A serious maedel. A carefree bachelor...

And a Christmas Amish Country Courtships surprise!

Lucy Knepp has no time for heartbreaker Nick Burkholder…until a pretend courtship means she can finish her embroidery for a Christmas fund-raiser in peace. Nick’s arrangement with the too-reserved Lucy is the perfect cover while he repairs the cabin his brother damaged. But once Nick sees how vibrant Lucy really is, can he prove himself—and show their love is for all seasons?

CARRIE LIGHTE lives in Massachusetts next door to a Mennonite farming family, and she frequently spots deer, foxes, fisher cats, coyotes and turkeys in her backyard. Having enjoyed traveling to several Amish communities in the eastern United States, she looks forward to visiting settlements in the western states and in Canada. When she’s not reading, writing or researching, Carrie likes to hike, kayak, bake and play word games.

Also By Carrie Lighte

Amish Country Courtships

Amish Triplets for Christmas

Anna’s Forgotten Fiancé

An Amish Holiday Wedding

Minding the Amish Baby

Her New Amish Family

Her Amish Holiday Suitor

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Her Amish Holiday Suitor

Carrie Lighte

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09751-2

HER AMISH HOLIDAY SUITOR

© 2019 Carrie Lighte

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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“I really am sorry, Lucy,” Nick said softly.

When Lucy finally stopped crying, she asked, “May I use your handkerchief, please?”

“You can use my scarf. I don’t mind.”

The offer to use Nick’s scarf to dry her eyes and blow her nose was so ridiculous and sweet it caused Lucy to chuckle. “Neh, that’s okay,” she said, removing her mittens to dab her tears.

“I’m sorry I treated you that way. I didn’t mean to. I care about you, and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. I especially wouldn’t want to play a role in hurting you.”

Lucy was overwhelmed. No man had ever said anything like that to her before, even in friendship. “It’s not your fault,” she said. “And I do appreciate that you care. But I’m not as fragile as you think I am.”

“Fragile? You? I don’t think you’re fragile at all,” Nick scoffed. “I think you’re one of the most resilient women I’ve ever known.”

Lucy was overwhelmed again. If this kept up, she was going to fall hard for Nick Burkholder. Maybe she already had...

Dear Reader,

When I was around Lucy’s age, I was sometimes drawn to gregarious, charming men like Nick, who in many ways were a contrast to my reserved, introverted personality. Then I went through a phase where I deliberately avoided that type of man at all costs. Like Lucy and Nick, I eventually realized I couldn’t judge a book by its cover one way or the other; I had to get to know the person—and vice versa—on more than a superficial level before determining whether or not to develop a relationship.

Similarly, I’m reminded of Isaiah 53:2, which indicates there was no comeliness about Christ that we would be drawn to Him. Whether that refers to His physical appearance, lineage, societal status or something else, I’m not certain. But I do know He wasn’t anything like people expected. Discovering who He is and how much He loves me is the most rewarding joy of my life, as I hope it is for you, too.

Blessings,

Carrie Lighte

For the Lord seeth not as man seeth;

for man looketh on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looketh on the heart.

—1 Samuel 16:7

For the readers who have followed

my Amish Country Courtships series,

with much gratitude for your interest

and best wishes for your lives.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

“You did what?” Nick Burkholder asked as he guided his horse along the dark, winding country roads of Willow Creek, Pennsylvania. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and he and his brother were on their way to a singing at Frederick Stutzman’s house. Their plan was to make a brief appearance and then leave to hang out with Nick’s Amish friends from Elmsville at an eatery in Highland Springs.

“On Friday night I, uh, sort of started a fire in Jenny Nelson’s cabin,” seventeen-year-old Kevin repeated, referring to the vacation house of an Englisch acquaintance.

The redheaded brothers were known for kidding around, so Nick assumed Kevin was joking. “Oh, I get it. You mean you started a fire in their fireplace. You sounded so serious you had me going for a minute there. Voll schpass.”

“I wish it were very funny,” Kevin replied, using the Englisch term for voll schpass. It seemed to Nick his brother had picked up more Englisch phrases and habits during the first six months of his rumspringa than Nick had learned during the entirety of his own five-year running around period.

Kevin’s voice was somber as he continued. “I mean, jah, initially I was trying to start a fire in the fireplace, but one of the newspaper logs I rolled must have—”

“Kevin!” Nick cut him off. “You should know better than to use newspaper logs after all the warnings Daed’s given you!”

“I just thought—”

“Neh, that’s just the problem. You didn’t think at all,” Nick retorted, ironically using the same words his father often used when lecturing him. He brought the buggy to a standstill at the side of the road and turned to face Kevin. “Please tell me no one was injured.”

“Neh. But there was a little superficial damage to the walls and ceiling.”

Kevin proceeded to tell Nick he must have been distracted by the other guests summoning him into the kitchen to eat, because he forgot to close the protective mesh screen on the fireplace. He reckoned when someone opened the door to the cabin it created a back draft, and ash from the dry newspaper logs was swept through the air, because the next thing anyone knew, a pair of window curtains caught fire. The flames quickly leaped to a dried floral wreath hanging on the wall nearby, and before Jenny could retrieve the extinguisher, the wood paneling and ceiling had been burned, too.

Nick’s mind was reeling, and he could hardly focus on the additional details Kevin provided about the mishap. If only Nick had attended the party with him, the fire probably wouldn’t have happened. But Nick’s parents had requested Nick stay behind and help take inventory at the hardware store his father owned.

“You just went out on Wednesday night. You’re too old to be gallivanting around at every opportunity,” his mother had said in a tone that indicated she meant business. “Your daed needs your help organizing and stocking up on specialty products the Englisch buy for Grischtdaag. Friday evening is the only opportunity he has.”

Nick couldn’t refuse. At twenty-one, he’d stretched out his rumspringa longer than almost anyone in his church district, which was a point of contention between his parents and him. They strongly implied if he didn’t decide to join the church soon, he’d have to move out on his own. While he wouldn’t be shunned, it would be disgracing for the entire family if he lived apart from them but stayed in the Amish community without being baptized into the church.

The choice should have been an easy one, and deep down, Nick had already made up his mind. He loved God, he loved being Amish and he loved his community. By now he knew that although some aspects of Englisch life were appealing, he had no desire to “go Englisch” for good. But he was also keenly aware that as long as he didn’t join the church, he wouldn’t be permitted to marry an Amish woman. And although he had courted most of the eligible young women in Willow Creek, as well as several from the Elmsville district, he hadn’t met anyone he considered compatible enough to marry. Apparently, the same wasn’t true for how the women felt about him; when he inevitably broke up with them, the women often expressed deep disappointment. Worse, they cried as if there were no tomorrow, no matter how gentle or diplomatic he tried to be about ending their courtship.

To Nick it seemed the women he courted didn’t really care whether they were compatible with him. It was as if they were more interested in being married than being in a marriage relationship. Granted, there was no mandate requiring Nick to get married once he joined the church, but it was generally expected. Once he was baptized, the pressure—especially from his mother—would really kick in. So, by prolonging his rumspringa, Nick was securing his bachelorhood just a little longer. Meanwhile, someone new might move to town. After all, a spouse was a gift from the Lord, and who could say when and how the Lord might give him that gift?

Kevin spoke again, jarring Nick from his thoughts. “Jenny said if I pay for the repairs, she’ll hire a contractor and then she won’t have to tell her folks about the fire. So, can you lend me the money? Since we’re passing Jenny’s house on the way to Highland Springs, I sort of promised her I’d let her know tonight.”

“Are you narrish?” Nick asked, calling his brother crazy. “I cleaned out my savings to purchase Penny last spring.”

Penny, named for the color of his coat, was the horse Nick bought from an Amish man who had acquired the animal at a harness racing track. It wasn’t unusual for the Amish to purchase American standardbred horses, which were most commonly used for buggy pulling, and Penny was a particularly fine gelding. Only four years old, he was exceptionally fast and strong, although not quite up to competition speed. As such, he cost more than the four-thousand-dollar limit most of Willow Creek’s Amish spent on a horse, but Nick had saved for years. When he took Penny out for a test run, he immediately knew the swift, powerful, high-spirited animal was exactly what he wanted.

