Page 5 of H & G Restorations

Chapter

Five

T he front door stood open as they arrived. Gretel hugged herself and peeked over at Hans as he pulled the large construction truck into the driveway. “He knows how to make us feel welcome, doesn’t he?”

“Definitely.”

She popped open her door as soon as he came to a complete stop. Scrambling out of the tall truck, Gretel rushed up the stairs. The aroma wrapped around her as she got close. Fresh bread? Who baked bread anymore?

“Do you smell that?” she whispered to Hans.

“Come in!” Magnus’s voice boomed through the screen door.

Looking up, she spotted him framed in the doorway wearing a white chef’s apron emblazoned with Kiss the Chef! Gretel laughed and stepped through the door into his arms. She had to do what he said, right?

Panting slightly in reaction to the tantalizing kiss that had taken her breath away, Gretel ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth as the chef embraced Hans just as eagerly. There was no mistaking the flavor that had lingered on Magnus’s tongue. Italian! Her favorite.

Hans beat her to it. “You taste amazing!”

“Wait until you take that first bite,” Magnus tempted with waggling eyebrows.

“Bring it on. We’re starving,” Gretel shared.

“Leave your shoes by the door and go wash your hands.”

“Yes, sir!” Hans looked like he’d agree with anything to make sure he got to eat. He toed off his shoes and lined them up against the wall as Gretel did the same.

Racing in the direction their host pointed, Gretel jostled with Hans at the door to the bathroom.

She washed her hands, eager to get the grime of the day off and even splashed water over her face and neck to remove the grit of the worksite.

Grimacing at the dirt she left on the towel on the rack, Gretel regretted that decision.

“It’s okay, sweet pea. He won’t mind and you feel better.” Hans followed her example. After washing and drying his skin, the towel looked even grimier. Slinging it over his shoulder, Hans led the way out of the small washroom.

Gretel followed in his footsteps. She wasn’t going to let Hans eat everything before she got some.

“Sorry, Magnus. We got the towel grimy. I can take it home and wash it,” Hans offered, taking responsibility.

“No way. I’m glad you made yourself at home. Go throw it in the washer,” Magnus directed, waving his hand toward a door off the kitchen. “Then, come sit down.”

Gretel hesitated at the table, not sure where to sit.

“Either on my left or my right, Little girl.”

Magnus allowed her to choose. Next to each of the table settings was a folded piece of fabric. One was decorated with teddy bears and the other with bunnies. Instantly, she headed for the one on the right. As she slid into her seat, she traced a finger over one pair of long ears.

“I thought you’d like the bunnies,” Magnus commented as he reached over her shoulder to pick up the material and unfold it.

“You’re over there.” Gretel pointed to help Hans when he returned. She froze when Magnus wrapped the protective cloth around her neck and fastened it.

A bib? She waited to see Hans’s reaction before she said anything.

“I don’t want you to get sauce all over yourself,” Magnus confirmed her silent guess as he secured the teddy bear one.

To her surprise, Hans didn’t make a silly joke or refuse to wear it.

He simply glanced to double check that the front door was now secure and that no one could see into the kitchen windows.

Magnus sat down between them and held out his hands to each side.

Automatically, Gretel and Hans placed their palms against his.

“Thank you for joining me for dinner tonight. At my evening meal, I always celebrate something special that happened in my day. I’ll invite you both to join my tradition by sharing a great memory from your day,” Magnus explained.

“Today, two incredible professionals began working to bring my new home back to life. I am so excited to see what happens to it,” he told them with a meaningful glance to both guests.

Hans nodded at Gretel signaling her to go next. She cleared her throat and announced, “I pulled down a bunch of spiderwebs and avoided getting insects in my hair.”

Once it was out of her mouth, Gretel felt silly. Why had she chosen that to share?

“Ugh! I would not like to have eight-legged animals crawling around on my head. That is indeed something to celebrate,” Magnus commented, squeezing her hand.

“It’s silly,” Gretel mumbled, peeking up at him.

