Her Christmas Pen Pal

  © 2014 by Ruth Reid

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

  Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

  Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

  ISBN 978-1-4016-8982-7 (eBook)

  ISBN 978-0-7180-2810-7 (eSingle)

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  An Amish Second Christmas, four novellas / Beth Wiseman, Ruth Reid, Kathleen Fuller, Tricia Goyer.

  pages cm

  ISBN 978-1-4016-8981-0 (paperback)

  1. Amish--Fiction. 2. Christmas stories, American. 3. Christian fiction, American. I. Wiseman, Beth, 1962- Season of hope. II. Reid, Ruth, 1963- Her Christmas pen pal. III. Fuller, Kathleen. Gift for Anne Marie. IV. Goyer, Tricia. Christmas aprons.

  PS648.A45A56 2014

  813’.01083823--dc23

  2014015398

  14 15 16 17 18 19 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Glossary

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Reading Group Guide

  Acknowledgments

  Recipes from Her Christmas Pen Pal

  An Excerpt from A Gift for Anne Marie

  About the Author

  To my sister, Joy Droste Elwell, a great friend, beautiful sister, and wonderful baker. Your house is always full of laughter and loads of good food. Thank you for all the cherry pies you made just for me. I treasure the times we can get together!

  GLOSSARY

  ach: oh

  aenti: aunt

  boppli: baby

  bruder: brother

  daed: dad

  danki: thank you

  Englisch or Englischer: a non-Amish person

  fraa: wife

  grossdaadi: grandfather

  gut: good

  haus: house

  hiya: greeting

  jah: yes

  kaffi: coffee

  kalt: cold

  kapp: prayer covering

  kinskind: grandchildren

  kumm: come

  mamm: mother

  mariye: morning

  mei: my

  nacht: night

  narrisch: crazy

  nau: no

  nett: not

  Ordnung: the unwritten rules of the Amish

  sohn: son

  wedder: weather

  welkom: welcome

  CHAPTER ONE

  Joy Stolzfus tossed the basin of dirty water from the foot-washing service over the porch banister. The tradition of humbling herself before God and the members of her district during the foot washing was good for the soul, but Joy couldn’t think of anything but the loss of her parents in last year’s fire.

  Meredith came up beside her and laid her hand on Joy’s shoulder. “Are you doing all right?”

  Joy forced a smile. “The fire was a year ago today. It doesn’t seem possible.”

  “I know.”

  “I still think mei parents must have left the oil lamp burning for me. If Henry hadn’t been late driving me home . . .” Joy touched her throat. Dry with a lump the size of a bar of lye soap.

  “No one knows what caused the fire.”

  The bishop had tried to reassure her of that too. But the memory of flames shooting out the window where the lamp table sat led her to believe otherwise. Maybe the cat had knocked the lamp over as Joy’s sisters thought. Still, her parents couldn’t be saved. A section of the roof caved just as more help arrived.

  The screen door snapped and several other women brought their basins outside to empty. The women chatted about the upcoming annual quilting bee, which served to jump-start Sugarcreek’s fall tourism sales. Joy’s thoughts drifted back to her mother who had looked forward to the all-day frolic every year.

  Meredith took Joy by the arm. “Let’s go to the kitchen and get a glass of water.”

  Her friend always seemed to know exactly what she needed. Entering the house, Joy scanned the sitting room where Henry had been standing, but didn’t find him. He must’ve gone out the back door with the other unmarried men. She followed Meredith into the kitchen.

  “Are Lois and Sarah holding up all right?” Meredith removed a glass from the cabinet.

  “We had a gut cry earlier today and we spent some time reminiscing about Mamm and Daed. I suppose it’s gut for the soul.”

  Meredith handed Joy the glass of water. “I think you should focus on Christmas. Isn’t October when you start planning what you’re going to serve for the Second Christmas sleigh ride?”

  Joy nodded as she raised the glass to her mouth. The long drink brought a cooling relief to her sore throat. “Danki,” she said. Then added, “For everything, Meredith.”

  Her friend reached out and patted her arm. “Your parents would be proud of how you’ve taken over the bakery. But I don’t think they would want you to stuff yourself in a hole and become a recluse.”

  “I haven’t done that.” Joy tapped her thumb against her chest. “And I’m nett a recluse. Maybe a workaholic, but that isn’t all mei fault. Sarah isn’t interested in the bakery, and Lois isn’t able to spend time in town with a new boppli. Besides, I do get out of the kitchen. I have to wait on customers at the bakery, don’t I?”

  Meredith smiled. “There’s the spunk I’ve missed all week.”

  She had spent a lot of time alone this week, praying and preparing for the fall feast and communion service.

  “Well, nau that your mood has lifted, I have some news to share.”

  “Oh?” Joy expected with the way Meredith was smiling that she was about to share engagement news. Her friend and Walter had courted almost as long as she and Henry. Only, she and Henry hadn’t spent much time together since she started going into the bakery at four a.m. to prepare the daily specials. Lately it seemed whenever Henry would stop at the house to sit on the porch swing with her, she either had already gone to bed or would fall asleep sitting on the swing with him.