The cost was another point of contention between him and his parents, who thought it was foolish to splurge when an older, less expensive standardbred would have served his transportation needs adequately for years to come. His parents thought the purchase was prideful, but Nick wasn’t seeking admiration; it was the speed and agility the horse provided that drew Nick to him. True, Penny could only safely run so fast when he was hitched to the buggy, but Nick had made adjustments to streamline his buggy, too. Those adjustments had cost him every last cent he had, and he reiterated that he was in no position to help his brother financially.

“Oh.” In the dim light, Nick saw Kevin’s features droop as he lifted his hat and swiped at his forehead. “I guess I’m going to have to tell Daed then.”

“That’s not a gut idea. You know how concerned he’s been about finances ever since Harper’s Hardware opened across town. And you know how worried Mamm is about his blood pressure and stress levels.”

Kevin shrugged. “I don’t know what else to do.”

Nick rubbed his forehead. He didn’t know what else to do, either, but telling their father was the last thing he could allow. Not only was he concerned about adding to his parents’ burdens, but somehow Nick knew he’d get blamed for introducing Kevin to a group of “wild Englischers”—even if they were all very respectable Christians and the fire was solely Kevin’s fault. Undoubtedly, his father would be so angry about Kevin’s carelessness that he’d finally put his foot down about Nick’s rumspringa coming to an end, too. Nick couldn’t let that happen.

“Give me a minute. I’ll think of something,” he said.

Twenty-year-old Lucy Knepp dawdled in the kitchen, drying the last pot. Usually the Amish didn’t eat a large supper on the Sabbath, but there were so many leftovers from Thanksgiving they had dirtied half a dozen pans reheating the food. Lucy’s stepsisters, Mildred and Katura, stepped into the kitchen just as she was hanging up the dishcloth.

“There you are.” Mildred sounded triumphant, as if it were unusual to find Lucy cleaning up after supper.

Actually, Lucy did the majority of the housework, cooking and baking for her family. Born eight weeks prematurely, she had suffered respiratory problems since birth, which prevented her from helping with yard work, gardening and cleaning the stable, so she tried to make up for it by taking on more chores inside their home.

“You must kumme with us to Frederick’s haus for the singing. We’re also going to plan our Grischtdaag caroling rehearsal schedule,” Katura announced.

Lucy didn’t want to go with them. For one thing, Frederick had passed several notes to her at previous singings, a sure sign he was preparing to ask to be her suitor. Even though she’d tactfully but distinctly ignored his pursuit, his interest hadn’t waned. Frederick was a nice enough young man, but Lucy had no interest in being courted by him. She had no interest in being courted by any of the single men in Willow Creek, for that matter. By and large they seemed too rambunctious and unreliable for her to imagine ever becoming a wife to one of them.

Likewise, Lucy had long ago accepted that she wasn’t the kind of vibrant, vivacious woman most Willow Creek boys would want to court. With the exception of Frederick, who probably liked her because she was the only eligible woman who was shorter than he was—not to mention that his rather aggressive mother was especially fond of Lucy. Lucy had overheard enough comments to understand the bachelors in Willow Creek considered her personality to be dull. She realized her physical appearance didn’t appeal to the men her age, either. She had plain brown eyes and ordinary brown hair. Her only distinctive features were her glasses—which earned her the nickname “Bug Eyes” in school—and her petite size, which made it even easier for young men to overlook her.

“You go ahead without me,” Lucy suggested to her stepsisters. “I’ll stay and help Betty clean up.” Lucy had never known her own mother, who had died in childbirth, but in the five years since Betty had become her stepmother, Lucy still couldn’t bring herself to call Betty “Mamm,” and she was glad when Betty didn’t insist.

“But everything is cleaned and put away already. And you know Mamm won’t let us go unless you kumme, too.”

She was right. Even though Mildred was eighteen and Katura was the same age as Lucy, Betty was likely to prohibit her daughters from going out unless Lucy went with them. Sunday evening singings were intended to be a time of fellowship and fun for young people, but Lucy noticed the majority of Willow Creek’s singles only went to the singings so they’d have an excuse to get out of their houses. They’d make a brief showing at the host house, where they participated in a few songs, and then they’d pair up to take off for parties or wherever it was they went.

Half the time Lucy brought a book so she could slip away to a corner to read. She frequently returned home without either Mildred or Katura, who would sneak off before she realized they had ditched her. By that time, her father and Betty were usually asleep, and the next day Lucy never mentioned where her sisters had gone.

“But I was planning to work on an embroidery project,” Lucy objected.

“Work isn’t permitted on the Sabbath,” Katura scolded, as if Lucy weren’t always meticulous about following the rules of her district’s Ordnung.

With all the patience she could muster, Lucy explained, “This isn’t something I’m going to consign at Schrock’s Shop. It’s the tablecloth-and-napkin set for the charity auction at the Piney Hill Christmas festival.”

Since embroidering was quiet, sedentary work and the project wasn’t for her own financial profit, Lucy felt she could work on the project on the Sabbath in good conscience. Moreover, she needed to work on the project that evening.

Her deadline for completing it was December 21, when the linens would be displayed with other items in a silent auction to benefit the Englisch soup kitchen where she volunteered on Wednesday nights. Interested buyers would have two days to bid on the goods and Lucy and her family planned to attend the festival the evening of the twenty-third, when the highest bid was announced. Last year she’d been sick with pneumonia and wasn’t able to participate in any fundraising events for the soup kitchen. This year the organization was so strapped it couldn’t even afford to repair their commercial oven, and they were counting on Lucy’s contribution to raise at least half the funds they needed.

“Can’t you do that tomorrow? You’re home all day.”

Mildred’s ignorance was insulting; Lucy may have been home all day, but when she wasn’t keeping house her time was spent working on items she consigned at Schrock’s Shop so she could contribute to their family’s living expenses. As it was, Lucy could barely manage to fill the customers’ specialty orders for Christmas. She’d have to keep all unnecessary distractions to a minimum if she was going to complete the auction project on time, too. Unfortunately, she realized her stepsisters would keep wheedling until she gave in, and that in itself would be a distraction.

“Okay,” she agreed. “But you have to take care of unhitching the buggy and stabling the horse when we get home.” The weather was turning cold and she couldn’t afford to get sick.

“Sure. We wouldn’t want you exerting yourself,” Mildred said, and Lucy didn’t know if she was being sarcastic or sincere.

“Mamm! We’re leaving now,” Katura called after the trio bundled into their winter cloaks and donned their gloves. Lucy never understood why Betty didn’t tell her daughters it wasn’t polite to shout in the house. “We’ll be home before midnight.”

Midnight? Lucy didn’t even want to stay past nine, but when she opened her mouth to protest, she quickly closed it again. Arguing would cost her more time. Instead, she said, “I’ll be right back.”

She darted upstairs and grabbed her embroidery materials and carefully placed them in a canvas bag. She figured by midnight she could probably finish embroidering at least one of the napkins—provided she could find a secluded place where no one would interrupt her.

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 the teacher couldn’t have known about unless Lucy had told her.

She probably had matured by now, but she was still one of the most boring women he’d ever met—either that, or she was a snob, because she made no attempt at even the most casual of conversations. But she was respected by virtually all the parents in Willow Creek, who admired her good manners and quiet thoughtfulness, as well as her dedication to serving the less fortunate Englischers in their community.

Because Lucy didn’t look up from her fabric, Nick decided he’d pussyfoot it out of the room without greeting her, but suddenly an idea struck him. She could be his pretend girlfriend! The plan unfolded almost instantly in his mind’s eye: Kevin could “accidentally” let it slip in front of their parents Nick was courting Lucy. Once they heard that, they’d let him go out whenever he wanted, no questions asked.

But how would he convince Lucy he wanted to be her suitor? They were as different as salt and pepper. She’d never believe he genuinely wanted to court her, and even if she did believe it, there was no way she’d accept his offer. The only time they’d really spoken to each other had been when Nick was courting her cousin Bridget. But after Bridget broke up with him three years ago, Lucy hardly looked in his direction. I’ll have to tell her the truth, Nick concluded. Or some version of the truth. He’d have to present his situation in a way that appealed to her sense of charity and compassion.

“Eh-hem.” When Nick cleared his throat, Lucy glanced up and the lenses in her glasses reflected the weak lamplight. How could she see to sew? “Hi, Lucy.”

