Patricia Davids Christmas Brides of Amish Country: An Amish ChristmasThe Christmas QuiltA Hope Springs Christmas

by Patricia Davids

  He nodded his thanks and finished it in two bites.

  Moses pulled an envelope from his pocket. “The mail came. You have a letter from Grandmother.”

  Atlee said, “I hope she’s sending Grace home.”

  Levi did, too. He tore open the letter and began to read his grandmother’s spidery handwriting.

  “What does she say?” Atlee leaned closer.

  “She is thrilled to have Grace with her. Looks like Grace intends to stay until the week after Christmas.”

  “That’s not too long.” Atlee didn’t look thrilled with the news.

  Moses rolled his eyes. “I thought she’d hot-foot it back here to be with Henry.”

  Levi read the next sentence and stopped. “This can’t be right.”

  “What?” Moses and Atlee asked together.

  “I’m to be thankful Grace’s friend has agreed to be a matchmaker for me.” Levi couldn’t believe what he was reading. Grace’s friend? Was she referring to Sarah?

  Moses took a bite of his sandwich. “Grandmother must be getting senile.”

  “Reckon so,” Levi said, but he kept reading.

  Give somber consideration to each woman that is presented to you. A pretty face does not a good wife make. A woman who is devout, who loves God and keeps His commandments, that is a woman who has a beautiful soul. Love grows from respect and shared experiences. Be kind and receive kindness in return. Love and receive love in return.

  Suddenly, all that had been happening since Grace left began to make sense to Levi. Sarah inviting Sally to work with them. Sarah convincing him Leah wanted him to look over her buggy. Sarah inviting Joann to join their fishing trip.

  Sarah was matchmaking. Trotting him out like a prized horse for consideration.

  As if he couldn’t find a wife by himself if he wanted one! He hadn’t looked seriously because a wife might not want to move to Colorado if she had family in Ohio.

  It had been his father’s dream long before it became Levi’s. His mother had kept his father from going. She had refused to move one step farther west from her family in Pennsylvania. Levi remembered his father’s caution on the subject of choosing the right spouse all too well.

  Had Grace suggested this matchmaking scheme? Why? Oh, how Sarah must have laughed. The wretched woman, how could she? Were all her friends in on the joke?

  He had waited patiently for Sarah to marry for five long years, and now she was wife-shopping for him?

  Well, two could play at matchmaking. If he was fair game, so was she. There were any number of men who would be happy to hear that the pretty widow Sarah Wyse was finally on the lookout for a husband.

  She hadn’t asked him if he wanted to meet potential wives. He saw no reason to ask her if she wanted to meet potential husbands. When the shoe was on the other foot, she wouldn’t be laughing then.

  What he needed was a strategy. He couldn’t think with his brothers staring at him. “I’m going out.”

  “But it’s raining,” Atlee pointed out.

  “I’ve got a hat. A little water won’t hurt me.”

  * * *

  Sarah couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but when Levi came back from lunch, something was different about him. He had a hard look in his eyes when he stared at her. His coat was soaked and his hat was dripping all over her freshly cleaned floor.

  He said, “I’m going over to the café. The boys didn’t leave me but two bites of a sandwich.”

  “I can make you some scrambled eggs or a grilled cheese sandwich if you don’t want to go that far.”

  “No, I like the food at the Shoofly Pie Café. I won’t be long.”

  “All right. Have a nice lunch.”

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s going to be a fine one. I can feel it in my bones.”

  She puzzled over his comment, but didn’t know what to make of it. He was back a little over an hour later. When he took his coat off, she saw his shirt was damp and he had a smear of what looked like blueberries across the front of it. She said, “It looks like the pie was good, how was the rest of your meal?”

  He patted his stomach. “The meal and the company were fine. You have no idea how many men eat lunch at the café.”

  “Mostly the single ones, I reckon. Those who don’t have a wife to cook for them at home.”

  He grinned and pointed a finger at her. “You are correct.”

  “You’re soaking wet. You should go change.”

  “I’m a grown man. I’ll change my clothes when I’m ready and not before. I’ll change my life when I’m ready and not before.”

  “Levi, you’re acting very strange.”

  “Am I? What could have brought that on?”

  “Are you feeling well?”

  His grin faded. “Nee, I’m not.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “You’ve done enough, Sarah Wyse. You’ve done more than enough.” He left her and went into the office, closing the door behind him. She was left to puzzle over his behavior for the rest of the afternoon.

  The sun came out shortly after one o’clock. When the twins came in, Sarah left them in charge at the counter and took the opportunity to go home and get her wash done. If the rain held off, her clothes would be dry by the time she left work.

  She was back at the shop an hour later. The twins were where she had left them. They hadn’t done much work at all. When four o’clock rolled around, she tapped on the office door.

  “What is it?” Levi asked from inside.

  “I’m going home now.”

  “Fine.” He sneezed loudly.

  Sarah frowned at the door. Was he upset with her? She hadn’t done anything to anger him. Perhaps he and Leah had a quarrel after...after she saw them in each other’s arms.

  Whatever was wrong, it wouldn’t be solved by lurking outside Levi’s office. She had plenty of work waiting at home. She had oodles of baking to get done before her family arrived.

