Christmas in Apple Ridge by Cindy Woodsmall Read Free Book Online

what she was about to do was the right thing. “Giving it up for a girl, are you?”
    Jonah laughed. “I never said I was giving it up.” Using his thumb, he pushed his straw hat back a little. The gesture revealed two missing fingers, probably more damage sustained in the accident. “It’s not about money.”
    “I’m sure it’s not.” Lizzy moved to the edge of the gazebo. The place was an odd mixture—a rather dilapidated building attached to a much newer shop. A beautiful garden area with an expensive gazebo behind the old place. To her left, a recently built cabin almost hidden behind a grove of ancient trees.
    And a handsome young man with a skill that calls to my niece
.
    “Your carving seems to carry life in it.”
    Somber as a church meeting, he gazed at her. “The piece you wish to sell in your store was a royal pain from the get-go. The tree lay at the bottom of a gorge, and I tried to ignore it for months. But by lastwinter I couldn’t disregard it any longer, so I wrestled it out with my brother’s help and took it to my shop.” He leaned back against the railing. “And the truth is, I was glad to be done with it. Just as soon not have that experience again. So if you’re looking for a carver, I’m probably not your man.”
    “Is that why there’s a layer of dust on your tools and the wood on your workbench?”
    “The only thing I made out of that tree was the carving you bought. I cut other pieces with the intention of carving scenes in each, but … it’s just not in me. Still, I guess I’d be pleased to sell or put on consignment whatever is in my shop that I’ve made from other trees.”
    “This isn’t what I expected when I came here. You’re supposed to be excited and trying to convince me to get permission to carry these items.”
    He smiled and cradled one chime in the palm of his hand. “When I was injured, if my Daed hadn’t given me freedom to carve, I’m not sure I could have stood it. I was stuck in a wheelchair for nearly a year. Lost all sense of who I’d thought I was. Surgeries and physical therapy were constant and painful. And as selfish as it sounds now, being without two fingers felt totally humiliating, like God had singled me out to mock. My Daed gave me a way to transfer my emotions into a lump of wood.” He released the chime, making lovely tones float through the air.
    Wishing Beth could hear this man’s understanding of life after loss, Lizzy’s plan became clearer to her. “I’ve never married, so I don’t have children, but I do have someone I love as if she were my own. And right now she’s in that bad place you spoke of. But it’s been nearlya year and a half since her loss, and I don’t know why it continues to be so heavy.”
    “Maybe for you it wouldn’t be, but for her it is.”
    A dinner bell clanged loudly.
    He motioned to the steps of the gazebo. “Come eat with us, Elizabeth. It’s our family’s once-a-month workweek gathering. You can meet all sorts of Kinsingers and three other Jonahs. Afterward, I’ll load you up with the carvings I do have.”
    When he spoke her full name instead of her nickname, Lizzy knew the door to her hope stood wide open. As they walked around the side of the building, she saw Gloria waiting for her. “I can’t stay.” She stared into the crystal blue sky. Part of her felt as if she was about to follow God’s leading, and part of her felt like a manipulative woman.
    Hoping her plan didn’t push Beth further from her, she dared to give her idea a try. “Jonah, meeting you today has been the best treat I’ve had in a long time. I’m hoping you’d be willing to keep in touch with me by mail.”
    The way he looked at her, she knew he thought she was a bit off-center. Still, he nodded. “I suppose that’d be fine.”
    “Good.” She stopped at the foot of the steps that led to what had to be his grandmother’s place. “Did Pete give you my card, or do I need to get one for you?”
    “He passed