Amish Christmas Twins. Patricia Davids

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СКАЧАТЬ she was an awkward, shy, frightened girl trying to fit into the perplexing English world her parents had chosen.

      Her Amish childhood had been filled with hard work, but she had been happy here. If her grandfather took them in, she could be happy here again. Nothing mattered as long as she had her children with her.

      She led her girls to the heavy wood-burning cookstove and held out her hands to the welcome heat. “Don’t touch. It’s very hot,” she cautioned them.

      “Are your children hungry?” her grandfather asked, speaking Deitsh.

      “I’m sure they are.”

      “Have them sit.” He walked to the counter and opened a drawer.

      Willa helped the girls out of their coats and seated them at the table. She hung their coats on pegs by the front door and then stood behind her daughters, not daring to assume the invitation included her.

      He scowled when he turned around. “Sit. I will not eat with you, but I am permitted to feed the hungry as our Lord commanded us. Then you must go.”

      Willa’s heart sank, but she held on to the hope that he would change his mind when he learned the details of her situation. She took a seat at the table and waited while her grandfather prepared church spread for her daughters.

      A mixture of peanut butter, marshmallow cream and maple syrup, the tasty treat was often served on bread or used as a dip for apples or pears. He spread it on thick slices of homemade bread and set it on plates in front of them. It was just as good as Willa remembered...

      The girls loved it. When they were finished eating, she led them to the stark living room and settled them for a nap on the sofa.

      When she was sure they were sleeping, she returned to the kitchen. Her grandfather sat at the table with a cup of coffee in his hands.

      She stood across from him and laid a protective hand on her stomach. “I have no money. I have no job. I don’t have a place to live, and my baby is due the second week of January.”

      Willa thought she glimpsed a flash of sympathy in his eyes. “Your husband’s family will not help you?”

      A chill slipped over her skin. She crossed her arms to ward it off. They were the ones claiming she was an unfit mother because of her mental breakdown. According to Glen, they had paid an unscrupulous judge to grant them custody of the twins while she was in the hospital. Willa knew nothing about the law, but without money and without Glen to help her, they would succeed in taking her children away. She couldn’t allow that. “Nee, you are my last hope.”

      * * *

      Her grandfather took a sip of his coffee. “I have no money to give you.”

      “I don’t want money. I wish to return to the Amish faith.” She held her breath, hoping he believed her.

      He was silent for a long time. She waited and prayed for his forgiveness and for his understanding.

      He shook his head. “I can’t help you. You must go.”

      She couldn’t bear to hear those words. Not after she had come so far. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she blinked them back. “Please, I’m begging you. I have nowhere else to go. Don’t turn us away. We are your flesh and blood.”

      His brow darkened. “You come to me wearing Englisch clothes, with your shorn hair and your head uncovered. I see no repentance in you. I have heard none from your lips, yet you say you want to be Amish again. You share in the shame your father brought to this house.”

      “I was a child. I had no choice but to go with my parents.”

      “You chose to remain in the Englisch world all these years, even after the death of my son and his wife. You could have come back then. I would have taken you in. Nee, I will not help you now. This suffering, you have brought on yourself.” He rose, put on his hat and coat and went out the door.

      Willa sat at the table and dropped her head on her crossed arms as she gave in to despair. Gut-wrenching sobs shook her body. Why was God doing this? Hadn’t she suffered enough? How much more would He ask of her?

       Chapter Two

      “I’m sorry I’m late. I had a few unexpected delays.” John stepped down from his wagon as Melvin Taylor came out of the house to meet him.

      “You said you’d be here today. It’s still today.” Melvin pushed the brim of his red ball cap up with one finger and grinned.

      Relief made John smile. Melvin appeared to be the understanding sort and a rare Englisch fellow in John’s book—one who wasn’t in a rush. His hopes for more work from the man rose.

      “Can’t thank you enough for taking on my little project.”

      “I enjoyed restoring it.” He loved re-creating useful things from the past.

      Melvin rubbed his hands together. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense any longer. How did it turn out?”

      “I’ll let you be the judge.” Moving to the back of the wagon, John untied the ropes and lifted the tarp covering his load. The antique blue-and-gold sleigh had made the journey unharmed.

      “I knew she was a beauty under all that neglect.” Melvin drew his fingers along the smooth, elaborately curved metal runner. “I’m right pleased with your work, John Miller.”

      “Danki.”

      It had taken John weeks to duplicate all the missing pieces in his forge and assemble it. After he replaced the tattered upholstery with a plush blue tufted fabric, the result was well worth his time and effort. The Portland Cutter would glide through the snow as neatly now as it had a hundred and fifty years ago.

      He had managed to turn back the hands of time for the sleigh. If only he could change one hour of the past for himself.

      Such a thing wasn’t possible. He had to spend the rest of his life knowing his pride had cost the life of the only woman he would ever love. His penance was to go on living without her. Hard work at his forge was the only way he kept the long hours of loneliness at bay.

      Melvin stepped back from the wagon with a big grin on his face. “Would you be willing to take on another project for me?”

      John tried not to sound too eager. “I’d have to see it first and we would have to agree on a price.”

      “Sure. I think you’ll like my latest find.”

      John followed the childishly eager man to a large shed. Melvin pushed open the sliding door with a flourish to reveal a half dozen sleighs. Five were in pristine condition. Only one needed restoration work. A lot of work.

      Melvin patted the faded front seat, sending a small cloud of dust into the air. “I found this vis-à-vis sleigh at a farm sale about an hour north of here.”

      John walked around the vehicle, assessing what needed to be fixed. Vis-à-vis sleighs were easily recognizable. They consisted of a raised coachman’s seat and two lower СКАЧАТЬ