  As she crossed the street, she noticed rain clouds rolling in again from the north. She rushed inside the house and grabbed a laundry basket, intent on getting her clothes in before the rain undid all the sun’s work. She had just started taking down her sheets when the first sprinkles splattered against her kapp and face.

  From behind her, she heard a man’s voice. “Let me give you a hand with these, Sarah.”

  Startled, she turned to see Jacob Gingerich pulling clothespins from her pillowcases. “Danki, Jacob. What are you doing here?”

  “I was passing by and decided to stop in for a visit. How are you?”

  She bundled the last of her clothing into a basket and lifted it. “I’m fine. Won’t you come inside for some kaffi?”

  His grin widened. He took the basket from her. “I was hoping you would say that.”

  His joy seemed out of proportion to her simple offer of coffee. Sarah led the way inside the house.

  Jacob Gingerich worked in Daniel Hershberger’s lumber mill. He was fairly new to the Hope Springs area, having come from Indiana to find work. He wasn’t married, and she knew him only from having seen him at the church services. She could think of no reason for him to be passing by her house because Daniel’s mill and the farm where Jacob lived were on the other side of town.

  She said, “Just set the basket on the floor and have a seat at the table. It will only take me a few minutes to get some coffee going.”

  He set the basket down, then hung his coat and his hat on one of the pegs by her front door.

  She moved to the sink to fill the coffee pot with fresh water. Looking out, she noticed Andy Bowman getting out of his buggy at her front gate. He had a large paper sack in his hand with the Shoofly Pie Café logo on the front. She looked at Jacob. “Are you expecting Andy
Bowman?”

  He frowned. “Nee, I’m not. Why do you ask?”

  “Because he’s coming up my front walk.” She moved to open the door for him.

  “Good afternoon, Sarah Wyse,” Andy said in a booming voice.

  “Hello, Andy. What brings you here?”

  He thrust the paper bag toward her. “I thought you might enjoy a supper that you didn’t have to cook. I had Naomi Wadler pack up some of her fried chicken, potato salad and shoofly pie.”

  One male visitor was unusual. Two single men showing up at her door unannounced smacked of her aunt Emma’s matchmaking meddling.

  Sarah opened the door wide. “Come in, Andy. Jacob Gingerich and I were about to have some coffee.”

  She stepped aside. Andy hung up his coat and hat beside Jacob’s. The men scowled at each other briefly, but were cordial to one another.

  As it turned out, it was a good thing that Andy had brought food. By suppertime, there were four sets of coats and hats lined up beside her front door. Sarah had no idea what her aunt could have said to bring so many bachelors and widowers to her door, but she planned to give her aunt a stern talking to the next time they met.

  Once the sparse meal was done and the second pot of coffee had been finished, her guests still made no move to leave. It seemed that none of them wanted to be the first man out the door. They stayed until Sarah finally had to ask them to leave.

  As he left, each man promised to return at a more opportune time when they could be alone. When the last one was out the door, Sarah stood on the porch and watch them disperse. She glanced toward the carriage shop and saw Levi leaning against the open door jamb. He gave her a jaunty wave.

  Sarah stepped back inside the house and closed her door with a bang. She considered nailing it shut but decided moving away might be a better option. She should have known her aunt wouldn’t wait forever before deciding Sarah had been single long enough.

  * * *

  Levi suffered a twinge of conscience the following morning when Sarah came to work looking as if she hadn’t slept well. Her eyes were puffy and she kept yawning into her hand. He hadn’t slept that well, either. Today his throat was raw. He had a burning pain deep in his chest.

  He said, “There isn’t much work today. Why don’t you go home? I’m sure you have a lot to do before your family arrives.”

  “I have a lot of baking to do, that’s for sure. I had hoped to get started last evening, but that didn’t happen.”

  “I noticed your party. I felt a little left out, not being invited and all.”

  “I didn’t issue the invitations, but I’m surprised you didn’t get one. When I see my aunt Emma, she is going to get an earful.”

  So she didn’t suspect him. That was good, but he didn’t like the idea that she was blaming someone else. Still, like the twins, she had to learn that not everyone could be manipulated for her benefit. He pulled a chair up beside her. “Why are you angry with your aunt?”

  “Emma Lapp loves the idea of being a matchmaker. I’ve told her for years that I’m not ready to marry again. I reckon she decided to take matters into her own hands. Hence, half the single Amish men over twenty-five were grouped around my table last night. No doubt the rest of them will show up tonight.”

  He stared at his hands. “What makes you so sure your aunt is behind it?”

  “I can’t imagine who else it would be.”

  “I sympathize with you, Sarah. I’ve been feeling like I’ve been put on display myself, lately.”

  She frowned. “You have?”

  “It’s not a comfortable feeling, as I’m sure you noticed.”

  Her frown turned to a look of speculation. “Levi, do you know something about the line of men in my kitchen last night?”

  He folded his arms over his chest. “About as much as you know about fishing lines.”

  She had the decency to blush. “I did promise my nephew I would take him. Thanks to your help, I’m sure I won’t embarrass myself.”

