The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall Read Free Book Online

to Mammi’s as soon as you’re in the ambulance. Is there someone I can call for you?”
    “You can find my brother’s phone number in your Mammi’s Amish directory. It’s Andy Fisher on Hertzler Drive.”
    “You stay still. Okay?”
    “
Denki
, Sadie.”
    She smiled. “You’re most welcome, Levi.”
    She hurried toward the road, and Levi wondered if he’d ever see her again. As odd as it seemed, he hoped he would.

Beth fidgeted with her patient gown as she sat across from the doctor. Her heart was racing.
    Pregnant?
    She had missed a couple of cycles, but that wasn’t unusual.
    Pregnant? By the time she and Jonah had married, they were a decade older than most Amish newlyweds. They’d discussed children before they married, and their conclusion was to be grateful and content to have each other. Their well-meaning relatives on both sides of the family had said that because of their ages, it could take them longer to conceive than most Amish newlyweds. So she and Jonah had agreed not to put pressure on themselves about having babies.
    Jonah had stronger opinions about conceiving than she did. He suggested they ignore the possibility, not think or talk about it for at least two years. After they were married, she’d found it very comforting to know he wasn’t quietly pacing the floors, needing her to come up pregnant before he could feel satisfied or complete. Now, a mere seven months later, they were expecting.
    “You’re sure?” Beth tried to steady her voice.
    He chuckled. “My practice is among the Amish, and whenever a married woman comes in with any flu-type symptoms, we run a blood test to check for pregnancy.”
    Beth ran her hand over her flat stomach. Jonah would be beyond thrilled. Excitement skittered through her.
    The doctor stood. “Since you’re unsure of your last cycle, I’d like to do a sonogram.”
    She nodded. He helped her lie back on the table. A nurse came in, and within a minute Beth saw a tiny, shadowy image on the monitor. Tears trailed down her face as the baby’s heartbeat pulsed fast and loud. This tiny being had a heartbeat! Their child had been growing inside her, and she hadn’t even realized it.
    The realization of life’s many gifts lingered in front of her, and she couldn’t help but admire them. How had she gone from being a lonely woman wearing all black to being married to someone as perfect for her as Jonah? And now they were expecting their first child!
    The doctor angled the wand one way and then another. Each time, he tapped some keys on the keyboard, and then green lines showed up on the monitor. “According to the measurements, I’d say you’re about eleven weeks along. Most women feel a surge of nausea at around eight weeks.”
    “Food has tasted funny, and I haven’t been very hungry. I remember feeling sleepy at the oddest times for a while, but I thought it was because the store’s been busier than usual since we added larger-ticket items to our inventory.”
    He put the wand on the cart, and the nurse cleaned the gooey stuff off Beth’s stomach.
    “We’ll let you get dressed, and then I’ll be back to talk.”
    Both the nurse and the doctor left the room. She felt … invincible, as if the fear and death and sadness of the world couldn’t erase the joys she and Jonah would have raising this child. Tears welled again. Once dressed, she sat in a chair and poured out thanks to God for this gift.
    There was a knock on the door, and the doctor came in. He asked questions, answered the ones she could think up at the moment, gave her papers and pamphlets and loads of instructions and a prescription for vitamins. She couldn’t wait to tell Jonah.
    As hard as it was to keep secrets from her driver, Beth didn’t say anything to her about being pregnant. Gloria had been her driver since Beth was eighteen, but Jonah had to be the first to hear Beth’s news. When Gloria parked in front of the store, Beth hurried inside.
    She made sure her expression