Christmas in Apple Ridge (31 page)

Mamm had gotten up with her before dawn this morning, helping her look through the stack of cake magazines Mackenzie had sent with her. The glossy pages had all sorts of pictures
of wedding cakes, and they’d poured hours into looking through them and flagging the ones to show Beth and Lizzy. None of the images quite matched what Mattie wanted to make for them, but it would give the brides-to-be a few ideas so she could begin to make plans.

Mamm had stayed by her side while she prepared four types of cakes and frostings. Mattie intended to surprise Lizzy, Beth, and Jonah with samples of flavors she could make for their big day. She planned on stopping by Omar’s on her way to the store to see if he could come to this surprise tasting too.

Taste-testing events were fun. The couples tended to enjoy each flavor of cake and frosting. But then they had to keep tasting and talking about the cakes until they could decide which one was their favorite.

She’d made Beth and Lizzy each a cake from a favorite flavor of theirs, then she’d added Belgian chocolate and buttercream filling to one and chocolate ganache with vanilla pastry-cream filling to the other. After that she made two cakes from flavors that were a bit more romantic in her estimation—an orange coconut cake with orange syrup and buttercream icing, and an apricot-praline cake with Bavarian cream filling.

Mamm had watched, cleaned up after her, and even offered suggestions, but she didn’t have the energy to keep up with someone Mattie’s age.

When Mamm stopped scrubbing her table, Mattie took the rag from her and put it in the sink. “Kumm.” She took her by the hand and led her into the living room. “You prop up your feet and read awhile, okay?”

Mattie counted each year that her Mamm lived as a blessing, one she never took for granted. But sometimes they were too close for their own good. Moving away after she and Gideon had broken up hadn’t been easy, but it’d been good for both of them.

Mamm had nearly died when Mattie was sixteen. She’d spent months in the hospital, battling lupus, and she’d had some close calls after that. At the time, Mattie had stopped everything to become her caretaker. But Mamm had slowly regained her strength, and she’d been holding her own since then.

Mamm slapped the arms of the chair. “Oh, I should go to the grocery store and get more supplies for you while you’re at Beth’s.”

“You’ve done plenty. I’ll get whatever we need.” She didn’t know how to handle the next few weeks where she’d need days of long hours to get Beth’s and Lizzy’s cakes made, but working in Mamm’s kitchen wasn’t the answer.

“Mattie,” Mamm fussed, “the grocer is in the opposite direction of Hertzlers’.”

“I know that, and I’m fine.” She passed her a paperback book. “Promise me you’ll rest.”

Mamm’s blue eyes stayed steady on her. “You’re the one who was injured. And you’re dealing with the shock of your shop burning.”

Mattie sat on the ottoman near Mamm’s feet. “Look me in the eyes. Do I appear to be falling apart?”

She shook her head. “No, but I heard you crying a few times after you crawled into bed.”

“But the busier I stay, the better I feel, as long as I know I’m not wearing you out while I do it, okay?”

“You’re sure you don’t need me to—”

“I’m positive. What I need is for you to trust me.”

Mamm patted her knee. “You always were a sweetheart.”

“You too.” Mattie squeezed her hand and returned to the kitchen.

She grabbed her mother’s four cake carriers before getting into her carriage and heading to Hertzlers’ Dry Goods. She’d ordered the pans from Mr. Ogletree Saturday evening, and he’d said she could pick them up at Lizzy’s place after lunch today. So Beth and Lizzy were expecting her, which was good, but the cake-tasting venture would be a complete surprise.

A
few hours after the deliverymen installed the gas-powered refrigerator and oven, Gideon finished hanging the last door. His joints ached, and a bone tiredness that he hadn’t experienced in a long time wearied him. Maybe he was pushing himself too hard to finish this house, or maybe his symptoms were recurring. He’d beaten all the odds, and every routine medical test said he’d been clear of cancer for more than a year, but his kind of leukemia could come back at any time without warning.

