The Amish Christmas Matchmaker, page 19
“He probably won’t.”
“Which means we won’t be going to bed until late.”
“Exactly.”
Levi pulled off his hat, an Amish hat made of straw with a wide brim. He dropped it on the porch floor and ran his hands through his hair. She’d need to cut it again soon. It was already tickling his collar.
“I suppose that’ll give me another chance to beat you at Scrabble.”
“You wish.”
He went into their house and fetched two glasses of lemonade. She should have thought of that, but the truth was, she’d slept while Eli had slept, and she wasn’t fully awake yet. The doctor had said her tiredness was completely normal given the twins she was carrying.
“I spoke with Jebediah today.”
“Ya?”
“He said he’s going into Hamilton tomorrow for the animal auction. Believe it or not he wants to buy a colt for his son.”
“Joshua is hardly old enough for that.”
“So I told him.” Levi grinned at her. “He asked if I wanted to go along.”
“And do you?”
“Of course. Your older bruder is going to need a buggy horse.”
Slowly her entire family was moving to Texas. They’d settled on the same land that Levi had first scouted—the land that had belonged to Betty and Buddy Johnston. Dry-land farming was difficult, even more difficult than in Indiana, but they were making it. Her parents had been with the first group that moved. She and Levi had moved with the second group, though he’d put his deposit down on a portion of Buddy’s land. Profits from her wedding business had helped to pay off the loan.
They hadn’t moved as soon as they’d married, partly because Annie had been pregnant with Eli by that time. Instead they’d waited, corresponded regularly with the dozen families who had set up the community, and prayed about what to do next.
Eighteen months ago they’d made the move. The new community wasn’t so small anymore. It had grown to nearly twenty families—families that were adding little ones regularly. By the time Eli was a grown man, Gotte willing, they’d be ready to split into two districts.
For now, they were still small enough that they didn’t need a wedding trailer, not yet. But she wrote to Priscilla every week. Her friend would be moving to Texas in a few months, and they had plans to start a smaller catering business that included an Amish bakery the following spring.
The sun dropped farther down the wide expanse of Texas sky, sending out bands of pink and purple and lavender.
“It’s beautiful,” Levi said.
“Ya, it’s as gut as you described back when you were trying to convince us to come to Texas.”
Levi laughed, drained his glass and placed it on the wooden crate between them. He stood and walked over to her rocker—stopped behind it and placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“I wasn’t talking about the view.”
“You weren’t?”
“Or the sunset.”
“It is beautiful, though.”
“I was talking about you.” He kissed her cheek, then said softly, “Stay where you are. Supper can wait. I’ll take this little one and go clean us both up.”
As he walked into the house, she did what he said.
Dinner could wait.
She could hear Eli talking in his baby language to Levi.
She placed her hands on the mound that used to be her stomach. “Promise me you won’t ride in the rodeo,” she said to the babies. She’d been to see several, and she couldn’t imagine letting any boy of hers ride a bull, or any girl of hers chase lambs. She wanted to keep them safe. She wanted to protect them against anything and everything.
Of course that wasn’t her job to do. Gotte would do that, the same way He’d kept her safe during the accident, the same way He’d brought her and Levi together.
She sat in the rocker, watching the first of the stars make their appearance, and realized—again—just how happy she was. She didn’t have to worry about whether her oldest bruder would like Texas as much as they did, or if it would rain the next week. She could do her best each day and that was enough—which at the moment meant sitting on the front porch rocking and soaking in the blessings of her life.
* * *
If you loved this story,
pick up the other books in the
Indiana Amish Brides series,
A Widow’s Hope
Amish Christmas Memories
A Perfect Amish Match
from bestselling author
Vannetta Chapman.
Available now from Love Inspired!
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Keep reading for an excerpt from Her Amish Holiday Suitor by Carrie Lighte.
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Dear Reader,
Have you ever cherished a dream in your heart—something that was so important to you that you viewed everything else through the lens of what you hoped would happen? A dream can be a wonderful thing. But what about when our dreams blind us to the path in front of us? What happens when the things we are convinced should happen, don’t?
Annie Kauffmann believes she is happy helping other people’s dreams come true. She’s a nurturer, a hard worker and a kind person. She’s settled for a far different dream than she once had—when she believed that she would find true love, marry a kind man and raise a family. Now she’s convinced that while God grants those things for other people, for her, life has taken a different path. She focuses on her work, on making others happy, on finding financial security.
Levi Lapp is pursuing the dream that he has held close since he was a young child when life was simple and good, before he learned that not everyone could be trusted. Before he had his heart broken not by romantic love but by those adults who were supposed to guide him into adulthood. He longs to find his way back to a time when he still held hope and optimism about the future, and he’s convinced the way to do that is to go back to the physical place where he experienced the happiest years of his youth.
