He nodded to each of them in turn. “I’m sorry to crash your party.”
He gently coaxed Joy forward. “This is my daughter, Joy. She is the one on a mission.”
“’Cause I’ve been missing Pickles and she has been missing me,” Joy declared.
Leah grinned at her friends. “Joy was here the day the puppies were born. She named the blond one.”
“Pickles is a marvelous name,” Joann said.
“Are you going to name the others?” Rebecca asked.
“Yup. They are Peanut Butter and Jelly.”
Sarah was trying hard not to laugh. “Pickles, Peanut Butter and Jelly. I’d say those are some unusual but tasty names for puppies.”
“If there had been a fourth one, you could have called it Church Spread,” Joann added in all seriousness.
“What’s that?” Joy asked, looking up at her dad.
Caleb smiled at her. “Church spread is peanut butter mixed with marshmallow cream.”
“I had that Sunday. It was yummy.” Joy closed her eyes, grinned big and rubbed her tummy, her shyness forgotten.
“My grandfather loved to eat his church spread with dill pickles. I don’t have church spread, but I do have oatmeal raisin cookies. Would you like some?” Leah picked up a plate from the counter and held it out to Joy.
Joy glanced up at her father. He nodded. She quickly took two and rushed to the corner where Trixie lay with her pups.
Leah was left standing beside Caleb. She realized her friends were all watching her closely. She held the plate toward him and tried for a casual tone. Anything to hide the fact that her heart was racing as it always did when he was near. “We are getting ready for a cookie exchange at Rebecca’s home on Friday. Would you like to sample some?”
“Oatmeal raisin is my favorite. How did you know?” He winked at her friends, as if she had made the cookies just for him.
Her smile turned chilly. “Your brother told me.”
That took the grin off Caleb’s face.
Instantly, she was sorry. No one at the table knew the full story about Leah’s broken engagement. They only knew that Wayne and Rhonda had had a hurry-up wedding. They certainly weren’t the first young couple to have a babe arrive early. Only Sarah knew Leah had been serious about Wayne. It was never mentioned after the wedding took place. As upsetting as it was at the time, Leah realized now that she hadn’t truly been in love with Wayne. She had been in love with the idea of marriage and starting a family of her own.
Would she have grown to love Wayne the way a wife should? She honestly didn’t know.
She set the plate aside and joined Joy where she knelt by the puppies. “Would you like to hold Pickles?”
“Yes, please. Daddy said I wasn’t to bug you about it. I was just to look at her.”
“Then you have done very well to obey him.” Leah lifted the pup from the blanket.
Joy took the puppy from Leah. “Has their daddy been here?”
“Nee, he has not come by again,” Leah admitted.
“But it’s almost Christmas. Pickles wants to see her daddy for Christmas.”
Caleb said, “She has her mother and that’s all she needs right now.”
“No, she wants them both. See how unhappy she is. It’s all right, Pickles.” Joy hugged the puppy to console her.
Leah met Caleb’s gaze. What was sad was the way Joy gave the puppy her own wants and needs.
Joann joined them. “May I hold a puppy?”
“Of course.” Leah handed her friend the largest male.
“What do you think, Joy? Is this Peanut Butter, or is this Jelly?” Joann asked with a grin.
Joy gave the question careful consideration as she held Pickles next to her cheek. “I think that one is Peanut Butter. He has brown feet.”
“Have you come home for a Christmas visit?” Rebecca asked Caleb.
“Something like that.”
“Then you must bring Joy to our cookie exchange. I know she will enjoy it. There will be many children her age there. My husband would be delighted to meet you. He was out in the Englisch world for years before returning to us. He enjoys talking about cars and airplanes and all the things that he used to know.”
Caleb shot a quick glance at Leah and then looked down at his boots. “Thank you for the invitation, but I’m not sure I can make it.”