Refusing to walk in fear, he whispered prayers of trust. Minutes ticked by, and Gideon began singing praises to God. Soon the aches stopped looming like a huge monster. Peace settled over him, and he was able to concentrate on the work at hand.

The cabinets and countertops were in place, and yesterday the heating guy had put in the wood furnace in the basement. The plumber would be here tomorrow to add the faucets and
commodes and hook up the water. Gideon still had a pretty long to-do list, but he’d accomplished a lot in the last couple of days.

After leaving the cemetery with Sabrina, he’d squashed the desire for a little time with Mattie and had dived into work … as he’d always done when he had the strength. But working like crazy wasn’t enough this time. He wanted to be with her today more than he wanted a promise of life tomorrow.

Conversations filtered into the master bedroom. It sounded as if three or four people had entered the front door.

“Oh, just look at this place!” Beth exclaimed. “Gideon?”

He walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

Jonah peeled out of his coat. “We have heat.”

Beth, Jonah, Lizzy, Omar, and Mattie Lane were taking off their jackets. Mattie set a large paper bag with handles on the counter. Beth turned toward him. “How have you gotten so much done since I was here yesterday?”

“He’s barely slept,” Jonah offered.

Without looking at Gideon, Mattie reached into the bag she’d brought.

“Seems like his loss is your gain.” Omar winked at Beth.

At times like these, Gideon was glad Bishop Omar didn’t know his secret. But living a lie was exhausting.

“Kumm.” Beth motioned for him. “Mattie made samples of wedding cakes, and I wanted to taste them in our new home. You have to try these and help us decide.”

“Maybe he has other plans.” Mattie shot him a quick look. “Ones that don’t include hanging out with Plain old us.”

He looked at the others to see if they had caught her barbed meaning, but they seemed too interested in the cakes. Clearly she was disappointed in him for leaving with an Englischer girl the other day. She probably wished he’d leave again, but his stubborn side refused to give her what she wanted.

Mattie pulled a small spiral notebook out of the bag, and her eyes grew large. She looked straight at him, as she had so many times in the past. At this moment she seemed void of anger, and it moved him.

“Missing something?” he asked.

“I didn’t think to bring plates.”

“I’ll go get some from my place,” Lizzy said. She and Omar put on their coats and hurried out the door.

Mattie set the notebook on the counter, pulled out a cake carrier, and looked into the bag again. Lines creased her face. “I didn’t bring napkins either.”

“The store has rolls of paper towels.” Beth grabbed her coat. “I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks.” Mattie turned to Gideon. “Can we start a fire in the hearth? You know, for a more special atmosphere.”

“Sure. It’s got a gas starter.” Gideon went to the woodbin.

“Oh, no. Beth, wait.”

Gideon turned to see Mattie hurrying to the door, trying to catch Beth, but she was halfway across the parking lot.

“What else did you forget?” Jonah asked.

“Forks to eat with and a knife to cut the cakes.”

Jonah went to the door and then paused. “Anything else?”

She rolled her eyes. “Look, I’ve never done one of these outside my shop, and I had all this stuff there.”

Moving logs to the fireplace, Gideon chuckled. “This is why I call her Mattie Lane. A day with her is a journey all by itself—a trip down a one-of-a-kind country road.”

She gave Jonah an apologetic shrug. “I guess I am Mattie Lane after all.”

Jonah laughed. “I’ll be right back.”

The house became quiet again. Gideon turned on the gas and lit a flame under the logs. He dusted off his hands and stood. “Did you remember the cakes?”

“Of course.” She held up a cake carrier and frowned. “Wait. I … I only have one. What’d I do with the other three?” She looked into the paper bag. “I know I loaded four cake carriers in Mamm’s kitchen. How could I not have them?”

“Because when you’re on Mattie Lane, magical things happen.”

She pursed her lips. “I don’t like that lane, and clearly you don’t either. I don’t want to pull everyone else along that path with me.”

He wanted to tell her that he’d always loved being a part of her world. But if he did, he’d have to explain why he’d broken up with her. “Maybe they’re in the rig.”

