© 2019 by Leslie Gould
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1892-3
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the authors’ imaginations and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by LOOK Design Studio
Author is represented by Natasha Kern Literary Agency.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Recipe
Sneak Peek at Piecing It All Together by Leslie Gould
About the Author
Books by Leslie Gould
Back Ads
For my husband,
Peter,
who makes Christmas
magical every year.
CHAPTER ONE
The vase slipped through Noelle’s hand and shattered on the Kicha floor.
Just as her heart had been broken.
“What was that?” Dat asked from his chair in the living room.
“Just an old vase.” Noelle stared at the shards of red glass. “Nothing, really.” The vase was a gift from Jesse King before he moved to Montana.
Just the night before, as Noelle moved the last of her things out of the Dawdi Haus, her oldest sister, Salome, said she’d heard Jesse had returned to Lancaster County from Montana. “He’s hoping to get a job at the Christmas Market,” Salome had said.
Noelle felt ill as she stepped around the glass and headed for the broom closet. After three years, just like that, Jesse King had returned.
After she dumped the glass in the trash, she returned to the boxes stacked on the counter. The next one was the set of china her parents had given her back when she was courting Jesse. She slammed the lid down. The box would go in the back of her closet. She’d label it “Do Not Open Again.” She moved on to a box of whisks, wooden spoons, and measuring cups.
The new house smelled of wood and fresh paint and the sweet creamsticks she’d just pulled out of the Offa, from a recipe that called for baking them instead of frying. She and Dat had their rooms set up, but she had a lot of unpacking to do in order to truly make it a home. And most importantly of all, she needed to get the kitchen set up. It had always been the heart of their home, and even though Mamm was now gone, that wouldn’t change.
The Christmas Market, all five weeks of it, was the Schrock family’s busiest time of the year. From March through the weekend before Thanksgiving, they participated in the Country Market on Saturdays, which was lucrative. But the Christmas Market, held at the same place and on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, brought in as much money as the other months combined. The family baked goods business had to go on, even though Mamm was no longer here to make sure it all ran smoothly.
It had been three months since Mamm died, and the grief was still as sharp as the broken glass. The pain hadn’t lessened one bit; in fact, it had only grown stronger, much to Noelle’s embarrassment. She’d been taught to accept the ways of God, to know He knew best with life and death. But every minute of the day, Noelle missed Mamm. It was the worst when she baked. She’d imagine Mamm beside her, her gray hair tucked under her Kapp, her wrinkled hands kneading bread dough, rolling out piecrusts, mixing fillings. The memories pierced her heart—but not enough to avoid baking. Jah, she missed Mamm, but she also felt her love and comfort the most clearly in the kitchen.
No doubt about it, she’d had one loss after another. Mamm’s stroke. Noelle’s fight with Jesse. Jesse going to Montana. Jesse staying in Montana. Her estrangement from her niece, Moriah. And then Mamm’s death just before it was time to harvest the corn. At times, it all felt like too much.
Of course, she told others that she was doing fine. That God was in control. That she missed her Mamm, but the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
And if anyone asked, she said she was long over Jesse. She tried to convince herself of that too. But in truth, she doubted she ever would be. He’d hurt her too deeply.
Dat shuffled unsteadily toward her, his long white beard flowing over his belly. He carried his empty coffee cup in one hand, and she quickly took it from him.
“If only I would have known how much I was going to need you back when you were first born,” he said.
Her Dat had a way of reminding Noelle, over and over, what a surprise she’d been nearly twenty-two years ago. Before she could form a reply, footsteps fell on the front porch and then a knock landed on the door.
She opened it to find her brother-in-law, Ted, leaning on his cane as a gust of icy wind assaulted her. Behind him, their Lancaster County farm looked like a Christmas greeting card, flocked in Shnay, as the first rays of light fell over the landscape. It was Noelle’s favorite time of year.
She squinted. A van idled in the driveway.
Ted gestured toward it. “Salome threw her back out. She needs you to run the booth today.”
Noelle shuddered. What if Jesse was at the market? “I’m unpacking,” she said. “Can Moriah do it?”
Ted shook his head. “She needs to help Salome.” Moriah was Ted and Salome’s twenty-two-year-old daughter. Noelle and Moriah were practically raised as twins, which made their current conflict all the more unsettling.
Noelle squared her shoulders. She wasn’t used to challenging her brother-in-law. “I don’t want to leave Dat alone
