Amish White Christmas Pie Read Online Free PDF Page B

ankle.”
     
    “Dad ought to take that rooster’s head off.” Cindy spoke up from where she was setting the breakfast table. “That ornery critter’s always causing some kind of trouble.”
     
    Karen limped over to the sink to wash her hands. “Herman was fine once I put food out for the chickens.”
     
    Cindy let out an undignified grunt. “He pecked your ankle and made you limp; I don’t call that fine.”
     
    Karen turned to face her sister. “I’m not limping because Herman pecked my ankle.”
     
    “Why are you limping?”
     
    “When I was coming to the house, I tripped on a loose board on the back porch and fell.”
     
    “I’ll speak to your daed about getting that board fixed as soon as possible, and if Herman keeps up with his antics, he might end up in my stew pot.” Mom went to the cupboard where she kept medicinal supplies. “You’d better have a seat and let me clean up those bloody spots on your ankle. Then I’ll look at your knees.”
     
    “If you’ll give me some antiseptic and a couple of bandages, I can tend to my own injuries,” Karen said as she dried her hands on a towel.
     
    Mom handed Karen a bottle of peroxide and some cotton balls. “If you’d like to take these over to the table, I’ll bring the antibiotic ointment and bandages.”
     
    Karen started across the room but had only made it halfway to the table when the bottle slipped out of her hands. The lid popped off, and all the peroxide spilled out. “Now I know I should have stayed in bed this morning,” she said with a groan.
     
    “Cindy, please clean the floor while I help Karen with her knees, and then she’ll need to go upstairs and change out of her wet dress.”
     
    “I’m not a
boppli
, and I don’t need help with my knees!”
     
    Mom blinked a couple of times. “I’m sorry, Karen. I didn’t mean to imply that you were a baby.”
     
    The heat of shame burned Karen’s cheeks, and tears pricked the back of her eyes. “It’s me who should apologize. I seem to be a ball of nerves this morning.” She dropped the cotton balls on the table and sank into a chair.
     
    Mom rushed to her side. “Karen, what’s wrong? Is what happened in the chicken coop making you act so
naerfich?
”
     
    Karen lifted her head. “I’m not really nervous, more anxious than anything. I’m concerned about Will.”
     
    “Has something happened to Will?”
     
    Cindy spoke up. “Will was here yesterday, and he was in a sour mood.”
     
    Mom looked at Karen. “How come?”
     
    Karen swallowed around the lump in her throat. “He’d seen a newspaper article about a little girl who’d been abandoned, but he didn’t tell me that until he came back the second time.”
     
    “He was here twice?”
     
    “Jah, that’s right,” Cindy said. “He was acting kind of strange when he first showed up, too. But then Leroy came in, and Will got even weirder.” She looked over at Karen. “Sister, are you sure you want to marry him?”
     
    “Of course I do.”
     
    “What about the second time Will came over?” Mom asked.
     
    “He came back to apologize, but we had a misunderstanding.”
     
    Cindy wrinkled her nose. “I’ll bet you argued because he was acting weird again.”
     
    Mom shot Cindy a disapproving look. “You’d best keep your opinions about Will to yourself and finish getting that floor cleaned up.”
     
    “I’m almost done.”
     
    “Good. Then you can start scrambling those eggs I never got started.” Mom turned back to Karen. “What was the problem between you and Will?”
     
    Karen told Mom about the surprise party and explained that Will had wanted to take her to supper. “Will was really upset when I said I had other plans on Tuesday evening.” She massaged her forehead. “If I’d been thinking, I would have told Will that even though I wasn’t free to go out with him on Tuesday night, I could go later in the week.”
     
    Mom patted Karen’s shoulder. “I’m sure everything