  “Your Henry must be ready to propose,” Meredith blurted. “I overheard him talking with mei bruder about the acreage for sale across the pasture from us.” Her voice rose with enthusiasm.

  “He did?” Joy covered her mouth to catch her gasp.

  “You and I both know when a man is looking for property to build a haus—he’s looking to wed.” Meredith opened the cabinet next to the sink and removed a glass.

  That certainly was the case with her sister. Matthew put a down payment on the farm the same day he proposed to Lois.

  “I’ve got so many goose bumps, mei arms feel like a plucked turkey.” Joy rubbed her arm. “Henry’s been acting a little strange lately. Even tonight he avoided direct eye contact with me.”

  Meredith re
filled the glass with water and handed it to Joy. “He was watching you all right, the entire time you were washing mei feet.”

  “Danki.” Joy sipped the drink.

  Henry hadn’t always understood why Joy spent so many hours at the bakery. Occasionally he even accused her of preferring to spend time at the bakery over being with him. But learning the ins and outs of running Sugarcreek’s only bakery left her feeling like she had been stuffed into a pressure cooker and was about to blow. And even though she was a proficient baker, she had to learn how to manage a business. Things her parents did every day, like maintaining the proper amount of inventory on the shelves and knowing when and how many supplies to order.

  “Maybe he’ll ask you tonight? He’s driving you home, jah?”

  Joy shook her head. “I waited for him to ask all week but he didn’t. Sarah and I drove together, but she’s already secured a ride home with Abram.” Joy smiled. “Maybe if I leave nau, Henry will follow to make sure I arrive home safely.”

  “You be sure to share the news with me tomorrow.”

  “Jah, I will.” Joy hand-pressed a damp crease in her dress. It hadn’t fully dried since she sloshed water on it earlier. Vain. Here she was concerned about her appearance when the foot-washing ceremony had ended only minutes ago, but she worked out the wrinkles as best she could. “I look all rumpled, don’t I?”

  “Nay, you look fine.” Meredith placed her hand on Joy’s back and nudged her toward the sitting room.

  The bishop’s wife, Martha Byler, stopped Joy on her way to the door. “How are you doing?” She frowned. “I sure miss your mamm.”

  “I do too.” Joy looked away from Martha’s tearful eyes.

  Lois approached, cradling Stephen in her arms. “Are you going home so soon?”

  “Jah, I have to open the bakery in the morning.”

  “I was just telling Joy how much I miss your mamm.”

  “Excuse me,” Joy said, reaching for the door handle. She stepped outside into the cool breeze and pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. She should have thought to bring her cloak instead. The sun was fading into the horizon and the temperature was plummeting.

  Joy meandered toward the buggies while keeping an eye out for Henry. He wasn’t with the unmarried men who were grouped near the barn. She proceeded down the row of buggies where she had tethered Candy.

  She located Henry’s horse tied one horse over on the opposite side of the rail. Drawing closer, she recognized his voice coming from the passenger side of his buggy.

  “You can lean on me,” he said.

  Joy shot under the railing, startling the horses nearby.

  A woman’s giggle stifled.

  Joy reached them as Henry was helping Priscilla Byler into his buggy. Joy clamped her teeth over her bottom lip and whirled around.

  Henry’s footsteps tromped at her heels. They reached Candy at the same time.

  “It’s nett what it looks like. She twisted her ankle.”

  Joy untied her mare from the post and boarded the buggy. She would regret anything she said right now.

  “Her bruder asked if I would see her home.”

  Without a chaperone? Joy bit back voicing her thought and reined Candy away from the other buggies. Once she rounded the tree-lined bend in the country road, she looked back as the Detweilers’ farm disappeared behind the crimson canopy of low-hanging maple leaves.

  The road ahead blurred. Joy was still sobbing two miles down the road when she reached the house. She unharnessed and fed Candy, then trudged across the yard to the house. At least she was alone. But Lois and Matthew wouldn’t be long—baby Stephen had been coughing most of the evening. Joy went upstairs to the room she shared with Sarah and pitched herself on the bed. If it wouldn’t raise questions with her sisters at this late hour, she would bake. Instead, she pulled out a pen and pad of paper from the lamp table drawer and wrote a letter to her cousin. Even though Emily couldn’t offer much support ten miles away, Joy still poured out her heart into the letter, which was the next best thing to baking.

  She finished and extinguished the lamp flame before her family returned. When Sarah entered their shared room, Joy pretended to be asleep. As much as she hated to admit it, she hoped Henry would appear outside her window. She lay awake half the night waiting for the tap of pebbles against the glass, his way of beckoning her outside so they could talk.

  By the time the bakery opened the following day, Joy had the display case chock-full with a wide assortment of apple pie turnovers, cookies, brownies, and sweet breads. She even mixed up a new peppermint-frosted sugar doodle, which she offered to the early-bird customers to sample. Yet even receiving rave reviews from her customers didn’t take her mind off of Henry.