Sarah said, “We hope you can. We won’t even require you to bring a pail of cookies, for I’m sure your mother will bring plenty. There will be more than enough for everyone. Leah, I think your last batch should be about done.”
Leah glanced at the clock and hurried to her oven. The cookies were a little browner than she liked but thankfully not burned. She set the baking sheet on top of the stove and began removing the cookies. Caleb went to crouch beside Joy and admire the puppies. “They are getting bigger already.”
Leah watched their interaction. It would be a good idea for Joy to interact with the other children on a fun occasion. Caleb would be reluctant to come if his brother and Rhonda were there. Maggie could bring the child, of course, but Leah found herself wishing that Caleb would come, too. The more he became involved in the community, the greater the chance was that he would change his mind and stay.
She transferred the last cookie and set the sheet aside to cool while she spooned more dough onto a second sheet. “Joann, have we heard who all is coming to the exchange?”
Joann’s work at the paper left her privy to all the local goings-on. “I don’t think there will be as many families there as last year. We’re having it a week earlier, and it turns out Esther Zook is hosting a quilting frolic for her niece on the same night.”
Sarah moved to snitch a warm cookie from Leah’s plate. “That means Grace and Henry Zook won’t be there, but Levi and the twins are coming. What about Rhonda and Wayne?”
Leah resisted the urge to see if Caleb was listening. She bent and put a new tray of unbaked cookies in the oven. “Rhonda will go to the quilting bee. She mentioned that Wayne plans to visit with Bishop Zook about a church issue, so they won’t be at the cookie exchange.”
Joann replaced the puppy she was holding and returned to the table. “If our turnout is small, we can hold another one closer to Christmas.”
Sarah said, “We should hold one when the twins are away visiting their grandmother. Then everyone can be assured that they will get home with cookies and not empty pails.”
The women laughed. The twins, Moses and Atlee, were notorious pranksters.
Caleb stood and said, “Joy, it’s time for the puppy to go back with her mother.”
She replaced the puppy and gave Trixie a pat on the head. “Your baby likes me, but she needs you more. You are a good mommy.”
“That’s right,” he said and took her hand.
Leah turned away from the stove with a dozen cookies wrapped in a blue-and-white-checkered napkin. She handed them to Joy. “A few for the road.”
“Yum.” Joy gleefully grabbed the offering.
“What do you say?” Caleb prompted.
“Thanks. I mean, danki.”
Leah propped her hands on her hips. “Your Deitsh is getting better all the time.”
“Mammi is helping me. Can I have a cookie now, Daed?”
“When we are in the buggy. Leah, will you walk us out?”
She hesitated and glanced at her friends, but they were busy looking through her recipe book for a new sugar cookie. She followed Caleb outside. He opened the door of the buggy for Joy and she hopped in. He said, “Now you can have one.”
“Two?”
“One.”
“Okay.”
Leah grinned at Joy’s dejected tone. Caleb turned to face her. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Do what?” she asked, even though she knew what he meant.
“You don’t have to put yourself between my brother and me.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She didn’t want him thinking she had his inter
est at heart. Maybe she did, but she wasn’t ready to admit it. Certainly not to him.
“You wanted me to know Wayne wasn’t coming to the cookie exchange so that I could come. I don’t want you to feel you have to take sides.”
“I’m not.”
“Then I’m glad you invited me. I’ll be there.” His voice grew warm and her pulse sped up.
She clenched her hands together to hide her growing jitters. “Joy will enjoy it.”
“I will, too, if you are going to be there.”
She stared at him in speechless shock.
He seemed to realize he’d gone too far. “Thanks again for being kind to Joy and including her. It helps knowing she will have a friend in you when I’m gone.”
She gathered her scattered thoughts. “I wish you would reconsider that decision.”
“Do you?”
He took a step closer. She didn’t back away. His gaze softened. “Do you really want me to stay, Leah?”
