Amish White Christmas: Three Complete Novellas (Snowflakes on Goose Pond, Snow Angels, The Gingerbread Haus {Amish Christian Romance})

by Samantha Jillian Bayarr

  Jesse pulled away from the kiss. “Will you be my date for the Christmas party tonight? I apologize for asking at the last minute and would have asked you sooner, but you wouldn’t see me.”

  “Jah,” she said with a giggle.

  Ruby could hardly contain her emotions. It was her that Jesse liked. She had been wrong about Jesse’s interest in her and couldn’t be happier about it.

  “What is going on here?” Prissy interrupted.

  Ruby’s heart thumped forcefully against her ribcage. She had been wrong about Prissy too, and she owed her an apology for assuming the worst about her dear cousin.

  Jesse gave her hand a squeeze, letting her know it was alright to end their conversation for the time-being. “I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock.”

  Ruby couldn’t help but smile, which he returned in earnest. “I can’t wait!”

  He left Ruby and Priscilla and went to the bench to remove his skates.

  Ruby turned to Prissy. “Before you yell at me, I want to explain.”

  Prissy interrupted her. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I was the one that was jealous of you—for having your daed and bruder when mine are gone. I know you lost your mudder, and I was never there for you when you went through that. This is my first Christmas without mei familye, and I’ve been taking my anger out on you. Will you forgive me, Ruby?”

  Tears pooled in Ruby’s eyes. She hurt for her cousin. She knew how it felt to lose a parent, but not a bruder. Knowing the pain she’d endured at the loss of her mamm, she couldn’t imagine having to be without Gabriel too.

  “I’m sorry too, Prissy. I misjudged you, and let my feelings for Jesse cloud my vision so much that I couldn’t see you were hurting and needed me.”

  Prissy hugged Ruby briefly. “I have something I want to tell you, but I have someone waiting for me right now. Something amazing has happened and I can’t wait to tell you. Can we talk later at the party?”

  Ruby was stunned.

  Prissy seemed almost happy.

  “Jah, I can’t wait to have a talk with you about whatever it is that seems to have you in better spirits.”

  Prissy smiled. “It’s wunderbaar. We will have a long talk later—the way we used to when we were young girls spending our summers together.”

  Ruby hugged Prissy again, a prayer of thanks on her heart.

  THE END

  SNOW ANGELS

  A Novella

  Chapter One

  “Leave me alone, Tobias!” Priscilla shouted. “I don’t want to skate with you!”

  Tobias huddled up closer to Prissy. “Mei schweschder and bruder asked me to keep you company, so I have to or I will never hear the end of it from either of them.”

  Priscilla tipped the toe-kick forward on her right skate and dragged it across the ice until she slowed enough to face Tobias. “What do you mean they asked you to keep me company? That’s why you’ve been skating with me for the past two days? Do they think I can’t take care of myself? Do you think I’m a boppli and you have to watch me?”

  “Nee. Exactly the opposite.”

  Prissy stared at the layer of snow gathering along the brim of Tobias’s black hat. She didn’t dare gaze upon the depth of his blue eyes that both frightened and excited her. Jesse was the target of her affection because there was safety in his rejection. If she let down the guard around her heart with Tobias, she might not survive the pain he would leave in his wake. Steeling her emotions against Tobias’s charm, Prissy bit her bottom lip to distract herself from the hope that tried to creep into her heart.

  Having just lost her daed and her bruder less than a year ago, she couldn’t afford to let another mann into her heart. She felt so shattered by the loss that she didn’t think she had any heart left to spare another person. She’d been pushing everyone away for months—especially her cousin, Ruby, who was only trying to help her. Prissy didn’t want any help; she could handle her life on her own. After all, with the exception of her mamm, who paid little attention to her anymore, she was all alone in this world.

  “The opposite of what, Tobias?” she asked through gritted teeth.

  Tobias smiled at her, his breath forming an icy cloud that Prissy focused on—anything to keep from looking at him directly.

