A Kauffman Amish Christmas Collection

by Amy Clipston

  Naomi wiped her eyes again. “That would make sense. You miss her the most when you’re alone with Susie or just plain alone.”

  He nodded, impressed by her understanding of his loss. “That’s it exactly. It’s funny how your life can change in a split second. One minute I was riding down a road thinking about how much fun I’d had at the little party and listening to my little girl chatter endlessly about Christmas. Then the next moment I was trying to hold my emotions together while I held my little girl at the scene of the accident.”

  “Life does have a tendency to change on us in a split second,” Naomi said, holding her mug in her hands.

  He raised his eyebrow. “You sound like you speak from experience.”

  She shrugged while studying the contents of the mug. “I’ve made plans that haven’t turned out the way I’d thought. Of course, it’s nothing like you’ve experienced. My heartaches have been on a much smaller scale.”

  “Your heartaches?” he asked, his curiosity piqued. “Do you want to share?”

  Naomi shook her head. “I’d rather not. It’s just silliness.” She sipped more of her drink. “This is the best cider I’ve ever tasted. Makes me thirsty for Robert’s summer root beer. It’s especially tasty with some vanilla ice cream.”

  “Ya, it is good. We’ll have to do that next time we come visit,” he said. “Susie and I will be sure to have the floats ready.”

  She gave him a surprised expression. “Okay.”

  He studied her eyes, wishing he could read her thoughts. “I’ve talked your ear off,” he said. “Tell me about your life here in Bird-in-Hand.”

  She shrugged and cleared her throat. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary. You already know that I work at the quilt stand in the farmers market and I help care for my siblings.”

  “What do you like to do for fun?” he asked, crossing his ankle onto his knee.

  She laughed. “For fun?”

  “That’s right.” He nodded. “You have fun, right?”

  “Hmm.” She gnawed her bottom lip and hugged her cloak closer to her body. “I enjoy reading with my youngest siblings. Leroy and Joseph are learning quickly how to sound out words.” Her fingers moved to the ties of her black bonnet, and she absently moved them on her chin. “I love to quilt, and we sometimes have quilting bees.” She turned to him, her eyes full of excitement. “In fact, we’re having one here tomorrow, and I hope Susie will attend. She’s asked me to teach her to quilt, and I’d love to give her some instructions.”

  He grinned. “She’d love that.”

  “Gut.” She smiled. “I guess that’s about it.”

  “So everything you enjoy is for someone else?”

  She laughed. “I guess so. But isn’t that what God has instructed us to do — to give of ourselves?”

  “Ya, He has.” Caleb wondered why she wasn’t married yet. He surmised she was in her mid-twenties. Why hadn’t some eligible bachelor swooped her up?

  She gestured toward the front door. “You grew up here, ya?”

  “I did.”

  “What took you to Ohio?”

  “Love.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I met Barbara while she was visiting her cousin here one summer. We courted through letters and the phone for a while, and I made a couple of trips up to visit her. She didn’t want to leave her mamm, who was alive when we first met, so I moved there.”

  “Are many of Barbara’s relatives still there?”

  He shook his head. “No, just a handful of cousins in neighboring church districts.”

  “What do you do for a living?” she asked.

  “I’m a buggy maker.”

  “Do you ever miss living here?”

  He nodded. “Sometimes I do. Sometimes I wish I’d convinced Barbara to come live here, but when I think about that too much, I make myself narrisch, wondering if she’d still be alive. Then again, it’s not our place to question God’s will, is it?”

  Naomi shook her head. “No, it’s not.” She then tilted her head in question, her eyes thoughtful. “Do you believe that God only gives us one chance at true love? Or do you think He provides us the opportunity to love more than once during a lifetime?”

  “That is a very gut question.” He idly rubbed his beard while considering his answer. “I would say that God gives us second chances. I think Timothy’s youngest sister is a great example of that.” He was almost certain he saw her flinch at the mention of his best friend’s name.

  “Ya,” she said softly. “That is a gut point.”