Chapter Eight
Caleb’s low, husky voice caused Leah’s breath to catch in her throat. His nearness sent her pulse racing. Thick tension filled the air. His eyes held an emotion she didn’t understand, but it pulled at her, making her want to move closer to him.
She had an overwhelming desire to lay her hand upon his cheek and study him until the riddle was solved. What would his skin feel like? She could imagine the rough texture of his whiskers, the heat that would warm her palm and spread through her body.
His lips were slightly parted as he gazed at her. When he kissed, would they be soft and inviting or hard and demanding? If she moved a step closer, would she discover the answer?
The boldness of her thoughts shocked her. She came to her senses and looked away to break the attraction growing between them. “I’m only thinking of Joy. She needs you to stay.”
He moved back a pace. She sensed his disappointment. “Fair enough. Don’t let your cookies burn.”
He climbed into his father’s buggy and gathered the reins. She took a step toward him, wanting him to stay longer, but she didn’t know what to say.
Why did he confuse her this way? She was a level-headed person. She never flustered easily. So why was she flustered now?
He gave her a wry smile, as if he understood something she didn’t. He clicked his tongue to set the horse in motion and drove away. She stood staring after him until the cold made her shiver.
She returned to the house to find her friends watching her with wide eyes. No one said anything. Finally, she asked, “What?”
“Caleb Mast has grown into a gutguckich fellow.” Joann went back to studying the recipe book.
“A very good-looking man, indeed,” Sarah agreed. “I liked him and his darling daughter.”
“Do you think he means to stay among us?” Rebecca asked.
“I don’t think so.” Leah closed the door. She didn’t feel right sharing Caleb’s plans with her friends. They might not look so kindly upon him if they knew he intended to leave Joy with his parents and go back to his Englisch life.
Although why she should wish to protect him was a mystery to her. One she didn’t care to examine too closely. Not with so many prying eyes watching her.
Rebecca smiled softly. “My Gideon did not know he wished to return to us until he came for my quilt auction.”
Two years ago, the community had come together and held a quilt auction to raise money for a surgery that would restore Rebecca’s sight. Gideon learned of his lost love’s plight and returned to help. Leah was happy to stop talking about Caleb. “You mean Gideon didn’t know he wanted to return until he saw you at the quilt auction.”
Rebecca shrugged. “If I was the tool used to nudge Gideon back to God, I’m happy I was part of His plan. God moves in mysterious ways, you know. We all have a part in His wondrous design though we may never know what that is.”
Leah went to the stove, picked up her hot pad and opened the oven to check on her cookies. They needed another minute or two. She closed the door and put the hot pad aside. Was she part of some plan to help Caleb return to their community? It was hard to imagine a more unlikely scenario.
“Let’s try this recipe for macaroons.” Joann stabbed the page she was studying.
“Do we have all the ingredients it calls for?” Sarah leaned over to read it.
Joann looked at Rebecca. “I think I put a can of sweetened condensed milk in with the things I brought. Would you check and see if it’s in that box on the counter?”
Rebecca came to stand beside Leah. She glanced into the box and said, “Yes, we have some.”
Leah looked down at the oven. “They aren’t ready yet.”
“I guessed as much.” Rebecca lowered her voice. “When I was blind, I spent a lot of time listening to people and reading what they thought in the tone of their voices. Now that God has seen fit to restore my sight, I spend a lot of time watching people.”
“And?” Leah shifted uncomfortably.
“I see and hear something between Caleb Mast and you.”
“You are mistaken.” Leah opened the oven door again. The cookies still weren’t ready. She closed the door with a bang.
“If you say so, I must accept that. Just remember that lying is a sin.”
Leah yanked open the oven door and pulled out the cookie sheet anyway. “He’s not one of us. He turned his back on his family and cast aside his faith. How could I have any feelings for a man like that except pity?”
The hot tray of cookies slipped sideways and she burned her fingers when she tried to save it. The pan clattered to the floor, sending cookies tumbling across her kitchen. Dropping the sheet, she brought her stinging finger to her mouth.