“Hello, Nick,” she replied, and adjusted her glasses on her nose. She gestured to the coats he was tightly gripping. “Do you want me to turn the lamp up or did you find what you came in here to get?”

“Jah,” he replied, stalling.

“Jah you want me to turn the lamp up or jah you found what you needed?” she asked. Was she smirking or smiling at him?

“I’ve got my coat, jah,” he said, glad the light was low so she couldn’t watch his face turn as red as his hair. Why was he so nervous? He’d proposed courtship over a dozen times before and he’d never felt like this. “I actually, er, came looking for you.”

“For me?” She cocked her head.

“Jah. There’s a favor I’d like to ask.”

Lucy didn’t know what to make of Nick’s behavior, but there was definitely something fishy about it. It reminded her of his tomfoolery when they’d attended school together. As he shifted from foot to foot she sensed he was there to deliver a joke, and she wanted him to get it over with so she could return to her embroidery. The lighting was terrible and she’d already had to undo her stitching several times, but she didn’t want to turn the lamp up, lest she be discovered by dauntless Frederick or his pushy mother, Mary.

“Okay, what’s the favor?”

“It’s going to sound...it’s going to sound lecherich. But I wondered if you’d consider allowing me to court you. I mean, I don’t really want to court you, I just don’t know who else to ask. You see—”

“You’re right, that does sound lecherich,” she interrupted, appalled he’d point out how ridiculous it was for him to consider courting her and then have the gall to admit he was only asking her because he’d run out of other prospects. “And I don’t want to be courted by you, either.”

She dipped her head and squinted at her stitching, hoping he’d scram. Did he think she’d be so enamored of him she’d gleefully accept his half-hearted offer, the way so many other women in Willow Creek had? They all knew he’d never be serious about sustaining a romantic relationship, but that didn’t stop them from saying yes.

Even Lucy’s favorite cousin, Bridget, had fallen for him—and then he’d broken her heart by striking up a relationship with someone else before his courtship with Bridget was over. Lucy was smarter than that. She didn’t care how charismatic or impishly handsome anyone considered him to be, she didn’t need the affections of Nick Burkholder to make her feel special.

“Lucy, please listen,” he pleaded.

She glared in his direction and snapped, “What?”

Nick delved into a story about his Englisch friends, the Nelson family, whose vacation cabin was damaged by a small fire while Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were away for the Thanksgiving holiday. The family was anticipating celebrating Christmas together there one last time with their dying grandfather, but the parents didn’t know the interior was a wreck. Nick’s friend didn’t want to add to their distress by telling them about the damage since they were already distraught about the grandfather’s health. The goal was to complete the repairs before Mrs. Nelson began decorating the cabin for their party.

“I’m pretty confident I can get it all spruced up in time for their celebration, but I need a gut excuse to go out in the evenings to work on it. That’s where a courtship with you figures in.”

Lucy was skeptical. The whole story was probably a fabrication, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Nick’s friends were listening at the door to hear if she’d fall for it. “Why don’t you just tell your eldre the real reason you need to go out? They’re warmhearted people. They’d want you to help.”

Nick rambled, “Like I said, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson don’t even know about the fire, so I’ve got to keep it a secret that I’m renovating the walls. And, I, uh, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but my daed’s health has suffered and he’s been under quite a bit of financial strain ever since Harper’s Hardware came to town. In order to compete with them, we have to keep our store open late until Grischtdaag. Even though my brother absolutely can handle the customers without me, since the Nelsons are Englischers, well, my daed would probably say our family’s business takes top priority.” Nick wiped his palms against his trousers, casting his gaze toward the floor as he admitted, “If I were courting someone, that would be a different story, because my eldre are sort of eager to see me...to see me settle down, as you might imagine.”

Lucy could imagine. Two Sundays ago after church, Mildred had babbled about how she’d overheard Nick’s mother complaining to Doris Plank that she was worried Nick would never join the church and get married. Hearing that, Katura had sulked all the way home because Nick had never asked to be her suitor.

“Please, Lucy?” Nick entreated, and she suddenly understood why her peers said yes to walking out with him. There was something irresistible about his earnest manner, his big blue eyes, and the way his nose and cheeks were speckled with freckles. “My friend’s groossdaadi might not live long enough to return to Willow Creek, but if he does, he’ll be devastated to find his boyhood cabin in tatters.”

Lucy’s resolve was beginning to waver. She wanted the Nelsons and their grandfather to have a merry Christmas, especially if it was going to be their last celebration together.

“Please?” he repeated.

At that moment Frederick walked in. “Aha, I found you! There’s something I want to ask you, Lucy.”

Clearly Lucy wasn’t going to get anything done tonight. She stashed her embroidery hoop in the canvas tote at her side. Allowing Nick’s question to hang in the air unanswered, she turned her attention to Frederick. “Go ahead and ask.”

“It’s, uh, it’s sort of private. So, um, I can wait until you and Nick are done talking.”

Lucy had a feeling she knew what Frederick was going to ask and she wished he’d leave her alone. She wished everyone would leave her alone and stop forcing their social agendas on her. Then it occurred to her if Frederick thought she was walking out with Nick, he wouldn’t ask her to walk out with him. Furthermore, if her stepsisters and stepmother thought she was walking out with someone, they wouldn’t pester her to join their pre-Christmas social events or the caroling rehearsals, either. She’d finally have time to finish her project.

She stood up and rummaged through the coats, simultaneously saying, “Well, Nick and I were about to head out together, so you might as well ask me now. Nick, would you mind giving Frederick and me a quick moment alone to chat?”

A look of utter surprise crossed Nick’s face before it brightened with elation. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll wait for you in my buggy.”

“Denki,” she replied in a syrupy voice, tilting her chin upward for added effect. After Nick left, she asked Frederick, “What is it you want to ask me?”

He stammered, “Oh, er, I was wondering if you’ll be caroling this year? In a few minutes we’re going to start the meeting to plan our rehearsal schedule and I thought you’d want to make suggestions about meeting times since I know you volunteer during the week.”

“Denki for the heads-up, Frederick. But as much as I might enjoy caroling, I have...I have other social engagements that will be taking up my time.”

Frederick looked forlorn, but he nodded and said he understood. She almost felt sorry for him, but then his mother entered the room, turned up the lamp and uttered, “Oh gut, I see Frederick tracked you down, Lucy! We didn’t know where you’d escaped to. I set a mug of cocoa for each of you near the love seat.”

A mix of embarrassment and empathy washed over Lucy as she noticed Frederick cringing. She nearly told him she’d stay after all, but Frederick said, “Lucy’s going home now. Nick Burkholder is taking her.”

“Nick Burkholder?” Frederick’s mother was obviously incredulous. There’d be no stopping the rumors from spreading now.

Lucy excused herself quickly, saying, “Jah, and he’s waiting for me in his buggy, so I’d better get going. Denki for your hospitality, Mary. Gut nacht, Frederick.”

Speechless, Frederick lifted his hand in a wave. He looked stunned, but not nearly as stunned as Mildred and Katura appeared when Lucy bade them goodbye and informed them Nick was giving her a ride home.

“Why? Are you sick?” Mildred asked. “Because if you are, you can take the buggy and Katura and I can get a ride home from someone else. Maybe Frederick’s cousin will take us.”

“Neh, I’m not sick. It’s just... Nick and I are...” Lucy allowed the innuendo to hang in the air before concluding, “I’ll—I’ll see you at home.”

Leaving them with their mouths hanging open, Lucy couldn’t help but feel a bit smug—not because they were surprised Nick was taking her home, but because for once they really would have to unhitch the buggy and stable the horse by themselves.

Chapter Two

Nick could have jumped for joy when Lucy accepted his offer of courtship. Or of pretend courtship. Before exiting Frederick’s house, he signaled Kevin to follow him to the porch.

“Listen, I found someone I can pretend I’m walking out with. The important thing is you can’t tell anyone—and I mean anyone—that it’s not an authentic courtship. If word gets out this is a farce, it will only be a matter of minutes until Mamm and Daed find out about the fire and then we’ll both be in trouble. You got it?” Nick tapped his finger against Kevin’s chest, emphasizing his point.

