A Kauffman Amish Christmas Collection
Read A Kauffman Amish Christmas Collection Online
Authors: Amy Clipston
Kauffman
A
MISH
C
HRISTMAS
C
OLLECTION
A Plain and Simple Christmas
& Naomi’s Gift
B
ESTSELLING
A
UTHOR
Families in
A Kauffman Amish Christmas
Kauffman Amish Bakery Fruit Cake
A sample from Amy Clipston’s
: A G
IFT
of G
RACE
A Kauffman Amish Christmas
(boldface are parents)
P
LAIN
&
S
IMPLE
Christmas
With love and appreciation for my godparents
,
Joseph and Trudy Janitz
.
Uncle Joe — You live on in the precious memories you left behind
.
Aunt Trudy — Thank you for all you do for our family. We love you!
A
nna Mae McDonough closed her eyes and folded her hands across her protruding belly. A tiny bump responded to the touch and she smiled.
“Thank you, Lord, for this bountiful meal on this beautiful Thanksgiving Day,” her husband’s smooth voice said. “And thank you for all of the blessings we have — our home and our wonderful life together.” Kellan paused and Anna Mae glanced up, just as he squeezed her hand.
“Thank you, Lord,” Kellan continued, “most of all for our baby who will be here in January. Amen.”
“Amen,” Anna Mae whispered, squeezing his hand. “Happy Thanksgiving, Kellan.”
“Happy Thanksgiving, Annie,” he said, his brown eyes filling with warmth.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach in response to his loving gaze. “It’s hard to believe this is our third Thanksgiving in Baltimore.”
He filled his plate with slices of turkey and passed her the platter. “Time has flown since I found you in that bakery.”
Her smile faded, and she rested her hands on her belly. Memories of Lancaster County crashed down on her.
Holidays spent with her four siblings and their families were chaotic, with children running around the room screaming. Anna Mae would find herself in the kitchen laughing and gossiping with her mother, three sisters, her sister-in-law, and nieces.
Tears filled her eyes as she glanced around her small, empty, quiet house. Kellan’s only sister lived clear across the country in Los Angeles. Anna Mae had only met her sister-in-law once, and that was at their wedding three years ago. Kellan’s father had died eight years ago, and his mother had abandoned him and his sister when he was ten years old. The only family they had was each other.
And sometimes the silence on holidays was deafening to Anna Mae.
“I’m sorry.” Kellan leaned over, taking her hands in his. “I didn’t mean to upset you by bringing up Lancaster.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered. She swiped her hand across her wet cheek and forced a smile. “I cherish these times with you and wouldn’t give them up for anything.” And it was the truth. She’d never for one second regretted leaving her community to build a life with Kellan.
The baby kicked, and she looked down at her belly. Tears clouded her vision as she contemplated her newborn growing up without a host of relatives to love him or her.
“What is it, Annie?” Kellan asked. “I can tell by your expression that you’re stewing on something. This delicious dinner is going to get cold if you don’t fill your plate soon.”
“It’s just—” Her voice broke when she met his loving gaze. She cleared her throat and took a deep, ragged breath, hoping to stop the threatening tears. “I have so many memories
of holidays and birthdays with my siblings and cousins.” She rubbed her belly. “Our baby won’t know any of them, and my family won’t know our baby.”
Kellan frowned and shook his head. “You’re upset because it’s been so long since you’ve been together as a family. Maybe after the baby is born, you can see them again.”
“Leaning forward, she took his warm hands in hers. “You’re probably right, but I wish I could have it all — you
and
my family.”
“You can have it all.” He shrugged and lifted his glass of Coke. “I’ve told you I have no objections to seeing your family. You name the time, and we’ll go up there and visit them. I can take vacation anytime I want. That’s the beauty of being the owner of McDonough Chevrolet. I can take time off and leave it in the hands of my capable staff.”
“You know it’s not that simple with my father.” Despite her sudden loss of appetite, Anna Mae filled her plate with turkey, gravy, stuffing, a homemade roll, and homemade cranberry sauce. Thoughts of her father rolled through her mind. She knew she was at fault for not reaching out more. However, she’d wanted to build a new life without the emotional complications of dealing with the shunning.
“I don’t get that whole shunning thing.” He shook his head. “They say it’s because they love you, but how is cutting off your child showing her you love her?”
“They shun in order to prevent members from leaving the community. When a member leaves, it’s emotionally painful for the member’s family.” With her eyes trained on her plate, she cut some turkey and moved the piece through the gravy. “
Daed’s
the bishop for the district, the religious leader. It’s
his job to keep us on the right path and enforce the rules of the
Ordnung
.”
“But we go to our own church. Why isn’t that good enough for him and the rest of the community? Why do they have to punish you for leaving?”
Sighing, Anna Mae looked up at him. “Kellan, my family is only following the traditions of the Amish that have come before them. The Amish beliefs and traditions go back a few hundred years. Shunning isn’t punishment. They want their children to keep the traditions they’ve learned from their parents. They respect other Christians and don’t believe that other ways of living are wrong. The Amish don’t judge others or think their way is the only way. However, they want to keep their children within the community. They love me and want me to come back.”
He glowered. “Without me.”
She touched his hands. “I’m not going to go back. I just miss my family. I miss seeing them and spending time with them.”
Kellan chewed more turkey, his eyes concentrating on his meal. He then looked at her. “How about we go visit them for Christmas? We can just show up and surprise them.”
Anna Mae shook her head. “That wouldn’t be wise.
Daed
wouldn’t take kindly to a surprise visit. I’m certain he loves me, but he’s very hurt that I left. I’m sure he thinks I rejected him and my mother.”
Kellan’s expression brightened. “What if one of your sisters helped you plan it?”
Anna Mae considered his suggestion and then shook her head. “I can’t see one of them deliberately going behind my
father’s back. They’d be sure to tell him before I arrived, and that would make for a very uncomfortable and short visit.”