Her friends rushed to help. Sarah and Joann cleaned up while Rebecca pulled Leah to the sink and ran cold water over her hand.
The pain was just punishment for her lie. It wasn’t pity that made her heart race when Caleb was near.
What was wrong with her?
* * *
Caleb slapped the reins against the horse’s rump to speed him up. No matter how fast Bobby trotted, he couldn’t outrun Caleb’s humiliation. He had made a fool of himself. There was no way around it.
Had he really expected Leah to say what he wanted to hear? That she wished he would stay for her.
Of all the women in the world, why did it have to be Leah Belier who turned him inside out? When he was close to her, his brain shut off and his emotions took over. She made him feel breathless, like a love-struck kid with his first crush.
Caring about her wasn’t the problem. The consequences of pursuing her would be disastrous. For both of them. He had to get himself in hand. There couldn’t be anything between them. She would never leave the Amish, and he couldn’t stay.
Besides, Leah wasn’t interested in him. Her interest was in Joy, not in Joy’s wayward father.
“Do you want a cookie?” His daughter held the napkin toward him.
“Thanks.” He selected one and took a bite. It was delicious. Of course Leah had to be a good cook, too. Good with kids, good with dogs, the only thing she wouldn’t be good with was having Caleb Mast as a suitor.
He sat up straight. Suitor was a strong word. Was he really contemplating a relationship with her? He had to be out of his mind.
Joy sighed heavily. He glanced her way. “What’s the matter, kiddo?”
“I’m tired. Why can’t we drive places in the truck? We could be home by now.”
“I thought you liked riding in the buggy. I’m using it out of respect for my parents. They believe that cars are worldly things. While we are staying with them, it’s only polite to honor what they believe, even if I don’t think that way myself.”
“Are we going home to Texas soon? Mama might come see me for Christmas. She did last year.”
How long would she hold on to that wish? Was it wrong for him to hope she would forget about Val and her life before coming to Hope Springs? “Your mama can come and see you here if she wants. I lef
t word with Jake so she knows where we’re staying.”
“I don’t think she can find me here. I don’t think she likes me anymore.”
“Your mother loves you and she always will.” He hoped it wasn’t a lie.
“Are Grandpa and Grandma really poor?”
That was an abrupt change of subject. “No. They just believe in living a simple life.”
“Is Leah poor?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Grandpa, Grandma and Leah don’t have any Christmas decorations up. They don’t have a tree or stockings hung. Nana said that sometimes poor people can’t afford a Christmas tree.”
How did he explain Amish reasoning to an eight-year-old who couldn’t grasp complex ideas? “That’s not the reason my parents and Leah don’t have a tree. They believe in celebrating the true meaning of Christmas, which has to do with the birth of Christ.”
“The baby in the manger. I heard that story.”
“Good. I’m glad.” At least she’d had some exposure to the faith that was so important to the Amish community he hoped she could join. He should have explored the topic sooner.
“Do you think Santa Claus is going to be able to find me way out here?”
He hadn’t given a single thought to how he should celebrate Christmas with her. Add another item to the list of things that made him a lousy parent. How would she react to the customs that were so very different from the ones she had grown up knowing?
“Joy, Santa Claus doesn’t come to Amish homes.”
“Why not? Are the Amish bad?”
“Of course not. Santa Claus doesn’t come to Amish homes because he knows that the Amish don’t need him to help celebrate the birth of Jesus.”
“But I’m not Amish. I’ve been good. He’s going to bring me presents, isn’t he?” She sounded worried.
He quickly sought to reassure her. “There will be presents for you, Joy. They won’t be fancy presents, and Santa won’t bring them. Your grandpa, grandma and I will get them for you.”
“How will you know what to get? Santa always knows and picks just the right presents, even if I don’t tell him.”
Amish Christmas Joy (Mills & Boon Love Inspired) (Brides of Amish Country - Book 10) Page 9
