Deceived: Lured from the Truth (Secrets) (6 page)

“Did you hear Nadine?” I lock gazes with her. “I’m in charge. And you’re on scoop duty now.”

She grumbles but complies. And I wonder why she doesn’t appreciate the switch. It might be sticky business scooping ice cream, but it’s a whole lot cooler than making waffle dishes. But why did I think she’d appreciate it?

I’m just finishing my tenth waffle dish when the business line rings, and since I’m in charge, I answer it. Naturally, I can’t hide my pleasure when I hear Josiah’s voice on the other end. And, of course, my cheerful greeting gets everyone’s attention. I can tell they’re all listening.

“I just wanted to be sure you still want to come to church tomorrow,” he says.

“Absolutely.” I use my free hand to fill the hot waffle-dish maker with more batter. “Can’t wait.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll pick you up at eight thirty. Service doesn’t start until ten, but that’ll give me time to show you around some.”

“Great!”

“Well, I know you’re working so I won’t keep you.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow — ” I stop myself from saying his name. I so don’t want these guys to guess who it is I’m seeing. No, for now, Josiah is my secret. Mine alone. And the longer I can keep it that way, the happier I will be.

Nadine’s is still überbusy when my shift ends at six thirty. But it’s nothing that three people can’t handle if they do it right. Even so, Belinda makes a fuss as I toss my apron into the hamper.

“You’re going to leave us when we’re swamped like this?”

“My shift is over.” I drop my time card into its slot. “My mom is picking me up for dinner at Nadine’s. And I still need to get back to the dorm to clean up first.”

“La-tee-dah,” Lorna taunts. “Aren’t we so very special?”

Ignoring her nastiness, as well as Belinda’s narrowed eyes, I grab my purse and make a hasty exit. I might’ve been in charge during my shift, but it’s up to Belinda to hold it together now. I hate to even imagine what kind of condition this place will be in by Sunday. To say I was unimpressed with the sanitation when I opened this morning would be an understatement. Fortunately, I won’t be opening the shop tomorrow. I will be in church.

As I walk to my dorm, I decide it’s time to blow the whistle on Nadine’s lazy crew. She has a right to know. And perhaps it will be easier to bring it up with my mom nearby to buffer things. After all, what if Nadine’s customers got some form of food poisoning due to poorly cleaned equipment? What if someone sued her? Or what if the health department shut her business down and fined her?

Yes, it’s high time Nadine finds out what kind of people she has working for her. And it’s up to me to tell her. If she doesn’t believe me, she can check her security surveillance video. Not that I expect she’ll do that. But that camera is working the whole time we’re there. Surely it would reveal what sort of job they’re doing — rather what they’re not doing — before closing.

[CHAPTER 5]

I
t’s not until after dinner that I broach the subject of Nadine’s useless employees. I actually used my mom as a sounding board when she picked me up, and now I’m taking her advice to “go carefully.”

“I don’t want to bash anyone,” I tell Nadine, “but I’m worried that without proper sanitation of the machines and food preparation surfaces, we’ll be at risk of a food-borne illness outbreak and you could be out of business.”

Nadine looks surprised. “I can see that someone took her food handler’s training seriously.”

“Rachel has always been interested in these things,” Mom tells her. “She’s been studying up in 4-H for years now.”

“We used to have a food booth at the county fair,” I explain. “We had to be careful.” Then I tell her how the health inspector came by regularly to make sure everything was sanitary and safe. “But honestly, if an inspector had come into the ice cream shop this morning, we would’ve been in trouble.”

“Perhaps the girls who close don’t know how to properly clean,” Mom suggests. “Maybe they need a refresher course.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Nadine looks at me. “Maybe you should be the one to teach it.”

I try not to grimace. “Maybe … except I’m not sure they’ll listen to me.”

“Why not?”

I shrug, glancing nervously at Mom.

“Perhaps it would help if you both gave them a refresher course,” Mom says. “They might respect it more coming from you, Nadine.”

