Bethany pursed her lips and exited the kitchen door, intending to get rid of Benjamin so she could tell Libby everything.
“What can I help you with, Benjamin?” she snapped.
He looked up, his smile melting away all her aggravation. “I stopped in to see how you were doing, but by the looks of things, and the wunderbaar gut aroma coming from the kitchen, I’d say you have things well in hand.”
Bethany twirled her index finger toward Benjamin, inviting him to follow her into the kitchen.
“Can I speak with you for a minute?”
Libby shot her a look that let her know she understood the connection between her and Benjamin. They’d been friends long enough that they knew each other’s habits well, and Libby thankfully got the hint.
Benjamin walked over to the bread cooling on the far counter. “You really have outdone yourself.”
“Danki. I owe it all to you. You were a gut teacher.”
Benjamin winked at her. “And I thought all that time you weren’t listening to a thing I’d taught you.”
She smiled. “I heard every word.”
“I knew you had it in you all the time,” he complimented her. “That’s why I refused your vadder’s offer to come back to work here. I knew it was a dream of yours and Libby’s.”
“Danki.”
He reached into his coat pocket and handed her a small notebook. “I wanted to give you this. It’s all my favorite recipes—in case you might want them. I even reveal my secret ingredient for my whoopie pie filling.”
Bethany giggled, happy that he would trust her with such a secret. “Danki. I hope you’ll come in and see me from time to time—in case I need some advice or something.”
Benjamin smiled. “Of course I will. Your vadder asked me to stay on in Willow Creek. He is letting me stay in the loft above the barn. He even asked if I would help him on his farm. He said something about wanting to retire now that he’s getting married.”
Bethany laughed at the sound of it. She wasn’t certain if she would ever get used to the changes in her father. She liked the changes. More than that, she was delighted that Benjamin would be staying close-by. With him just up the lane from the bakery, she hoped it would give her ample opportunities to drop in and visit with her father and the widow. If it just so happened that Benjamin was there too, well, then that would be an added benefit.
“Well, I should get back to the chores your vadder has for me.”
They exited the kitchen as Libby was finishing up with an Englisch customer. She handed Benjamin a small bag with cookies in it.
“I thought you might like to take some with you,” she said sweetly.
“Jah, I would like that very much.” He smiled at Bethany and tipped his hat to Libby just before exiting the bakery.
Libby sighed. “That mann has stars in his eyes for you, Bethany.”
“He does not,” Bethany corrected her. “You’re seeing things!”
Libby shook her head. “From what I can see, you feel the same way about him.”
Bethany frowned. “I’m afraid it’s too late. I messed things up with him.”
“From the look in his eyes, I’d say he’s over it—whatever you did.”
She hoped Libby was right about Benjamin. She also hoped her friend would never ask her what she’d done that was so wrong. It was something she intended to put behind her and never repeat such a mistake as long as she lived.
CHAPTER 28
Bethany finished covering the trays of leftover cookies from the day, while she took in the sound of sleigh bells from a distance. The clip-clop of horse’s hooves mixed with the jingle bells, and her immediate thought was that her father had taken his sleigh out to fetch the widow. But it couldn’t have been her father, or surely, she would have heard him leaving some time ago. Peering out the window, she swiped at the condensation that clouded the glass from her warm breath against the cold window.
It was Benjamin.
Adam had picked up Libby a little early because he was in the area making a delivery to a neighbor, and had left Bethany alone to finish the last of the dishes and cleanup. They’d had a good first day together. Bethany even thought they’d made a decent profit.
Her father would be proud.
Benjamin stopped the sleigh in front of the bakery, giving Bethany’s heart a jolt of excitement. Was he, perhaps, there to take her for a sleigh ride? She certainly hoped it was so. It was a bit early in the season for a sleigh ride, but they’d already had such an accumulation of snow, the weather had certainly made an accommodation for it.
She busied herself taking the empty trays back to the kitchen. She wiped them down and put them on the shelf just as the bells on the door alerted her Benjamin had entered the bakery. He called her name from the lobby.
Bethany poked her head through the swinging door. “In here. Just finishing up.”
He followed her into the kitchen, watching her hang her soiled apron across the sink.
“What brings you here so late?”
She didn’t want to jump to assumptions, but she couldn’t wait around for him to ask her. She was too anxious to find out.
Benjamin raised an eyebrow and smiled sheepishly. “I was hoping to convince you to go for a sleigh ride with me.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said with a smile. “A sleigh ride could give a girl the wrong idea. You said you wanted to keep our relationship strictly business.”
Benjamin smirked. “That was before—when we were working together. We aren’t working together anymore.”
“We certainly are not,” Bethany agreed, trying to hide her smile.
“It looks like you have everything under control here. Shall we leave?”
Bethany looked around, making a mental note of her closing checklist.