  Her eyes were full of something that seemed to resemble regret or possibly grief. He wanted to ask her what had happened to her to make her so sad, but the back door opened with a whoosh, revealing Sadie. Did his sister have a sixth sense when it came to ruining perfect moments?

  “Caleb!” Sadie exclaimed, her face full of shock. “What are you doing out here in the cold?” She turned to Naomi and her eyes narrowed slightly, looking annoyed. “Oh, Naomi. Wie geht’s?”

  “I’m fine, danki.” Naomi rose and stepped toward the door. “How are you?”

  “Fine, fine. You must come in out of this cold before you both get sick.” Sadie motioned for Naomi to enter the house. As Naomi stepped through the doorway, she shot Caleb a quizzical expression as if to ask what he’d been doing on the porch with Naomi. “That’s not your coat, is it?” she asked.

  Caleb stood and shook his head. “No, this coat belongs to Naomi’s dat. She grabbed it for me when I started shivering.”

  Once Naomi was through the door, Sadie stepped back onto the porch and closed the door. “What are you doing out here, Caleb?”

  “Just talking with my new freind.” He moved past her. “We were discussing the snow and Christmas.” He shrugged. “That was all.”

  She took his arm and pulled him toward the door. “I have plenty of families I want you to meet, so you must come back inside.”

  “Yes, schweschder.” He forced a smile and she steered him through the door. As he walked by Naomi and her mother, Caleb rolled his eyes and then smiled. Naomi laughed, and he gave her a little wave.

  Sadie guided Caleb toward Irene Wagler who stood with her father and another couple. Caleb nodded a greeting and then glanced back at Naomi, who blushed and looked away.

  “Caleb,” Sadie said with a sweeping gesture, “this is Hezekiah Wagler, Irene’s father.”

  Caleb shook the middle-aged gentleman’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too,” Hezekiah said. “I hear you are a buggy maker. I’ve owned my own shop for thirty years.”

  While the man began to describe his shop, Caleb glanced toward Naomi standing with her mother, and his mind wandered back to their conversation on the porch. He wished he could’ve sat with Naomi for much longer, perhaps hours, while they continued their conversation. She was so beautiful and so easy to talk to and he felt a connection to her, as if she could be a kindred spirit.

  While he missed Barbara so much his heart ached some days, he felt something new when he looked at Naomi. She ignited a glimmer of hope that he might somehow find love again. Although he could never replace Barbara, he suddenly wondered if he could find happiness and build a life with a woman as special as Naomi. He had the suspicion he could love again, and Naomi King could possibly hold that key.

  A smile turned up the corner of Caleb’s lips. The possibility of finding a life mate again filled him with a joy he hadn’t felt in years. He looked forward to exploring that future, but he knew he had to move slowly and make sure it was right. He didn’t want to do anything to hurt Susie or Naomi.

  Caleb turned back to the Waglers, and Sadie shot him a curious look.

  Ignoring his sister, Caleb continued to smile and nod while Hezekiah discussed his booming business. He tried his best to look interested and engaged in the discussion, even though his thoughts were on the other side of the room with Naomi.

  Caleb would keep his excitement about his evolving feelings for Naomi King to hi
mself and let God lead him. He believed that with God, all things were possible, even the potential of a widower finding love again.

  CHAPTER 7

  The word quilting refers to the hand stitching of three layers: a pieced top, a layer of batting, and a bottom fabric layered together, then stitched together in a pattern to hold the layers together,” Naomi began while holding up a quilt and showing it to Susie the following morning while they stood together in Sadie’s kitchen.

  Deep in thought, Susie scrunched her nose and swiped her hand over the cream, blue, and maroon quilt created in a log cabin pattern.

  “See here?” Naomi ran her hand over the pattern. “The top layers were pieced together on the treadle sewing machine I have at my house in my room. The quilting is always done by hand. Then a binding is sewn onto the bottom layer by the machine and hand stitched to the top layer.” She smiled at Susie’s little tongue, sticking out of her mouth as if she were contemplating the meaning of life. “I’m sure you already know that we use what the Englishers consider an old-fashioned sewing machine powered by a pedal and no electricity.” She felt her admiration for the little girl growing by the minute.

