Her Forbidden Christmas Match by Emma Miller

Author:Emma Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2024-07-05T14:06:07+00:00

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Aaron sat at the end of the kitchen table sipping coffee, listening to the Koffman family laugh about an incident many Thanksgivings ago involving people he didn’t know. It didn’t matter; it still made him smile. It was nice to sit in the warm kitchen and listen to the joy in their voices as he ate the last bite of pumpkin pie with freshly made cinnamon-and-maple whipped cream. It was his third piece of the day.

The midday meal had been the most amazing he’d ever had, even looking back to his days as a young Amish boy before his father left the order and became Mennonite. Besides a roasted turkey and duck, the Koffman sisters had prepared two kinds of potatoes, four vegetables including a spicy chowchow, biscuits, sausage stuffing, gravy, fresh apple cranberry sauce and so many desserts that he’d had pie and cake. After cleanup, Willa, her five sisters, their spouses, the new babies, her father, Rosie, Mark and Maggie had taken a walk together. It had been a family tradition since Felty and his wife purchased the farm. The stroll took them through fields and woods, past two ponds, zigzagging the three-hundred-acre property. After the exercise, they’d gathered in the parlor to play games and read; some even dozed off. And then leftovers had been pulled out, and he’d managed to eat an enormous sandwich made with turkey, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo, and the final piece of pie.

Aaron glanced at the clock. Beth and her husband, Jack, and his younger brother who lived with them were preparing to leave, as were Cora and Tobit. Henry and her husband and mother-in-law had already gone. It was time he and Maggie made their way down the long lane to the store and their cozy apartment. But he enjoyed the camaraderie so much that he hated ending the day. Maggie was going to throw a fit when he mentioned bedtime.

Millie’s husband and mother-in-law had not made it back for dinner and were remaining at the uncle’s house due to how ill the older man was. He’d been deemed terminal, but the family prayed that he would be with them for one more Christmas and were all gathering to lend the aunt support. Because Elden would not return until morning, Millie had decided to remain with her sisters overnight in case she needed help with their twins. Aaron couldn’t imagine what it was like to manage two babies less than eight weeks old; he had been overwhelmed with only one. Millie had settled in a downstairs bedroom with her little ones, where Maggie and Willa were now.

Aaron glanced at the clock again and wondered if he could get Willa to walk outside. Since their secret meeting behind the holly bush, he’d longed to hold her again. Not that he could do it with Maggie at his side. Instead, he’d have to be content in remembering the warmth of her embrace and inhaling the sweet scent of her lavender shampoo.

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