“Nothing that brightens your day is silly,” Magnus assured her with a smile.

“I don’t want any spiders in my hair either,” Hans agreed before adding sadly, “That usually happens at least once or twelve times a day. I wasn’t as lucky as you today.”

“Tell Magnus what you found!” Gretel suggested.

“Definitely, that was my fun for the day. I pulled down a section of wall to check out the wiring and found a bunch of old recipes. The names were strange: gingerbread shingles, peppermint windows, fudge stepping-stones, and a few more.”

“Sounds like someone’s recipes for a house made of sweets,” Magnus said with a delighted grin. “I wonder how they ended up in the walls?”

“I scooted a kitchen cabinet out to get to the wall. There was a gap in the wallboards. Maybe they just slid in there?” Hans suggested. “We find a lot of strange things inside older houses: newspapers, photos, etc. I have a box I stow things the owner might like to keep.”

“That will be a magic box. Thank you for taking care of the special treats you come across. I’ll look forward to seeing all the surprises inside,” Magnus enthused.

“That’s much better than my spiders,” Gretel whispered under her breath.

“This isn’t a competition, little girl. The smallest—or in your case, avoiding the smallest—things can make a tremendous impact on your day. That’s incredibly important. Thank you both for celebrating something from your day,” Magnus said before asking, “How about something to eat?”

“It smells amazing,” Hans said, sitting up straighter.

Magnus reached forward to open a large casserole dish sitting in the center of the table. Setting the lid aside, he picked up Gretel’s plate and placed a piece of chicken smothered in sauce and cheese on one side and a healthy serving of spaghetti on the other. He set it in front of her.

“Thank you. Mmm,” Gretel said, leaning over her plate to sniff the delicious scent.

“You’re welcome.”

Dishing up a second plate, Magnus placed it in front of Hans before fixing his own. “Oh, fiddlesticks! I forgot the bread. Eat, little ones, while it’s hot. I’ll be back in a second.”

Gretel didn’t move to pick up her fork. It seemed rude to eat without their host. She leaned back over to sniff again and jumped when Magnus’s hand smoothed over her back.

“Eat, Gretel. You’re hungry. Here’s a breadstick,” he encouraged, setting a long golden-brown piece of bread on her plate.

Immediately, she lifted it to her mouth and hummed with delight. “Yum!” she mumbled as she chewed.

“I’m glad you like it.” Magnus kissed the top of her head before adding in a whisper, “Don’t talk with your mouth full, sweetness. I don’t want you to choke.”

Silently celebrating the delicious taste, she wiggled happily in her chair as she devoured the treat. It was easy to taste that this wasn’t frozen from a box and full of chemicals. He had crafted it from scratch—for them.

Magnus placed another on each of their plates without a comment. Gretel looked over to see Hans popping the last bite of his first into his mouth. He loved them, too. She saluted him with a wave of her treat.

When the dynamic bread maker rejoined them at the table, she swallowed carefully and said, “You’re spoiling us.”

“That’s what Daddies do. Try the spaghetti. Littles can’t live on breadsticks alone.”

“I could,” Hans volunteered cheerfully before swirling his fork in his pasta and trying it. His smile of approval said it all, so Gretel dived in.

Magnus filled the silence as they took the edge off their hunger with the first few bites.

“I had a great day as well. After visiting the house, I drove around the area to get a feel for my new neighborhood. I ended up at a farmhouse to the west. They were very friendly and glad to hear that the house was getting a makeover. I heard some great things about you two as well.”

“Nice. Was that the Sullivans?” Hans asked.

“Yes. They said you’d done some work for them on a guest cottage. You did such a great job their aunt had decided to stay. They forgive you, though.”

“That’s amazing. I wouldn’t have left either. The design was completely charming,” Gretel said with a big smile. The combination of knowing their hard work was appreciated as well as the delicious food made all their efforts worthwhile.

“Another H & G positive review!” crowed Hans.

“I hear a lot of those. You two have made quite an impression on the community,” Magnus complimented.

