Climbing Jacob's Ladder

The little girl giggled then said, "I need to go help Grandma, okay?"

He set her down as his mother took Rebecca's hand and led her back into the kitchen.

"So...your last name is Sanders?"

"Yes, ma'am," he told her.

"So why did you let me think you're Gary?" she asked.

"I never said that. You just assumed and I didn't bother to correct you."

"I see. So...your father owns the company and you're..."

"He did," Jake told her. "He passed away in October."

"Oh. I'm...very sorry. I had no idea. I was told..."

"It's okay," Jake assured her. "We really didn't expect Jacobs Enterprises to make another run at us and especially not just before Christmas, so there was no reason to call and explain what happened."

"Well, we're not trying to ruin your holidays, we just think we can finally come to terms in a way that will be fair and equitable for both of us," Kristen told him. He didn't respond so she asked him a question. "Will I be dealing with your mother then?"

"Oh, no. Mom doesn't want anything to do with the business. Dad and I handled all of that."

"Oh, so...are you the new owner?" she asked rather sheepishly.

"I guess I am," he told her. "And I'm Jake, by the way." He held out his hand and there was that same smile.

"Yes, I heard you mom mention that."

Kristen took his hand and shook it and found herself unsure what to say next.

"It smells wonderful in here," she ending up blurting out. "Oh, and it's actually warm for once."

"Yeah, the winters here can be pretty brutal. Doesn't it get cold up there in the Pacific Northwest, too?" he asked as he reached for her coat.

"Thank you," she said turning so he could slide it off of her.

"Yes, but not like this. It'll snow once or twice most winters and it might get down to 20 a day or two but that's very unusual. Every once in a while we get several inches, but it's usually gone in a few days. So...nothing like this. I felt like I was walking around in a deep freeze."

Jake smiled but didn't say anything in response. He just smiled until Kristen smiled back.

When she did Jake told her, "I was beginning to wonder if you ever smiled." He was smiling himself so she knew he wasn't being mean.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm a little discombobulated. Between the cold and thinking you were Gary and that your father would be..."

She stopped talking then said, "My apologies. Please forgive me."

"You're fine," Jake told her. "It was very unexpected, but he didn't suffer. He had a heart attack out back in the barn. He was chopping firewood the way he had every winter his entire adult life and evidently that was it."

Jake hung up her coat and said, "Come on. Let's get you into the kitchen and get you something to eat, shall we?"

Kristen checked her watch and noticed she'd forgotten to reset it so she pulled out the stem and added two hours. It was a little early for her to be having dinner, but it was just about the perfect time in Iowa so she told him that sounded nice.

"You'll be staying here during your visit, unless of course, you'd prefer to spend even more money and stay in a motel," Jake said as they sat down at the kitchen table. "I'll come by each morning to pick you up and take you to the factory. If that's okay with you, of course."

Kristen's rather negative opinion of 'Gary' began to slowly change as she saw him in a different light. He was obviously very good looking and those dimples of his were to-die-for cute. But he was also clearly a very loving father and his daughter was polite, sweet, and very well-mannered. She had to admit she really had just assumed he was Gary and she couldn't fault him for something that was her mistake.

"That should be fine," she told him.

"Dinner's just about ready, dear," Mrs. Sanders told her. "If you need to freshen up, the bathroom is just down the hall to your right."

"Yes, thank you. I think I'll do that," Kristen said.

"Come on. I'll show you were it is," Rebecca told her.

"Well, thank you, Rebecca," she said as she stood up. The little girl took her hand and Kristen asked her how old she was.

"I'm eight," she said sweetly.

Her mind was trying to do the math as she quickly glanced at her father again. She was nearly 40 and had never had a child, and here was this very young-looking man with an eight-year old daughter. Something didn't quite add up.

"Eight. Okay. So what grade are you in in school this year?"

"I'm in third grade," Rebecca told her. "It's right here. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Kristen looked down at her and said, "You are very grown up for being just eight years old."

The girl smiled and politely told her, "Thank you," before heading back to the kitchen.

"So what do you think, Becks?" her dad asked.

"I like her," she informed him.

"So can I trust her?" he asked very seriously.

"I think so," she told him very authoritatively.

"Okay, that's good enough for me. Hey, did you wash up for dinner yet?"

"No," she admitted.

"Okay, then you're next," her dad said pointing to the bathroom.

