The Dawn of Christmas: A Romance from the Heart of Amish Country

by Cindy Woodsmall

  Beth pointed toward the door several feet behind Mattie. “I’m having lunch on your patio as soon as Jonah arrives with it.”

  Mattie smiled. “It’s a beautiful day, even if we haven’t had a change of seasons yet.” Mattie turned to a customer and opened her portfolio of celebration cakes. She pointed one out to the woman. “This is probably similar to what you described.”

  “Yes. It’s perfect. You can make this?”

  Beth smiled as she stepped outside. She paused near the doorway, letting her eyes adjust to the sunlight.

  The patio was as new as the area they called Mattie Cakes café. There were three wrought-iron tables with a couple of chairs each and a short picket fence that connected to the store. Since the patio abutted the gravel parking lot, Jonah and Mattie’s husband, Gideon, had put in the fence mostly to keep little ones from escaping and wandering into a driver’s path.

  It was so nice to have Mattie back. She had lived three years in Berlin, Ohio, with her brother. Unfortunately, the transition from Ohio back to Apple Ridge hadn’t been easy for Mattie. She returned only because her cake shop there had burned down just before Thanksgiving last year, and her parents had insisted she come home for a while. Mattie had moved away because of a rift between Gideon and her, but once she was back home, she slowly learned of the great sacrifices he’d made to protect her from the trials he was going through. Once the truth was laid out, Mattie made it known that nothing short of death could ever keep her from Gideon again. They had married in March, and Beth had the pleasure of witnessing their love and joy make up for the time they’d been apart.

  Jonah crossed the parking lot toward her, his cane in one hand and a tray in the other. It was convenient having a home only a stone’s throw from the store.

  She opened the gate and let him in. He’d made two sandwiches and put several types of fruit in a bowl.

  “I’ll get some water from Mattie.” Jonah set the items on a table and pulled out a chair for her to prop up her feet. They were pretty good at snatching downtime together during the workday.

  Before he could turn to enter the store, Mattie brought out two glasses. “Water, anyone?”

  “Perfect.” Jonah took them from her.

  She went back inside as he sat down across from Beth. “So what’s on your mind for Sunday afternoon?”

  She shared her thoughts about having a picnic by the creek, and the conversation rolled along as if they hadn’t seen each other in months. They both looked up when Levi pulled into the lot.

  Beth stood. “This was nice.”

  Jonah got up and threw away the trash. “But work calls us back.”

  Levi toted an armload toward the service door. All three headed for the stockroom to check in the items.

  “Hey, Levi. How are you today?” Jonah asked.

  “Gut, and you?” Levi knew the routine well, so he lined up several pieces for check-in. He set a red barn trimmed in white on the floor.

  “You’ve outdone yourself.” Beth inspected the two-story building.

  He’d created wooden fences and farm animals to boot. The tiny sheep were covered in real sheepskin, and the cows had strips of rawhide glued to their wooden bodies.

  “Glad you like it.” Levi nodded, and Beth could tell he was in no mood to talk. “I have some more pieces in the wagon.”

  “Let’s bring them in.” Jonah clasped his hand on Levi’s shoulder.

  Beth grabbed the inventory clipboard and a pen and began logging the new items.

  Levi walked in carrying another cradle. “This isn’t the full order we discussed last May. I’m working on another two-story dollhouse, but it and plenty of other stuff aren’t done yet.”

  Beth couldn’t stop her smile. “I may want to keep the dollhouse you’re working on for our little one instead of selling it.”

  Jonah chuckled. “Our son won’t appreciate a dollhouse.”

  No matter how she referred to their child, as a boy or a girl, he’d pick the opposite gender to make a remark. But he never favored one or the other, because it didn’t matter to either of them. They wanted the child she was carrying. Period.

  “Levi,”—Beth scribbled a few notes in the margin of the papers—“I’ve been trying to reach Sadie and haven’t heard back from her. Next time you talk to her, would you ask her to call me?”

  “I … don’t know when that’ll be.” Levi separated the rungs of a rocking horse from the base of a highchair.

