An Amish Holiday Courtship by Emma Miller

Author:Emma Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-09-11T18:30:17+00:00

Chapter Eight

Ginger’s eyes widened with such surprise that Eli feared he had made a terrible mistake. Had he misread her? All the hours they had spent together when she seemed as if she had enjoyed his company... Had he misinterpreted friendly behavior for one of attraction?

He searched her green eyes with their little specks of brown, trying to read her thoughts.

Why was she hesitating?

Was she trying to think of a way to let him down gently?

Eli wasn’t concerned about her hurting him. That was his sister’s worry, but it was unfounded. He’d grown a tough skin. He’d asked half a dozen women to walk out with him over the last two years, and not a single one had gone on more than a date or two with him. He wasn’t a twenty-year-old boy trying to get a girl to ride home with him from a frolic or sit next to him at supper or a singing. He was a widowed man with a houseful of children and he was asking Ginger to court him with the intention of marrying her.

Ne, he wasn’t worried about himself, he was worried about Ginger. Had he upset her? Frightened her? Did she think his request was inappropriate because he was older than she was? It was true she was nine years younger, but he had never thought age mattered. His grandmother had been twelve years older than his grandfather, and they had shared a happy marriage, a happy life together. Or was the fact that he was her employer a problem?

Claudia’s words began to bounce around inside his head. A pretty young woman like Ginger would never be interested in an old widowed father of four. That’s what Claudia had said. He wasn’t handsome enough for the prettiest girl in Hickory Grove. He had never been, not even in his younger years. And he certainly wasn’t flashy like Joe Verkler. He didn’t wear fancy running shoes or expensive sunglasses. He didn’t have blue lights strung on his buggy that lit up after dark.

But the companionship, the laughter, the serious conversations and lighthearted ones he and Ginger had shared had suggested she was interested in him. That she saw beyond the threads of gray beginning to show in his hair to who he truly was. What they could be together.

“I... I don’t know what to say, Eli.” She unfolded her hands and then folded them again.

Had she been staring at the floor, avoiding eye contact, he probably would have apologized for his behavior and taken his leave. But she was watching him. And he could tell she was thinking.

Eli spoke before he lost his nerve. “I know it might seem like this has come out of the blue, Ginger, but—” He hesitated, searching for the right words. He sent a quick prayer heavenward, praying to God to guide him. Because looking into her eyes, he truly believed God meant for this beautiful, kindhearted woman whom his children adored to be his wife. “We’ve spent a good deal of time together, you and I, over the last.

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