  Naomi had arrived at Sadie’s that morning along with her sisters, mother, and Lilly. As soon as Naomi stepped in the door, Susie ran over and began chatting without taking a breath — asking question after question about Naomi’s quilt, which she held in her hands. Naomi brought it in order to explain how a quilt was created.

  While Naomi was excited to spend time with Susie, she couldn’t help but be disappointed that Caleb had already left for a day of visiting his friends and acquaintances in town. She’d spent all evening thinking about their conversation on the porch.

  Throughout the night, she’d tossed and turned, analyzing his words and remembering the sadness in his eyes while he’d discussed his beloved wife. She knew that she was developing feelings for the man, and she wished she could suppress them. However, her stomach fluttered at the thought of seeing him and speaking to him again.

  Susie ran her hand over the stitching. “You sewed the top layer and then you hand stitched it all together?”

  “That’s right.” Naomi nodded toward the family room where the women sat around a frame that held Sadie’s latest creation. “See how all the women are stitching that quilt your aenti made? My mamm and I stitched this one. Since it’s only a twin size, we didn’t need a whole group to help us.”

  Susie studied the creation in her hands. “Who did you make this one for?”

  Naomi shrugged. “This one was really just for fun. I was experimenting with the colors. Do you like it?”

  Susie’s eyes were bright. “I love it.”

  Naomi smiled. Perhaps the quilt could be a surprise Christmas gift for her little friend. She gestured toward the family room. “Did you want to go help the women with that quilt your aenti is finishing for the English customer?”

  “No. Let’s talk instead.” Susie sat on a kitchen chair. “Did you have any of my onkel’s cider last night?”

  Naomi sat across from her. “I did. It was appeditlich.”

  The little girl nodded. “Ya, it was wunderbaar. I told my dat he needs to learn how to make cider like that.”

  Naomi laughed while standing. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

  Susie tilted her head in question. “Do you believe in Christmas miracles, Naomi?”

  Naomi’s smile faded as she crossed the kitchen, grabbed two cups of water, and brought them over to the table. “Sure, Susie. Why do you ask?”

  “Danki,” Susie said, taking the cup. “Janie and Linda said that one of their cows was born on Christmas Eve last year, and their dat said it was a miracle because it was so cold.” She sipped her water.

  “I imagine it was a miracle.” Naomi sipped the water, wondering where this conversation was headed.

  Susie glanced toward the women in the family room next to the kitchen and then moved closer to Naomi. “May I tell you a secret?” she whispered.

  “Of course,” Naomi said softly, leaning closer to her.

  “There’s a Christmas miracle I’ve been praying for.” Susie wiggled her chair closer to Naomi. “My dream is for my dat to be froh again on Christmas. I want to see him smile. I mean really smile. He smiles now, but I don’t think he’s truly froh since Mamm is gone. I want him to be really and truly froh.”

  Naomi smiled as tears filled her eyes. “That’s very sweet, Susie.”

  “Do you think it’s possible?” Susie asked, still whispering. “Do you think God will grant me that one miracle?”

  Naomi pushed a lock of hair that had escaped Susie’s prayer covering away from her face. “With God, all things are possible,” she whispered.

  “What are you two scheming?” Sadie asked, stepping into the kitchen and shooting Naomi a suspicious expression.

  “We’re just talking, Aenti Sadie,” Susie said. “Naomi was telling me all about quilts.”

  Sadie grabbed a stack of dishes from the cabinet. “I thought you wanted to learn how to make them. If you want to learn how, then you need to come join us in the schtupp and not sit out here gabbing with Naomi.”

  Naomi bit her bottom lip to hold back the stinging retort she wanted to throw back at Sadie. Why did Sadie have to nag Susie when they were having a nice time together?

  “Let’s serve lunch, Susie,” Sadie said.

  Naomi and Susie helped Sadie spread out the food for lunch, including chicken salad, homemade bread, pickles, and meadow tea. The women gathered around the table. After a silent prayer, they discussed their upcoming Christmas plans while eating.