“That’s the biggest win. We wanted to build a positive reputation in the community,” Gretel shared.

“I got the impression that I’d benefitted from hiring you two as well. It seems that everyone believes I must be a smart cookie to have chosen your company,” Magnus shared. “Thanks for making me look good.”

“You’d look good anywhere,” Gretel said before realizing that her words could be taken for more than just a compliment on his intelligence. She felt her cheeks heat and knew she was blushing. Quickly, she concentrated on her plate, hoping neither man read into her words.

Magnus didn’t comment, but simply wrapped his hand over hers and squeezed reassuringly. She peeked up at him and found him smiling.

“Eat, little girl.”

Feeling less self-conscious, she took another bite. Gretel let the two men’s conversation waft over her as she relaxed and enjoyed her food. With her hunger satisfied, weariness crashed over her. A big yawn escaped her control and she quickly covered her mouth, hoping her host hadn’t seen.

“Finish your food. Then it’s bath time and bed for you,” Magnus declared.

“That sounds heavenly, but I have a few things to plan before bed,” she confessed.

“Everything can wait until tomorrow. Look at Hans. He’s as tired as you are. I bet if you go to bed, he will as well.”

“I’m wiped too, Gretel. We tackled some big chores today.” Hans set his fork down to rub a hand over his face. “I’m sorry, we’ll have to head home soon.”

“I think you’re too exhausted to drive home safely. I have plenty of room. You can shower and crash here. I’ll throw your clothes into the washer and you will have them fresh for tomorrow,” Magnus decreed.

“Oh, we couldn’t impose on you,” Gretel rushed to refuse nicely.

“You’re doing me a favor. I get more time with you.

I’ll go start the bath with bubbles. There’s room for you both.

What time do you need to get up?” Magnus questioned.

Waving off their protests after Hans named a ridiculously early time, Magnus set his napkin down and strode from the room to set the alarm and start the water in the tub.

“We can’t stay, right?” Gretel asked Hans. She really wanted to spend more time with the man she thought could be her Daddy. How would they know without being around him as much as possible?

“I didn’t know how tired I was, Gretel. You’d have to sing to me all the way home to make sure I didn’t fall asleep behind the wheel.”

“Then we stay. A bath sounds so good. You’ll take one with me?”

“My back is doing somersaults at the thought of soaking in a warm tub.”

“Perfect. The water is warming,” Magnus announced as he returned to the kitchen. “Are you finished eating?”

“Yes, sir,” Hans answered. “It was delicious.”

“I’m glad. And you, little girl? Do you want another bite?”

“No way. I’m stuffed. Thank you for feeding us,” Gretel said, pushing her chair back to stand. “We’ll do the dishes.”

“You’ll carry your plate to the kitchen and set it on the counter. That will help your Daddy. Then it’s off to the bath for you.” Magnus shooed them down the hallway, promising to come grab their clothes for the laundry and bring them something to wear to bed.

Gretel followed the sound of the pouring water.

Walking through the master bedroom, she discovered a huge bathtub.

A groan of delight whispered from her lips and she pulled her shirt over her head and unfastened her pants.

Eager to wash the grime of the day off, she finished undressing in record time and stopped to potty quickly before turning off the water and getting in the tub.

Hans followed her almost immediately. As he settled against the opposite end, he stretched out his long legs with a groan of contentment. “This is heaven.” Scooping up an armful of bubbles, he smoothed them over his chest.

“Don’t hog all the bubbles, Hans!” Gretel protested, gathering a mound against her chest.

“Littles, share!” Magnus directed as he stepped into the bathroom with a smile. “That looks like fun. Let me throw these clothes into the washer, and I’ll bring you some clothes to put on when you get out.”

When he left, Gretel looked at Hans. “On a scale of one to ten, how much do you think he’s our Daddy?”

“Twelve.”

“Me, too. I don’t know how I know. I just do,” she agreed with an enormous yawn. Closing her eyes, she melted against the back of the tub.