Charity bit her lip. “I don’t know. We had supper just a few days before Christmas.”
Jason’s dark brown eyes stared directly into Charity’s when he said, “We did, but that was with your children. I’d like to take you to supper alone. Perhaps we could go to The Paradise for the New Year’s Eve supper. I hear it’s going to be quite the event.”
“I, I’m not sure. Can I give you my answer tomorrow?” Charity stammered.
“Of course. I’ll be back for lunch, and I await your answer,” Jason said as he stood, pulled on his coat and hat, winked at Charity, and ambled out of the café.
Charity rushed back into the kitchen, startling her sister-in-law Holly.
“Is something wrong?” Holly inquired as she noticed Charity’s flushed face.
“No, maybe. Jason asked me out for supper on New Year’s Eve.”
A broad smile crossed Holly’s face. “Jason is smitten with you. He has been for quite some time. You can tell by the way he looks at you. He’s handsome and the mayor. You’re too young to spend the rest of your life alone. You should go out to supper with him again.”
“Smitten? We are not teenagers,” Charity insisted.
Holly smiled and said, “All right. I believe Jason cares for you a great deal. You need to have supper with him again to see if your feelings are growing. I can see how he makes you blush. I think you care for him, too.”
Charity shook her head. “I can’t. I promised.”
“Promised who? Promised what?”
Charity didn’t answer. She turned and rushed toward the back stairs that led to the empty apartment upstairs that her brother occupied before he married Holly. It was unused except for the occasional night when winter weather kept Joseph from making it home or as a quiet place to take a break from the café.
~ * ~
Joseph entered the back door carrying a bag of flour over his shoulder. He glanced toward the stairs when he heard the running footsteps.
“Was that Charity?” he asked.
Holly nodded. “Jason asked her out for supper New Year’s Eve, and she seems upset over some promise she made.”
Joseph shrugged. “I thought they were getting along. He took her to lunch and to supper last week with both of her children. He seems quite interested. Remember when he monopolized her time at the last church social. I thought they might become serious.”
“I did, too,” Holly agreed. “She seems to brighten around him, and he definitely likes her, but something is bothering her. Do you have any idea what it might be?”
Joseph placed the sack of flour in the small supply closet and answered Holly, “No, not at all. They seem to enjoy each other’s company. Maybe something happened when they had supper with Annie and Ben.”
Holly shrugged. “I can’t imagine what. Those two little ones are usually angels. It could be that Charity isn’t sure if Jason would accept the children.”
“I doubt that’s it,” Joseph said, shaking his head. “Jason is kind to everyone, and it’s not as if Charity just announced she has two children. He’s known her since we were all children.”
“I suppose we’ll just have to wait until she tells us. She did say she couldn’t go out with Jason again because she promised.”
“Promised?”
“I asked her, but she just ran upstairs,” Holly said as she looked toward the ceiling.
“If it’s important, I think she’ll let us know. I have more supplies to bring in,” Joseph stated as he turned and walked out the café’s back door.
Just as the door closed, Holly heard Charity’s footsteps on the stairs. She turned to see her sister-in-law enter the kitchen with a frown on her face.
“I’m sorry,” Charity said, “I didn’t mean to run off that way without an explanation. I needed a moment to be alone and think.”
Holly hugged Charity. “It’s all right. I knew something bothered you, and you needed to be alone. We all do at times.”
Charity blew out a breath. “Life can be challenging at times. Just when I believe I’m fully settled into my life as a widow, Jason comes along and tries to unsettle my life.”
Holly pulled three apple pies from the oven and said, “If you’re going to have someone unsettle your life, you couldn’t ask for someone better than Jason Shepherd. He’s a good man, dependable, and a town leader.”
“I know,” Charity replied. “If I could, I’d be happy to accept his interest.”
Holly bit her lip, contemplating what to say. “Is there a reason you can’t accept his invitation to supper on New Year’s Eve? If you’re worried about the children, Joseph and I could watch them.”
“No, that’s not it. Miss Barber would stay with them. I wouldn’t stay out late, but I’m worried Jason is becoming serious. I can’t. I just can’t,” Charity said as she began pacing in the small kitchen.
“Charity, please sit down and let me make you a cup of tea. Maybe you’ll tell me what’s troubling you,” Holly offered.
Charity sat at the small table in the corner, and Holly brought her a cup of tea and one for herself. “Now, please tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Charity answered before taking a sip of tea. “It’s something personal that I don’t want to talk about.”
Holly realized that Charity needed to keep her thoughts to herself and smiled. “If you ever change your mind, you know you can always talk to me.”
“I know and thank you for understanding.”
The rear door burst open, causing both women to jump as Joseph came in, carrying a sack of sugar and a crate of eggs.
He smiled at his wife and sister before saying, “Look at the two of you just sitting in the middle of