The back door was locked.
Her father had come by an hour earlier to remove the majority of the cash.
Ovens were off.
Everything was washed and put away.
Adam had taken out the trash before he’d left with Libby.
“All is done!”
“I can see that. Your mamm would be very proud.”
Tears welled up in Bethany’s throat. “Do you really think so?”
He pulled her into a gentle hug. “Of course I do. I’m proud of you too. You were an exceptional student.”
“Exceptionally rotten,” she said, sniffling.
He chuckled. “Jah, you really weren’t a very gut student, but the point is, you learned in spite of it all.”
Tears fell from her eyes. She didn’t want to leave the comfort of Benjamin’s arms, and she didn’t want to lose him again. “I’m sorry for sabotaging you. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I let my own selfish wants get in the way of being the sort of person that deserved to be treated as well as you treated me—even when I was at my worst.”
“I have a confession to make,” he said.
Bethany wiped her eyes. “What could you possibly have to confess?”
“Well, I suppose I have two confessions to make.”
Bethany stared into his mischievous eyes. “Now you’re making me a little nervous.”
“Nothing to be nervous about. But I have to tell you that the tricks you pulled made me laugh.”
He let out a chuckle, and Bethany joined in with a hearty laugh. “Mei vadder didn’t think it was very funny.”
“Jah, I suppose that’s why he fired me,” he said, laughing so hard his eyes filled with tears.
They both laughed as they exited the bakery, Bethany turning the key in the front door. All was secure, and her first day was a complete success, right down to the very moment Benjamin walked in the door.
Benjamin assisted Bethany into the sleigh and offered her a double quilt of red hues and floral patterns. It reminded her of Christmas, as did riding in a sleigh. Before her mother had passed on, her father used to take the family on regular sleigh rides. She was happy to see her father had dusted off the
sleigh and decided to use it again to take the widow out courting.
Bethany pushed aside thoughts of her past and set her mind to the present and all it had to offer. Benjamin slid onto the seat close to her and pulled the quilt over his lap. Picking up the reins, he set the horse into a slow trot, the jingle bells adding a little romance to the air.
He slowed the horse as he neared the creek bank at the far end of her new property. Moonlight glistened across the ripples in the water as is flowed by, rushing over rocks and under fallen branches. The trickling of the water and the sound of distant owls filled the cool air. The moon was nearly full, and it lit up the snowy landscape with a bluish tint. She couldn’t have asked for a better setting.
Benjamin turned to her and cupped his hands around her cheeks, pulling her gently toward him as he closed the space between them. His lips touched hers, and instant warmth filled her from head to toe.
She suddenly pulled away from him. “You never told me what your second confession was.”
Benjamin smiled. “I was only going to confess my love for you.”
Bethany giggled nervously, knowing how much she loved him too.
She couldn’t believe she’d been so foolish as to nearly lose Benjamin. That was all in the past. Now, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
CHAPTER 29
Bethany hurried to finish making the special breakfast she’d promised Levinia she’d prepare so the two of them could spend the morning with their father on his wedding day.
Levinia pushed her way through the kitchen door, the wind catching the handle from her grasp and slamming the door against the wall. Snow blew in, swirling about the floor as her sister struggled to get the door closed before the entire snowstorm blustered in through the opening. Bethany dropped the last piece of bacon onto the large platter and rushed to the door to help her sister.
“It’s a gut thing Benjamin offered to fetch the widow in the sleigh,” Levinia stated. “I believe the entire community will be using their sleighs to attend Daed’s wedding.”
Bethany peered out the window at the swirling snow hitting the glass with little icy pings.
“Jah, but I’m worried some of them won’t make it in this weather, and that would disappoint Daed.”
“Nee. Adam and Nate have their sleighs out of the barn as well, and have gone to fetch a few community members who don’t have them. They will make certain everyone is in attendance for Daed’s sake. I’m certain when Benjamin returns with the widow, he will join them to make sure everyone who is able to be here is in attendance.”
Bethany was pleased to hear that.
“I’m sure you’re right about that.”
She crossed to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed the dishes from the cupboard to set the table.
Levinia watched her sister work. “You’ve come a long way since I’ve left you to marry Nate. Who would have thought that mei little schweschder would grow up to be such a fine young woman?”
Bethany blushed. “I suppose I did learn a few things working at the B&B. Most of what I know I learned from you and Benjamin, though.”
Levinia pulled the lid off the scrambled eggs and hash, breathing in the aroma with a heavenly smile.
“You worked very hard for this, now don’t mess it up dear schweschder.”
“I won’t,” Bethany said. “I only wish I’d have learned sooner that everyone was not out to get me. I was the only one working against myself the whole time. By trying to sabotage Benjamin, I nearly sabotaged myself. I had become my own worst enemy.”
