Excerpt of An Amish Christmas Quilt by Charlotte Hubbard, Kelly Long, Jennifer Beckstrand

Excerpt from A Perfect Amish Christmas by Jennifer Beckstrand in An Amish Christmas Quilt, a novella collection.

Dottie stopped in her tracks. Her stomach fell to her toes and shot back up again as if she were riding an unpleasant roller coaster.

Hat in hand, Gid Stutzman leaned against the doorjamb, his brow cocked and his mouth twisted into a wry grin. His loose brown curls fell across his forehead and his dark eyes flashed with a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

He wasn't supposed to be here. He should have received Ada's letter a week ago.

Dottie's stomach did a double back flip and three somersaults. It had been two years since she had seen Gideon Stutzman and he'd definitely grown up. His shoulders and arms had filled out nicely, and that square jaw and tan face made her heart flutter even as her stomach kept bouncing. But his appearance didn't matter. She'd always think of him as Junior's annoying teenage cousin who never stopped teasing her and made a point to make a pest of himself.

He'd sure enough received Ada's letter, because it dangled casually in his fingers like a used tissue. She swallowed hard. Oh, he was annoyed all right. And it was a good guess the letter had something to do with it.

"Dottie Schrock, I would have a word with you about this letter."

Her stomach stopped its roller coaster ride and lodged in her throat. "I'm wonderful busy right now," she managed to squeeze out.

He nodded. "Oh, I'm sure you are." His other brow rose to meet the first one. "Getting ready for the party I'm not invited to."

Dottie feigned innocence. Either that or die of embarrassment. She'd rather not pass away at the young age of twenty. How had Gid found out about the party? "What do you mean?"

"Hmm," he said, studying her as if he were a cat ready to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse. He looked as if he wasn't about to let her get away with anything. "Let's see here." He unfolded Ada's letter. "Dear Gid, We are so happy you will be spending Christmas with us while your parents are in Mexico. Junior wants to go camping with you so you can show him how to make an ice cave. And so on and so on," he said, his gaze scrolling to the bottom of the page. "Ah, here it is. It wonders me if you could postpone your arrival until Christmas Eve." He glanced at Dottie.

Her face felt hot, as if she'd been standing next to the roaring wood stove all afternoon. She resisted the urge to squirm and tried to look mildly interested even though she knew what came next. She'd helped Ada write the letter.

Gid kept reading. "Dottie is sure we're going to be extra busy up until Christmas, and we don't want you to feel ignored. I hope you understand how busy we will be. We really think it's better if you don't come until Christmas Eve. Or maybe even Christmas Day. Love, Ada."

"It wondered me why Ada was so concerned about my arrival date."

"You read that part. She was afraid you'd feel ignored. Everyone is too busy to entertain you."

Gid's eyes flashed, and he looked as if he wanted to laugh. "Jah, I'm sure that was the first thought that came into my cousin's head when I told her I was coming."

Gid was a cousin on the other side of Ada's family. Dottie was very glad that she and cocky Gid Stutzman were of no relation whatsoever.

He held the letter up like a stop sign. "When I saw your name in her letter, I got suspicious."

"Ada and I are best friends. Are you saying she's never mentioned me in a letter before?"

Gid smirked. "When I got Ada's letter, I wrote to Junior. He told me that you were throwing a party on the very day I had planned on coming into town."

Dottie resisted the urge to growl. Junior couldn't fold napkins, and he couldn't keep his big mouth shut. At the moment, he was not on her good list. Truth was, he never had been.

Gid narrowed his eyes and stared her down. "You don't want me at your party," he said. The very idea seemed amusing to him.

Dottie thought she might suffocate with embarrassment. Though she hadn't seen him for two years, she remembered how blunt Gid could be, and his wide grin only made it worse.

Boys! Tilting her head back, she clamped her eyes shut and clenched her teeth. "Okay. You're right. I asked Ada to write and tell you to come a day later than planned."

He seemed on the verge of laughing. "You wrote the letter for her, didn't you?"

"Maybe," she grudgingly admitted, wondering if her face was as red as the poinsettia frosting.

Her admission pushed him over the edge. He threw back his head and laughed. "I thought so, Dottie Schrock."

"Thank you so much for laughing at my humiliation." He'd done it before. She didn't know why it irritated her now.

That brought him up short. For the first time since he'd arrived, he lost the aggravating smile. If she didn't know better, she'd think he almost looked contrite. "I'm not laughing at you. Honest." His lips curved upward again as if he found it impossible to keep from grinning. "I'm laughing at how clever I was to figure it out."

Dottie ground her teeth together until she thought they might crack. Gid was nothing if not arrogant. But the lack of an invitation to her party must have taken his confidence down a peg or two. She didn't want to feel smug about that, but she couldn't help herself.

She pasted a look of sympathy on her face. "You're upset that I didn't invite you to the party. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings."

He ran his fingers through his curly hair. "I'm not upset about your party. I'm irritated that you tried to meddle in my life. You might be pretty to look at, but you are a fussy busybody."

In vain, Dottie tried to pretend Gid hadn't just called her pretty. What did he mean by saying such a thing to his cousin's cousin when he hadn't seen her in two years? He was angry with her, for goodness sake. She willed herself to calm down before her cheeks burst into flame. They felt hot enough. "I am not a busybody. You should appreciate that I wanted to spare your feelings."

"I'm perfectly capable of governing my own feelings. And making my own choices, thank you."

Dottie slumped her shoulders. "I just . . . I didn't know, and I couldn't have been sure you wouldn't be offended."

"I am offended." A grin tempered his rebuke. "No harm done as long as you promise not to poke your cute nose where you shouldn't."