All four of them laughed loudly, and as Martha grinned at her, Mary felt that this
might be the start of something wonderful—a Christmas with something extra to celebrate,
if things went the way she was hoping.
“See, the plan was to pick up our new vehicles and then head to Nissleys’ for the
night,” Nate explained. “Then we’re to start home tomorrow morning, so we’ll arrive
in plenty of time for the Christmas Eve program at the schoolhouse—”
“We’ll be going to that, too, but here in Cedar Creek,” Martha said. “Jacob and Joanna
are reciting their Christmas poems. They’re ten, so—”
“Another set of twins in your family?” Bram asked, his eyes widening.
“
Jah
, but you won’t have any trouble telling those two apart.” Martha was already caught
up in the easy way the four of them were talking and laughing. But if the Kanagy boys
were supposed to return home tomorrow, in time to have a traditional Christmas with
their family—and this after spending an endless evening with their bossy, gossipy
aunt and her stern old husband, the preacher—it sounded as though their fun had a
mighty short time frame. Unless . . .
“You know, Christmas Day is our birthday,” Mary said, eyeing her sister purposefully.
“Wouldn’t it be the nicest way for us to turn eighteen—”
“
Jah
! With you fellows here to celebrate!” Martha went on in a rising voice. “And if you
don’t want to stay at Preacher Abe’s, listening to Beulah Mae’s gossip and what-all—”
“—why, we’ve got a spare bedroom at our place!” Mary continued in a breathless rush.
“We’ll be going to the schoolhouse program on Christmas Eve, of course, and then spending
a quiet day at home on Christmas, like always—”
“—but come Second Christmas, just think of the places we can go! The fun we can have,”
Martha declared. “And you boys would be keeping the Old Ways, following the traditions,
except you’d be in our home instead of yours. What do you say?”
“And it better be
yes
!” Mary’s cheeks tingled with more than the winter’s cold. How had they dared to concoct
such a bold plan without asking Mamma first?
The Kanagy brothers looked at each other, clearly excited by their idea. “Like you
said, Bram, we’ll be in double trouble if we go along with the twins’ ideas,” Nate
murmured. “Mamm and Dat won’t be one bit happy if we don’t show up when we’re supposed
to.”
“But we’ll be in all the right places at the right times. Even Uncle Abe can’t argue
with that,” Bram reasoned as he fought a grin. “And we’ll be with the
Amos Coblentz
family, rather than runnin’ the roads unaccounted for. But if you’d rather be a stick
in the mud—”
“Don’t go calling
me
names, Bram. I might already be a member of the church, but that doesn’t mean I’ve
stopped laughing or looking at pretty girls. I say we do it.”
“
Gut
. I’m in, too.” Bram flashed them a feisty smile and then focused on his brother again.
“And since you’re the older, more responsible son, you get to tell the aunt and uncle
about our new plan.”
Martha grinned, gazing up at the brother in the broad-brimmed hat. “If it makes it
any easier, Nate, you can tell them Mary and I tempted you into this. Preacher Abe
has said in church that cell phones—ours, namely—can be instruments of the Devil,
so we’ve got a reputation to maintain. We have
not
joined the church yet, after all.”
“It’s not like we’re bad apples,” Mary added matter-of-factly. “We just want to try
all manner of things before we have to confess them.”
Bram bowed to her, gesturing toward his buggy. “Can’t argue with that, can I? I’m
here to help with whatever you’d like to try, missy. Lead the way.”
“Let’s get Bram those Christmas lights and then find some lunch,” Nate suggested as
he offered his arm to Martha. “We’d best not make our Christmas plans on empty stomachs,
ain’t so?”
Chapter Three
Bram watched Mary wrap a double length of Christmas lights so it lined the buggy’s
dashboard and then followed the outline of the rig all the way around the back and
to the front again. Martha was beside her, securing the strand with pieces of black
duct tape. Watching the girls work so closely, completing each other’s sentences,
made him smile wider than he had in months. All thoughts of inviting Hannah Brenneman
to ride in this new buggy, maybe courting her in the New Year, dissipated like the
vapor of his breath: with Mary Coblentz, it had been love at first bite of that coffee
brownie . . . not to mention the way her sparkly blue eyes had sucked him in, hook,
line, and sinker. Oh, but they were in for some fun these next few days! And after
all the auctions he’d been working of late, keeping company with this fine, feisty
redhead was an unanticipated Christmas gift to himself.
“Okay, hook them up!” she said as she handed him the end of the strand.
Bram reached beneath the buggy seat, to the car battery that supplied power for the
headlights and taillights, and plugged the cord into the outlet James had wired to
it. When the girls clapped their hands at the flashing of the multi-colored bulbs,
his heart thumped like a rock band’s drums. “Now that’ll be quite a sight, come evening,”
he remarked happily. “
Denki
for gettin’ them on so they’re spaced evenly. Looks way better than I could have
done.”
