Christmas in Apple Ridge (57 page)

Sadie waited, hardly able to keep her poise.

“A few days after Levi’s visit, his brother came to see her. He didn’t want to interfere, but he wanted her to know something that’d happened—in case she wanted to share it with you.”

“Daed!” Sadie reached over and swatted his knee. “You’re dragging this out too long. Tell me.”

“It didn’t take your Levi very long to come to his senses. He broke off all ties with Daniel.”

Her heart jolted, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that piece of news. Did it mean Levi finally saw Daniel’s true character and would no longer associate with him, or was it something more? Did he care for her so much that he had to do something drastic to heal some of the rift between them? “Why?”

“Well, I have it on good authority that he’s a fine man who’s reluctantly fallen in love with my daughter.”

Her heart soared. Was it possible? She prayed it was.

The flames in the fireplace swooshed as a log shifted. And a memory caught her. Years ago she had sat in this same spot, broken beyond words and staring at a cold hearth.

A smile rose from within, and she looked at her mother. “Can we spend Christmas in Apple Ridge?”

Daed rocked back in his chair. “I see no reason why not, as long as we can find a driver on such short notice.”

Mamm stood. “I’ve spent many a year doing favors for Englisch friends—baby-sitting, catering meals, and such. I know people who’ll want to help. Maybe one of them will be able to do so, even on Christmas Eve.”

Energy surged through Beth’s body as she basted a ham. With so much time lately to devote to everyday chores—washing clothes and hanging them out, sewing new outfits for herself and Jonah and the baby, quilting, baking, making Christmas cards—she’d thought she had liveliness to spare. Today a stronger wave of desire to cook and clean and organize flooded her.

Of course, her good-natured husband remained by her side, making sure she didn’t overdo anything. Jonah mashed the sweet potatoes, shoving the utensil into the pot of orange pulp again and again. “This seems like a lot of food for two people.”

“Look at the upside. We won’t need to cook for days.”

“I sort of thought the idea of a quiet celebration was for you to stay off your feet.”

“And I will. As soon as we celebrate today with a feast.”

Suddenly a wave of Braxton Hicks hit her as she pushed the rack into the oven. Her lower back stung, and her thighs ached as the contraction grew stronger.

“Well, whatever we do, it’ll be easier and safer than going out in this weather tonight. I certainly don’t want you doing all it’d take to have that monstrous crowd known as your family coming here for their festivities.” Jonah knocked the potato masher against the rim of the pan. “Smooth enough?”

Beth evened her breathing, surprised by the force of the contraction. “Ya … it looks good to me.”

But rather than fading like usual, the contraction grew stronger. She clutched the counter, waiting for it to subside. The midwife had said she’d already dilated to a three but that women often stayed that way until their due date. Right now, Beth didn’t know what to think.

“Sweetheart?” Jonah moved to her side.

“If that was a Braxton Hicks, it carried some real force.”

“When was the last one?”

“Ten minutes ago. Until an hour ago I hadn’t had any in days.” Beth fumbled with her apron, trying to reach inside the hidden pocket. It was time to use the cell phone her midwife gave her. “I think I’ll give Mandy a call to see what she thinks.”

She planned to sound calm, but the idea of going into labor four weeks early made her feel sick, and she prayed for God’s protection over her child.

Snow fell harder and harder as Levi ushered the last employees out the door at Hertzlers’. It was time they all went home. There was no sense in
letting snow accumulate and risk someone’s having a difficult time getting home on Christmas Eve. He could handle the rest of today by himself, even if customers might have to wait until he could get to them.

Mattie was still here, however. She had customers picking up Christmas cakes, and Levi couldn’t run the register, fetch layaways, and run the counter for Mattie Cakes.

The next few hours at the store weren’t too busy, and as the snow deepened, people stopped coming in.

He stepped onto the porch and watched the white flakes silently fall from the black sky. The air smelled of Christmas, and everyone he’d come into contact with lately seemed to be in a festive mood, especially Tobias. But it didn’t feel like a joyous holiday to Levi. What was Sadie doing today? Did she miss him? Would she miss him when she was in Peru?

As hard as he’d tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. But he’d finally accepted the truth: it was his lot from now on to miss her. He went back into the store.

With the store empty, he went to the Mattie Cakes nook to see what was happening in her little area of the store. Mattie sat at a small table, talking to her husband.

Levi smiled. “Hey, Gideon. I didn’t see you come in.”

Gideon stood and said, “Merry Christmas, Levi.”

“Denki. Same to you.”

Gideon took a seat. “We’re waiting on one more customer to pick up a cake, and then I’m taking Mattie home, where she can open the birthday presents her family has been dropping off throughout the day.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. Happy birthday, Mattie.”

“Denki, Levi.”

“Gideon, take her and get out. When that customer shows up, I’ll be here.”

Gideon leaned in and kissed his wife. “What do you say, Mattie Lane? May I take you home?”

