The Search The Secrets of Crittenden Cou

Chapter 5




“Perry loved animals, for sure. He cried for days when his beagle died. It was a blessing we had a new puppy for him.”

GLORIA SCHROCK




Deborah fought to keep her expression neutral. But it wasn’t easy, because all she really wanted to do was leave the store and never return.

Ignoring Deborah, Mrs. Schrock shifted the puppy in her arms. “Well, what are you doing, son? Haven’t you been hearing the commotion out here?”

“What do ya think I’m doing?” Through the open doorway, Jacob’s voice held more than a touch of impatience. “I’m trying to fix this pen so the dogs stop escaping.”

“It shouldn’t be too difficult. Your father put it together last night.”

“Daed put it together wrong. That’s why the pups were running loose all night.”

Mrs. Schrock glanced at the entrance to the storage room and winced. To Deborah, she whispered, “It was quite a mess back there this morning.”

“Ah,” Deborah said.

Raising her voice, Mrs. Schrock said, “I don’t know what your daed could’ve done wrong, Jacob.”

“There’s no telling. Daed can hardly put a shoebox together, let alone a wire pen.”

“Now, Jacob, that’s not very charitable.”

“You know I’m right.”

Deborah couldn’t help but smile at the interplay. It was so familiar. Well, how her family would have been if Perry hadn’t . . . if everything hadn’t fallen apart like it did.

As if she had suddenly remembered Deborah, Mrs. Schrock cleared her throat. “Jacob, I need your help right now. These puppies are running amuck. We can’t go on like this much longer.”

“Mamm, stop. I can’t round up puppies and fix the cage at the same time.”

Deborah gasped at his tone.

Mrs. Schrock, too, looked a bit disgruntled by his remark. However, she must have been used to it, because after a moment’s pause, she glanced Deborah’s way. “Do you have a problem with the puppies, dear?”

Deborah shook her head.

“Gut. You may make yourself useful. Go grab a puppy and help me carry them all to the kennel in the back.”

Deborah’s feet felt paralyzed. Out of all the things she would have imagined happening, being greeted by Mrs. Schrock and four oversized puppies was truly nothing she could have dreamt up.

But beyond all that was the terrible suspicion that she was the absolutely last person Jacob was going to want to see for any amount of time.

Resolutely, she refrained from looking at the door he was behind. “Mrs. Schrock, I’m happy to help you, but I’m not sure . . . Perhaps I could use your restroom and get cleaned up?”

“Later, for sure. But for now, go pick up a puppy and follow me.”

The order, given in that no-nonsense way, finally spurred Deborah into action. “Here, puppy,” she said gently. One chocolate brown nose nudged her hand and whined. As its tiny pink tongue slid out with a pant, Deborah couldn’t resist a giggle. “Yes, that means you.” She wrapped her fingers around its thin collar, then with a heft, lifted the overgrown pup into her arms.

The puppy shifted and cuddled close, not worrying at all about its chunky weight or squirmy body. “Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s go follow your mother.”

“I’m most certainly not that puppy’s mamm, Deborah,” Mrs. Schrock protested while carrying a puppy of her own. “Only its owner. And a temporary one at that.”

Luckily, the other two pups ran to their sides, completing their little line toward the storage room.

When Mrs. Schrock noticed that Deborah was right behind her, she smiled kindly. “Thank you for your help. I tell ya, my husband comes up with the strangest ideas sometimes. I didn’t think anything could beat the guinea pig and snake incident, but these giant puppies might come close.”

Deborah looked at the puppy padding by her side. “What kind of dogs are these?”

“Mastiff,” Jacob said, then stilled as if he suddenly noticed who he was talking to. “You.”

She froze. “Yes. Me.”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here? And what are you doing, wandering around our store like you own it?”

“I only came in for a few supplies,” she said helplessly. “Cottage cheese.”

“And out of every store in the county, you chose our store? I find that pretty hard to swallow.”

Deborah knew he had reason to dislike her. But she wasn’t her brother. And Jacob wasn’t the only person Perry had taken advantage of or been cruel to. Perry had hurt her deeply a time or two as well.

Or twenty.

But out of respect for his mother, and for the simple reason that she had no desire to make trouble, Deborah kept her words light. “As I was saying, I only came in for a few things, but the puppies came rollicking forward, and one thing led to another.”

“They almost attacked her, poor thing,” his mother said. “Knocked her down!”

“But you weren’t hurt.”

Deborah winced. It almost sounded like Jacob was disappointed about that. She lifted her chin. “Your mother asked for my help. And so I said yes . . .” Her voice drifted off as his expression became cooler. Like ice.

Giving up, she handed over the puppy in her arms. “Here. Excuse me. I’ll go now.”

He took the dog, obviously trying his best to not touch her.

But by his side, his mother looked to be losing patience. “Jacob! You are being rude. You apologize.”

“I will not.” Jacob glared. “Don’t ask me to pretend she’s my friend, Mother.”

“You used to be friends.”

“That was a long time ago. Before—” He opened his mouth to say more, but must have changed his mind, because he cut himself off.

“Before what?” Mrs. Schrock’s eyebrows rose, practically daring her son to continue.

But instead of continuing, he turned away.

Deborah’s visit to the store had now gone from bad to worse, and she had no one to blame for the situation but herself. She should have listened to her mother and stayed away.

Because if anything was true, it was that she wasn’t Jacob Schrock’s friend at all. In fact, she could very well be his enemy. She’d known he felt like that, and once more, she couldn’t say she blamed him.

Turning around, she mumbled to his mother, “Goodbye, Mrs. Schrock.”

“But, didn’t you want something? There must have been a reason you came in,” Mrs. Schrock said.

“It wasn’t anything important.”

The lady’s expression turned hesitant. “Do you still want to use the ladies’ room and get cleaned up?“

“Let her leave, Mamm,” Jacob said as the puppies started barking again. “The sooner she’s out of our lives, the better.”

Deborah tucked her chin and strode from the back room toward the front of the store, nearly running into Walker Anderson.

He held up his arms to keep her from knocking into him. “Hey, Deborah. When did you get back in town?” he asked with a smile that slowly vanished as he noticed her disheveled appearance. “Um . . . how are you?”

She’d just walked three miles to get humiliated by Jacob Schrock and was now covered with puppy prints and slime. Now she was going to have to walk back without getting what she’d come for.

So, she wasn’t fine. She wasn’t close to fine. But she couldn’t very well say that, now could she? “I’m all right.” Trying to smile, she said, “You?”

His eyes narrowed. “Where is everyone?”

“Mrs. Schrock and Jacob are in the back room. With the puppies.”

Walker’s eyes suddenly looked as pained as she felt. “Those puppies are like miniature horses.” He ran a hand through his short hair. “I tell you what, some days I’m sure this place is going to kill me.” As if he’d suddenly noticed her hands were empty, he said, “Hey, do you need some help? You came here to shop, right?”

There was nothing she needed more than to get out of the store. “I don’t need anything. I’ll just be going.”

“All right. Well, I’ll be seeing you.” Just as he turned away, she heard Walker groan in frustration. “These puppies have now left a present for me to pick up.”

Walking quickly to the front door, she heard him grumble some more. He sounded so put upon, she would have normally found it funny.

But the tears were falling too fast. Much too fast for laughter.

As she began the long walk home, Deborah considered praying for Jacob. He was obviously in a lot of pain, but she so wished things would get better between them.

But unfortunately, she barely believed even the Lord could convince Jacob Schrock to ever forgive her.

After all, her brother had made his life miserable. And both she and Jacob knew it.