  “You’re anything but a boppli. Anyone with eyes can see what a beautiful young woman you are.”

  Priscilla pursed her lips and sighed. “Tobias Fisher, you are not allowed to speak to me that way!”

  Tobias chuckled. “I don’t see anyone stopping me!” He poked her ribs in fun, skating backward to keep himself just out of her reach. “Do you think you can stop me?”

  Was he flirting with her or teasing her? Either way, his gentle laugh twisted her heart into knots she could not untangle. If she allowed him to disrupt her thoughts and break through the barriers that guarded her heart, there would be no turning back.

  Tobias turned his mouth downward in a mock-frown. “You don’t even want to try? You’re no fun!”

  Priscilla pushed at him, but he slid to the side and turned sharply on the ice. He was an excellent skater among other things. He was far too handsome to be considered a buwe. Nee, Tobias was a mann, and far too charming to resist.

  “Is this fun for you? Skating with me because your familye ordered you to?”

  Pushing himself in front of her, Tobias grabbed Priscilla’s hands and pulled her along while he skated backward. “They aren’t forcing me; I have my own will.”

  Prissy bit her lip to keep from arguing with Tobias. He was an above-average skater, and above average in looks too. She found it difficult to resist him when he smiled, his blue eyes reflecting the sky. Wisps of snow danced around them as their surroundings meshed together until there was only the two of them skating on the ice. Voices became muffled and scenery blurred as Tobias came into focus. His thick, blond hair was pushed back off his forehead and tucked beneath his hat. Broad shoulders framed his muscular chest that was visible through his open coat. His royal blue shirt hugged him the way Priscilla wanted to.

  Steeling herself against such thoughts, Priscilla broke free from Tobias. “I have to go!”

  “Please stay a little longer,” he pleaded. “I’d like to get to know you better.”

  Fear gripped Priscilla’s heart and squeezed until it brought pain. She couldn’t breathe. Trees around the pond began to spin out of control. If she didn’t leave, she would surely pass out.

  “You look like you need to sit down,” Tobias said as he urged her toward a bench on the edge of the pond.

  Priscilla didn’t resist for fear she would collapse in front of him and embarrass herself. She shivered, but not just from the cold. His arm around her waist made it nearly impossible for her to concentrate on the steps she took toward the bench.

  “You’re cold,” he said. “I have a lap-quilt in the sleigh. I could even give you a ride home.”

  “Nee, I can walk,” she said through chattering teeth.

  “I can’t let you walk home,” he said in almost a whisper so close to her temple.

  How had he managed to get so close without her knowing? Or had she been aware of him the whole time?

  Priscilla lowered herself to the bench, sad to be out of Tobias’s arms. “I’ll wait here for you.”

  With one last smile that caused Priscilla’s heart to flutter, he was gone from her side. Her gaze followed him as he lumbered across the snow toward his waiting sleigh. She couldn’t sit there and wait for him; she had to leave before he invaded her heart more than he already had. There was no way Priscilla would be able to resist his charms if he continued to cradle her heart with his.

  Chapter Two

  Hanging the laces of her skates over her shoulder, Priscilla put a hand on the skate hanging down the front of her and hooked her gloved fingers in the gap between the blade and the boot. She was tempted to wait until Tobias returned from his sleigh to take her home, but she wasn’t ready to face her feelings for him. With Tobias pre
occupied with telling his bruder, Jesse, he was giving her a ride home; Priscilla set her own course toward home.

  Every step she took away from Tobias moved her further away from the glimpse of happiness she’d just experienced. It had given her a token glimmer of hope to move forward with her life. Priscilla had been so full of anger for so many months over the loss of her daed and bruder, and she felt guilty for finding joy in anything. Would she ever be able to feel normal again? Would the pain of losing the menner in her familye ever go away?

  Thick snow fell on her cheeks and she blinked heavy flakes from her dark lashes. Her emotions were not so easy to brush away. Her boots crunched with every labored step in the new-fallen snow. Her heart was heavy and her footfalls heavier. Why had she walked away from Tobias? He was kind, and much more handsome than Jesse. So why was she fixating so much on Jesse when it was clear he wanted nothing to do with her? The only reason she could give herself was that it was easier to go after something she knew she couldn’t get than to admit fear over rejection from the one she did want—Tobias.

