meant the end
of her hope for making enough money by Labor Day. Regretfully, it meant
quitting as Mattie’s companion and not even considering a partnership with her.

Mattie had
been forced to give up her independence when a tornado wrecked her long-time
home. Maybe she would understand why Annie couldn’t give up her determination
to do something on her own. More than flowers and profit, the flower shop
represented a chance to prove she could accomplish something through her own
efforts.

Was this
hollow feeling the Lord’s way of reminding her that all things were possible
through him, but without faith and prayer it would be an empty accomplishment?
Was she letting pride get in the way of realizing her dream?

The one thing
she’d never expected was falling in love with Nathan Sawyer. It was also the
strongest reason not to accept his charity if he was behind the partnership
offer, no matter how badly she wanted to be her own boss.

Her dream had
turned to dust, and she’d never felt more alone.

Annie couldn’t
believe her eyes when she walked into the church kitchen Saturday morning. The
regular pancake crew was there, busy mixing dough and preparing to feed the
people already lining up outside. But they had a newcomer helping them. Nathan
was wearing one of the big white aprons and busily preparing a pan of sausages
to go into the oven.

“Oh, hi,
Annie,” he casually said when he saw her. “I think they have enough workers in
the kitchen. You can help set tables.”

“I didn’t
expect to see you here,” she said, wondering what his presence meant. Was he
trying to prove that he was willing to donate his time as well as his money?

“I didn’t
expect to be here. Can we talk about this later? The doors will open in a few
minutes.” He turned to another volunteer and asked whether all the syrup
pitchers were full.

Leave it to a
Sawyer to take over, even though most of the men in the kitchen were twice his
age or older. Oddly enough, when he suggested something, someone hopped to do
it.

“Fine,” she
said. “We can talk at your convenience.”

He smiled
broadly, although she couldn’t imagine what was so amusing.

Although she
liked working with church members, the pancake breakfasts were her least
favorite volunteer activity. She served pancakes five days a week, and the
large crowd kept her running throughout the morning. The event was over at one
p.m., but there was still a lot of cleaning up to do. The kitchen had to be
made ready for the Sunday coffee hour. The tables in the fellowship hall had to
be cleared and stored until they were needed again, and Annie got busy
stripping away paper tablecloths and stacking the folding chairs.

She told herself
it didn’t matter what Nathan was doing in the kitchen—if he was still
there—but she hadn’t thought about anything else all morning. What could
he possibly say to her that was important enough merit a morning at the pancake
sale?

The volunteers
gradually left, congratulating each other on the record turnout.

Grace was
among the last to leave, cornering Annie to tell her how much she enjoyed
getting to know Mattie.

“She enjoys
your company immensely,” Annie said, keeping one eye on the kitchen door to see
if Nathan was coming out to talk to her.

“Well, I’d
better be going,” Grace said. “I promised to bake tart shells for the teashop.”

Annie watched
the elderly woman leave, then checked that everything needful had been done to
make the room ready for coffee and cookies after tomorrow’s service.

“Good, you’re
still here,” Nathan said, coming up to her without the apron when the place was
deserted.

“You have
flour on your cheek,” she said just to be saying something.

“Pancake
flour. The stuff flies everywhere when you pour it out.” He brushed it away.
“You’ve put all the chairs away. Come into the kitchen. There’s a stool there.”

“Why do I need
to sit?”

“I’ll show
you.”

Nathan steered
her to a high stool beside one of the counters.

“Sit and close
your eyes,” he said in a firm voice.

“I don’t want
to play games,” she protested.

“Trust me and
shut you eyes.”

Annie did as
he told her, but not without reservations. She peeked when he untied her
running shoe and pulled it from her foot along with her sock.

Her ankle
resting on his hand, she felt something slide unto her bare foot.

“Okay, you can
look.” He looked up and smiled.

“My shoe!”
Well, technically it was her mother’s but she was still glad to get it back. “I
looked everywhere for it.”

“Sorry, I
wanted to surprise you by having it fixed at the shoe repair shop.” He didn’t
release her ankle.

“That was very
thoughtful. Thank you.”

She bent to
remove the shoe, but he wasn’t having it.

“There’s
more.”

“I only lost
one shoe.” Well, technically it hadn’t been lost since it was lying in her
front yard when he picked it up.

“Be quiet.” He
leaned forward and gently brushed her lips. It was the nicest way she’d ever
been told to shut up.

“I’m a little
slow about some things,” he admitted in a low voice. “But when I saw you in
your party gown, I admitted to myself that I want you in my life.”

“Nathan.…”

“No, let me
finish.” He caressed the top of her foot and gazed into her eyes.

“I knew how
special you were when you walked into my office looking for a job. I’m in love
with you, Annie. If you don’t feel the same way about me, I hope you’ll at
least give me a chance to convince you we belong together.”

“I never
expected….”

“I always
thought love at first sight was a myth. You don’t know how happy I am to be
proved wrong—although I did take time for many second looks.”

“I love you
too,” she said in a whisper.

He looked up,
a delightfully surprised look on his face. “You do?”

“Yes,
emphatically yes. But I never thought.…”

Nathan stood
and cupped her chin, leaning forward for a kiss she could feel all the way to
her toes. The shoe dropped to the floor.

“I learned
something today,” he murmured close to her ear.

“Oh?”

“Volunteering
myself is much more satisfying than writing a check. I think you have a lot to
teach me. It may take the rest of my life.”

“I can’t
imagine there’s anything I could teach you. You’re an attorney.…”

“A greatly
overrated profession unless I can persuade my father to take the firm in a
different direction. I want Sawyer and Sawyer to represent people who really
need help. With you as my inspiration, I hope to change the way we pick
clients. But that’s not what I want to talk about now.”

Annie slid off
the stool into Nathan’s arms, and nothing had ever felt quite so right.

“Tonight we’re
going to celebrate,” he said.

“But I have to
work.”

“No, you
don’t. I persuaded your friend Marie to substitute for you.”

“You were sure
I’d agree?”

“No, not at
all sure, but sometimes a guy has to take a risk. At worst, you’d be angry.
You’re not, are you?”

“No, I’m very
happy,” Annie said with a smile.

“I love you,”
Nathan said again, lowering his lips for a long, sweet kiss, then helping her
put shoe and sock back on.

“But what will
your parents think? I can’t be the woman they want for you.” Annie only knew
his mother by sight and by reputation, but she had to be the most intimidating
person she’d ever encountered.

“Dad will
think you’re great, and Mom is a realist. She’s been waiting a long time for me
to fall in love. She’ll probably console herself by having the house redecorated.”

“My
grandfather likes you—and of course, my mother does too.”

“We have a lot
to talk about,” he said, taking her hand and walking out of the kitchen with
her. “But I’ve smelled enough bacon and pancakes to last me until the next time
the church does this.”

“You’d
volunteer to help again?”

His grin told
her all she needed to know.

Nathan came
through the door of Daisy’s Flower Shop with flakes of snow powdering his hair.
They’d named the business after a dear friend of Mattie’s who’d passed away
many years ago. Annie loved the tribute to her partner’s childhood friend, and
she loved Mattie even more. Any doubts about their partnership had vanished as
the older woman helped her get the business running.

But Nathan
wasn’t there to buy flowers. He grinned broadly when he spotted Annie and his
great aunt behind the counter.

“You look like
you’ve been out in a blizzard,” Annie teased.

“No, I’ve been
at my tailors getting fitted for my wedding tux,” he said, taking off his
gloves and rubbing his ruddy cheeks.

“Better dry
off,” Mattie said, handing him a tissue from behind the counter. “What brings
you here on a day not fit to stick your nose outside.”