“I got it,” he promised, before slyly remarking, “So who’s the fortunate maedel? I didn’t see anyone inside you haven’t already courted. Are you going to give one of them a second chance?”

Nick didn’t appreciate Kevin’s attitude toward young women, and his response was immediate and gruff. “I’ve already told you it’s no one’s business what meed I’ve courted in the past. Besides, what makes you think they’d give me a second chance?”

“I’ve always heard you’re a charmer, that’s all. It was intended as a compliment.”

Hearing the admiration in his brother’s voice, Nick set him straight. “Courting a lot of meed isn’t necessarily a gut thing, Kevin. Neither is superficial charm. It’s the quality, not the quantity of relationships, that’s important. Courtship is intended to be an opportunity to discover if you and a maedel are compatible for marriage, but regardless of how long your relationships last, you’d better treat any woman you court with respect.”

“You sound just like Daed, you know that?”

“That’s because Daed’s right.” Nick warned, “You’ve got your whole rumspringa in front of you. Your running around period is a time for you to make decisions on your own. There’s a lot of freedom in that, but there’s a lot of responsibility, too. I’ll help you clean up the mess you’ve made this time, but if you make another one, you’re going to have to take care of it yourself, understand?”

“Jah, jah, I got it already. So you still haven’t told me who you’re going to pretend you’re courting.”

Nick lowered his voice. “Lucy Knepp.”

“Lucy Knepp?” Kevin chortled. “No one will ever believe you’re interested in her. She’s such a wallflower! Haven’t you noticed how pale she is? I don’t think she ever goes outside in daytime except to attend church. She’s such a goody-goody.”

“Exactly. Which is why Mamm and Daed won’t object if they think I’m going out with her during the week,” Nick reasoned. “So here’s what’s going to happen now. While I’m bringing Lucy to her haus, you’re going to walk to ours. Mamm and Daed will still be awake and when they ask where I am, you can let it slip I’m taking Lucy home. Plant the seed in their minds, okay?”

“But what about going to Highland Springs like we planned?”

Nick shrugged. “I already told Lucy I’d take her home. If you still want to go to Highland Springs, go ahead and go. Just make sure you ask whoever gives you a ride to swing by Jenny’s haus first so you can tell her you can’t afford the cost of repairs to the cabin.” Before turning to leave, he tossed Kevin’s jacket at him and added, “Her eldre probably will just contact Daed instead of getting the police involved.”

That got Kevin’s attention. “Wait! I’ll do it. I’ll walk home now.”

“Gut,” Nick said. “And remember, you can’t let on to anyone—not even Lucy—that you know this is a sham.”

“Is it a sham?” Kevin jibed as he shoved his arm through his coat sleeve. “Or could it be this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for your entire rumspringa? To court Lucy Knepp?”

Nick elbowed his brother. “You should be thanking me, not mocking me, so knock it off.”

Grumbling, Kevin began his long schlep home and Nick went to unhitch Penny. A few minutes later, Lucy appeared. Kevin was right—she was so fair her skin glowed in the moonlight, which also reflected off her glasses. It was a good thing she was carrying a bag; it served as an anchor to keep the stiff wind from carrying her away.

“Here, let me help you,” Nick offered, indicating he’d assist Lucy into his open one-seat buggy.

“I can manage,” she replied, using her free hand to pull herself into the carriage. But the step was too high or the bag too heavy because she faltered backward and Nick steadied her by her waist—he could practically encircle his hands around it—before giving her a clumsy boost up. She scooted to the far end of the front seat, clutching her bag to her chest as if it contained gold.

On the way Nick tried to drum up something to say, but he drew a blank. Recognizing he and Lucy had absolutely nothing in common except they were both Willow Creek Amish singles, he was relieved this charade would last only a week, or two at most.

Finally, he remarked, “I really appreciate your letting me say I’m courting you. Knowing how quickly the rumor mill spins, everyone probably saw us leave and they’re already gossiping that we’re getting married.”

Ach! It was true their peers were probably expressing curiosity about their relationship, but why did Nick even bring up the notion of marriage? As if this experience weren’t already awkward enough as it was.

Lucy giggled behind her hand. “That’s not likely,” she said, and Nick didn’t know if she meant it wasn’t likely their peers were already gossiping about them or it wasn’t likely the two of them would ever get married. Of course the latter wasn’t likely, but it was kind of haughty for her to snicker at the idea.

Lucy dropped her hand to her lap again, guarding her bag. “So when do you want to get started on the repairs?”

“As soon as possible,” Nick replied, glad to switch subjects. “I can’t start on Monday because I’ll be returning from a trip to one of our suppliers out of town. So I’ll probably buy the stuff I need and begin the prep work on Tuesday night.”

“That’s fine. I’ll arrange to make an early supper for my family and you can pick me up any time after six. I’ll wait on the porch so Mildred and Katura won’t accost you with questions.”

“What?” Nick panicked, his pulse galloping. He only wanted to imply he was courting Lucy; he hadn’t intended to actually take her out. “What do you mean, pick you up? You do realize this is a pretend courtship, don’t you?”

Lucy didn’t know whether she was amused or annoyed by Nick’s alarmed reaction. It was obvious he’d never consider dating her for real. Not that she wanted him to, but still, he didn’t have to act so repulsed.

“Of course I realize this is a pretend courtship. But I’m not going to lie about going out with you and I’m not going to allow you to use my name to lie about it, either. If you tell your eldre—if you even imply to them—you’re spending an evening out with me, then you’ve got to actually spend some part of the evening out with me.”

Nick gulped audibly. “You want to kumme with me while I work on the cabin?”

Lucy couldn’t do that. The sawdust would cause her allergies to act up. “Neh. You can drop me off at the library and then pick me up when you’re finished. That way, if anyone asks where we went—which they shouldn’t, but that won’t necessarily stop them—I can truthfully say you took me for a ride and we stopped at the library.”

Nick hesitantly conceded, adding, “I always knew you were a bookworm but I didn’t realize you like to read quite that much. I’ll be gone for a couple of hours each evening, you know.”

Lucy was surprised Nick knew she liked to read—their paths hardly crossed since they had been scholars in the town’s two-room schoolhouse. She’d chatted with him a few times when her cousin Bridget still lived in Willow Creek and was walking out with him, but that was almost three years ago. For some reason it annoyed Lucy that Nick called her a bookworm, the same term her stepmother used to describe her.

“It’s true I like to read. Reading allows me to learn about new ideas and places. But that’s not why I want you to drop me off at the library,” she said. “I have a special embroidery project I need to finish by December 21 and the library is a quiet place to do that.” Then, to make it clear she was as disinterested in being courted by him as he was in becoming her suitor, she said, “That’s the only reason I agreed to this arrangement. Otherwise, Betty and my sisters would pressure me into attending all the upcoming Grischtdaag social events and I’d never finish my project on time.”

“Oh, so that’s why you were embroidering at the singing,” Nick replied. “I just thought you were too stuck—”

Nick cut his sentence short but Lucy knew what he was going to say. He was going to call her stuck-up. She wasn’t unaware some young men thought that about her, but she’d never been told it outright. Why the meed in Willow Creek thought Nick Burkholder was such a catch, she’d never know, but Lucy wasn’t impressed by his manners.

Changing topics, she asked, “How long will it take to make the repairs?”

“I should be done in a week. Ten days, at most.”

Lucy was actually hoping it would take longer than that, but she’d just have to make the most of her time away from the house. “And then what will we tell people?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll agree to pretend we’re walking out together until your repairs are finished, but not any longer than that. It would be nosy for someone to ask us why we’ve broken up, but in case they do, it’s a gut idea to have a credible answer ready. After all, two weeks is an awfully short time for a courtship, even for you,” she said, not mincing words.

Nick puffed loudly, as if exasperated. “I suppose we’ll just say it didn’t work out.”

“Ha,” Lucy uttered. “If you think that answer will satisfy my sisters’ curiosity, you don’t know how persistent they can be.”

“Then what do you propose we say instead?”

Lucy was quiet. How would she know what to say? She’d never been in a real courtship, much less a phony one. “I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we kumme to it.”

“Yeah, all right.” Nick urged his horse into a quicker trot, as if he couldn’t wait to get to Lucy’s house to drop her off.