  Joy reached under the counter for the cleaning bottle, then misted the display case with the watered-down vinegar solution. She wiped the finger smudges off the glass as the bell over the door dinged.

  Joy lifted her gaze fully expecting to see Henry. Her heart deflated a little more each time the door opened and it wasn’t him.

  “Gut afternoon.” Sarah strolled into the shop.

  Jah, it was well past noon all right. Joy tossed her cleaning rag onto the counter. She had given her sister plenty of leeway since Sarah didn’t enjoy working at the bakery, but Joy needed a reprieve.

  Sarah pulled an apron from the wall hook. “Anything I should know?” She glanced about the room as she tied the strings around her waist.

  “I suppose you could make another pot of kaffi. I sold almost three pots. Nau that it’s colder outside, everyone wants something warm to drink.”

  Joy headed to the kitchen area. She packed an assortment of everything she had baked that morning into a pastry box, making sure not to cram the items together. Maybe on her way to the post office to mail the letter to her cousin, she would run into Henry at the hardware store. He always enjoyed her cookies.

  “You baked all that this morning?” Her sister eyed the package.

  Joy nodded. “I wanted to try some new recipes for the Christmas season.” She tied twine around the box.

  “You must’ve been real upset with Henry to make all that.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “Priscilla twisted her ankle—or pretended to—and Henry volunteered to take her home.”

  “Well, they are neighbors,” Joy said.

  “Jah, and Priscilla could have ridden home with her parents.”

  “If she injured her ankle, she wouldn’t have wanted to wait until the bishop and Martha were ready to leave. You know they stay at the service gatherings until the end.”

  “Still, Henry should have been more considerate of your feelings. Doesn’t he remember that yesterday was the anniversary of our parents’ death?”

  She could almost hear the tsk-tsk in her sister’s mind. It wasn’t anything that Joy hadn’t mulled over last night and most of today. She clipped the end of the twine and picked up the box. “I’m off to the post office.”

  “Who are you sending those to?”

  “The hardware store is on the way to the post office, so I thought—”

  “Nay, please tell me you’re nett going to give those to Henry.”

  “He samples all mei new recipes.” Joy pivoted toward the door and snatched her cape from the wall peg. “I’ll see you at home tonight.”

  That wasn’t a good reason, and she didn’t dare turn around and acknowledge her sister’s sigh. Truth be told, she wanted a reason to see him. He’d been indifferent toward her over the past week, and during yesterday’s service, he hadn’t even spoken to her until after she found him with Priscilla.

  Joy untied her mare from the hitching post, then climbed up on the bench. By the time she reached Gingrich Hardware, her stomach had knotted tighter than the twine on the box of sweets. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that Henry had merely offered a neighbor a ride home, the past blared at her. Prior to Henry courting her, he had courted Priscilla. She broke his
heart and almost soured him completely about falling in love again.

  The traffic was lighter than usual as Joy merged onto Main Street. It was normal for tourism to taper off after summer, but not usually to this extent. Where were the visitors? The fall colors always brought sightseers to Sugarcreek—the bakery too. Joy stopped at the hardware store and tied Candy to the post in the designated buggy parking area. She pasted on a smile as she entered the store.

  Mr. Gingrich looked up from sorting bolts in a bin. “Gut afternoon, Joy. May I help you find something?”

  “Nay, danki.” She craned her neck to peer down the row.

  “If you’re looking for Henry, he asked for the day off.” The store owner continued sorting the bolts. “He’s helping put up firewood at the bishop’s place.”

  “Danki.” Joy’s lips quivered. Unable to hold her smile, she turned around and rushed out of the building. Within seconds, she had the horse untied and was down the street. Once she reached the post office, she grabbed the letter and box from the bench.

  Joy hadn’t expected to mail the box, but she had some extra money and her cousin would enjoy them. She jotted a note on the back of the envelope asking her cousin for feedback on the cookies. Joy had nibbled on so many they were beginning to taste the same. She untied the twine and slipped the letter inside. Although she asked for Emily’s opinion of the treats, hers wasn’t the one Joy desperately wanted.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Noah Esh glided the sandpaper block along the wood grain of the oak cabinet, then wiped it with tack cloth to remove the fine sawdust. Applying the satin finish on the set of kitchen cabinets wouldn’t take long, but if he didn’t receive the stained glass by tomorrow for the window panels on the cabinet doors, he’d miss his deadline. He’d already checked the mailbox twice and the beveled glass hadn’t arrived. Maybe he shouldn’t have given his Englisch customer so many choices. Next time he wouldn’t show samples of stained glass that he didn’t have in stock.

  Noah applied the first coat of the glossy pecan stain to the cabinets. The strong fumes overwhelmed his senses. One day he would cut another window opening in the shop to create better air circulation. He set the rag on the worktable, deciding to take another walk to the mailbox. Once outside, he drew a deep breath. The crisp October air caused his lungs to spasm and he coughed.