An Unexpected Christmas Gift

was fit to be tied when he found out his clothes were in the basement drying on the line, but I think he was glad to help Silas and me in the barn.”
“I promised Bart all the breakfast he could eat as soon as they were done.” Naomi placed an array of jams and jellies on the table.
“Those look delicious,” I said. “Did you can them?”
“Yes, with my daughters’ help.”
“We grew all the fruits and berries in our garden.” Anna’s enthusiastic voice was a testament to her satisfaction. “The honey is from our hives.”
As Silas and Bart entered the room, they were speaking Pennsylvania Dutch. I could make out bits of words here and there, thanks to studying German in high school. My father had insisted I switch to Italian in college. He was proud of his heritage.
But, alas, his heritage wasn’t mine.
Silas and Bart’s conversation sounded cordial but serious. I wondered what they’d been talking about while doing the milking and feeding the livestock.
Naomi and Nancy placed more food—eggs, bacon, corn bread, toast, and sausage—in front of me. Silas hung his hat on a peg and took his place at his end of the table. I reached for a square of corn bread, but his glare stopped me. Oops. We hadn’t prayed first.
He cleared his throat and lowered his head. Bart removed his beanie and the women ceased conversation. I did the same. Silas’s minute-long silent prayer seemed to last five minutes. I wondered if he had much weighing on his heart or if he was trying to teach me a lesson by making me wait to eat. Or could he have something else against me? Perhaps he thought Naomi should be charging me for my room and this meal. Not that I blamed him. I tried to think of ways I could make it up to them.
Or maybe he was tired from his farm work. I calculated what time he, Bart, and Anna must have gotten up to go out and milk and feed the cows. No wonder he was grumpy. Yet I got the oddest feeling he was scrutinizing me.

CHAPTER FOUR
How may I help you this morning?” I asked Naomi as we cleared the table thirty minutes later.
“Now, Maria, you’re our guest.”
“But today is Christmas Eve. I feel as if I’m intruding.”
“Well, then, if you’d like to help me with my baking I’ll gladly accept your assistance.”
“I’ll try. In the meantime, I’ll wash the dishes.” I got busy scraping the uneaten food into a container I assumed would be put to good use by pigs or the compost. I knew little about farming, except that nothing went to waste. I filled the sink, squirted in the liquid detergent, and watched the bubbles expand. Leaning against the sink’s lip, I realized that despite my worries I felt at peace in this home. Why couldn’t Naomi have been my mother? She would have been perfect.
Rapping sounded at the back door. “I’ll get it.” Nancy flew to turn the door’s handle and swung it open. “Hullo, Isaac.” The name flowed like a melody on her tongue. “And Troy. What brings both of you by?”
“Troy is going to help me pull Maria’s car out of the ditch with his pickup truck.” Isaac rotated toward me. “If that’s okay with you, Maria.”
I wasn’t ready to leave this house yet, but I turned to meet Troy. His hazel-brown eyes locked on to mine in a most delightful way, sending a buzz of attraction through me. He wasn’t dressed Amish; he wore jeans, and his turtleneck sweater revealed wide shoulders and defined biceps. His brown hair was cut short. “Hi, Maria, remember me? Troy Bennett. We spoke on the phone.”
“Uh—yes. Hi.” I must have worn a surprised expression because Troy said, “I have a winch on my pickup at work. I’ll be extra careful with your car.”
“I hate to trouble you.”
“No trouble at all. But it will have to wait until the snow lets up. I drove my Suburban today.” He stepped toward me and put out his hand to shake mine. His dreamy eyes never left my face. “My family lives next door, and my father owns the wholesale furniture factory down the road. I work there, too. Well, actually, I manage the place since my father suffered a minor stroke.”
I was delighted to see him but wore my best poker face. “Nice to meet you, Troy.”
“Odd we’ve never met in person.” He held on to my hand a beat longer than needed. “I thought I knew everyone.”
As I withdrew my hand, an idea snaked through my mind. If he knew everyone in the area, he might know about my mother. No, that didn’t make sense. He was only a couple years older than I was—thirty-two, at the most. Which meant he was most likely married. I glanced down at his left hand and was pleased not to see a wedding band. Yet, if he worked with machinery, he might take it off during the day for safety reasons.
“Naomi, I hear you need someone to pick up your sister,” Troy said. “I could do that, no problem. That way Isaac won’t have to use his family’s sleigh.”
“Yah, my Dat doesn’t want me driving it very far,” Isaac said.
“Troy, that would be wonderful. But do you know where she lives?”
Isaac stepped forward. “I’m pretty sure I know the way.”
“I could go with them and make sure they don’t get lost.” Nancy’s face beamed up at Isaac.
“Only if you bring Maria as a chaperone,” Naomi said.
“Sure, glad to.” Troy’s wide smile told me he was delighted.
“But will there be enough room for Aenti Linda if we all go?” Nancy asked.
“We can fit in my bench seat in the front. And back. There’s even a third bench seat. I have shovels and a broom back there in case we need them.”
Silas stepped into the kitchen from the living room, where he must have been eavesdropping.
“But the roads will be slippery.” Naomi clasped her hands