Read Online Beginnings by Kim Vogel Sawyer - Free Book Online Page A

“worldly” ones—lined Main Street, providing evidence of the café’s patronage of both Mennonite and non-Mennonite customers. Lisbeth’s Café had brought in the highway traffic for more than four decades. The café was as popular now as it had been when Beth’s great-aunt had operated it. Beth had chosen to build her studio on the south side of the café partly because the land had been bequeathed to her and partly because it was a great opportunity to pull in café customers when she finally built the showroom addition.
    Her heart pounded as it always did when she thought of her dreams for the studio. Although she’d lain awake last night, mulling things over and over in her mind, she still wasn’t 100 percent certain about signing on the dotted line with McCauley Church Construction. God, You’re going to have to clunk me hard with an answer before Sean McCauley gets to the studio. I want to do the right thing.
    She pulled her car into its usual spot behind the studio and entered through the back door. Tugging off her coat, she flipped on the fluorescent lights and then dropped her coat onto the end of the display bench. She pulled a work apron from a box beneath the bench and tied it over her clothes. Finally, she turned toward the cabinet to retrieve the copper foil and soldering iron so she could get those cut pieces turned into suncatchers.
    But as she shifted, her gaze drifted across the worktable, and she froze, her eyes widening. Six suncatchers lay in a row across the tabletop, glittering beneath the bright overhead lights. She moved slowly toward the table, shaking her head. “It’s like ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker,’” she muttered, remembering her favorite of the Grimms’ fairy tales her mother had read to her when she was small.
    One by one, she touched the completed projects. She then lifted a pink cross to the light to admire the change in colors. Placing the piece back on the table with the others, she drew in a slow breath through her nose. Apparently Andrew hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, either. Guilt pricked when she recalled how she had berated him for spending his time drawing instead of completing projects. He’d followed through after all.
    Different emotions warred in her breast. When she saw him next, she’d thank him and apologize for being so snappy, but she would also need to talk to him about his position in the studio. He was her employee, not her partner. His job was to follow her directions. Period. No more of this acting on his own.
    After retrieving cardboard and foam, she made a careful stack, sandwiching the suncatchers between protective layers, and put them in a box labeled “Salina—2/22.” That done, she slid the box beneath the display bench next to the box containing butterfly designs. Recalling Sean McCauley telling her the company’s interest in her stemmed from the purchase of a simple purple butterfly, her heart doubled its rate.
    How quickly life can change, she thought, moving to the clean worktable and staring out the window across the snow-dusted landscape. Lost in thought, the sound of the back door opening startled her, and she whirled toward it in time to spot Andrew stepping through. He yawned as he slipped out of his coat, and she couldn’t help but smile at his droopy expression.
    “Rough night last night?” She deliberately affected a teasing tone.
    He shrugged and didn’t reply, sending her a sheepish look.
    His silence told her clearly he felt uncomfortable after their last heated, one-sided exchange. Taking a breath, she formed an apology. “Andrew, I’m sorry I jumped on you like I did yesterday.”
    He responded with a silent nod, his lips pulled to the side.
    Puffing her cheeks, Beth blew an exasperated breath that ruffled her bangs across her forehead. She shoved the strands aside and said, “Look, I got testy because I know how much I have to get accomplished and I can’t”—she gritted her teeth for a moment, reality