Nadine seems to buy this. “I have a plan. Why don’t we all go over there right before closing time? Rachel can teach them how to properly clean the machines and close shop.” She nods to Mom. “And you and I will supervise.”

As unenthused as I feel about Nadine’s plan, I agree. At 9:55, we show up at the shop, which still has a couple of customers. After the customers leave, Nadine locks the doors and announces the plan.

“I realize it’s quitting time,” she tells them. “But Rachel has informed me that we could be in violation of the health department’s requirements.”

“What?” Belinda looks shocked.

“Apparently the cleaning has been substandard,” Nadine tells her. “Now I’m not pointing the finger at anyone, but I decided it’s time for a refresher course on how to clean and close.” She points to me now. “Go ahead, Rachel.”

“Rachel is going to teach us?” Lorna frowns.

“Rachel was in 4-H,” Nadine tells them. Naturally, both Belinda and Lorna laugh. Even Alistair snickers. “Rachel knows all about these things and is happy to share her insight with us.”

“I’ll bet she is,” Belinda says quietly.

“Go ahead, Rachel.” Nadine pulls out a stool and an office chair for herself and my mom.

I can tell by my fellow employees’ expressions that they all want to kill me. I’m sure they had hoped to get out of here fast. After all, it’s a Saturday night. And living at the dorm, I’m well aware there are all kinds of things going on tonight — stupid drinking parties and whatnot — that these three were probably looking forward to participating in.

“This doesn’t have to take long,” I begin. And giving them various cleanup tasks, I attempt to remedy what’s been neglected of late. I remind them of the importance of using the bleach-water solution to kill bacteria. “Dairy products are prone to food-borne illnesses like salmonella, shigella, or E. coli. But a good washdown with a bleach solution will kill those bacteria.”

Lorna rolls her eyes, but I ignore her as I continue. “See this cutting board?” I hold up a large cutting board where we chop fruit for smoothies and toppings. “It needs to be cleaned with the bleach solution throughout the day. Just like all the surfaces.”

It takes nearly forty minutes to do a thorough cleaning, and I can tell that everyone, including my mom, has had more than enough of my refresher course. But really, is it my fault no one’s been doing it correctly? “I don’t think it should take that long tomorrow night,” I tell them as we’re leaving. “It’s just that I want you all to really understand how to do this right … and how important it is.”

However, I can tell by their stony silence and the dagger looks — even Alistair is sulky — they couldn’t care less. And worse than that, I suspect they’ll make me pay for this … later.

“I’ll just walk back to my dorm,” I tell Mom and Nadine as we’re locking up. “And don’t forget I’m going to church tomorrow. I won’t be in to work until the afternoon.”

Nadine just nods. And Mom gives me a tired wave. As I walk to the dorm, I feel totally underappreciated. My one consolation is that Josiah is coming in the morning. I will have several blissful hours with him before I have to face the music with my fellow workers at Nadine’s.

Josiah is right on time the following morning. And I am ready and waiting, standing outside the dorm wearing a floral-print skirt and a yellow shirt.

“You look as fresh as a daisy,” Josiah tells me as I climb into the small hybrid car.

“Thank you.” I grin, taking in his pale blue shirt and navy pants. “You look very handsome yourself.”

“Fortunately, my uncle doesn’t make us wear ties. Not like my mum’s stuffy old church. But he does insist on long pants and button-up shirts for men. And, of course, dresses for women.”

“Oh, I hope this is okay.” I look down at my skirt, relieved that I didn’t wear pants, which I nearly did.

“No worries there. You’re a guest today. You get to wear whatever you like.”

As he drives, I spill out the story of my previous evening and how I made my coworkers angry last night. “I’m almost afraid to go to work today.”

“You’d think they’d appreciate that you took the time to help them.”

I nod. “You’d think.”

“Problem is some people just don’t want to work.” He stops for the traffic light. “Even my uncle has trouble with some of his employees.”

“I thought they were all his church people.”