Her eyes lit up. “Ya, maybe.” She put on her coat, then looked at him with concern. “What if I put the cake carriers on the carriage’s sideboard when I left Mamm’s? They’ll be scattered all over the road.”

“One step at a time, Mattie Lane. Kumm.” He opened the door for her, and they went to the hitching post. The air smelled of snow, and a car parked at Hertzlers’ Dry Goods had a pine tree strapped to its roof, reminding him that Christmas was less than a month away. The weeks leading up to Christmas always went by so quickly, as if a week equaled one day instead of seven. He wished that by some Christmas miracle time would slow and these days with Mattie nearby would last forever.

They went to the passenger side, and he opened the door of the rig. “Oh, good.” A beautiful grin removed all the stress from her face.

She grabbed two cake carriers and passed them to him and then took out the last one and slammed the door to the rig. “I drive myself crazy sometimes.” She studied him. “Did my forgetfulness drive a wedge between us and I was too scattered to know it? You can tell me the truth.”

He couldn’t move. At the time he’d been so sure of himself,
confident of his decision to lie in order to free her. Now a glimpse of insight into what he’d done to her chipped away at his certainty. “No, Mattie. I promise.”

Her blue eyes stayed glued to him, and his heart pounded.

“Gut.”
She nodded and walked back to the house.

He followed, wondering if he should tell her the truth. She needed to be set free from thinking he hadn’t cared for her, but how could he do that without revealing his deception? He always figured she’d understand one day. But her question of self-doubt haunted him.

Beth and Jonah returned, goods in hand. “Look.” She held up a handmade Christmas card. “We’ve received our first card of the season. It’s addressed to Jonah and me.” She put it on the fireplace mantel before turning to Jonah, satisfaction and joy radiating from her.

Lizzy and Omar walked in, each carrying a small box of items. “Plates.” Lizzy held them up. “We also brought mugs, coffee, and the fixings.”

“Great.” Mattie opened the carriers and doled out a slice of cake to everyone in the group. “This first sample is praline-and-apricot yellow cake with Bavarian cream filling.” She handed a paper towel to each person.

“Oh, I love apricot yellow cake,” Lizzy said.

The moans and aahs over how good it was made Mattie Lane smile.

“Isn’t it delicious, Gideon?” Beth asked.

“Ya.” He hated that his tone sounded flat, but no part of him cared about cake right now. He stood mesmerized and bewildered at all he felt for the one who’d made it.

“Denki.” A slight smile graced her face. She put another type of cake on Beth’s plate and then Lizzy’s. “Next is strawberries-and-cream vanilla cake layered with vanilla pastry cream and chocolate ganache.”

Beth dug her fork into it. “Oh, that is too good.” She scooped up another bite and held it in front of Jonah.

He opened his mouth, and she gently fed it to him. “Incredible.”

The happy couples gathered at the far end of the counter, talking about the different cakes and flipping through magazine cutouts in the spiral notebook. A few minutes later Mattie dished up the third type of cake, explained what it was, then added the fourth type, describing it also.

Beth, Jonah, Lizzy, and Omar moved into the living room, discussing the textures, colors, and flavors. Was this his opportunity to talk to Mattie alone for a few minutes?

“Your baking skills are even more impressive than I expected.” Gideon hoped to relax her with some friendly conversation.

“Denki. Give a girl nothing but time to work on cakes, and it’s amazing what she can accomplish.”

Her response quickly stopped his effort at small talk.

Omar returned, holding up his plate. “Lizzy and I know which one we want.”

Mattie wiped her hands on her apron and opened her notebook. “Which one?”

“The apricot-and-praline yellow cake with the Bavarian cream.”

“Perfect.” Mattie jotted down notes.

“We know too.” Beth came in, licking her fork. “The strawberries-and-cream vanilla cake with the vanilla pastry-cream filling and the chocolate stuff.”

“Ganache,” Mattie said. “I thought you’d like that one.”

Jonah pointed at his plate with his fork. “But that orange coconut cake with the buttercream icing is almost as delicious.”