  Naomi was filling the sink with soapy water for the dirty dishes when the back door opened and shut with a bang. She spotted Caleb following Robert into the family room, and her stomach flip-flopped. She was glad that Irene Wagler hadn’t come to the quilting bee. Although she knew it was a sin, she couldn’t ignore the jealousy she’d felt when Caleb had spoken to Irene and Irene’s father last night. She’d felt a special connection with Caleb during their conversation on the porch. She knew that she had no future with the widower since he and his daughter would soon return to Ohio. However, she couldn’t stop the growing attraction that bubbled up in her every time she saw him.

  “Dat!” Susie rushed over and hugged Caleb, nearly knocking him over. “We’ve had such fun!” She began rattling off details of her new knowledge of quilt-making.

  Grinning, Caleb shucked his coat and hung it on the peg by the door. Turning, he met Naomi’s stare, and her pulse skittered. She looked back toward the sink and began scrubbing the dirty utensils as a diversion from his captivating eyes.

  Conversations swirled around her while she continued washing the dirty serving platters and bowls. A tug on her apron caused her to jump with a start. She glanced down at Susie smiling up at her.

  “Naomi?” Susie asked, her big green eyes hopeful. “My dat and I were wondering if you would go shopping with us.”

  “Shopping?” Naomi wiped her hands on a dish towel as she faced Susie and Caleb.

  Sadie stepped behind Caleb and studied her brother. “Shopping?” she echoed. “Where are you going shopping?”

  He shrugged. “Susie wants to go Christmas shopping, and it sounds like fun to fight the crowds. I don’t care where we go. I’ll leave the location up to Susie and Naomi.”

  “Will you come with us?” Susie grabbed Naomi’s arm and tugged. “There are some things I want to get for my cousins.”

  Sadie gave Naomi a hard look, and Naomi paused. She knew how Sadie relished sharing gossip at her quilting bees, and that was the reason why Naomi had enjoyed staying in the kitchen with Susie instead of listening to Sadie’s latest news.

  Naomi met Susie’s hopeful eyes and silently debated what to do. She didn’t want to hurt the little girl’s feelings, but she also knew the possible consequences. Going shopping alone with Caleb and his daughter could start rumors that would upset Naomi’s mother.

  “
Well, I don’t know.” Naomi turned back to the sink. “There are an awful lot of dishes to be cleaned up, and then I need to help finish the quilt. Sadie has a customer who is going to pick it up tomorrow since it’s a Christmas gift for her daughter.”

  “I’ll help finish the dishes,” Caleb said, grabbing a dish towel.

  Stunned, Naomi stared at him. “You will?” He chuckled. “Believe it or not, I cook and do dishes back home.”

  “I just don’t know.” Naomi felt Sadie’s scrutinizing stare. “I think I need to stay and help with the quilt.” Susie frowned. “Are you certain?”

  Once Sadie had walked away, Caleb sidled up to Naomi and began to dry a serving platter. “Would you feel more comfortable if one of your sisters or perhaps one of my nieces came along with us?” he asked her under his breath.

  Naomi studied him, wondering how this man could read her mind. “How did you know?”

  He gave a small smile. “I know how mei schweschder works.”

  Naomi leaned closer to him. She couldn’t help but inhale his manly scent, like earth mixed with a spicy deodorant. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  He placed the dry platter on the counter. “She had spread the news about my proposal to Barbara before I had even decided to propose. She should’ve been an editor for the local paper instead of a quilt maker.” He snatched a handful of clean utensils from the sink. “I’ll finish the dishes, and Susie can help me put them away. Why don’t you see if one of your sisters or my nieces wants to join us? That will quell any rumors about our shopping expedition.”

  “Are you certain?” Naomi placed the dish towel on the counter.

  “I’m drying the dishes, aren’t I?” he asked with a grin.

  She couldn’t help but smile. His handsome face was nearly intoxicating. “Danki.”

  “No need to thank me,” he said, opening the utensil drawer. “You’re going to help me more than you know. Shopping is not one of my strengths.”

  CHAPTER 8