“
Jah
, your backside’ll be flashing all night long, all over the countryside now, little
brother,” Nate said as he circled the buggy to admire the lights. “But now that we’ve
had our dinner and decked your rig, we’d best be getting over to the Nissleys’. You
know how the aunt will be calling over home, asking where we might be, if we wait
much longer.”
“Like Mamm would have an answer for that,” Bram teased. But he handed Mary up into
the buggy and hopped in on the other side. “No need to get Mamm or the aunt stirred
up, though, considering the new plans we’ll be breakin’ to them soon. Geddap, Felix.
Let’s go, fella.”
He unplugged the lights to save them for this evening and then grinned at Mary. “I’ll
understand if you and your sister need to get home to supper tonight, but if you’d
stay with us, it would make the meal go quicker—or at least seem to. If you work in
Mrs. Nissley’s Kitchen, you know what I mean.”
“What with all of her kids married off and moved to other places, Beulah Mae’s
gut
at yacking the ears off anybody who’ll listen,” she replied with a shy grin. “Let’s
see how it goes, shall we?”
Let’s see how it goes
. Bram had all sorts of visions, all manner of ideas about how he would like it to
go tonight . . . especially if he could pry the twins apart. Double dating was all
right for an ice breaker, but when it came time for sampling Mary’s delicious-looking
lips, he wanted her all to himself. And judging by Nate’s expression, he was guessing
his brother felt the same way about Martha.
Had there ever been a prettier day? On both sides of the road, the snow-covered pastures
sparkled and tall evergreens and cedars swayed in the breeze. When they came within
sight of his uncle’s orchard, Bram slowed down. Rows and rows of apple trees covered
the hillside, with their lower branches supported by stout wooden braces. “Can’t say
I’ve ever come in from this direction,” he remarked. “Uncle Abe’s orchard looks to
be doing well.”
“What with his preaching duties taking up so much time, he hires a bunch of us young
folks to do his picking in the fall,” Mary replied. “Does so much business, he’s gone
from a roadside stand to a building with sale tables. Sells the honey from his bees
and lets local folks bring in their pumpkins, squash, and what-not to sell there,
too.”
“Gee, Felix.” As the horse turned to enter the long lane, Bram took in the old white
house with its fieldstone foundation. Smoke curled out of the chimney and the horses
in the barnyard came to the fence to watch them approach, their ears pricked forward.
“Why am I not surprised to see Uncle Abe out here, like he’s waitin’ for us?” Bram
remarked. “Stayin’ out of the aunt’s way while she’s cookin’, no doubt.”
Mary’s soft laughter and pink cheeks teased at him. How her eyes sparkled with anticipation
. . . promises and secrets to share with him later.
“Seems you boys picked up a lot more than new rigs today,” Uncle Abe remarked as he
came through the barnyard gate. As he held his broad-brimmed hat in a gust of wind,
his beard rippled over his dark blue barn coat. “Not sure who’s driving Mary and who’s
with Martha, but then, life’s got its little mysteries, ain’t so? How are you, girls?”
“We’re
gut
,
denki
,” Mary replied as she daintily stepped down.
“
Jah
, mighty glad your nephews came into town,” Martha added. “Merry Christmas to you,
Preacher Abe.”
“And pass the same along to your families.” Uncle Abe looked a little heavier than
last time Bram had seen him, and his bushy hair had gone from gray to white, but he
seemed genuinely pleased to see them. “Guess I should warn you that your aunt’s in
a stew, figuring you should’ve been here for dinner this noon. I reminded her that
we were young once, too—about a hundred years ago.”
“Not every day you run across the likes of the Coblentz twins,” Bram said as he shook
his uncle’s gloved hand. “What do you think of these rigs? Seems to me James Graber
did a fine job on them.”
Uncle Abe stroked Felix’s shoulder before he circled the buggy, nodding, and then
gave his attention to Nate’s sleigh. “Nobody builds a better ride than our James.
Seems you young bucks have outdone yourself with these horses, too. Auctioneering
and training must suit you, that you’re doing so well.”
“Bram found us these geldings while he was working a couple of sales,” Nate remarked
with a nod. “And then I made quick work of training them to pull our rigs.”
Bram was thoroughly enjoying this chat, but when the kitchen door opened and his aunt
stepped onto the side porch, he knew it was time to stop stalling. “Merry Christmas
to you, Aunt Beulah Mae!” he called over to her.
“
Jah
, late as it’s getting, I was wondering if Christmas might be here and gone before
you boys showed up,” came her reply. “But I see now who might’ve led your
gut
intentions astray. Mary and Martha are known for distracting the fellows around here.
Mary bakes me a lot of cookies, though.”
“
Jah
, we’ve found that out.” Bram chuckled, exchanging a knowing smile with the young
woman at his side.
“Get yourselves inside now, before you catch your death in this cold wind,” Aunt Beulah
Mae instructed. “I’ll put on water for some cocoa and we can visit.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Abe said, waving the four of them toward the house. “Or at
least we’d better not.”