She had often heard Mildred and Katura nattering on about Nick’s expensive racehorse, and the animal was certainly living up to its reputation. Because it was an open-seat buggy, Lucy felt the wind biting at her cheeks as they cruised along the country roads, but she didn’t mind. Despite the horse’s speed, the carriage wasn’t bouncing about. Lucy might not have had many conversations with men her age, but she’d read enough articles in The Budget to know Nick probably tinkered with the suspension of his buggy springs, which was a popular trend among Amish young people. In any case, she felt surprisingly invigorated by the quick trip home.

When they pulled up her lane, she noticed lamplight in the window. Her father would have been in bed since he worked the early shift the next day, but Betty was probably still awake. Because the step down from the carriage was higher than Lucy was used to and she had to hold on to her tote bag, she allowed Nick to assist her. Even though they were both wearing gloves, her hand warmed from the pressure of his fingers but the sensation was fleeting because he let go as soon as her feet touched the ground. Then he began walking with her to the door.

“Why are you following me?” she asked, afraid he’d want to be invited in. If Betty got one glimpse of how uncomfortable Lucy was around Nick, their cover would be blown.

“I’m not following you. I’m walking you to the door. You know, like I’d do if I were actually courting you,” Nick explained.

Lucy’s cheeks stung. Since she’d never been courted before she didn’t know whether all suitors walked their girlfriends to their doors or if this was part of Nick’s supposed charm.

When they reached her back porch, he loudly announced, “So I’ll pick you up at six o’clock on Tuesday night, okay?”

She put her finger to her lips. “Shh! My stepmother might hear you.”

Nick leaned in and whispered, “Jah, that’s the general intention, right?” He was close enough she could smell a hint of mint chocolate cocoa on his breath and she quickly skittered up the stairs.

“Gut nacht,” she said over her shoulder before turning the knob to the door.

Inside Betty was sipping tea at the table and reading The Budget. “Hi, Lucy. I thought I heard a buggy. Are the girls stabling the horse?”

“Neh, they’re still at the singing,” Lucy answered ambiguously, avoiding meeting Betty’s eyes as she removed her gloves, unwrapped her cloak and hung it on a peg by the door. She bent to unlace her boots.

“Oh? Then who brought you home?”

“Nick Burkholder,” Lucy reported in what she hoped was an offhanded manner.

“Nick Burkholder?” her stepmother marveled. “Why would he bring you home? Are you sick?”

Like mamm, like dechder. Lucy was miffed Betty made the same assumption Mildred made about why Nick would bring her home. Lifting her chin she said, “Neh, I’m not sick. I’m going upstairs to bed now. Gut nacht.”

Lucy scurried down the hall before her stepmother could ask any more questions. The upstairs room she shared with her sisters stretched the entire length of their Cape-style home. Mildred and Katura’s beds and dressers took up most of the open space, whereas Lucy’s dresser and bed were tightly tucked in the back section of the room beneath the sloping roof. Because Lucy was so short, she never bumped her head on it and she liked the roof being so close to her bed. During storms, she could hear raindrops pattering the wood and she felt as if she were sleeping in an ark.

She turned on the gas lamp, sat on her bed and removed her embroidery hoop from the canvas bag. As she began unpicking her earlier mistakes, her hands trembled. She tried to tell herself it was because she’d dashed up the stairs too quickly, but she knew that wasn’t it. She was breathless and quivering because Betty and her stepsisters had found it preposterous that Nick would bring her home. But what right did she have to be angry? They were correct: it was inconceivable he’d want to court her.

Yet, when she recalled his strong hands embracing her waist, the notion of a courtship didn’t seem so terribly far-fetched. At least, not from her perspective. She tried to focus on restitching a delicate snowflake in the center of the napkin, but her mind kept wandering back to Nick, and after pricking her finger three times she finally gave up and went to bed.

Nick was relieved. He’d presented his proposal to Jenny, and because she’d known Nick for years, she agreed to allow him to make the repairs, provided he restored everything to its former condition by the twenty-first of December. That was her first day of winter break from the local community college and Jenny and her mother were planning to decorate the cabin together in preparation for their celebration. Based on Kevin’s description of the situation, Nick assured her he didn’t think it would take nearly that long, and Jenny promised she wouldn’t tell anyone he was working on it.

Gripping the key to the cabin in his fist, Nick traveled to the little house in the woods, where he discovered that although the repairs were manageable, the damage was more extensive than he expected it would be. Terrific. Now I’m going to be stuck with Lucy longer than I anticipated, he groused.

She was already getting on his nerves, acting like he’d never read a book in his life, or as if he wanted to be invited into her house. She was so prim he couldn’t imagine what they’d talk about when he was taxiing her back and forth on these so-called outings. It was a small comfort that he could count on Penny’s speed to decrease their traveling time.

The entire situation was far more inconvenient and uncomfortable than Kevin knew, and Nick decided as soon as he returned home, he was going to give his brother grief—and make him fork over his paycheck for supplies, too. But when he entered the house, it was almost eleven o’clock and he was surprised to find his mother, not Kevin, sitting in the parlor.

“Mamm? What are you doing up?” he asked quietly.

“I’m waiting for you,” she said, and rocked back and forth in her chair a few times before saying anything else. “Your brother told me where you’ve been.”

Nick’s pulse quickened—Kevin had decided to own up after all. On one hand, Nick was relieved he wouldn’t have to cart Lucy back and forth to the library after all. On the other hand, he dreaded the lecture his mother was about to deliver. He straightened his posture and resigned himself to shouldering part of the blame for Kevin’s carelessness in causing the fire.

“I’m surprised, but I’m glad he did.”

“Well, he didn’t want to, but I insisted. So don’t get angry at him.”

Nick was confused. Why would he be angry at Kevin for telling the truth about the fire? Before he could tell his mother he didn’t understand, she said, “Don’t worry. Other than telling your daed, I won’t mention to anyone that you’re courting Lucy Knepp.”

Oh, right—I forgot I told Kevin to plant the seed in Mamm and Daed’s minds. That’s where Kevin told them I’ve been—at Lucy’s haus, not at Jenny’s. Nick didn’t know why but he wasn’t as disappointed as he expected he’d be when he realized he’d still have to carry through with his arrangement with Lucy. Still, he was surprised his mamm was bringing up the topic. As often as she lectured Nick that it was time he put his running around years behind him, she rarely spoke openly about the meed he courted.

“Denki,” he said. “I appreciate that—”

His mother butted in, “Lucy Knepp is a wunderbaar maedel.”

Good—his mother approved. This was going to be easier than he thought. “Jah, she is—”

Again, his mother cut him off. “So you’d better not be up to any shenanigans.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Nick sputtered. Had Kevin let something else about their plan slip?

“She’s not like other meed you’ve courted. You’d better not be toying with her feelings, suh.”

Nick clenched his jaw. While it was true he’d courted many meed who were frequently distraught when he ended their relationships, he never set out to hurt anyone’s feelings. He was offended his own mother would think that was ever his intention. “I wouldn’t do that, Mamm. I wouldn’t deliberately play around with any woman’s emotions.”

His mother must have caught the defensiveness in his voice because she said, “Neh, I don’t suppose you would, Nick. I only mean I want you to be careful, okay? As I said, Lucy’s not like other meed you’ve courted. She’s...she’s special.”

She’s special all right. She’s so special she thinks she’s a cut above everyone else, Nick thought. As uncomfortable as he was discussing this subject with his mother, he felt it was important to emphasize, “I’ve always considered every woman I’ve courted to be special.”

“I believe you have, suh. But some women are more...they’re more earnest than others. I don’t think Lucy has had many suitors and I wouldn’t want her to get her hopes up about a relationship with you if that’s not a real possibility,” his mother explained.

It seemed a struggle for her to find the right words, but Nick knew what she meant. She meant he’d ended every relationship he’d had so far, and she was assuming he’d end this one, too. As much as Nick resented the implication, he admitted there was an element of truth to it.

“Don’t worry,” he assured his mother. “I’ve made my intentions very clear to Lucy. But she’s not quite as naive as you think. I got the feeling she was reluctant to walk out with me. We’re not even really courting, it’s more like we’re spending time together. I’m sort of helping her with...with one of her charity endeavors for Grischtdaag. After that, we’ll have to see what happens.”

