The Christmas Quilt by Patricia Davids Read Free Book Online

right away he saw my Emma for the good woman she truly is. It just goes to show God has His plans for each of us in His own time.”
    “That He does,” Emma agreed. “Adam and I are going to visit his family and share the news tomorrow. If the weather cooperates.”
    Vera grasped Rebecca’s arm. “We must make a quilt for this new blessing.”
    Rebecca agreed. “ Ja, we will.”
    She toyed with her food as her companions talked about babies, the weather and the turnout for the auction. She had made quilts for all the babies of her friends and family, but there were no quilts for children of her own.
    She had turned aside every romantic overture that had come her way. There had been a few over the years, but not many. In Hope Springs, the single women outnumbered the men for it was usually the young men who were lured away by the outside world. Why would a man who remained choosea blind woman for a wife when he had healthy ones to pick from?
    Besides, none of the men had been Gideon. It was hard to imagine giving her heart to anyone else.
    Why? What was she waiting for? Was she hoping Gideon would come back and declare his love again? She had turned down his offer of marriage because she loved him. Because she believed he deserved better than a blind millstone around his neck. Fear and the painful knowledge that she didn’t deserve such happiness made her turn away from him.
    If she could undo anything in her life, she would change only one thing—the night she slipped away with her sister Grace to join Gideon and his friends at a forbidden party. That one night changed everything.
    She shut out the memory. Gideon wasn’t coming back, and she had nothing to show for her sacrifice. One day she would be old and alone, without even her aunt to care for. What would happen to her then? She could go back to her parents, but when they were gone, which of her brothers or sisters would she go to live with? Any of them would take her in, but would they do so with joy in their hearts? It was unlikely.
    Would it be so bad to marry Daniel Hershberger? If she did, she would have a house of her own and the hope of children. She might learn to love him in time. Daniel was a good man.
    If only the thought of kissing him didn’t leave her cold.
    When their supper was finished, Rebecca went back to her room and sat alone on the bed. Her aunt had gone to her friend Naomi’s home for a comfortable evening of visiting. Rebecca had been invited, but used her headache as an excuse not to go. In the silence of her room, Rebecca found herself thinking again about Booker.
    How was he feeling? Was he sitting alone in his room asshe was? Was he thinking about her? It warmed her to think she might be on his mind.
    He was an intriguing man. Perhaps it was just his pitiful voice that made him so. When he could speak plainly, she might find him dull. Or not. She couldn’t get him out of her head.
    He’d said he wasn’t married, and she had to wonder why.
    Which was a silly thing to be thinking about!
    In a fit of disgust, she got up and took out her Christmas Star quilt. She had only the binding to finish. It wouldn’t take long. Perhaps if her hands were busy, her mind wouldn’t wander into forbidden territory.
     
    Early the next morning, Gideon walked out the inn’s front door and entered a world frozen and cocooned in white. Snowflakes continued to fall, settling soundlessly onto the sidewalk behind a shopkeeper who had just cleared a path from his doorway to the street. Tree branches bent low beneath the weight of their white frosting. Everywhere, a hushed silence engulfed the town.
    A few hardy souls had already ventured out. Directly across the street, a man worked to uncover his car with an ice scraper that was clearly too small for the job.
    The quiet gave way to the jingle of harness bells. As they grew louder, Gideon looked down the street to see a horse-drawn sleigh coming his way. An Amish family with six rosy-cheeked children