  Beth’s eyes met Jonah’s. That’s all Levi had to say? He was as guarded as they came. Consistently nice. Always polite. Quite humorous at times. But discovering what he really thought? Impossible.

  A salesclerk called for Jonah, and he headed back into the store.

  Beth returned her attention to the invoice. “Is this everything?”

  Levi counted the objects. “I think there must be two more items in the wagon … or still at the house.”

  While he ran another quick count, Beth stepped to the doorway, thinking she might spot any items in the back of his rig. Bright sunshine greeted her, and she blinked to adjust her eyes. An Amish woman in a horse-drawn wagon was pulling into the store parking lot. That was fairly common. The Amish brought their wares to Hertzlers’ regularly. But … She squinted, trying to see clearly.

  “Levi.” She turned back toward the stockroom. “I think you might be talking to Sadie today.”

  Levi joined Beth at the doorway. A broad smile changed his countenance, but she was pretty sure something else reflected in his eyes—almost as if he felt hesitant.

  As Sadie brought the wagon to a stop at the hitching post, she saw Levi coming toward her, and she couldn’t help but smile.

  He grinned. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  He tethered Bay to the post and patted her neck. “I was making a delivery.”

  She motioned to the boxes in the back of her wagon before climbing down.

  Levi moved to the back of the wagon and unhitched the tailgate. “How long will you be in Apple Ridge?”

  “Only for the weekend.” She helped remove the tailgate and slid it into the wagon. “I’ve been home in Brim for only three weeks, and my parents are already on my last nerve. Since Beth left messages saying she needed these items right away, and it was about as cheap to hire a driver as it was to ship them here, I couldn’t pass up the chance to get away for a bit and for as long as possible.”

  “Looks like you’ve been busy.” He pulled several boxes toward him and began stacking them.

  “I just hope I can make enough money to be on my way come December, because my parents are parading me around like a horse at auction.” She reached farther back into the wagon and pulled a heavy box toward her.

  Two Amish girls emerged from the same door Levi had come through a few minutes earlier.

  Levi picked up a stack of boxes. “Are these marked with what’s in them?”

  “Ya. I wrote a code on the box tops.” She pointed to the markings. “See, ‘CLG16’ means candles, large, in glass containers. There are sixteen in each box.” She pulled another box toward her. “ ‘SS36’ means small soaps, thirty-six bars.”

  He gestured toward the women heading their way. “I’m sure Beth sent them to help unload. Why don’t you stay at the wagon and tell them what’s in each box. I’ll clear out a spot in the stockroom so they can be grouped by kind. It’ll make checking them in easier.”

  “Sure. Denki.”

  Levi smiled and gave a nod before disappearing with his stack of boxes.

  Sadie climbed into the wagon and pushed more boxes toward the tailgate.

  “Hi.” A young woman waved. “Beth said you probably have some things we need to put on the shelves right away.”

  “Candles, soaps, wreaths, and dolls.” Sadie got down and stacked several lightweight boxes. “These are wreaths.”

  The woman picked up the stack. “I’m Lillian. This is Katie.”

  “Nic
e to meet you. I’m Sadie.”

  Lillian’s eyes grew wide, and she set the boxes back in the wagon. “Levi’s Sadie?” She held out her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  “Denki.” Sadie shook her hand, inwardly shooing away the thought of being called Levi’s Sadie. There were so many Amish who shared the same name that they often referred to one another by nicknames. “I’m thrilled to have a place to sell my crafts.”

  “We are so glad you found Levi’s horse.” She giggled. “And found each other in the process.”

  Ready for Lillian to stop making her feel awkward about her friendship with Levi, Sadie edged in front of her and picked up the stack of boxes. She put them in Katie’s hands. “These are wreaths,” she repeated.

  Katie grinned. “I’m with Lillian. It’s great to meet you. All of Apple Ridge has been abuzz, and so few of us have ever met you.” Katie turned and hurried into the store.

