Read Online Huckleberry Harvest by Jennifer Beckstrand - Free Book Online Page A

you . . .”
    He glanced at her as if she’d just done a cartwheel in Mammi’s kitchen.
    She cleared her throat again and held out her bowl for his inspection. “I made this for you.”
    He stood and came closer, rubbing his fingers across his jaw and studying her bowl as if it might bite him. “What is it?”
    “I mean . . . it’s chocolate chip and . . . I didn’t have an oven this morning, so I made you some cookie dough.”
    “Thank you,” he said. It sounded like a question.
    “I can bake them for you after you hook up the oven, or you can take them home and bake them yourself.”
    He took the bowl and eyed her with heightened distrust.
    She tried to twitch her lips into a smile. It didn’t work. “I want to thank you for pulling me out of the river yesterday.”
    His expression might have softened around the edges a bit. “Don’t mention it.”
    “You saved my life,” she said. “I was terrified and exhausted. I knew I couldn’t hold on to that rock much longer. I’m very, very grateful.”
    “If you must thank someone, thank God. He showed me how to find you and gave me the wisdom to help.”
    “Oh, okay. I will. I mean, I already have.”
    He stared into her face with those dark eyes until she thought she might crack under the pressure of his intense gaze. “How is your leg?” he said.
    “Oh . . . fine. It’s stiff, but I can stand on it just fine.” She wanted to smack herself upside the head. He could see for himself that she was standing on it just fine. “They’re chocolate chip. The cookies are. Or the dough is.”
    “Denki. I like chocolate chip.”
    “Bake at 350 degrees for eight to ten minutes.”
    “Okay.”
    She swallowed the lump of pride stuck in her throat. “I have something to confess.”
    He pressed his lips together, and she could see the muscles twitch along his jawline. “Okay.”
    “The reason I fell into the river is that Kristina and I were spying on you.”
    His expression didn’t change. “Were you?”
    “She wanted to see you something wonderful. She is very much in love with you.”
    His jaw muscles twitched again.
    Mandy wrung her hands in agitation. “Not that I’m blaming Kristina for my own folly, but I was trying to be a gute friend. I’m embarrassed that she was able to talk me into such a childish, stupid scheme. I hope you’ll forgive me. It won’t happen again.”
    “I just want Kristina to leave me alone,” Noah said, with more patience than irritation in his voice. That surprised her a little.
    “I know. I’m sorry. Krissy is my best friend, and I want her to be happy. The spying was with the best of intentions. I didn’t know it would get out of hand like that.”
    He palmed the bowl in his hand as one corner of his mouth quirked upward. “You didn’t expect the giggling and the bird noises.”
    In mortification, she felt herself blush down to her toes. “Please don’t mention it. It was horrible.”
    “She doesn’t do a very good birdcall.”
    “When she started chirping, I decided to abandon her and hike back to the buggy by myself. Unfortunately, she pushed me in the river before I could leave.”
    Amusement flickered in Noah’s eyes. “She pushed you?”
    “She thought for sure you would come over to see what all the noise was about, and she panicked.”
    “Believe me,” he said, “it never mattered how loud she and her friends got. I was smart enough to know it would be hazardous to my health to ever actually catch her spying.”
    Mandy thought her eyes might pop out of her head. “You knew?”
    “I always know. I spent a lot of time outdoors this summer. She spied on me almost every day of the week. It almost made me want to take up quilting just so I could stay inside and out of sight.”
    Mandy clapped her hand over her mouth before a giggle could escape. She immediately felt disloyal to Kristina for wanting to laugh.
    Kristina’s broken heart was no laughing matter. But what had that girl been up to? Mandy