“Absolutely. We’ve got some singing to do along the way.”

Gideon laughed. “We married folks can’t go to any more Christmas singings. We need to have a private session, and it just happens to be the perfect weather for a sleigh ride.”

Mattie grinned. “We’re borrowing Beth and Jonah’s sleigh?”

Gideon helped her get on her coat. “I worked it out with him before coming in today. Beth and Jonah send their birthday and Christmas wishes too.”

Mattie kissed his cheek. “This sleigh ride isn’t all you have planned, is it?”

“I’m not telling—not yet.” Gideon winked at Levi.

Mattie put on her black winter bonnet. “The cake should’ve been picked up an hour ago. If June Smith doesn’t arrive in another hour, she isn’t coming.”

“Okay.”

Mattie waved at him as she left. “Merry Christmas, Levi.”

“Merry Christmas.” He closed the door behind them. The ticking of the clocks that lined the walls echoed through the quiet store.

He grabbed a push broom and began going down the aisles. He straightened shelves and returned items from the register area to their spot. No one else came in, and he finally put the Closed sign in the window.

“Welcome to your future, Levi,” he mumbled. He’d wanted to live out his days as a bachelor, and he’d managed to give himself exactly that.
What a great gift idea. You should be proud
.

Before Sadie, he hadn’t felt lonely, let alone miserable. What had she done to him—stretched his tiny heart until it could hold the vastness of his love for her? Now he had a huge heart and nothing to fill it.

He went through the store turning off the gas lamps. Since he’d ridden here bareback, he’d take the cake the customer never picked up to Beth and Jonah, wish them a Merry Christmas, and head home.

He emptied the register and took the cash to the safe in Beth’s office. The bells on the door rang, and he went in that direction. It had to be Jonah.

Standing just inside the doorway, he saw the shadowy figure of an Amish woman in a winter coat and hat.

“You’re just in time, Mrs. Smith. The cake is right over here.”

She turned.

“Sadie!” His heart beat faster, and he nearly ran to her.

She shivered all over, and he grabbed a quilt from the display rack and wrapped it around her. He rubbed her arms through the layers of thickness, trying to warm her.

“What are you doing here?”

She shook. “I’ve been in Apple Ridge for hours, even spent some time with Andy and Tobias, waiting for you to get home. Then it struck me to come here so we could talk privately. Andy wasn’t a fan of the idea, but I wouldn’t listen to him.” She drew a shaky breath. “Horses and buggies are better at getting around in the snow than cars and trucks, right?”

“Ya. I’ve used a horse and carriage to pull more than one four-wheeler out of a ditch.”

She rubbed her gloved hands together. “Then why’d I have such a hard time getting here?”

“The roads must be bad, and you shouldn’t have been on them.”

“Like I shouldn’t have been out riding the night I found you on the ground?”

“This is different, Sadie.” He tugged at the fingertips of her gloves
until he slid the half-frozen knit things right off. “You were in no danger that night.” He sandwiched her cold hands between his, warming them.

“Actually.” She shivered. “As things turned out, that’s arguable.”

“I suppose it is.” If he could undo any of his rash behavior, he would. He kissed her hands before covering them again with his own. Would she think that too forward? Was she here to let him know they could remain friends like they’d agreed to be when they began their pretend courtship? He didn’t want to do any more damage to their relationship—it was Christmas Eve, and she was here. That was far more than he’d dared to hope for. Still, he couldn’t throttle his foolish heart.

He led her to Mattie Cakes and held a chair for her.

Although he didn’t want to leave her side, he went to put a kettle of water on the stove and struck a match to light the burner. He could fix either tea or hot chocolate faster than he could fix a pot of coffee, and she needed something hot as soon as he could get it ready. “Tea?” He held up a box of peppermint tea bags. “Or hot chocolate?”

“Hot chocolate, please.” She folded her hands on the table.

As he opened a pouch of powdery chocolate mix and dumped it into a mug, she said, “Levi, I think I know what happened the Saturday night we were supposed to talk. I’d like to know if it’s accurate.”

A shudder ran through him.
Please, God
. “Okay.”

“The feelings you have for me are like a skittish and unfamiliar horse. Daniel was like the booming fireworks. And ‘the horse’ threw you. You landed hard and were too addled to think clearly.”

He liked her analogy. It was very Sadie-like—honest but kind. He poured hot water into the mug and stirred. “I’m sorry.” He set the mug in front of her and took a seat.

She wrapped her hands around it. “So Mammi Lee said.” She took a sip. “The thing is, we have unfinished business. And while we’re here
where we can talk openly and freely, I want to know what you had planned to say that Saturday night before Daniel showed up.”

He went to the display case and took out the cake the customer hadn’t picked up. He removed it from its box and set it on the table between them. “It’ll take a while to explain it all.”

She peered at the many colors of the frosting. “It’s beautiful.”

He passed her a fork, kept one for himself, and sat down. “Mattie’s cakes taste even better than they look. Dive in.”