Bram gestured for his brother to lead the way, reminding Nate with a purposeful gaze
that it was his job to spell out their new plans. When his hand found Mary’s, he wanted
to drive off with her right then and there, but that was sure to get him into hot
water.
The kitchen felt too warm when they stepped inside. Judging from the pans of bars
and fresh dinner rolls—not to mention four pies—on the back counter, the ovens had
been fired up all day. When Nate hugged their aunt and snatched up a frosted sugar
cookie, Bram followed suit . . . always a good idea to make Beulah Mae happy by eating
every chance they got. The four of them exchanged pleasantries with the older couple
as they hung their coats on pegs near the door. The long table was laid out with plates
and mugs, with platters of coffee cake, sticky buns, and colorful cookies in the center.
As his aunt quickly added two more place settings and grabbed the whistling kettle,
Bram sighed inwardly. Might be an hour or more before they could even hope to slip
away . . .
“We don’t want to be any trouble, dirtying up sheets and towels and what-not,” Nate
said as they took seats at the table, “so we won’t be staying the night, like we’d
originally figured.”
The kitchen got deadly quiet. Aunt Beulah Mae peered over the top of her black-rimmed
glasses.
Bram jammed the rest of his gingerbread man into his mouth. He was starting to sweat,
and not just because the furnace and ovens were stoked up.
“Abram and Nathaniel, you can’t tell me you’re starting back to Willow Ridge this
late in the day.” Their aunt gazed intently at Mary and Martha. “Why am I thinking
you girls have something to do with this change of plans?”
Mary concentrated on her cocoa. Beside Nate, however, Martha bit back a grin. “At
least give us credit for knowing a couple of worthwhile young fellows when we see
them,” she replied pertly. “We wouldn’t invite just anybody to stay over and celebrate
our birthday.”
“And of course we’ll be seeing you at the schoolhouse tomorrow night for the scholars’
program, and then spending a prayerful Christmas Day at home. All fit and proper,”
Mary added quietly. “Mamma and Dat wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“And what do
your
parents have to say about this?” Beulah Mae quizzed him and Nate. “Abe, was there
a message on the phone from Nell, telling us of this change?”
Uncle Abe, who had known to stay out of this conversation, shook his head. “Not the
first time young fellows have gotten acquainted with girls over the holidays—”
“But I’ve been cooking all day! And we’ve been looking forward to this visit—”
“—and if you recall, Beulah Mae, you and I started courting at Christmas by giving
your family the slip,” he continued with a quiet laugh. “
Jah
, that was more than fifty years ago, but things haven’t changed between girls and
boys since then that I’ve noticed.”
Their aunt’s cheeks got very pink. “That’s neither here nor there, and you know it!”
she spouted. Then she focused again on Bram and Nate. “And why do I suspect you haven’t
told your folks about this, either?”
Bram whipped his cell phone from the pocket of his plaid flannel shirt. “Matter of
fact, I was just about to call them,” he said as he rose to grab his jacket.
“And then we’ll need to head home to let Mamma know about our guests,” Martha confessed.
She snatched a chunk of fudge from the platter as she, too, stood up. “
Denki
so much for these wonderful-
gut
goodies, Beulah Mae.”
“But we wouldn’t
dream
of missing the dinner you’ve fixed for us,” Nate chimed in. “And we’re hoping the
girls can join us for that?”
“We’ll be a lot better at redding up the kitchen afterward than these boys would,”
Mary pointed out.
The last thing Bram heard as he stepped outside was Uncle Abe’s laughter. “Sounds
like a mighty fine evening,” he said. “We’ll see you kids later.”
As the four of them scurried along the snow-packed lane, putting on their coats, Bram
shook his head in amazement. “Well, that was slicker than all get-out, but we’ll pay
for our escape tonight at supper, most likely.”
“
Jah
, we cut them pretty short,” Martha remarked as she tied her bonnet strings. “But
it’s not like we were telling stories—”
“Because we do have to break the news to Mamma that you boys’re staying over,” Mary
continued. “But make your call first, Bram, out on the road. Nissley’s Ridge is the
best place out here to get a
gut
signal.”
Once they had gone down the lane and headed up the slight grade of the county blacktop,
Bram pulled over to the side. He punched the numbers and waited . . . and, as he’d
anticipated, no one was near the phone shanty to pick up. “
Jah
, it’s Bram, callin’ to tell you we’re havin’ supper tonight with Abe and Beulah Mae,
but we’ve been invited to celebrate a big birthday with carpenter Amos Coblentz’s
girls,” he said. “So we’ll be stayin’ with them over Christmas Day and Second Christmas
instead of headin’ home tomorrow like we thought. Bye now.”
Mary was smiling mischievously beside him as he spoke. His heart was thundering, looking
forward to the fun they would have over the next few days. After all, it would likely
be hours before his parents heard about their change of plans—and what could they
do about it? Willow Ridge was three hours away.
“We’re
gut
to go,” he called back to his brother. “Let’s do it!”