Page 19 of Stealing Kisses

“Wanna go with me?”

“To the house?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“To put away the eggs,” he answered.

“I thought you wanted to do that.”

“I do,” he was quick to reassure. “We could do it together.”

“I don’t know,” she stalled. “I have a lot to do.”

“Many hands make light work,” he cajoled.

“So they say.”

“Come on, I need you to open the door,” he urged. “We’ll finish the eggs, and then I’ll help you with the next item on your list.”

She looked him up and down, as though searching for a hidden agenda, but then she agreed, and they walked side by side toward the house.

Teddy fought the urge to juggle all the eggs into his left hand so he could entwine the fingers of his right hand with hers, mere inches away.

“Did you read my list?”

Teddy’s eyes snapped to hers at the accusation in her voice, but the sparkle in her dark umber eyes revealed she’d been joking.

“It’s quite a list,” he confirmed.

“That it is,” she said in an anxious tone. “That it is.” She expelled a deep sigh as she pushed open the door.

Teddy followed Baylin across the kitchen and into the pantry.

Pantrydidn’t accurately define the space…make thatroom.

Literally, a storeroom, floor-to-ceiling shelves lined the walls. The only breaks in the shelving created built-in nooks for two refrigerators, one in 1970s avocado and one even older in a zesty poppy red, and two upright freezers. Both of those were stainless steel, shiny and new.

Stacked jars of canned foods weighed down the shelves along two walls. The jars’ contents reflected every color of the rainbow and showed off jellies, jams, salsas, sauces, whole fruits, snapped veggies, and a bunch of items Teddy couldn’t name butguessed would be delicious.Farm to tabletook on a whole new meaning.

Wooden crates, just like the ones they’d used to gather potatoes, covered another wall. Bars of soap, candles, and honey filled some to the brim. Others sat empty, awaiting their goods. Decorative signs tied with a ribbon designated that each crate held a unique item, scent, or formula. The oils and spices she used to make the various products created an intoxicating blend of citrus, floral, and woodsy smells.

The fourth and final wall held wicker baskets in a multitude of shapes and sizes. About half were empty. Textiles and notions filled the other half…pillows, folded linens, rolled fabric, bags of buttons, spools of thread. Teddy recognized them as hand-dyed goods only because his mother had done much of that work for their family when he was a kid and money was scarce.

Teddy stepped closer to the shelves, reading tags and admiring the plethora of goods.

“Curiouser and curiouser!” Teddy said, flashing a wide-eyed, knowing look in Baylin’s direction and feeling another unexpected jolt of awareness when their eyes met.

She didn’t respond, though, instead bustling about to snatch eggs, two at a time from the bowl of Teddy’s hands, filling a carton, and depositing it in the green refrigerator.

Without another word, Baylin left him there. No doubt she’d scurried off to tackle another task.

Shaking his head, Teddy turned off the light and followed Baylin with an indulgent grin.

My little rabbit is on the run.

9

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