"Okay, fine!" she said with some exasperation before heading back down the hallway.

Kristen nearly bumped into her when she came out.

"Oh, hi there. I didn't know you were waiting," she told Rebecca.

"I wasn't. Someone decided I needed to go wash my hands—again," she said nodding toward her dad who was leaning over and waving.

"Oh, I see. Family business."

"Uh-huh," Rebecca replied as she slipped around Kristen and went inside.

"She's a sweetheart," Kristen told Jake when she sat back down.

"She really is. The last couple of years have been pretty tough for her but unless you know her you couldn't tell," Jake said.

Not wanting to pry, Kristen didn't ask why. She just assumed it had something to do with losing her grandfather and left it at that.

"Dinner's ready!" Abby announced.

"You're the best, Mom," Jake said.

He leaned toward Kristen and said, "Wait until you taste her cooking, and you'll see I'm not just saying that because she's the most awesome mom in the world."

"Someone's gotta put some meat on those bones of yours," she said shrugging off the compliment as she began setting the food down.

"He looks pretty healthy to me," Kristen said.

She looked at him with a critical eye and realized she couldn't see a flaw anywhere. Okay, maybe there was one. He was just under six feet tall, an arbitrary sort of minimum height she preferred in men, but since she was dating Geoffrey who was 6'2", it was a moot point.

Rebecca rejoined them and Abby also sat down.

"Okay? Who wants to say grace tonight?" she asked.

No one spoke up so Rebecca said, "I will."

She reached out for her grandmother's hand and for Kristen's who wasn't quite sure what to do until she looked around. Seeing what was going on, she followed suit and took the girl's hand. When Jake reached out for hers, she smiled uneasily and gave it to him as they all bowed their heads.

"Dear Lord, we thank you for this food and that Miss Kristen can be here with us. Daddy says she really hates the cold weather so could you please make it a little warmer for her? Please help us to be the best people we can be. Oh, and please tell Grandpa and Mommy how much we love them. Amen."

"Amen," Jake and Abby said.

Kristen looked up then looked around uneasily when she realized why Jake's wife wasn't sitting with them even though he, like her, still wore a wedding ring.

"Okay, dig in!" Abby said picking up the fried chicken and passing it to her left after taking a piece.

Once everyone's plates were full, Kristen thanked Abby then said, "So, Jake, I think you'll find Jacobs is prepared to make you a pretty incredible offer."

Abby gave her a look that made her feel uncomfortable just as Jake said, "We have a strict rule about never discussing business at the table."

"Oh, okay. Sorry. I didn't know," Kristen said feeling even more out of place than she had when everyone was holding hands.

She managed to recover fairly quickly and found herself enjoying listening to Rebecca talk about her friends at school or Abby discussing upcoming events like the annual quilting bee and the factory Christmas party.

"You should go, my dear," Abby said to Kristen.

"Thank you, but I'm planning on being back home in Seattle by Christmas. It sounds lovely, though."

"Oh, it is!" Abby assured her. "It's by far my favorite event of the year." She looked at her son then said, "I was hoping to get Jake to come along this year."

"Mom? Please don't start in on me, okay?" he said trying not to sound annoyed.

"Well, you haven't come the last two years and it just seems like such a shame to sit home and watch television or whatever it is you do," his mother said.

"Can we go this year, Daddy? Please?" Rebecca asked.

"Honey, you can go with Grandma if you want to. But me? No thanks."

Even though Jake now owned the factory, everyone knew why it was too hard for him to attend the Christmas party and no one held it against him.

"I've always enjoyed Christmas parties," Kristen offered.

"You could stay a little while longer and go with me, Miss Kristen," Rebecca said hopefully.

"Honey? Miss...Mrs...Richards has a husband back home waiting for her and I'm sure the last thing he wants is for her to be away for Christmas," Jake told her.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't even think about that," she said giving Kristen an apologetic look.

"No, it's okay, sweetheart," Kristen assured her. "It...it isn't that. I...I was just hoping to get back to warmer weather. Relatively speaking, that is."

"Yes, it does get cold around here during the winter," Abby said. "It takes some getting used to, that's for sure."

Kristen smiled politely then told her, "No offense, but I hope never to have the need to get used to the weather here."

