An Amish Quilting Bee by Amy Clipston

Author:Amy Clipston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2021-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Five

For the next four weeks, Alex focused on launching his new life. At the end of July he had been baptized in the church, and two days after that he started working for Roy in his carpentry shop. He was starting from the bottom, basically cleaning up the shop, sanding wood, and running errands. He was glad for the work, but not because he needed money. He had plenty saved from all the odd jobs he had worked during his travels, plus what he had saved from his various jobs he’d held before he left Middlefield. But Roy was open to teaching Alex more about carpentry. He’d gotten only a rudimentary education from his friend Stan Raber back in Holmes County, and he was eager to learn the craft, even though he was getting a late start compared to most Amish carpenters.

He had also started reconnecting with his old friends, all of whom were married and had started families. That included Ben Glick, but Alex never mentioned Susannah to him. Turned out that his worries about not being accepted back in the community or having anyone thinking poorly of him for leaving were for nothing. Thank you, Lord, for that.

One night he was having supper with Dan and Anna Nisley at their home. Dan was Roy’s cousin, and although he didn’t work with Roy, he was in construction and helped build Yankee houses. Dan and Anna were a few years older than Alex, had four kids, and were expecting another. He was in the living room with Dan, talking about the new housing development that had sprung up just outside of Middlefield, when someone knocked at the door.

Anna poked her head into the living room. “Dan, can you get that? I’m busy getting the kinner settled. Supper’s almost ready.” Before he could respond, she went back to the kitchen.

Dan rose from his seat. “I don’t know who that could be. Anna didn’t say we were having extra company.”

Alex stood as Dan opened the door. When he saw who was standing there, he inwardly groaned. Julia Yoder. Great. Just great. She’d dropped by three times last week where he worked, bringing him a sweet treat each time. She was nice enough. Pretty enough. But she’s not Susannah.

“Hi, Julia,” Dan said, sounding uncertain. “Ah, did Anna know you were coming?”

“Of course.” Julia entered the house like she owned it. “She invited me. Didn’t she tell you?”

“Nee,” Dan said, but Julia was already in front of Alex.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Julia smiled, looking at him beneath her eyelashes. “I brought Peanut Butter Dream Bars for dessert.” She leaned forward. “I made them especially for you.”

“Um, danki.” Alex took a step back. Growing up, he hadn’t interacted with Julia too much, and he had no idea she liked to be so close to people when she talked. Too close.

“I hope you’re not allergic to nuts.” Julia laughed and tapped Alex playfully on the shoulder. Then she turned to Dan. “Is Anna in the kitchen?”

“Ya. Supper’s almost ready,” he added, still looking dumbfounded.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.