Her Amish Holiday Suitor. Carrie Lighte

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      After a few minutes of silence, Nick said, “I’ll talk to Jenny about the damage. Maybe there’s a way I can make the repairs myself.” Having worked with his uncle’s carpentry crew for a year when his uncle was ill, Nick was a better craftsman than Kevin.

      “But when?” Kevin questioned. “It’s not a one-day job. You know we won’t get any Saturdays off until after Grischtdaag.” He went on to explain that Jenny’s family was planning a Christmas Eve reunion in the cabin with her ailing grandfather, who was traveling all the way from Spokane, Washington, to celebrate the holiday with them.

      “I’ll have to work on it in the evenings then, won’t I?” Nick didn’t try to temper his irritation at his brother.

      Kevin snorted. “The store is open late on weeknights until Grischtdaag, too. There’s no way Mamm and Daed will let you get out of helping.”

      “Actually, there is. You’re going to insist you can cover for me at the store.”

      Kevin’s jaw dropped. “I already told them I want to go caroling this year. If I have to stay late at the store, I’ll miss the rehearsals during the week.”

      “Well, unless the money drops from the sky or you suddenly develop expert carpentry skills, you’ll have to tell them you changed your mind,” Nick advised, annoyed that Kevin still didn’t comprehend the sacrifice he was making for him. “Besides, you’re not interested in caroling. You just want to get out of working at night during the week.”

      Kevin didn’t deny it. “So what excuse are you going to give Mamm and Daed for going out on weeknights?” he asked.

      “Maybe I’ll say I’m joining the carolers.” Even as he suggested the idea, Nick knew it wasn’t plausible. For as many singings as he’d been to, he hardly ever sang. He couldn’t carry a tune and his parents knew it, but because singings were chaperoned, they didn’t discourage him from attending. “Or maybe I’ll tell them I’m courting someone.”

      “Who? You’ve already courted all the meed in Willow Creek,” Kevin countered.

      Courtships among the Amish were usually private matters and Nick definitely hadn’t told Kevin about his romantic relationships. “How would you know?”

      “Word gets around. Everyone says you’re a real heartbreaker,” Kevin replied flippantly. “You’d practically have to leave Lancaster County to find someone you haven’t already courted.”

      Nick was suddenly inspired. “Hey, maybe someone has a cousin visiting Willow Creek for the Thanksgiving holiday. Let’s stop at Frederick’s haus and check it out. Then we can go talk to Jenny about the repairs.”

      But when they entered Frederick’s home and Nick scanned the room, his hope flagged. The only out-of-towner present was Frederick’s cousin, Mark. The usual young women from Willow Creek and the Elmsville district were encircling him, batting their lashes and fiddling with their kapp strings. Katura and Mildred Peachy, Lucy Knepp’s stepsisters, appeared downright enraptured, and it occurred to Nick he hadn’t ever courted either of them. But asking to walk out with Katura or Mildred was a risk he couldn’t take. He’d heard how outspoken the sisters had been about wanting to get married at the slightest hint of interest from young men who weren’t even their suitors yet. That was exactly the kind of pressure Nick wanted to prevent.

      He nudged Kevin, muttering “Let’s get out of here,” but just then Frederick’s mother noticed them and insisted they take off their coats and have some hot chocolate. They couldn’t refuse since she was the hosting chaperone, so they gave her their coats and shuffled into the kitchen. After eating popcorn and downing their mugs of cocoa, Nick meandered to the back room to grab their jackets so they could head to Jenny’s house.

      He had to dig through a heap of coats and cloaks piled on the bed before he found theirs. He was about to exit the room when he caught a small movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Lucy Knepp sitting in a circle of faint lamplight, her head bowed. Was she praying? No, she was sewing.

      That was typical. Ever since they were in school Lucy had distanced herself from the other scholars. At recess she always stayed inside and cleaned the whiteboards. It was generally accepted she was the teacher’s pet, and the boys believed she spied on them from the window and tattled about their wrongdoings to the teacher. More than once Nick received a scolding for antics on the playground СКАЧАТЬ