Her Amish Christmas Choice by Leigh Bale

Author:Leigh Bale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-08-08T16:26:13+00:00

* * *

“I don’t know why you’re being so rude to the Amish. It isn’t like you to act that way.”

Martin stepped to the end of the hallway and paused when he heard the words coming from the back office in a low murmur. Though he couldn’t see her, he knew Julia’s voice and she sounded upset.

“I don’t want you to marry that man, that’s why.” Sharon’s unmistakable voice lifted in a harsh whisper.

Yes, it was Julia and her mother speaking and they were discussing him. Martin took another step and they came into view. Their backs were turned so they didn’t notice him.

“I’m not going to marry anyone, Mom. Not after what Dallin did to me. Martin and I are just friends. You have no call to treat him and his people with anything but respect,” Julia said.

“Yes, you’re friends. Until you fall in love with him.”

“Mom, that’s not going to happen.”

“Maybe not yet but what if your friendship blossoms into something more? That’s how it happens when you fall in love. And then, what will you do? If you don’t join his faith, he’ll be shunned if he marries you. Is that what you want for him? He’d lose everything. His family wouldn’t speak to him. He’d be completely ostracized. And you! If you join the Amish, they’ll dominate and run your life. They might not even let you visit me because I’m Englisch.”

“Oh, Mom!” Julia cried in a harsh breath. “Don’t be so dramatic. They know you’re my mother and that you’re ill with lupus. Of course they’d let me visit and take care of you. Besides, I’m not joining the Amish, and Martin isn’t leaving his faith. We aren’t going to fall in love and we certainly aren’t going to get married. So, there’s nothing to fret about.”

Sharon paused several moments, looking at her daughter. “I still don’t want them here. We don’t need their help.”

“They’re a blessing. I don’t understand why you’re so against them.” Julia shook her head, seeming stunned by how unreasonable her mother was being.

Sharon simply pursed her lips tighter.

The floorboards creaked beneath Martin’s booted foot and a gasp followed by dead silence filled the air. He hesitated, ready to go back the way he had come. But too late. The two women turned at the open doorway.

“Martin!” Julia said.

“Ahem! Excuse me, but the mannsleit have returned. They have already cut most of the logs and even split some of the wood into smaller pieces of kindling that are perfect for your wood-burning stoves. They’ll return on Monday to finish it. They would come back tomorrow but they need a little time to work at their own farms. They’re stacking what they’ve finished neatly in your backyard right now and have piled it far away from your house, so you don’t end up with termites.” He tried to speak normally but his throat felt like a wad of sandpaper had lodged there. It would be dishonest to pretend he hadn’t overheard their conversation.

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