Annie and Levi are so busy pursuing what they are sure will make them happy, that they almost miss the blessings God has laid out for them.
I hope you enjoyed reading this book. I welcome comments and letters at vannettachapman@gmail.com.
May we continue to always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20).
Blessings,
Vannetta
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Her Amish Holiday Suitor
by Carrie Lighte
Chapter One
“You did what?” Nick Burkholder asked as he guided his horse along the dark, winding country roads of Willow Creek, Pennsylvania. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and he and his brother were on their way to a singing at Frederick Stutzman’s house. Their plan was to make a brief appearance and then leave to hang out with Nick’s Amish friends from Elmsville at an eatery in Highland Springs.
“On Friday night I, uh, sort of started a fire in Jenny Nelson’s cabin,” seventeen-year-old Kevin repeated, referring to the vacation house of an Englisch acquaintance.
The redheaded brothers were known for kidding around, so Nick assumed Kevin was joking. “Oh, I get it. You mean you started a fire in their fireplace. You sounded so serious you had me going for a minute there. Voll schpass.”
“I wish it were very funny,” Kevin replied, using the Englisch term for voll schpass. It seemed to Nick his brother had picked up more Englisch phrases and habits during the first six months of his rumspringa than Nick had learned during the entirety of his own five-year running around period.
Kevin’s voice was somber as he continued. “I mean, jah, initially I was trying to start a fire in the fireplace, but one of the newspaper logs I rolled must have—”
“Kevin!” Nick cut him off. “You should know better than to use newspaper logs after all the warnings Daed’s given you!”
“I just thought—”
“Neh, that’s just the problem. You didn’t think at all,” Nick retorted, ironically using the same words his father often used when lecturing him. He brought the buggy to a standstill at the side of the road and turned to face Kevin. “Please tell me no one was injured.”
“Neh. But there was a little superficial damage to the walls and ceiling.”
Kevin proceeded to tell Nick he must have been distracted by the other guests summoning him into the kitchen to eat, because he forgot to close the protective mesh screen on the fireplace. He reckoned when someone opened the door to the cabin it created a back draft, and ash from the dry newspaper logs was swept through the air, because the next thing anyone knew, a pair of window curtains caught fire. The flames quickly leaped to a dried floral wreath hanging on the wall nearby, and before Jenny could retrieve the extinguisher, the wood paneling and ceiling had been burned, too.
Nick’s mind was reeling, and he could hardly focus on the additional details Kevin provided about the mishap. If only Nick had attended the party with him, the fire probably wouldn’t have happened. But Nick’s parents had requested Nick stay behind and help take inventory at the hardware store his father owned.
“You just went out on Wednesday night. You’re too old to be gallivanting around at every opportunity,” his mother had said in a tone that indicated she meant business. “Your daed needs your help organizing and stocking up on specialty products the Englisch buy for Grischtdaag. Friday evening is the only opportunity he has.”
Nick couldn’t refuse. At twenty-one, he’d stretched out his rumspringa longer than almost anyone in his church district, which was a point of contention between his parents and him. They strongly implied if he didn’t decide to join the church soon, he’d have to move out on his own. While he wouldn’t be shunned, it would be disgracing for the entire family if he lived apart from them but stayed in the Amish community without being baptized into the church.
The choice should have been an easy one, and deep down, Nick had already made up his mind. He loved God, he loved being Amish and he loved his community. By now he knew that although some aspects of Englisch life were appealing, he had no desire to “go Englisch” for good. But he was also keenly aware that as long as he didn’t join the church, he wouldn’t be permitted to marry an Amish woman. And although he had courted most of the eligible young women in Willow Creek, as well as several from the Elmsville district, he hadn’t met anyone he considered compatible enough to marry. Apparently, the same wasn’t true for how the women felt about him; when he inevitably broke up with them, the women often expressed deep disappointment. Worse, they cried as if there were no tomorrow, no matter how gentle or diplomatic he tried to be about ending their courtship.
To Nick it seemed the women he courted didn’t really care whether they were compatible with him. It was as if they were more interested in being married than being in a marriage relationship. Granted, there was no mandate requiring Nick to get married once he joined the church, but it was generally expected. Once he was baptized, the pressure—especially from his mother—would really kick in. So, by prolonging his rumspringa, Nick was securing his bachelorhood just a little longer. Meanwhile, someone new might move to town. After all, a spouse was a gift from the Lord, and who could say when and how the Lord might give him that gift?