  Tiring of walking already, Priscilla stumbled off the side of the path and crumpled to the ground. Without thinking, her arms and legs made wide arcs to form a snow angel. Tears welled up in her throat as she continued to form the snow angel. Snowflakes fell on her as though she was one with the earth, and she was numb from the snow melting beneath her, soaking her dress and thick stockings. Priscilla closed her eyes against the falling snow, her sobs shaking her. She didn’t care that the thick snow buried her in a cold cocoon that would soon smother her.

  Gott, I miss mei daed and mei bruder.

  ****

  Tobias had watched Prissy wander from the bench where he’d left her as he struggled to untie the knots in the laces of his ice skates. If he couldn’t get his boots on in a hurry, he’d lose sight of her before he could catch up to her. He didn’t want her walking home alone after the way she looked a few minutes before. He felt responsible, but more than that, he realized he cared for her. He had no idea how it happened, or even when, since up until a few days ago he’d spent very little time around her.

  Stuffing his feet into his boots, Tobias hopped from the familye sleigh and searched the path for Priscilla. The snow was too thick and the wind too fierce for him to see any sign of her. He tucked his scarf into the collar of his wool coat and walked toward the path, wondering if it would help to call out her name. Deciding against it, he whispered a prayer for guidance in locating her. Shielding his eyes from the sting of the thickening snow, Tobias prayed she’d already made her way home.

  Up ahead, something to the side of the path caught his eye.

  It was Priscilla—lying on the ground.

  He rushed to her, worrying she had collapsed. When he drew closer, he could barely distinguish the outline of a snow angel surrounding her lifeless form. Falling to his knees beside her, Tobias scooped her head out of the snow, and gently swept the ice from her cheeks with his bare hand.

  She groaned.

  At least she was alive, and had not been lying there long enough to risk frostbite. Pulling her into his arms, Tobias stood, her tiny frame cradled against him.

  “My snow angel,” Priscilla mumbled.

  Tobias placed a kiss on her forehead that rested against his chest. “You can finish it later,” he said gently.

  “I have to make one for mei bruder.”

  “You already made one,” Tobias answered her.

  “That was for mei daed. He’s in heaven.”

  Tobias felt his heart thump double-time. She was making snow angels for her deceased familye—no wonder she was delirious. He couldn’t imagine how much she must have been hurting to risk her own safety to do such a thing.

  With no further response from her, Tobias braced the two of them against the wind and carried her slowly toward the doctor’s haus. His home office was closer than Priscilla’s farm, and Tobias worried she needed tending to.

  Priscilla suddenly wriggled in his arms. “Put me down!” she demanded.

  “I’m taking you to see the doctor,” Tobias said firmly. “If the doc says you’re alright, then I’ll let you walk on your own.”

  Pushing at his chest, Tobias fought to hold onto to her. “I’m telling you I’m alright. I don’t need to see the doctor.”

  Tobias stopped walking; Priscilla’s struggling against him making his steps difficult in the deep snow. He looked into her pale face that was so close to his. He was tempted to kiss her shivering lips just to quiet them.

  “You were passed out in the snow and you were deliriously talking about snow angels. I think you need to see the doc.”

  Priscilla wriggled from his arms, her feet hitting the ground with a muffled thump in the deep snow. She studied Tobias, wondering how much she’d revealed to him without knowing.

  “Mind your own business, Tobias Fisher, and stay out of mine. Next time you think you need to go rescuing someone, leave me alone because I don’t want your help, and I certainly don’t need it!”

  Tobias watched Priscilla walk away from him, dragging his heart along with every step she took.