"None taken, dear," she replied. "Davenport isn't for everyone. I'm sure a big-city girl like you would miss the ballet and the opera or maybe the symphony. I'm afraid we don't have those luxuries out here."

Kristen didn't feel like sharing her thoughts on those kinds of events and kept quiet.

"That's not quite true, Mom. We do have a dinner theater a couple months of the year," Jake said as he looked at Kristen smiling that smile of his.

"Well, who could resist all that, right?" Kristen said before taking a big bite after not getting so much as a smile. Perhaps keeping quiet altogether might be a better tact.

Once the table was cleared and the dishes were in the dishwasher, Kristen asked Jake if he'd like to discuss the terms of the deal.

"Kristen? Things move at a slower pace in Davenport than they do in Seattle. We'll have plenty of time to...talk turkey tomorrow. For now, I need to get Rebecca home."

"Oh, sure. And I didn't mean any offense when I quipped about the dinner theater. Just so you know."

"Davenport is our home, Kristen. We love this place and the people who live here. I've never lived anywhere else nor would I ever consider leaving. You have a right to your opinion and I know you weren't trying to be mean, but when you criticize our hometown, it doesn't really set well with us. But...apology accepted."

"Well, I feel rather foolish now. I've managed to offend you by assuming you were someone else, then by being pushy and now I just unintentionally 'dissed' your hometown. I promise to try and do better from here on out," Kristen told him.

"No one's keeping score. That's another benefit of living in a smaller town although to us, Davenport is the big city. You know, compared to the podunk places around us," he said still smiling.

He called for Rebecca which brought her and his mom. He hugged his mother and thanked her for dinner and for putting Kristen up.

"More like...putting up with me, right?" she said sweetly.

"Oh, not at all, dear," Abby told her. "It's been such a pleasure meeting you and I'm thrilled to have you as a guest. It can get very lonely around here after Jake and my favorite girl go home. I'm just so blessed to have them in my life."

Rebecca smiled and gave her grandmother a big hug.

"And you're my favorite girl in the whole world, Grandma!" she told her.

Then she gave Kristen a hug and said, "And you're my second favorite girl in the whole world, Miss Kristen!"

"Wow, that's high praise, Kristen," Jake told her. "She doesn't usually warm up to new people that quickly."

"Yes, it is, and I'm sure I don't deserve it, but I just happen to like you very much too, young lady," she told the girl before giving her another hug.

"Good night!" Rebecca told everyone.

"I'll be by to pick you up tomorrow morning around 8am if that's not too early for you. I know the two-hour time change might make that a little rough on you so..."

"No, eight o'clock will be fine," she assured him knowing she would be very tired.

"And I'll have breakfast on the table by seven," Abby announced.

"Oh, I'm not much of a breakfast person, Abby," Kristen said apologetically.

"Do you drink coffee?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. Definitely!" Kristen told her.

"Okay, then breakfast will be coffee!"

"And could we make it at 7:45?" Kristen asked not wanting to push her luck.

"Yes, of course, dear," Abby said.

"So I'll see you tomorrow morning," Jake said offering her a hand. Kristen shook it and told him she looked forward to it.

Another blast of frigid air hit her as they left, but Kristen felt almost as if something had somehow mysteriously warmed her heart as she turned around then went to see if Abby needed any help before turning in early.

Kristen showered, dressed, and got her hair and makeup done managing to make it downstairs five minutes early and sat with Abby while they had a cup of coffee.

"Abby? I know this is none of my business, but may I ask what happened to Jake's wife?"

"Well, her name was Priscilla, and she and Jake were childhood sweethearts and they married right after graduation then went off to college where they both worked while Jake went to school. We helped out as much as we could, too. Rebecca came along nine months a few days later, by the way," Abby said with a smile.

"Priscilla suffered from migraine headaches since she was maybe 13 or so. Sometimes she'd be down for 3-4 days with a really bad one and it could get pretty rough between the vomiting and dizziness, and the pain was terrible. She'd get one every month or two so no one thought much about it when she started getting two a month. It wasn't until she was having trouble seeing out of one eye several days after a particularly bad headache went away that Jake made her go see the doctor. He examined her and gave her some kind of medication for migraines and told her to come back in two weeks if it didn't get better. It didn't get better and by the time they saw a specialist, the tumor was inoperable. They did what they could for the pain but..."

"Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry," she said. "Poor Jake and poor Rebecca. And you just lost your husband. Oh, Abby..."

