A Sister's Wish (20 page)

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1½ cups peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 t. light Karo corn syrup

2 t. baking soda

1¾ cups flour

3 cups quick oatmeal

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup M&M's (plain, not peanut)

Cream butter and sugars, then add peanut butter, stirring until mixture is light and creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and Karo, mixing well. Gradually add baking soda, flour, and oatmeal. Finally, add chocolate chips and M&Ms. Drop by rounded teaspoons on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8–10 minutes or until the edges are brown.

Taken from
Country Blessings Cookbook
by Clara Coblentz. Used with permission of the Shrock's Homestead, 9943 Copperhead Rd. N.W., Sugarcreek, OH 44681.

   
1.
      
Charm is located in the heart of Holmes County, home to the largest Amish and Mennonite population in the world.

   
2.
      
The actual population of Charm is only 110 people.

   
3.
      
One of the public schools in Charm is actually called “Charm School.”

   
4.
      
Charm was founded in 1886. It was once called Stevenson, in honor of a local Amish man, Stephan Yoder and his son.

   
5.
      
Charm also has a nickname that some locals still use. The name is “Putschtown,” which is derived from the word
putschka
, meaning “small clump.”

   
6.
      
The annual “Charm Days” festival is held in the fall every year. The highlight of the festival is the “Woolly Worm Derby.”

   
7.
      
The largest business in Charm is Keim Lumber Company. Located on State Route 557, it has a large retail showroom and website and is open to the public.

Coming October 2016 from Avon Inspire

December 3

“Momma, it's cold.”

“It is, for sure,” Julia Kemp murmured to her daughter. The temperature had to be hovering around the thirty-degree mark. Far too cold for a five-year-old to be outside for any length of time. Then, of course, there was the foot of snow that had fallen over the last two days. While it was beautiful, to be sure, it also seemed to keep the moisture firmly in the air. Now it felt even colder than it actually was.

Feeling both helpless and annoyed with herself, Julia pulled off her black cardigan sweater and slipped it around Penny's little body. “There you are, dear. Better?”

Penny bit her lip but nodded bravely. She was already snuggled in Julia's coat and her own cloak,
kapp
, and black bonnet. Actually, she was a little hard to see, nestled in the pile of clothes like she was.

But now, with Julia's sweater tucked securely around Penny as well, she had to be all right. It was most likely the
situation they were in that was making her feel so chilled and scared.

But who could blame her? They were locked out of their house at eight at night on December third. There was snow on the ground, not a streetlight to be seen, and everyone around them was a virtual stranger. Nothing about their current situation was okay.

Frustrated with herself, Julia jiggled on her door's handle for about the fifteenth time. Then debated about whether or not to dump out the contents of her purse and tote bag. Again.

Somehow, some way, she'd lost her house keys. How could she do something so stupid? So dumb?

Just as that old familiar sinking feeling of unworthiness started to threaten her very being, she shook her head. No, she
was not going to do this to herself again.

She was not going to put herself down like Luther used to do. She was not stupid. She was not dumb. She'd merely made a mistake, that was all. People made mistakes all the time.

But as the wind blew and the bitter cold seeped through the wool fabric of her dress, Julia knew it was time to face the inevitable. Stupid or not, she was going to have to break into her house tonight. Penny needed to get into bed and get her rest. She had school tomorrow.

Julia had no other choice.

Hoping she sounded more optimistic than she felt, Julia knelt down and pressed her lips to her sweet girl's soft cheek. “Penny, I'm going to need to look around the yard for a rock. You stay here, okay?”

“Why do ya need a rock?”

“Because I'm going to have to break one of the windows so we can get inside the house.”

Brown eyes that matched her own gazed at her solemnly. “Okay, Momma.”

That was how her little girl answered her most all the time now. She made due, accepting whatever Julia told her without a fuss. And no matter what happened, she tried to keep up a brave front.

Tears pricked Julia's eyes as she stepped off the front porch and wandered into her small front lawn. She had no idea where she


was going to find a rock under all the snow in the dark, but she had to try.

She was not going to think about how one went about getting a new windowpane or how much it was going to cost. Or how her small bank account was going to be able to pay for it. All she needed to do was take things one day at a time. Or, in this case, one hour at a time.

She could do this. She had been making due for the last six years, ever since she'd allowed Luther liberties he shouldn't have taken and then discovered the consequences.

Still remembering that awful afternoon, she shivered. She'd been scared but hopeful that he would take care of things. Instead, he'd called her some terrible names and hit her. And instead of facing her parents and confessing everything, she'd run.

She'd left Kentucky on a bus bound for Columbus. Then taken another bus to Millersburg. By the time she'd walked into a small motel just off the highway that had a sign in the front window asking for help, she'd had a new identity.

She was Julia Kemp, widow. Her husband had been killed in a construction accident and she'd moved to Ohio to start over on her own. The baby she was expecting was a blessing. A treasured one.

And her swollen eye? She'd tripped while managing her suitcase in the bus station.

Jared and Connie Knepp, owners of the motel, had accepted her sad story without blinking an eye. And Julia had gotten a small room the size of a large closet and a job cleaning rooms. For almost six years, she'd worked there, raising her baby and cleaning up after travelers. She'd kept to herself and saved every penny.

When they closed their motel, Julia decided to start fresh. She rented a ramshackle house that needed some care, got a job at a fabric and notion store, and enrolled Penny in a lovely little Amish school within walking distance.

She'd hoped everything was going to be wonderful. But so far, Julia had met one obstacle after another.

She'd get through it, though. She had to. She had no choice but to do anything she could in order to survive.