  “Thanks to Joann you mean. And our special thanks must also go to Sally for all her help with the inventory. Is it done?”

  Sarah’s voice grew smaller. “Almost.”

  “What sweet young thing can I expect to help you finish?”

  “I’ll be able to manage alone,” she mumbled, her eyes downcast.

  He hid a smile behind the hand he used to rub his chin. “That is goot.”

  He heard a horse stop outside. He glanced out the window. “Ah, I see you have another visitor at your house. I believe that is Amos Fisher. He’s a long way past twenty-five, but he runs a nice hog farm. He told me yesterday that he has two hundred sows now.”

  Her eyes snapped to his, shooting daggers of loathing. “I think you are a sneaky, mean man, Levi Beachy.”

  He grinned. “I’m learning from the best.”

  Chapter Eleven

  When Sarah entered the carriage shop the following morning she had every intention of giving Levi a piece of her mind. Three more suitors had darkened her door the previous evening.

  She found Levi huddled in front of the stove with his arms wrapped around his body. When he looked up, his face was pale as a sheet. There were dark circles under his eyes. He shivered so violently that he nearly fell from the small stool he was perched on. The man looked sick to death. He coughed and the deep rattle in his chest frightened her.

  “Levi Beachy, I never once considered you to be a fool until this moment.” She advanced toward him.

  “Go away,” he muttered in a pitifully hoarse voice.

  “You are the one who is going. You’re going straight to bed. You look miserable.”

  “I’m fine. I just need a minute to get warm.” He leaned closer to the fire.

  Shaking her head, Sarah marched to the door and flipped the Open sign to Closed. Outside, Elam Sutter was just getting out of his buggy. At least she knew he hadn’t come to court her. He was happily married to her friend Katie.

  She opened the door and called out to him, “I’m sorry Elam, but the shop is closed today. Levi is sick.”

  “I’ve stopped by to pick up a part he ordered for me. I had a note in the mail that it had come in.”

  “All right, I’ll find it for you, but you should stay outside. I don’t want you taking sickness home to Katie and the kinder.”

  “Danki, Sarah. I’ll wait right here.”

  Closing the door, she quickly checked the counter area but didn’t find anything with Elam’s name on it. She crossed the room and crouched beside Levi. He was looking worse by the minute. She touched his shoulder gently. “Levi, where is the part that came in for Eli Sutter?”

  He opened bloodshot eyes. “On my desk in the back.”

  “I’ll get it, and then you are going back to the house.”

  “I don’t want to go to the house.”

  “You sound like a pouting child. You’re going back to the house if I have to drag you by your suspenders. And don’t think for a minute that I can’t do it.”

  A ragged cough followed by a weak nod was her answer. She pulled off her coat and tucked it around his shoulders. He nestled into the warmth with a grateful sigh. Leaving him sitting by the fire, Sarah quickly found the part and carried it out to Elam.

  He took it from her and asked, “Is there anything I can do for you or Levi?”

  “Nee. Rest is what he needs now.”

  “My mother said a nasty flu bug has been making the rounds over in Sugarcreek. Looks like it’s come to pay Hope Springs a visit.”

  “Levi got soaked yesterday and wouldn’t go home to change. I hope it’s the flu and not pneumonia. He’s too sick to work, but he won’t go to bed, either. Sometime men are more trouble than they are worth.”

  Elam chuckled. “My wife would agree wi
th you.”

  “Good day, Elam. Give Katie and the children my love.”

  He promised to do so and drove away. Sarah hurried back inside just as Levi was struggling to his feet. He teetered and would have fallen if she hadn’t rushed to hold him up. Staggering under his weight, she managed to keep both of them upright.

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled against her kapp.

  She had both arms around his waist. “Never mind. Let’s get you to the house. What on earth possessed you to try and work today?”

  “I thought I’d feel better in the shop.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “I always feel better here. Besides, I have work that must be done.”

  Sarah lifted Levi’s arm and placed it around her shoulder. “The work will still be here tomorrow.”

  “If I don’t get it done today, there will be twice as much work tomorrow.”

  “Let the twins do some of it.”

  “They’re sick. I told them to stay in bed.” So it was an illness that was going around and not because Levi had had a soaking. Still, it certainly hadn’t done him any good.

  “You told the twins to stay in bed, but you couldn’t take your own advice.”

  A vicious cough stole his breath and left him wheezing and unsteady. She knew if he lost his balance she wouldn’t be able to hold him up. Why had she sent Elam Sutter away? He wouldn’t have had any trouble carrying Levi.

  “Come. It’s only a few steps to the house. We can get there together.”

  Thankfully, they were able to manage the short trek, although several times she wondered if they would make it. They were both sweating and out of breath by the time they reached his front door.

  “Danki, mie goot Sarah,” he said as he sank in a heap on the couch.

  Why did she wish she were his good Sarah? It wasn’t part of her makeup to be a loving wife. Hadn’t that been made painfully clear to her?

  She unlaced Levi’s boots and pulled them off. As she had once suspected, both his socks had holes in them. She would have to have a stern talk with Grace when the girl came home. The art of good housekeeping wasn’t reserved solely for a woman’s husband.