  Concern and doubts over exactly what Levi was saying about her nagged at Sadie. She created a new stack of boxes and passed them to Lillian. “These are dolls, smaller than the ones Levi uses for the highchairs and cradles.”

  “Excellent.” Lillian started to walk off.

  “Lillian?”

  The young woman turned.

  “What’s being said about me?”

  “Not much. Just that you and Levi have been seeing each other since July.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Levi’s quite a catch, and everybody thinks it’s wonderful he finally has a girlfriend.”

  Girlfriend? Sadie’s heart knotted. Levi returned with Katie right behind him.

  Lillian glanced at him and back to Sadie. “You don’t mind that being said, do you?”

  Levi clapped his hands once. “What do you have, Lillian?”

  “Dolls, small ones.”

  “Put them on the far right of the stockroom counter.”

  Lillian left, and Levi gathered several boxes and gave them to Katie. “CSNG24.” He looked at Sadie. “Candles, small, no glass, and there are twenty-four of them, right?”

  Sadie nodded. He was certainly smart enough to figure out her coding very quickly. What else had he figured out about her?

  Levi slid another lightweight box onto Katie’s stack. “Set these on the floor just inside the doorway to your left.”

  “Sure thing.” Katie left.

  Sadie’s eyes met Levi’s. “What have you been telling people?”

  The muscles in his face went from relaxed to strained, but he didn’t look at her.

  “Nothing.” He remained calm and steady as he sorted the boxes in stacks according to code.

  Was he lying to her? Did Levi find it as easy to tell lies as Daniel had? That thought was disappointing at best and infuriating at worst.

  The phone in his pocket buzzed. Short, loud, annoying rings. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID before sliding it back into his pocket.

  Lillian and Katie returned, and he gave them each a stack with instructions and followed them into the store, carrying all but the last two boxes.

  Sadie stood there, trying to make sense of who she’d thought Levi was compared to the man Lillian had just shoved in front of her face.

  Lillian returned to the wagon. “Beth is writing up an invoice for you.”

  Sadie wasn’t going to go inside the store right now. It was too much to pretend she was calm when she wanted to confront Levi. She put the last two boxes in Lillian’s arms. “Tell her I need to go. We can settle up later. Okay?”

  “You’re sure?”

  Right now, all she knew was that she needed to leave before she started an argument in front of everyone. “I’m sure. Denki.”

  Sadie climbed onto the bench of the wagon.

  Levi strode back. “You’re leaving already?”

  “I’ll ask you again. What have you been telling people?”

  “Nothing.” He shifted. “I mean, really, you know how people are.”

  This man right here, evading her questions and looking guilty, wasn’t anything like the Levi she thought she knew.

  “I think I’m beginning to understand how you are.” With the reins in hand, she then realized she hadn’t untied Bay from the post. “Do you mind untying my horse?”

  His phone rang again. He ignored it this time and did as she asked. “What did Lillian and Katie say?”

  “Oh, something about my being your girlfriend!”

  A myriad of emotions crossed his face, beginning with surprise and ending with resignation. “Ya, about that … It’s just people talking.”

  He had no idea how much she detested men who hid behind false behavior. It now tainted everything she’d thought or felt about Levi.

  “Maybe you’re new to how a woman would feel about what’s happening here, so I’ll clue you in. Honesty and an apology would be really wise moves about now. Anything less is just disappointing.” She’d hoped to see a reflection of the true Levi in his countenance, but instead he seemed annoyed.

  His jaw clenched. “I can admit I was wrong but not as bad as you’re making it out to be. You’re just doing the typical female thing. I saw Eva do that to my brother hundreds of times—make a mountain out of a molehill.”

  Once she’d asked about Andy’s wife, and he’d said she was gone. What sort of man bad-mouthed someone who’d died? Did Sadie not know Levi any better than she’d known Daniel?

  His phone buzzed again, and he simply stood there, staring at her as if they were strangers. Maybe they were.

  “Would you answer that thing already?”