His mother looked perplexed, but she smiled and said, “Well, for your sake, I hope it works out this time. Who knows, Lucy might be a gut influence on you.”

That was exactly what Nick was hoping his parents would think about Lucy, but now that he heard his mother say the words, he was disgruntled. Who was to say he wouldn’t be a good influence on her? Maybe he’d show her a thing or two about how to lighten up and be a little more social. Didn’t anyone ever consider that?

Mildred and Katura were considerate enough not to turn on the lamp while they were getting ready for bed, but their voices woke Lucy anyway.

“I wish Mark didn’t have to go back to Ohio tomorrow morning,” Mildred whined. “One of the rare few likable guys who comes to Willow Creek leaves as soon as he gets here. It’s not fair. I hope he visits Frederick again at Grischtdaag.”

“Speaking of Frederick, didn’t you tell me he was planning to ask to court Lucy tonight?”

“That’s what Melinda Schrock told me she heard Frederick’s mother saying to Jesse’s ant in the store last week,” Mildred said, and her words caused Lucy to remember what the book of James said about a little fire kindling a great matter.

“Do you think Frederick got a chance to ask to court Lucy before she left with Nick?” Katura questioned.

“Probably not. Otherwise, she would have stayed until the singing was over so Frederick could have given her a ride home. Or she would have asked him for a ride right then since she was sick.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Katura yawned. “Can you believe she asked Nick for a ride instead? That’s awfully forward.”

“Jah, but Nick’s so nice he probably agreed because he felt sorry for her.”

Lucy considered coughing to let her stepsisters know she was awake and could hear them, but she felt too humiliated. Why didn’t Mildred and Katura believe she hadn’t left because she was ill? Couldn’t they at least entertain the possibility Nick was interested in her?

As if answering Lucy’s unspoken question, Katura said, “One thing’s for sure. He’d never consider being her suitor. She’s not his type. Nick only courts women who are outgoing and adventuresome. You know, women who are more like you and me.”

Lucy heard Mildred gasp. “That’s it!” she exclaimed. “Nick probably wanted to talk to Lucy about one of us!”

“Do you really think so?” Katura questioned, and Lucy discerned the hopeful catch in her voice.

“Jah. That’s how buwe in Willow Creek sometimes determine if a maedel is interested in being courted. They talk to her friends or sisters. Or if they’re really shy, they’ll pass a note,” Mildred explained knowingly.

“But Nick isn’t shy at all.”

“Neh, not usually. But maybe he likes one of us so much he’s afraid we’ll reject him. Maybe that’s why it’s taken him so long to propose courtship—he hasn’t been able to work up the courage. So instead of asking us straight out, he’s taking the safe approach.”

Lucy would have been inflamed, but instead she pushed her quilt against her mouth to suppress a giggle. Her stepsisters might have lacked self-awareness, but they sure didn’t lack self-esteem.

“I should get him. I’m the oldest,” Katura demanded, as if she were competing for a prize.

“You can’t claim him. He’ll decide for himself which one of us he wants to court.”

As her stepsisters bickered about who was more worthy to have Nick as her suitor, Lucy rolled to her side and curled the pillow over her ear to block them out. They may have been right to think Nick didn’t want to court Lucy, but they were just as wrong to imagine he wanted to court either of them. Once again, she stifled a guffaw. She couldn’t wait for her cousin Bridget to visit at Christmastime so they could share a laugh over the hilarious irony of it all.

Chapter Three

Lucy woke early on Monday morning, planning to make breakfast for her father before he left for work. Betty and her daughters weren’t early risers, so Lucy cherished the time she had alone with her daed. It was one of the rare occasions when she could get a word in edgewise, but sometimes instead of conversing they ate in companionable silence, enjoying the familiarity of the pattern they’d established years before Betty and the girls moved in. But by the time Lucy dressed, brushed her long hair into a bun and washed her face, she heard the wheels of a car rolling down the lane.

The Amish weren’t allowed to drive or own automobiles, but they were permitted to accept rides from Englischers. Lucy’s father’s colleague, Ray, routinely picked him up since their house was on the way to the woodworking production company where they were employed. Not one to take a neighbor’s generosity for granted, Lucy’s father regularly assisted Ray with significant house and yard projects such as roofing or installing fencing.

Marvin just as well could have taken the buggy to work, but Lucy had an inkling he wanted to be sure there was transportation at home for her. For one thing, if she needed to deliver her goods to Schrock’s Shop, her father didn’t like her to walk, even though Main Street was barely a mile away. For another, Lucy knew he secretly wanted to ensure there was a way for someone to seek medical intervention quickly in the event she developed breathing problems. Two years ago she suffered an acute respiratory attack while she and Betty were at home without a buggy. Betty had had to run to the phone shanty to call for help, and she had wound up gasping so bad by the time the ambulance arrived that the paramedics thought she was the patient. The episode had shaken Lucy’s father deeply, and after that he always left the buggy behind.

Touched by her father’s thoughtfulness, Lucy never let him know that most days it was Mildred or Katura who used the buggy to travel the short distance to their jobs on Main Street, where they worked part-time. They were both cashiers at the mercantile, which was a grocery and goods store catering primarily to Willow Creek’s Amish. Granted, the two young women spent the better part of their shift on their feet, but most Amish meed in their area walked farther than that to get to their jobs.

When the two of them weren’t using the buggy, Betty was. She frequently journeyed to Elmsville to visit her ailing sister. But Lucy never cared; she was so glad to have some quiet time to herself she would have offered to carry her stepsisters to town on her back if it meant she didn’t have to listen to their prattle.

That’s a very judgmental thing for me to think, she reflected. The Lord makes us all different. I don’t like them criticizing me for keeping to myself so I shouldn’t criticize them for being so chatty.

Since she was awake and dressed anyway, Lucy decided she’d make breakfast for the other women. They loved buttermilk pancakes and sausage, and a hot breakfast would hit the spot before they set out in the chilly November air. She set four places at the table, and just after she ladled the last scoop of batter onto the iron griddle, Mildred and Katura appeared in the doorway.

“That smells appenditlich,” Mildred gushed.

“But you shouldn’t have gone to the trouble. Especially not after being sick last night,” Katura protested, showing a rare concern for Lucy’s health.

“It’s not a bother and, as I told you, I wasn’t ill,” she insisted as Betty ambled into the room.

“Guder mariye,” she greeted the three young women. “What a treat to have pannekuche and wascht. What’s the special occasion? Did something happen last night you want to tell us about?”

Lucy was taken aback by how blatantly Betty hinted she wanted to know more about why Nick had brought her home. Despite the fact most Willow Creek Amish youth kept their courtships to themselves, it was clear to Lucy this was one more way in which her stepsisters and stepmother abided by a different set of customs than Lucy did. She could never figure out if the difference was a matter of their personalities or if it was because they were from the Elmsville district, which was governed by a slightly more lenient Ordnung.

“Jah, something did happen last night!” Mildred blurted out. “Nick Burkholder left the singing early to give Lucy a ride home. And we think we know why.”

Even though Betty was already aware Nick had brought Lucy home, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why?”

“He wants to court either Mildred or me. Probably me,” Katura said. Then she demanded, “Out with it, Lucy. Did he give you a message to give one of us?”

It was one thing for Katura and Mildred to whisper about their theories when they thought she was asleep, but Lucy was dumbfounded they’d suggest right to her face Nick had brought her home only to inquire about them. No wonder they’d been so solicitous about her making breakfast—they were trying to flatter her. Maybe they were each hoping she’d put in a good word for them with Nick.

“Neh, he didn’t mention either of you at all,” she said, sounding as complacent as she felt. She slid the final pancakes onto a platter. After placing the dish on the table, she sat down and asked, “Shall I say grace?”

No sooner had she finished thanking the Lord for their food and asking Him to bless their day than Mildred coaxed, “You probably don’t want to make one of us feel bad, but we can’t stand not knowing who Nick’s interested in. Please tell us, Lucy.”

Betty cleared her throat. “They’re right, Lucy. It isn’t fair of you to keep the girls on tenterhooks like this.”

That was the last straw. “Okay, if you must know,” Lucy began, and Mildred leaned forward while Katura froze with her fork midair. “It’s me he’s interested in spending time with. In fact, he’s picking me up at six o’clock on Tuesday evening.”

