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."
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