“Grandma, what big teeth you have.”
His bad habit of staring at her made her feel embarrassed and giddy at the same time. Those green eyes shone with an unreadable expression and made her blush.
“The better to eat you with, my dear.”
Evie gasped as the wolf jumped from the bed and chased Little Red Riding Hood around the room, but as usual, the huntsman arrived just in time to kill the wolf with an ax.
“Read another one,” Rose said, as Lily closed the book.
Aden stood there as if he had nothing better to do. Lily, along with the three little girls, turned their eyes to him. He finally took the hint. “Okay, I will go now.”
“The girls and I will have dinner ready at noon,” Lily said, as if she already had a plan. Aden seemed like the type who would appreciate a capable girl, one who could adapt to the little upsets of life.
“That would be wonderful gute.”
As if it were painful to tear his gaze from her face, he backed away from her, found the doorknob by touch, and opened the door, all without averting his eyes. Then he turned stiffly and vanished out the door.
What an odd young man.
Why hadn’t anybody told Lily that children were this much fun?
It had been Rose’s idea to make cookies—snickerdoodles—a recipe Lily knew by heart. Lily had propped little Amanda on her hip while instructing Evie and Rose on how to mix the dough. At first, Lily had thought it might be too much trouble, but when she saw how much fun the girls had measuring and sifting and stirring, she knew it was worth the bother. Aden and the boys would be pleased.
She let Amanda sit on the counter, with Lily’s arms loosely around her, and plop dollops of dough onto the cookie sheet with the other girls. Nobody’s balls of dough were very round or of any uniform size, but the girls had made the cookies themselves and because of that, they were the best cookies money couldn’t buy.
Lily insisted on putting the cookies into the cookstove. She would never forgive herself if one of the girls burned her hand on the hot surface. Most of the Amish homes in Bonduel had gas powered stoves, which were much safer, but Anna and Felty hadn’t modernized their stove yet.
While the cookies baked, they set the table. Evie put a slice of cucumber on each plate and arranged thin carrot slices around each cucumber. They looked like cheery green suns with orange sunbeams.
Amanda, with Lily holding tightly to her hand, toddled carefully down the stairs to the cellar to fetch two bottles of chicken from the shelf. Rose mixed the chicken with mayonnaise and pickle juice, and they made seven and a half sandwiches—the half being for Amanda.
Aden and the boys appeared promptly at noon.
Uriah looked at the plates on the table. “Look at the suns, Aden.”
“I made those,” said Evie, beaming brightly.
“And we have a surprise for you,” Rose said.
“What is it?” Junior asked.
Rose covered her mouth and tittered. “You’ll see.”
Aden smiled in amusement and looked at the carefully arranged vegetables next to his sandwich. His expression drooped. “This looks delicious, girls. I can tell you worked very hard on a gute dinner for us.”
The boys washed up, and they all crammed around the table. Amanda sat on an upside-down pot as a booster seat next to Lily. Lily kept a hand on Amanda’s leg to make sure that Amanda would not topple over while she ate. That arrangement would make eating difficult for Lily.
Aden, still frowning, made a point to sit directly across from Lily—as far away from her as possible at Anna’s round table. Even though he had agreed to the distance, Aden’s avoidance pricked her heart. And instead of his distance being something they could both laugh about, Lily had seen to it that it was a sore spot between them.
It wasn’t until her head was bowed for silent grace that Lily realized what had dampened Aden’s mood. He couldn’t eat the sandwiches. How could she have
His bad habit of staring at her made her feel embarrassed and giddy at the same time. Those green eyes shone with an unreadable expression and made her blush.
“The better to eat you with, my dear.”
Evie gasped as the wolf jumped from the bed and chased Little Red Riding Hood around the room, but as usual, the huntsman arrived just in time to kill the wolf with an ax.
“Read another one,” Rose said, as Lily closed the book.
Aden stood there as if he had nothing better to do. Lily, along with the three little girls, turned their eyes to him. He finally took the hint. “Okay, I will go now.”
“The girls and I will have dinner ready at noon,” Lily said, as if she already had a plan. Aden seemed like the type who would appreciate a capable girl, one who could adapt to the little upsets of life.
“That would be wonderful gute.”
As if it were painful to tear his gaze from her face, he backed away from her, found the doorknob by touch, and opened the door, all without averting his eyes. Then he turned stiffly and vanished out the door.
What an odd young man.
Why hadn’t anybody told Lily that children were this much fun?
It had been Rose’s idea to make cookies—snickerdoodles—a recipe Lily knew by heart. Lily had propped little Amanda on her hip while instructing Evie and Rose on how to mix the dough. At first, Lily had thought it might be too much trouble, but when she saw how much fun the girls had measuring and sifting and stirring, she knew it was worth the bother. Aden and the boys would be pleased.
She let Amanda sit on the counter, with Lily’s arms loosely around her, and plop dollops of dough onto the cookie sheet with the other girls. Nobody’s balls of dough were very round or of any uniform size, but the girls had made the cookies themselves and because of that, they were the best cookies money couldn’t buy.
Lily insisted on putting the cookies into the cookstove. She would never forgive herself if one of the girls burned her hand on the hot surface. Most of the Amish homes in Bonduel had gas powered stoves, which were much safer, but Anna and Felty hadn’t modernized their stove yet.
While the cookies baked, they set the table. Evie put a slice of cucumber on each plate and arranged thin carrot slices around each cucumber. They looked like cheery green suns with orange sunbeams.
Amanda, with Lily holding tightly to her hand, toddled carefully down the stairs to the cellar to fetch two bottles of chicken from the shelf. Rose mixed the chicken with mayonnaise and pickle juice, and they made seven and a half sandwiches—the half being for Amanda.
Aden and the boys appeared promptly at noon.
Uriah looked at the plates on the table. “Look at the suns, Aden.”
“I made those,” said Evie, beaming brightly.
“And we have a surprise for you,” Rose said.
“What is it?” Junior asked.
Rose covered her mouth and tittered. “You’ll see.”
Aden smiled in amusement and looked at the carefully arranged vegetables next to his sandwich. His expression drooped. “This looks delicious, girls. I can tell you worked very hard on a gute dinner for us.”
The boys washed up, and they all crammed around the table. Amanda sat on an upside-down pot as a booster seat next to Lily. Lily kept a hand on Amanda’s leg to make sure that Amanda would not topple over while she ate. That arrangement would make eating difficult for Lily.
Aden, still frowning, made a point to sit directly across from Lily—as far away from her as possible at Anna’s round table. Even though he had agreed to the distance, Aden’s avoidance pricked her heart. And instead of his distance being something they could both laugh about, Lily had seen to it that it was a sore spot between them.
It wasn’t until her head was bowed for silent grace that Lily realized what had dampened Aden’s mood. He couldn’t eat the sandwiches. How could she have
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