Josiah chuckles. “Well, as you know, just because they’re churchgoing people doesn’t mean they’re perfect. As my uncle likes to say, we’re all just works in progress. The important thing is not to give up.”

“Yes, that’s true.” For some reason this reminds me of my dad and his new living situation. Not that my dad would consider himself a churchgoing person anymore. Somehow I doubt that he and Selena will be attending church today. I just can’t imagine the four of them stepping into a church.

“Is something wrong?” Josiah glances at me. “You seem quiet.”

“Sorry. I was actually worrying about my dad just now.”

“Is he sick?”

“Not exactly. Well, maybe he’s sick in the head.” And then I go ahead and tell Josiah about what my mom said. “I can’t quite believe it. I mean, my dad used to be such a strong Christian. He used to talk to me about, well, all sorts of things.” I almost mention how Dad used to encourage me to keep my purity pledge and save myself for marriage, but I can’t bring myself to say that to Josiah. “Anyway, now my dad is … well, living in sin.”

“Life’s funny, isn’t it?”

I just nod.

“But your dad has to live his own life. Just like you have to live yours. All you can do is keep making good decisions for yourself, Rachel.” He grins. “And it looks to me like you’re doing a great job of it too. If your dad’s got any sense, he should be proud of you.”

“I just hope I never make the same mistakes he’s made.” I sadly shake my head. “I’m so disappointed in him. Seriously, it’s like everything feels upside down. Like I’m the parent and he’s the kid.”

Josiah chuckles. “I know what you mean. I reckon it’s just part of growing up.”

It’s not long until we enter a gated road and Josiah informs me we’re on his uncle’s property.

“It’s beautiful up here,” I say as he drives past some fenced pastures where dozens of contented-looking cattle are peacefully grazing on lush green grass. “No wonder you guys make such delicious ice cream. Even your cows look happy.”

“Uncle Jim takes the dairy business very seriously.” Josiah pulls up to a big red barn with a sign on the front proclaiming
Lost Springs Dairy
.

“What a cool building,” I say as he parks next to the blue-and-white delivery truck. “It reminds me of a children’s picture book.”

“If you like, we can start with a quick tour of the dairy. I’m sure you’ll appreciate how well it’s run.”

I soon see that the old-fashioned exterior of the farm is not just a facade. While they do have a couple of automatic milking machines, there are also several people who are milking the cows by hand. And some workers are using old-fashioned devices that look like they’ve been around for a while. Meanwhile, others are operating modern-looking stainless-steel machines. It’s all quite interesting.

It’s also interesting to see there’s some ethnic diversity here. Although the women look similar due to their long dresses, I notice a young Hispanic woman washing a cow. And I pause to watch a petite Asian girl as she wrestles with a butter churn.

“That looks like a good way to build up your biceps,” I tell her. Looking up, she gives me a patient smile, then turns back to her churning.

“As you can see, my uncle likes both the old and the new,” Josiah explains as he leads me past some freezers. “Originally, he wanted to do everything the old-fashioned way and without much reliance on outside electricity. But as his business grew, he had to get some new technology to keep up.”

“Everything seems so clean,” I say as we walk through a storage area. “I mean, considering it’s a dairy farm.”

“Some might think it’s hokey, but my uncle is a firm believer that cleanliness is next to godliness.” He chuckles as he leads me back out into the sunshine.

“Hey, that works for me. I wish your uncle could give my coworkers a lecture on the subject.”

“Speaking of my uncle …” Josiah waves to a nice-looking middle-aged couple walking toward us. “Come over here and meet Rachel,” he calls to them. After a quick introduction, I’m shaking hands with Reverend and Mrs. Davis. Like Josiah, they both have Australian accents. And they both seem very nice.

“Your dairy is amazing,” I tell Reverend Jim. “Very impressive. I was already a fan of your ice cream. But seeing this place has won me over.”

“Rachel works at Nadine’s Natural Ice Cream Parlor,” Josiah explains.

“So is this a field trip?” Reverend Jim asks me.