Rebecca Kertz - Her Amish Christmas Gift

“I’ll be nineteen in two weeks.”

He seemed taken aback at her answer. She wasn’t sure but she thought he’d murmured, “I had no idea.” But he didn’t look at her when he spoke. He was busy applying first-aid ointment before he covered her scrape with a bandage. “There you go,” he said without expression. He reached for her arm and helped her to her feet.

“Danki,” she murmured and quickly turned to leave, her arm tingling where he’d touched her. He didn’t stop her from going. Charlie hurried outside to join her family for lunch. She didn’t look back to see if Nate had left the house. She went right to the food table, grabbed a plate and helped herself. Spying her family at a table under a shade tree, she made her way over and sat down with a smile. If anyone wondered why it took so long for her to join them, they didn’t mention it.

“ Gut game, Charlie,” Henry Yoder said as he set a plate in front of his wife then slid onto the bench next to her.

Charlie didn’t say anything at first as she stared down at her plate. She should have been there to help the women. She’d been so focused on the game that she’d lost track of time. Now she felt guilty for not doing her share. She’d have to make sure she did most of the cleanup afterward.

“Charlie?”

She blinked and realized that her brother-in-law had spoken and she hadn’t answered. “I’m sorry.” She saw him eyeing her with concern. She managed a grin. “It was a gut game. Noah and Daniel aren’t happy with me right now.”

“ Ja , but Joseph and I are.”

She gave him a genuine smile. She really liked her sister Leah’s husband. They’d been married a year, and her respect and liking of him had only grown. The fact that he made her sister ridiculously happy only heightened her feelings for him.

“You didn’t hurt yourself when you fell, did you?”

She shook her head. “ Nay , I’m fine. A little skinned knee is nothing when we got the win.”

“Did you take care of it? Your knee?” her sister Leah asked with concern.

“All cleaned and bandaged.” Fortunately, her family didn’t question that she’d taken care of her injury. She looked down at her plate as she felt her face heat. She’d spent enough time in the Peachy house watching their youngest children that she knew where everything was kept.

She grew silent as Nate’s tender first-aid ministration played on her mind. She caught sight of the man deep in conversation with his brother across the yard and felt a kick to her belly as his gaze brushed over her casually before he looked away.

“Do you think it’s wrong of me to like playing baseball?” she asked no one in particular as she paused in her eating.

Her brother-in-law frowned. “ Nay. Why?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.” Nathaniel Peachy didn’t matter, she thought, but knew she was lying to herself to believe it.

Henry studied her a long moment, his expression softening. “You had fun, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

“ Gut , because we did, too, and we like having you on our team.”

Charlie smiled. She started to eat, then froze when Nate slipped onto the far end of the bench at the next table. Why couldn’t she get him out of her mind? The man was years older than she was, and she was more than a little fascinated by him. Which wasn’t wise, she scolded herself. Not wise at all.

* * *

Nate studied Charlie and felt his stomach tighten. Charlie Stoltzfus had shown time and again to be a good ballplayer. Her focus couldn’t be questioned. Every Sunday, whenever there was a game, the young men within their Amish community fought good-naturedly over which team would get Charlie.

He scowled. Good ballplayer or not, Charlie was too wild, too impulsive.

A lot like Emma .

A shaft of pain hit him hard, making his chest hurt with the memory of the girl he’d loved and lost. Emma had been wild and reckless, always searching for excitement. In the end, her wild behavior had led to her death.

Charlie Stoltzfus needed someone young but stable to keep her in check. Someone who could keep her safe and alive. Someone like... Nate glanced about the yard, searching for a prospective suitor for her, but he didn’t find anyone suitable.

“Nate, aren’t you going to eat?” his younger sister asked. Ruth Ann sat across the table from him.

He nodded as he flashed her a smile. “What are you having?”

“Roast beef and sides. And there are sandwiches if I’m still hungry.”

“You love sandwiches.” He recalled making them for her when she was much younger after his mother had died. He experienced a moment’s sadness for a young life cut short too soon until he thought of his stepmother. Mam was as different from Charlie Stoltzfus as night and day. She had made his father—his whole family—happy. She was pregnant again, due sometime in early January.

At his age, Nate never thought he’d have a baby brother or sister. In fact, he’d hoped that he’d be married with children of his own by now. But he hadn’t found the right woman yet. Someone kind and loving who wanted the same things from life as he did. There was farm property down the road from his parents he’d been hankering after. Once he acquired the land, he’d be ready to find someone to marry. Someone older and mature. Someone unlike Charlie Stoltzfus.

Nate started to eat. He stilled with fork in hand as he glanced toward the table where Henry sat with his wife, Leah, and Charlie. Her sister Nell and her husband, James, were seated across from them.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Ruth asked.

Desperate to ignore Charlie Stoltzfus, he nodded at his sister then ate the food off his fork. Unfortunately, he and Charlie faced each other, and he found himself unable to keep his eyes off her. She had beautiful features with a pert little nose and pretty pink lips. Her red-gold hair glistened brightly under the sun. Her eyes were a deep shade of vivid green. Her spring-green dress only heightened her coloring, highlighting her beauty.

He looked away. She was trouble, and he had to stop thinking about her.

“Charlie played a gut game today,” his brother Jacob commented.

“She’s got a lot of energy, that girl,” his sister Mary Elizabeth said.

“She didn’t help you with the food,” Nate murmured and immediately regretted his comment.

Mam raised her eyebrows. “We had more than enough help. Take a look. Do you see a lack of women here? Charlie enjoys the game, but she would have come if we’d asked.” Her speculative look made Nate squirm.

“I’ve never seen anyone hit the ball like she does,” he said softly, sincerely, brushing the awkward moment aside. “She brought everyone on base home then slid into home plate, giving the team the win.”

“ Ja , I wish I could play like that,” Ruth Ann said.

He blinked, but he didn’t say a word. He waited for his father to comment, but the man only chuckled.

“You’re much better off spending your time gardening,” Dat said.

Nate breathed a sigh of relief. “ Ja , gardening is a fine way to spend your time. Did you pick the last of the vegetables?”

“Plan to do it tomorrow,” his sister said. “If there are any left. I haven’t checked recently.”

Ruth loved to garden so bringing up the subject was brilliant. He had to give his father credit. The man knew how to deal with his children in a way that was natural and loving without being overbearing.

Nate hoped that someday he could be the kind of father his dat was. And a leader like him. Some folks within his community thought that one day Nate would be asked to serve as deacon, preacher, or even bishop.