  Levi pulled it from his pocket and pressed a button. “What?” He snapped the word out, and she startled. She’d never seen this side of him before. “He’s here with the horses already?” Levi frowned and listened. “Okay, I’ll be there soon.” He said nothing for a moment. “I said okay.” Levi disconnected the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket. “I need to go.”

  “Fine. Go.” She tugged the right rein, steering Bay away from the hitching post. “Geh.” Bay started toward the exit of the parking lot.

  A few moments later Levi strode toward the horse’s head and grabbed the leather cheeks of Bay’s bridle, stopping her. His hand moved down the horse’s neck, probably subconsciously assuring the animal she was safe. Animals he understood, but he studied Sadie as if disappointed in her.

  Sadie’s heart pounded. She’d thought they were friends, had been absolutely sure she liked who he was. Sometimes her ability to see what she wanted to see in someone astounded her. “So you have nothing to say to me?”

  He shook his head. “I guess not.”

  “Geh!” She steered Bay out of the parking lot. Why had she ever come to Apple Ridge?

  Levi could not believe himself. He watched as Sadie drove the rig from the parking lot and down the long road. Was he like an unreliable and high-strung horse that Sadie hated dealing with?

  She’d been really good to him and was probably the sole reason his rescue included thorough medical help, the kind that ensured he took proper care of his injured neck. And he actually liked her. He respected who she was and admired her strength to politely stand against what their people expected of her.

  He didn’t know much else right now, but it was obvious he shouldn’t have balked at what she’d demanded from him: an apology and honesty.

  Jonah came up beside him with a clipboard filled with papers. “She left without stepping inside.”

  “Ya.”

  Levi had told himself to apologize to her. When he’d stopped her horse, he intended to tell her the truth. He’d wanted to say he was sorry. Instead, he’d just stood there. Whatever possessed him to use Sadie to make his life easier?

  “Okay, here are the records for everything you brought in today.” Jonah pulled copies of the receipts from the clipboard. “Should I give you Sadie’s invoices too?”

  “Probably not. If I tried to pass them on to her, she’d likely tear them up without looking to see what they are.” Levi rolled up t
he receipts and swatted them against his leg. “I guess I messed up the meeting Sadie should’ve had with Beth.”

  “Businesswise, we can sort out everything with Sadie another day.”

  “Businesswise,” Levi mumbled, watching Sadie’s carriage disappear over a hill. “I don’t think that’ll help me at all.”

  Jonah stared at the horizon. “I don’t know what happened, but I believe you are right about that.”

  Levi shoved the rolled-up papers into his pocket. “Apologizing to a woman doesn’t come easy, does it?”

  Jonah scratched the side of his face. “No, but it gets easier—for you and her.”

  Levi had never needed to apologize to a woman before, not really, certainly not like this. Oh, he’d apologized for some thoughtless incident at a church meeting or family gathering or such, for spilling a drink on a clean floor or nonsense like that. Those apologies came easy. The words flowed out of his mouth without his needing to think about them.

  Apologizing to Sadie, though. That would’ve required him to make himself vulnerable. When he’d looked into her fiery eyes, it’d felt as if a team of wild horses couldn’t have dragged the words out of him.

  Levi debated whether to go home where work waited for him or to rush after Sadie. “This was my first argument with a girl. Not that I said much. But she sure said plenty.”

  Jonah chuckled. “Beth and I had our first argument the day she realized who I was. Long story, but I have to say you’ve nailed exactly how it went and how it felt. I think it’s a female thing. They’re usually more emotional than we are, and they’ve spent a lifetime trying to understand how they feel. They can think fast and argue with the past, present, and future in mind.” He dug the bottom of his cane into the gravel. “If a couple cares for each other, though, you’ll both learn to fight fair, and then you’ll come away with a better understanding of her and yourself.”

  Levi stared at the storm clouds on the horizon. He wasn’t interested in all that, but he did want to keep Sadie as a friend. He wanted letters from her when she was in the mission field. He wanted visits with her when she returned home. Twenty years from now, when they were both turning gray and their families had finally accepted who they were, he wanted to be on her to-visit list whenever she returned to the States.