Katura lowered her utensil and Mildred slouched back against her chair again. Lucy almost felt sorry she’d crushed their hopes until Mildred waved her hand dismissively and said, “Okay then, don’t tell us the truth. We’ll find out eventually.”

“But she has to tell us which one of us he wants to court,” Katura contradicted. “What if she convinces him I’m not interested? Or that you’re not interested? I don’t want her speaking on my behalf, do you?”

“Lucy, you can’t—” Mildred began to whine.

To Lucy’s surprise, Betty broke in. “If Lucy says Nick is interested in her, I think that’s nice, so stop pestering her. You two girls will have plenty of opportunities to socialize with all the Grischtdaag parties and events coming up anyway.” She reached over and patted Lucy’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell your daed about your new suitor. As long as you finish your household chores each day, I’m sure he won’t mind if you walk out with Nick at night.”

Lucy wanted to retort that she always finished her chores and half of her stepsisters’ chores, too, but she was so grateful Betty had put an end to Mildred and Katura’s needling she let the remark slide.

At least that part of the plan is accomplished, she thought. She couldn’t help but wonder if Nick was having as much difficulty convincing his family they were courting as she’d had convincing hers.

It was easier for Nick to get out of working late on Tuesday than he expected. Apparently, his mother had told his father he was courting Lucy, and there were no objections when he asked if there was any way he could leave work at his usual time that week.

“No problem. Kevin and I can manage things here,” his father said, clapping Nick on the shoulder. Apparently, he thought as highly of Lucy as Nick’s mother did.

As Nick was leaving, Kevin smirked and whispered, “Have a gut time. And remember, this is temporary. Don’t break Lucy’s delicate little heart.” Then he puckered his mouth and smacked his lips in an exaggerated kissing gesture.

“Don’t start anything on fire,” Nick retorted as he set his hat on his head and exited through the back door.

When he turned down the lane to Lucy’s house, he spotted her standing on the porch, clutching a cloak around her chest. It wasn’t that cold outside, but she was behaving as if it were ten degrees below zero. He hoped she wasn’t going to complain about riding in an open-seat buggy in this weather.

He hopped down from the carriage while she crossed the yard in the light streaming from the house windows. “Hi, Lucy,” he said, and reached to support her as she climbed into the buggy, but she kept her arms snug around her chest. She acts as if we’re still kinner in school and I have the cooties, he thought.

“Hello, Nick,” she said in a hushed tone. “Don’t look toward the window because I think we have an audience. I’m hiding my embroidery materials beneath my cloak. I don’t want Betty and my stepsisters to see, because they might realize we’re not actually walking out together.”

Nick chuckled. So she wasn’t as standoffish as he’d thought. “It’s already too dark for them to see this far. They’ll never know. But here, let me help.”

He cupped Lucy’s elbow to propel her upward, but she was so light he nearly tossed her into the buggy and she flung her arms out for balance, upending her tote bag.

“My linen!” she wailed as she retrieved a rectangle of fabric white enough to see in the twilight. “I hope it didn’t get dirty.”

“Sorry about that,” he apologized, feeling like a bull in a china shop. Usually his confidence wasn’t so easily rattled.

They didn’t say another word until they were nearly at the library and Nick asked, “What are you going to say if someone sees you in the library?”

“I’ll probably say hello.”

Nick looked at her sideways, but he couldn’t discern from her profile if she was joking or if she was just too obtuse to know what he meant. “Neh, I mean what excuse are you going to give them for being there alone?”

“Why do I need an excuse to be at the library alone? It’s not as if anyone other than our families know we’re supposedly going out together tonight, right? Your family will be busy at the store and mine wouldn’t dream of coming to the library. So if I meet anyone else from our district, I’ll simply greet them as usual.”

Nick was dubious. He knew how quickly rumors spread in Willow Creek, especially when meed like Katura and Mildred were involved. If they told their peers Nick and Lucy were walking out that night and then someone saw Lucy alone, it wouldn’t take long before their farce would be discovered.

“Do you suppose you could keep a low profile anyway?” he requested.

“Unfortunately, a low profile is all I can keep.” Lucy giggled. “Let’s just say being five feet tall is something of a shortcoming.”

Amused, Nick smiled. Most meed he courted were too self-conscious to laugh at what they considered physical imperfections. Not that Lucy’s height was an imperfection—it was how the Lord had created her—but she was unusually short compared to most of the Amish in their district.

In the library parking lot he offered to help her down from the carriage, but she insisted she could manage on her own. Covertly glancing around, he noticed a group of Englisch preteen girls hanging out on the library steps—probably waiting for their parents—but he didn’t see any Amish people or buggies. “I’ll be back at eight thirty to pick you up,” he said.

“The library doesn’t close until nine so it’s fine if you’re running a few minutes late.” When Lucy smiled Nick noticed that her straight, white teeth gleamed in the light cast by the streetlamp. He watched as she trod past the Englischers who gave her a once-over and then giggled behind their hands. Not even as tall as the shortest of the girls, Lucy held her head high and swung her canvas bag as she passed them. Whether she was oblivious to their presence or deliberately ignoring their ridicule, Nick couldn’t guess. Lucy was more complicated than she seemed on the surface, a characteristic he found both intriguing and frustrating.

Nick directed his horse toward an Englisch lumberyard in Highland Springs. Ordinarily, he would have purchased his supplies from the local lumberyard, but the Englisch one was open late and he was relatively certain he wouldn’t see anyone he knew there at this time of evening.

Since he’d already made Kevin purchase most of the supplies he’d need from their father’s hardware store, Nick only needed to buy paneling. It was a challenge to secure the long pieces of wood in his courting buggy, and he frequently had to stop along the way to the cabin to reposition them.

As he journeyed, Nick thought about Kevin grumbling over how much the supplies cost. That should have been the least of his brother’s concerns. It was as if the boy didn’t fully appreciate how much trouble he would have been in if Jenny Nelson hadn’t extended such grace. Nick asked the Lord to touch Kevin’s conscience and to open his eyes to his careless behavior. Please, Gott, help me to be a better example to him, too.

When he arrived at the cabin, he flicked on the lights and began unloading the supplies. Preoccupied with trying to figure out where to begin deconstructing the wall, Nick didn’t realize how late it was until a clock chimed eight times—or was it nine? He glanced at the mantel place clock. It was nine. The library was closed and Lucy would be waiting. Experience told him the only thing worse than breaking up with a woman was being late for one. She was going to be madder than a hornet.

He flung the last of the materials into a messy stack in the corner of the room, locked the cabin door and bounded across the lawn to his buggy. This was one of the many occasions when it was clear that buying Penny hadn’t been an impractical choice; the animal trotted as quickly as Nick allowed and he arrived at the library within fifteen minutes.

As he approached the building he couldn’t see Lucy and he worried she may have left without him. But how? From what he could tell, it wasn’t likely she’d undertake a walk that far in daytime, much less in the dark. His heart shuddered. Had something befallen her? But when he scanned the entrance area again, he spotted her partially obscured by shrubbery on the side of the library steps. Her bag was at her side and she was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees. She’s so thin she’s probably chilled to the bone, he thought.

Her head was tilted toward the sky and Nick wondered if she was praying. Maybe she was asking God to hasten Nick’s arrival. He brought his buggy to a halt and jumped down. His movement seemed to startle her, and she rose and absentmindedly brushed off her skirt.

“I’m sorry, Lucy,” he said. “I got so involved with my tasks I entirely lost track of time.”

Still looking upward, she replied, “I understand how that can happen. I was so absorbed in my embroidery I almost got locked inside the library just now. The librarian found me in a corner chair in the basement and chased me out. Look, is that Mars?”

Astounded that Lucy wasn’t angry, Nick’s eyes followed the skyward direction of her pointed finger. “Jah, I think you’re right.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked. “I’m usually not outside at this time of night so I hardly ever get to see the planets and the stars.”

Nick saw them all the time, but he never stopped to appreciate them the way she apparently did. They stood side by side in silence observing the sky until a shiver passed over Lucy and she said, “We’d better get going. It’s late.”

Reluctantly, Nick nodded and reached for her bag. He repeated his apology. “I really am sorry I wasn’t here when I said I’d be here. It won’t happen again.”