“It’s gut to hear you talk this way, Bethany,” her father’s deep baritone sounded from the doorway of the front room.
Startled, she assumed he must have come in through the front door to add firewood to the already large pile to keep the guests warm during the service and the wedding. It had been a while since they’d hosted a service in their home, and Bethany had forgotten the amount of work it entailed.
Soon, the counters would fill with dishes of food brought by the women in the community. The cake she had made for the wedding already graced the counter like a trophy.
It didn’t go unnoticed by her father.
He walked toward the cake and admired it.
“Your mamm would be proud to see such a cake made by the hands of her dochder. I’m very proud of you too. You have carried on your mamm’s legacy in a special way to honor our familye.”
“Danki, Daed.”
He sniffed the air. “Let’s eat. I’ve worked up quite the appetite already and the day has only begun.”
Levinia and Bethany brought the breakfast to the table for this very special day. It would be the last meal they would take together before everything changed.
Change is gut, Bethany thought to herself as she sneaked another peek at the cake.
She was proud of herself for turning out such a flawless creation. She only hoped it would taste as pretty as it looked.
CHAPTER 30
Bethany looked for the widow in the kitchen, hoping to catch her before all the women-folk crowded in to serve their families. She found her admiring the cake she’d made for their wedding.
She stood back for a moment and looked at the woman from the doorway. She was no longer a widow; she was married to Bethany’s father. What was Bethany to call her now that she was married? She supposed Frau Miller would work, but it seemed too formal. She would never dream of being so disrespectful to her elder by addressing her by her given name, unless the woman was to permit that.
As she watched the prideful smile fill the older woman’s face as she admired the special cake, Bethany decided that none of those titles meant as much to her as having a mother would.
She approached the woman and hugged her.
“I didn’t see you come in,” she said to Bethany.
“I think you did a wunderbaar job making this cake. It would seem as if you never needed my help at all; from the look of this cake, I’d say you have a natural talent. Most likely an inheritance from your mamm. She would be proud if she could see what you have made in her honor.”
“I didn’t make it in honor of her. I made it in honor of you—as mei new mamm.”
“Danki,” the older woman said, tears filling her eyes. “It would be an honor to be your new mamm.”
Bethany hugged her again. “You’re wrong about one thing, though.”
“What about?”
“I do need your help,” Bethany admitted. “I still need you to teach me how to make that shoofly pie. I believe I’m finally ready.”
“I believe you are,” her new mamm said.
Bethany could hardly wait.
THE END
READ ON TO THE NEXT BOOK
Amish Brides
of Willow Creek
Book Four: Snowflake Bride
Christmas Edition
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
Snowflake Bride
CHAPTER 1
“Am I dead?” Libby heard herself whisper.
No one answered.
Libby felt no pain. Only weightlessness, as she beheld snowflakes fluttering toward her. She could no more blink them away, than she could move. No sound reached her ears except the steady rhythm of her own heartbeat, and even that
was subdued by the gentle breeze that propelled wispy snowflakes to and fro. The grey sky, endlessly populated with flurries, blanketed her in a tranquil haven, devoid of all reasoning.
“Am I dead?” she repeated.
The wailing of distant sirens invaded her sanctuary from reality.
The warmth of a hand slipped into hers and squeezed lightly. A faint and gentle baritone spoke calming words she struggled to comprehend. If not for the tone, they would have instilled panic in her.
Did she know that voice?
Snowflakes swirled overhead, their slow-motion dance carrying her away.
Another squeeze of warmth against her hand brought her back. “Stay with me now, Darlin’,” the smooth baritone pleaded.
Was there a face that went with the voice?
Libby averted her focus away from the downy snowflakes long enough to gaze into a pair of golden brown eyes.
“There you are, Darlin’,” the soothing voice spoke near her ear. “For a minute there, I thought you were going to leave me.”
Do I know you?
Sweet, brown eyes crinkled slightly at the corners, a bright smile aimed hospitality toward her. Whoever he was, Libby thought he was quite handsome. She focused on the kindness of his eyes. Sunlight peeked through the clouds behind him, making him appear almost angelic.
“Don’t leave me, Libby.”
The handsome face smiled brightly, kindness emanating from him.
Libby lost herself in his gaze, until pain interrupted her thoughts. She closed her eyes tightly, wincing against the pain that seemed to press against her skull like the weight of a horse. Tears slipped from her eyes, and panic overcame her. It rushed through her like the force of an ice-storm, crippling her with fear.
Trying to raise her head, Libby opened her eyes long enough to witness everything around her spinning out of control. Bile burned her throat as she heaved the contents of her stomach. What was happening to her?
“Libby,” someone was saying. “Hang in there, we’re taking you to the hospital. Everything is going to be okay.”
Amish Brides of Willow Creek 1-4 Omnibus Page 28
