Seasons of Sugarcreek 03. Autumn's Promise by Shelley Shepard Gray Read Free Book Online Page A

are tired of you acting like you’re five.” Before Anson could whine, Caleb pointed to a group of customers near the bulk food aisle. “Now, you go offer your help.”
    “But—”
    “Now. And don’t you dart off, either. You’re going to need to help unbox the latest shipment of spices.”
    He wrinkled his nose. “I hate doing that.”
    “That hardly matters. You’ll do it, and do it well, too. I’ll be watching you.”
    With a scowl, Anson folded his arms across his chest. “You don’t have to be so mean, you know.”
    Caleb mimicked his brother’s militant stance. “You haven’t even seen mean…yet.”
    When Anson finally did as he was told, Judith beamed and, moments later, walked over to join Caleb. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you said all that. He bellyached the whole way here.”
    “Joshua and I agree he’s gotten lazy. I’ve had enough of everyone pampering him.”
    Judith chuckled, then smiled warmly. Two women began to ask for her help in the baked-goods section just as three people came to stand in line at the cash register.
    Caleb rang them up with ease. Unlike Anson, he’d never been given the choice of how to spend his days.
    Unlike Anson, he’d always had to do what was expected of him. Always. For a moment, he couldn’t help but let envy float over him. What would his life be like if he’d had more chances to play? If he hadn’t felt the strictures of this way of life so tightly? Would he still yearn to go away?
    Of course, none of that mattered now. Dreaming about what-ifs didn’t get things done. They only led to regret.
     
     
    After practically slamming the front door behind her, Lilly rushed into Robert’s workshop in a panic. “Am I late?” she asked. “If you’ve been waiting forever on me, I’m so sorry. First my mom started asking twenty questions about where I was going. Then I had to change clothes, and then there was traffic…” Lilly let her voice trail off as she caught hold of Robert’s look. It was full of amusement. “Sorry.”
    “Don’t be. I enjoy the way you always go on and on.”
    “ Always ? I don’t always talk about nothing nonstop.” A sinking feeling settled in as he continued to grin. “Do I?”
    “Not so much.” Right away, he led the way outside. After locking the front door, he walked her to his horse and buggy. “At least, not that I’ve noticed,” he teased.
    Lilly smiled right back at him for a moment before stepping carefully on the small metal platform that hung midway between the buggy and the ground. She swayed a bit. It was higher than she’d realized.
    Robert reached out and took her arm. “Easy, now. Some say this step takes a bit of getting used to.”
    Feeling more secure now that he was holding her elbow with a firm grip, she scooted onto the bench covered in leather and tried to acclimate herself to the unfamiliar sensation of sitting in a contraption attached to a horse. When Robert easily hopped in next to her, he let go of the brake, then gave a low whistle to the horse. In no time, they were off.
    As they clipped along, she felt the air flutter the curls in her hair and luxuriated in the first signs of autumn. Oh, she loved the way the leaves on the trees changed colors and the crisp scent of fall permeated the air.
    “Your buggy’s different than the Grabers’.”
    “How so?”
    “There’s no top. And no Plexiglas.”
    He smiled. “I have one of those at home. This here’s called a courting buggy.”
    That caught her off guard. “Courting?”
    A faint haze of red colored his cheeks. “Um, ‘courting’ is just a descriptive term,” he mumbled. “See, this size is smaller than the one you see at the Grabers’, and it’s a bit spiffier.”
    Something told Lilly that he wasn’t being completely honest. But since she already was feeling a little self-conscious by his side, she latched onto another descriptor. “Spiffier, huh?” She bounced a bit in the seat experimentally. “I like