As she tromped through the snow, she smiled grimly to herself. That, at least, was something she was good at. She'd had a lot of practice surviving. It turned out she would do whatever it took, even lying about her past and taking a new name if it meant she could take care of Penny.

She was simply going to have to keep doing that. No matter what happened.

As another fierce burst of wind blasted his cheeks, Levi Kinsinger pulled his black knit hat a little lower across his brow. He'd missed the latest weather report, but he was fairly certain the temperatures were hovering in the low teens. It was freezing and there was a hint of moisture in the air, too. Snow must be on the way to Charm.

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black coat, he reflected that he shouldn't have worked so late. There was no reason for him to be working past seven at night. Nothing was going on at the lumber mill that couldn't be taken care of tomorrow. He shouldn't have lost track of time.

No, that wasn't true. He'd known it was late. He just hadn't been in any hurry to go back to his house.

And it was definitely a house, not a home.

The fact was, he hated the house. He didn't like its size, the way it was run-down and unkempt, or the fact that strangers had built it.

Furthermore, he didn't like living alone, and he didn't like being within calling distance to the five or six other houses that looked exactly like his own.

Being there was his own fault, of course. When he'd returned home after working for four months in Pinecraft, he'd felt out of sorts. His siblings had continued their lives while he'd been still attempting to come to terms with their father's death. His older brother Lukas was married. So was his sister Rebecca. His other sister, Amelia, was practically engaged.

Yep, all of his three siblings were in various stages of wedded
bliss. They were all smiles and full of happy futures. Then, when Lukas and Darla announced just before Thanksgiving that they were expecting a baby, Levi felt even more at odds with the rest of them.

Claiming that Lukas and Darla needed to enjoy a little bit of privacy, Levi signed a year lease on a small rental house just south of the mill. Within a week, he'd moved into the drab little place. Though Lukas had asked him several times not to move, Levi's stubbornness had come into play. He'd made his decision and he was going to stand by it, no matter how much he regretted it.

He wasn't about to have one more thing to be embarrassed about. No matter how much he hated the rental with its chipping paint, dirty woodwork, and scarred floors, he knew he'd never tell his siblings that he wasn't happy living on his own. They wouldn't tease him—but they'd give him a look that said they couldn't understand when he was planning to grow up and think about consequences.

Actually, he was starting to wonder that same thing. He'd taken to praying to the Lord for guidance. He needed to be the man his father had hoped for him to be, the sooner the better.

All of that was why he was walking home in the cold and in the dark. Because he didn't have any place else to go but work or his house on this dreary little street filled with people who no doubt wished they were living somewhere else, too.

As he walked down Jupiter, Levi shook his head. If his father was still alive, he would be shaking his head in shame. Levi needed to get a better attitude. There was not a thing wrong with the houses on Jupiter or the people who lived in them.

Most of the men and women who lived here seemed nice enough. They were hardworking and cordial, if all a bit worn down by life.

It wasn't their fault that their houses and their yards reflected that same attitude. When one worked all the time, trying to make ends meet, one didn't have a lot of time to devote to yard work or painting. Or repair work. It was simply the way it was.

As another gust of wind swept down the street, he braced
himself, then increased his pace. At least he'd gone to the grocery store on Saturday and bought a bunch of popcorn, canned soup, and roast beef. He'd make himself a fire and some supper and sit down in his small living room to enjoy it.

Sure, it wasn't going to be the same as one of Amelia's fine meals eaten at the well-worn and well-polished dining room table surrounded by whoever was in the house. But it would do. It would have to—

The direction of his thoughts drew to an abrupt stop when he noticed his neighbor from across the street crawling on her hands and knees near the mailbox.

What in the world?

When he got close, she froze. Though it was dark, he could just make out her panicked features, thanks to a bright moon and one of the neighbors' lit windows. Light-brown eyes. Dark-brown hair. Diamond-shaped face. And the prettiest pair of pale-pink lips he'd ever seen.

Lips that were currently parted as she gaped at him.

Worried, he stopped. “Hey. It's Julia,
jah
?” When she nodded but said nothing, he knelt down to meet her gaze. “What are you doing out here in the dark?”

“Well, to be honest . . . I'm looking for a rock,” she replied. Just like rock hunting in the dark winter cold was the most natural thing to do in the world.

It was then that he realized she wasn't wearing a coat. Or a sweater. And that there were tears in her eyes. And though he'd already known something was wrong, now he knew for sure that something was terribly wrong.

Never had he seen her acting so erratically. “Any special reason you are needing a rock tonight?” he asked gently.

Leaning back on her haunches, she nodded. “I did something st— I mean silly. I locked myself and Penny out of my house.” Her voice thickened with emotion. “I canna find my keys and I've looked in my purse and pockets at least three times. I need to break a window.”

As her words permeated, something happened inside of him. He couldn't bring his father back. He couldn't fit in with his
siblings like he wanted to. He wasn't even sure what his future entailed.

But he was a man, and he'd worked in a hardware store and lumber mill all of his life. If there was one thing he could do, it was break into a house.

Standing up, he held out his hand. “I can help you with that.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed. “You think so?”

“I know so.” Bending down, he held out a hand. “Here, let me help you up.”

After the briefest hesitation, she tentatively placed one bared hand in his. It was small and slim. Delicate against his work-roughened palms. “
Danke
,” she whispered.

And that was when he realized what had just happened. She believed him. Believed
in
him. Completely.

For the first time in weeks, he felt like himself again.

“You're welcome,” he said, smiling even though she couldn't see his expression. “I'm happy to help.”