Love Conquers All by Linda Byler

Author:Linda Byler
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781680998481
Publisher: Good Books
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

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She tried to put it behind her, for Betsy’s sake, who loved the thought of the approaching holiday. She draped herself over Paula’s chair to watch every stitch she put into the new red fabric. They made more cookies, except this time, they were plump, golden sugar cookies, with store-bought sugar sprinkled on top.

The house was warm, the sun shone every day, and Paula decided to invite Henry and Malinda’s family over for Christmas Day.

She would butcher the chicken with the broken wing, bake it the morning before, and make roascht, the traditional bread casserole with plenty of chicken pieces, onion, celery, and parsley. The hen was fat, so there would be plenty of flavor. She’d make mashed potatoes and rich yellow gravy. Mashed turnips and diced carrots. Plus, they would make a black walnut Christmas cake with brown sugar frosting.

Paula finished the socks, wrapped them in brown paper, and put a peppermint stick on top. She made a new rag doll with the scraps from her sewing basket with brown buttons for eyes and an embroidered nose and mouth. The doll would have a new blue dress and gray apron, yarn for pigtails—yellow yarn, the color of Dorcas’s own hair. The new slate was wrapped in brown paper and Paula put a fresh holly branch containing five berries on top, then sat it on the cupboard top to tantalize Betsy, who almost had a fit of hysterics.

She had never had a package that big or decorated so fancy, so she was one hundred percent sure this Christmas would be extra special. Which was Paula’s goal. She would focus on the girls and not on her own troubles. She wavered between wishing she had never met Daniel Miller and wishing he would show up at her door. There was comfort in knowing he was actually established here in the community, but it did not mean he would ever court her, or want to marry her.

Oh, she would marry him straightaway. She would.

And no one could take that thought away from her, either.

The thought of the required public confession sent her heart plummeting frequently, but with a prayer for courage, she mostly accepted it now. She felt best being obedient, with all due respect to authority, to be willing to admit mistakes and be humbled. But oh my, she thought. What would Manassas have said? Always one who needed a clear explanation of why anyone had to confess, often bordering the line between compliance and rebellion, he’d likely have gone down fighting. But he was not here to protect her anymore. She wondered if the minister had spoken to Daniel, too, but guessed probably not. He was a guest still, not an established member of the church. She hated the idea of him enduring the shame of her confession and hoped desperately that he wouldn’t be there that Sunday. She didn’t think she’d have to say who had spent the night in her home, but people would figure it out quickly enough.

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