This time he assisted her into the buggy more gingerly than he had the first time, and instead of handing her the wool blanket he kept in the buggy, he spread it across her lap and tucked it beneath her feet with care.

Lucy had the sensation she was floating. She tried to convince herself it was because she’d made so much progress on her stitching, but that wasn’t the only reason. The truth was, she liked the idea of being courted, even if it was a false courtship. The experience of being outdoors at night beneath the stars was romantic in itself, and no man except her father had ever assisted her into and out of a buggy. She’d been missing out. If the attentiveness of a young man who wasn’t even a real suitor made her feel this blissful, how might she feel if the man truly liked her? Maybe when her stint with Nick was completed, she should accept Frederick as a suitor after all. She still couldn’t really picture it, but then she never imagined a buggy ride with Nick Burkholder could be so pleasant, either.

“You’re home late,” Mildred commented. She and Katura were lounging across their beds, but they hadn’t yet turned off the lamp when Lucy entered the bedroom. “Where did you and Nick go?”

“Oh, we went...out,” Lucy replied vaguely.

Katura tossed her long, loose hair over her shoulder, clearly pretending to be indifferent. “Could you turn down the lamp, please?” she asked. “Some of us have to go to work in the morning.”

It was a barb that ordinarily would have gotten Lucy’s goat. She worked just as hard as her stepsisters did to contribute to their family’s expenses, and she dared say she worked harder on keeping house. Furthermore, since Betty regularly visited her sister in Elmsville, most of the meal preparation fell to Lucy, too. But tonight she shrugged off the comment and dimmed the light as requested.

The room was quiet and by the time she eased into her bed, Lucy thought her stepsisters had fallen asleep. But then Mildred urgently hissed, “Spill the beans already, Lucy. What did you and Nick do tonight?”

A delicious vibration fluttered down Lucy’s spine as she said, “We went for a ride and we talked.”

Katura snorted, belying her earlier indifference. “That doesn’t sound like very much schpass. Or very romantic.”

“We also looked at the scars in the sty,” Lucy bashfully confided.

“The scars in the sty? Don’t you mean the stars in the sky?” Katura shrieked. She and Mildred laughed uproariously and Lucy’s face felt scalding hot. She couldn’t account for the slip of her tongue, but now her stepsisters were going to think she was so smitten with Nick she couldn’t speak straight. “I must be overly tired,” she said by way of excuse, and quickly joined in with their laughter so they wouldn’t know how abashed she was by her mistake.

After they quieted down, Mildred pried, “Did it seem like he wants to take you out again sometime?”

“Jah. We’re getting together on Thursday night.”

“That soon?” Katura sounded surprised. Then she added nonchalantly, “I suppose that’s all right, as long as he’s able to attend our caroling rehearsal on Friday night. We’re going out for pizza afterward.”

It irritated Lucy that Katura acted as if she were granting permission for Nick to court her, but she didn’t want to say anything in her defense, lest she trip over her words again. So Lucy simply bade her stepsisters good-night and pulled her quilt up to her chin.

She slept so soundly she realized upon waking she had missed another opportunity to prepare her father breakfast. And by the time Lucy was dressed, Katura and Mildred had already left for work, too. It must have been all that fresh air the night before—she never slept this late. Now she was going to have to hurry to make up for lost time. She had to complete a Christmas tree skirt she was custom designing for a customer from Schrock’s by this afternoon so she could drop it off at the shop on the way to the soup kitchen that evening.

In the kitchen she discovered a note from Betty indicating she’d be spending the day with her indisposed sister again. She requested that Lucy prepare supper and instructed Mildred and Katura to sweep the floors and beat the rugs when they returned home. Lucy tried not to think ungracious thoughts, but preparing supper took longer than beating the rugs and sweeping the floors, especially since those tasks would be shared between the two sisters. Lucy didn’t usually mind doing housework—in fact, she preferred the house being neater and more organized than the others did—but today she desperately needed time to work on the tree skirt.

Once she’d chopped vegetables and cubed the meat for stew, she put them in a pot to simmer throughout the day. Then she began making bread. In between kneading the dough, punching it down and allowing it to rise again, she embroidered the final touches on the tree skirt. With its array of pine trees and cardinals, church bells and candy canes, the design was exactly what the customer wanted, although it was too flashy for Lucy’s taste. She preferred the simplicity of white-on-white snowflakes or perhaps the accent of a sprig of holly here and there.

Like their linens and curtains, the Amish tended to keep their house decorations simple, too, but Lucy relished the Christmas holiday season when she could place candles on the windowsills and arrange evergreen boughs on the mantel. It didn’t take much to make their home feel festive and Lucy couldn’t wait to begin adorning it on Saturday. Perhaps this year Katura and Mildred would help her. I’ll probably have to bribe them with cocoa and cookies though. Immediately she regretted her sour thought and she asked God to forgive her attitude.

Mildred once asked Lucy if she got bored “sitting around embroidering all day,” but Lucy seldom did. Not only did she enjoy creating freehand designs, but she also used the time to pray. For example, as she worked on the Christmas tree skirt, she prayed that the family who ordered it would have a healthy, joyful, Christ-centered time of worship together.

Then her mind drifted to Nick. Reflecting on his willingness to help repair the cabin for Christmas, she realized she wouldn’t have guessed he’d demonstrate such a selfless devotion to his Englisch friend. Thinking of him, she was tickled by a chill, and she rose to stoke the stove and check on the stew.

By the time her stepmother and sisters came home, it was four o’clock. Her father returned at four thirty. He knew how important it was for Lucy to work at the soup kitchen, so he always made a point to return home by four thirty on Wednesdays, even if it meant he had to walk whenever his Englisch coworker was putting in overtime and couldn’t give him a lift home. This was one of those days.

“Denki for walking home, Daed,” she told him after she’d dropped the skirt off at Schrock’s and they were on their way to the soup kitchen. She was perfectly capable of handling the buggy herself, but he insisted, so she let him. It was another cherished occasion when she could spend time with him alone.

“What you do at the soup kitchen is important,” he said. “Just don’t let yourself get too run-down. Now that you’re...you’re socializing more, you might not have as much energy as you usually do.”

Lucy caught her father’s profile in her peripheral vision. Although he used the term “socializing” instead of “courting,” she felt guilty. Grinning broadly, he appeared so pleased. “I’m not actually...” she began, but then she realized she couldn’t back out of her agreement with Nick. It meant so much to him—and to the Nelsons. “I’m not going to get too run-down, Daed.”

“Gut. Because you deserve to enjoy yourself. And any young man—er, any young person who keeps company with such a smart, engaging maedel like you is very fortunate.”

Lucy was touched by how careful her father was to avoid using Nick’s name, as well as by his endearing sentiments. She knew few men in Willow Creek besides her father would consider her to be engaging, but she appreciated his opinion all the same.

At the church where the soup kitchen was located, Dan Ebersole was retrieving folding chairs from the closet near the back door where Lucy entered the building. Having recently moved from an Amish settlement in Ohio to nearby Elmsville and being reserved by nature, Dan didn’t have many friends, but he and Lucy had struck it off well together. “Your face is... It’s kind of glowing,” he faltered. “I mean, you look really happy tonight.”

“I am really happy,” she said. “It must be because Grischtdaag is my favorite holiday and it’s getting closer.” But as much as she loved Christmas, Lucy had never felt quite this cheerful about the holiday before. No, this kind of joy came from somewhere else.

On Thursday evening before starting off for Lucy’s house, Nick asked his mother for another wool blanket to stow in his buggy.

“Is there a snowstorm on the horizon?” she asked with a lilt in her voice.

“Neh, I want it in case Lucy gets cold,” he answered before he realized his mother was teasing him. His ears blazing, he hurried from the house.

As he directed Penny across town, he reasoned it was only common sense to bring an extra blanket for Lucy. She was so thin the wind probably went right through her, and he didn’t want her to complain. Then he began to worry that Lucy, like his mother, might interpret the gesture as something other than his being considerate; she might interpret it as a sign of affection. He couldn’t have that. This was a phony, short-term courtship, nothing more. So after Lucy was seated in the buggy, Nick handed her the spare folded blanket instead of arranging it for her as he’d done on Tuesday evening.

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