  Chapter Three

  Tobias wondered if he was doing the right thing as he stepped into Priscilla’s yard. It was late, but he felt compelled to finish for her what she had started and failed to do earlier that day. He had heard that she and her mudder had moved to the community after her daed and bruder had died in a buggy accident. He couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling from her loss. More than that, this would be her first Christmas without her whole familye, and Tobias decided to make it his personal goal to make her Christmas as happy as possible—even if that meant enduring a lot more of her yelling at him.

  By the light of the moon, Tobias lowered himself onto the glistening snow and began the first snow angel. He had not made one of these since he was a young buwe, but he was certain he remembered how. Moving his legs and arms in a perfect arc, he swished the deep snow to form the first angel. As he lay on the ground in the stillness of the crisp, night air, Tobias let his thoughts wander to Priscilla. It had been nice to hold her earlier, even if she had resisted him when she’d opened her green eyes and looked at him. The temptation to kiss her had been too great to resist, but he did for her sake.

  Tobias stood up carefully so he didn’t mess up the formation of the snow angel. He looked down at it, wondering if he should trample it and leave or if he should risk angering Priscilla by making a second one. He hoped they would cheer her up, but he knew there was a chance his efforts would backfire on him. Priscilla was moody to say the least, and he only wished she would let him comfort her and ease the pain of her loss. Instead, she let her anger spill over to everyone around her. Tobias wasn’t worried about himself so much as he was about her. She was quickly losing the respect of those around her because of her attitude. If not for her beauty and the pull he felt toward her, Tobias wouldn’t have anything to do with her either. Since discovering the reason behind her anger earlier that day, Tobias filled himself with determination to push past the hurt that caused her fury toward those around her.

  Lying in the cavity of the second snow angel, Tobias looked up into the clear sky. Grateful the snow had abated, he gazed up at the twinkling stars, his breath crystalizing against the deep blue of the sky as he exhaled. He wished he could share this moment with Priscilla, who was probably tucked away in bed for the night. Warmth enveloped him as his thoughts wandered. He could still feel her in his arms; the warmth of her cheek pressing against his chest had seeped through the fabric of his shirt. He was certain she hadn’t been aware that he’d kissed her on her forehead. If she had, she most likely would have yelled at him for that too. While any other mann would probably run from Priscilla, Tobias saw gaining her love as a challenge. He felt he understood her, whereas none other would dare look past her ferocity.

  ****

  Priscilla tossed around, trying to find warmth beneath the quilts piled onto her bed. She wrapped herself up in t
hem, but nothing brought relief from the cold that invaded the small haus where she and her mamm lived. Her daed had always tended the fire at night, keeping the haus toasty warm in winter, but with him gone, the task became her responsibility. She was too cold to get up, but it was her duty to care for her mamm in her daed’s absence. She reluctantly pushed back the quilts, grabbing her knitted shawl and wrapping it about her shoulders.

  As she entered the sitting room, her heart sank when she realized she’d forgotten to gather enough wood for the night. Her cousin, Gabriel, had cut and stacked enough wood to get them through the winter, but every wedge was stacked against the barn. She shivered at the thought of having to go out into the cold night to fetch firewood, but if she didn’t, the haus would be unbearably cold within a couple of hours. It was already cold enough in the haus to make her shiver, and she knew that waiting was too much of a risk. Pulling on her boots and heavy wool coat, Priscilla forced herself out into the frigid night air.

  The sound of a closing door startled Tobias. He sprang up from the ground like a jackrabbit and ducked behind a large oak tree. He watched as Priscilla walked out toward the side of the barn. What was she doing outside so late? He moved slowly across the yard until he could see her pushing at the layer of snow that had accumulated over the top of the wood pile. She was obviously getting ready to gather wood for the haus, and he couldn’t stand by and watch her struggle.

  He advanced toward her cautiously, certain that she had heard him approach. “Let me help you with that,” he said as he took a step closer.

  Priscilla jumped back and screamed, putting a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart. “What are you doing out here this time of night?”

  How was he going to answer her without giving away his surprise? He picked up a few pieces of cut wood, hoping to buy himself some time to think of a reasonable explanation that wouldn’t be a lie.