Kevin spoke again, jarring Nick from his thoughts. “Jenny said if I pay for the repairs, she’ll hire a contractor and then she won’t have to tell her folks about the fire. So, can you lend me the money? Since we’re passing Jenny’s house on the way to Highland Springs, I sort of promised her I’d let her know tonight.”
“Are you narrish?” Nick asked, calling his brother crazy. “I cleaned out my savings to purchase Penny last spring.”
Penny, named for the color of his coat, was the horse Nick bought from an Amish man who had acquired the animal at a harness racing track. It wasn’t unusual for the Amish to purchase American standardbred horses, which were most commonly used for buggy pulling, and Penny was a particularly fine gelding. Only four years old, he was exceptionally fast and strong, although not quite up to competition speed. As such, he cost more than the four-thousand-dollar limit most of Willow Creek’s Amish spent on a horse, but Nick had saved for years. When he took Penny out for a test run, he immediately knew the swift, powerful, high-spirited animal was exactly what he wanted.
The cost was another point of contention between him and his parents, who thought it was foolish to splurge when an older, less expensive standardbred would have served his transportation needs adequately for years to come. His parents thought the purchase was prideful, but Nick wasn’t seeking admiration; it was the speed and agility the horse provided that drew Nick to him. True, Penny could only safely run so fast when he was hitched to the buggy, but Nick had made adjustments to streamline his buggy, too. Those adjustments had cost him every last cent he had, and he reiterated that he was in no position to help his brother financially.
“Oh.” In the dim light, Nick saw Kevin’s features droop as he lifted his hat and swiped at his forehead. “I guess I’m going to have to tell Daed then.”
“That’s not a gut idea. You know how concerned he’s been about finances ever since Harper’s Hardware opened across town. And you know how worried Mamm is about his blood pressure and stress levels.”
Kevin shrugged. “I don’t know what else to do.”
Nick rubbed his forehead. He didn’t know what else to do, either, but telling their father was the last thing he could allow. Not only was he concerned about adding to his parents’ burdens, but somehow Nick knew he’d get blamed for introducing Kevin to a group of “wild Englischers”—even if they were all very respectable Christians and the fire was solely Kevin’s fault. Undoubtedly, his father would be so angry about Kevin’s carelessness that he’d finally put his foot down about Nick’s rumspringa coming to an end, too. Nick couldn’t let that happen.
“Give me a minute. I’ll think of something,” he said.
* * *
Twenty-year-old Lucy Knepp dawdled in the kitchen, drying the last pot. Usually the Amish didn’t eat a large supper on the Sabbath, but there were so many leftovers from Thanksgiving they had dirtied half a dozen pans reheating the food. Lucy’s stepsisters, Mildred and Katura, stepped into the kitchen just as she was hanging up the dishcloth.
“There you are.” Mildred sounded triumphant, as if it were unusual to find Lucy cleaning up after supper.
Actually, Lucy did the majority of the housework, cooking and baking for her family. Born eight weeks prematurely, she had suffered respiratory problems since birth, which prevented her from helping with yard work, gardening and cleaning the stable, so she tried to make up for it by taking on more chores inside their home.
“You must kumme with us to Frederick’s haus for the singing. We’re also going to plan our Grischtdaag caroling rehearsal schedule,” Katura announced.
Lucy didn’t want to go with them. For one thing, Frederick had passed several notes to her at previous singings, a sure sign he was preparing to ask to be her suitor. Even though she’d tactfully but distinctly ignored his pursuit, his interest hadn’t waned. Frederick was a nice enough young man, but Lucy had no interest in being courted by him. She had no interest in being courted by any of the single men in Willow Creek, for that matter. By and large they seemed too rambunctious and unreliable for her to imagine ever becoming a wife to one of them.
Likewise, Lucy had long ago accepted that she wasn’t the kind of vibrant, vivacious woman most Willow Creek boys would want to court. With the exception of Frederick, who probably liked her because she was the only eligible woman who was shorter than he was—not to mention that his rather aggressive mother was especially fond of Lucy. Lucy had overheard enough comments to understand the bachelors in Willow Creek considered her personality to be dull. She realized her physical appearance didn’t appeal to the men her age, either. She had plain brown eyes and ordinary brown hair. Her only distinctive features were her glasses—which earned her the nickname “Bug Eyes” in school—and her petite size, which made it even easier for young men to overlook her.
“You go ahead without me,” Lucy suggested to her stepsisters. “I’ll stay and help Betty clean up.” Lucy had never known her own mother, who had died in childbirth, but in the five years since Betty had become her stepmother, Lucy still couldn’t bring herself to call Betty “Mamm,” and she was glad when Betty didn’t insist.