"It was especially difficult for Jake because Priscilla passed away on Christmas eve. And that's why he doesn't attend the factory Christmas p..."

The door opened and Rebecca came running in.

"Morning, Grandma! Morning, Miss Kristen!"

"Hey, pretty girl!" Kristen said as Rebecca hugged her.

"Sorry I'm early," Jake said. "I didn't mean to cut into your breakfast time or coffee time or whatever this is."

"You're fine, Jake. We were just talking, right, Kristen?" Abby said. "Why don't you have a cup of coffee with us, honey?"

"I had one a little earlier but thanks. Take your time, Kristen. No need to rush."

Kristen finished the last sip and said, "Your timing is perfect. I just need to brush my teeth and I'll be ready to go."

Kristen was back downstairs in less than five minutes and thanked Abby again then got another hug from Rebecca before heading out.

"I kept the truck running for you," Jake told her as he helped her with her coat.

When they stepped outside she saw a very nice, new-looking truck sitting in the driveway.

"It was in the shop for an oil change yesterday," Jake told her as he helped her step up and in.

"Very nice," she said when Jake got in. "I'm not much of a truck person, but yeah, this is very nice. Not at all what I expected."

"Lemme guess. You've never even ridden in a truck before, have you?" he said with a smile.

"Is that smile of yours glued on or something?" Kristen said unable to keep from smiling back.

"I don't see any point in walking around unhappy. Life's too short to spend being feeling down. Besides, I have the best daughter—and the best cookie factory with the best employees and the best cookies—on earth. How could I not smile?"

Kristen didn't want to bring up his late wife let alone her late husband so she smiled again then said, "Good point. And for the record, I have ridden in a truck before."

She waited for a second then said, "Once. When I was maybe ten. And I don't remember it looking anything like this.

She looked around at the surroundings from the cab's interior and said, "I have to admit I kind of like riding up high like this."

"Around here, most people have at least one truck and the further you get from Davenport, the higher that percentage goes up," Jake informed her. "A car looks great, but it's not very practical when its 10 below and there's a couple of feet of snow on the road. Four-wheel drive is pretty much a necessity."

Kristen shivered just thinking about it being that cold.

"Well, I will say the heater works just fine. I'm actually warm for once."

"Good," Jake said.

A minute later he pointed out the window then told Kristen, "We're here."

She looked up and saw the big blue and white sign for Catie's Cookies and everything was exactly the way Elmer had described it in his reports. One large building in back with a smaller building up front; obviously the factory and the office.

"Let's get you inside before you freeze," Jake said as he ran around and opened her door.

"Watch your step!" he told her as he reached for her gloved hand to help her down. "There can always be black ice you can't see even when it looks clear so take small steps and be careful."

Jake closed the door and Kristen took two steps before slipping and nearly falling. Jake caught her and stopped her fall then offered her his arm.

"Thank you. That was nearly a disaster," Kristen said as she took his arm.

"Your boots are very nice looking, but they're not exactly made for walking on snow and ice," he said showing off his ever-present smile.

"Good morning, Carol!" Jake said as he let Kristen in.

"Oh, hey there, Jake! This must be the new Elmer you told me about."

Carol Adams had been with Catie's for over 20 years and knew everyone and pretty much everything associated with the factory. She smiled and welcomed Kristen who introduced herself and shook hands with the older woman.

"You didn't tell me she was a looker, Jake," Carol said not even trying to be discreet.

"I didn't know myself," he said responding to Carol but looking at Kristen. "I was expecting Elmer Sutherland and got a supermodel."

Jake winked at Kristen who had a passing fear she might blush, something she hadn't done in many, many years.

"Oh, my. Someone needs glasses!" Kristen said playing off the compliment.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm still seeing 20/20," Jake assured her. "Here, let me help you with your coat."

"I'll get you both a cup of coffee and bring it into the office, Jake," Carol said.

"You're a saint, Carol!" Jake said thanking her in advance.

Kristen entered a very small, very well-organized office with a desk, a computer, a small couch, and a filing cabinet. There was a picture on the wall that immediately caught her eye.

She was able to take a quick look without Jake noticing and Kristen saw Jake, his wife, and a very young Rebecca sitting together and smiling as they posed for the camera. Kristen wasn't at all surprised to see that his late wife had been a very beautiful woman.