An Amish Country Christmas Read Online Free

brother in the broad-brimmed hat. “If it makes it
     any easier, Nate, you can tell them Mary and I tempted you into this. Preacher Abe
     has said in church that cell phones—ours, namely—can be instruments of the Devil,
     so we’ve got a reputation to maintain. We have not joined the church yet, after all.”
    “It’s not like we’re bad apples,” Mary added matter-of-factly. “We just want to try
     all manner of things before we have to confess them.”
    Bram bowed to her, gesturing toward his buggy. “Can’t argue with that, can I? I’m
     here to help with whatever you’d like to try, missy. Lead the way.”
    “Let’s get Bram those Christmas lights and then find some lunch,” Nate suggested as
     he offered his arm to Martha. “We’d best not make our Christmas plans on empty stomachs,
     ain’t so?”

Chapter Three
    Bram watched Mary wrap a double length of Christmas lights so it lined the buggy’s
     dashboard and then followed the outline of the rig all the way around the back and
     to the front again. Martha was beside her, securing the strand with pieces of black
     duct tape. Watching the girls work so closely, completing each other’s sentences,
     made him smile wider than he had in months. All thoughts of inviting Hannah Brenneman
     to ride in this new buggy, maybe courting her in the New Year, dissipated like the
     vapor of his breath: with Mary Coblentz, it had been love at first bite of that coffee
     brownie . . . not to mention the way her sparkly blue eyes had sucked him in, hook,
     line, and sinker. Oh, but they were in for some fun these next few days! And after
     all the auctions he’d been working of late, keeping company with this fine, feisty
     redhead was an unanticipated Christmas gift to himself.
    “Okay, hook them up!” she said as she handed him the end of the strand.
    Bram reached beneath the buggy seat, to the car battery that supplied power for the
     headlights and taillights, and plugged the cord into the outlet James had wired to
     it. When the girls clapped their hands at the flashing of the multi-colored bulbs,
     his heart thumped like a rock band’s drums. “Now that’ll be quite a sight, come evening,”
     he remarked happily. “ Denki for gettin’ them on so they’re spaced evenly. Looks way better than I could have
     done.”
    “ Jah , your backside’ll be flashing all night long, all over the countryside now, little
     brother,” Nate said as he circled the buggy to admire the lights. “But now that we’ve
     had our dinner and decked your rig, we’d best be getting over to the Nissleys’. You
     know how the aunt will be calling over home, asking where we might be, if we wait
     much longer.”
    “Like Mamm would have an answer for that,” Bram teased. But he handed Mary up into
     the buggy and hopped in on the other side. “No need to get Mamm or the aunt stirred
     up, though, considering the new plans we’ll be breakin’ to them soon. Geddap, Felix.
     Let’s go, fella.”
    He unplugged the lights to save them for this evening and then grinned at Mary. “I’ll
     understand if you and your sister need to get home to supper tonight, but if you’d
     stay with us, it would make the meal go quicker—or at least seem to. If you work in
     Mrs. Nissley’s Kitchen, you know what I mean.”
    “What with all of her kids married off and moved to other places, Beulah Mae’s gut at yacking the ears off anybody who’ll listen,” she replied with a shy grin. “Let’s
     see how it goes, shall we?”
    Let’s see how it goes . Bram had all sorts of visions, all manner of ideas about how he would like it to
     go tonight . . . especially if he could pry the twins apart. Double dating was all
     right for an ice breaker, but when it came time for sampling Mary’s delicious-looking
     lips, he wanted her all to himself. And judging by Nate’s expression, he was guessing
     his brother felt the same way about Martha.
    Had there ever been a prettier day? On both