A Marriage of the Heart (40 page)

Joseph chuckled. “I think I like your sense of humor.”

“And I like yours, son. I like yours.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I
T WAS LATE ON THE NIGHT OF THE QUILTING
. A
NGEL WAS
ensconced upstairs in Abigail’s old room, and the house was quiet except for the gentle brush of Abigail’s nightdress as she puttered about the master bedroom putting things away and taking overlong to brush her hair. A single kerosene lamp burned on the bedside table, and Joseph sat up against the pillows watching her. She knew that she was dallying, but she wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject that had been on her mind since that afternoon.

“So, the quilt is beautiful,” he remarked, and she turned to watch him run his hand over the pattern of multicolored stars. “Abby’s Wish, hmm?”

She nodded. “When your sister found out the pattern name, she actually went around the table and had everyone make a wish for me.”

He smiled. “That’s nice. When are you coming to bed?”

She bit her lip. “Don’t you want to know the wishes?”

“I know what I wish.” His voice was husky, and she turned on her bare feet to face him, leaning against the bureau for support.

“What?” she whispered.

He laid aside his glasses and closed his eyes, and his thick lashes fanned against the flush of his cheeks. He began to speak in a dreamy tone that made her curl her toes into the wooden floorboards.

“I wish that you’d put down the hairbrush and that you’d walk toward me and that you’d smile your beautiful smile and that your
eyes would shine. Then I wish you’d look at me the way you did when I was sick and whisper that you’d do anything to help me, because I need help, Abby. I need you, and I . . .” He broke off and opened his eyes, and she stared into their warm, dark depths, almost as if she could see herself reflected there.

And she could see herself as he’d described, coming to him . . .
just as she was meant to do as his wife
. The thought simmered across her consciousness, and she took one small step forward. She saw him swallow and watched as a pulse beat strongly in the bare line of his throat.

“Abby . . .”

She smiled and let the love she felt for him show in her eyes. She could hear him breathing, short, deep intakes of breath as if he’d run a long way and now was finding rest.

She came until she was within hand’s reach of him, but he still didn’t move. She wet her lips and gazed down at him, all of the love she felt for him heating her heart and her mind. She bent forward from the waist, letting her hair enclose them like a curtain, and then she kissed him.

“Joseph,” she murmured.

He opened his eyes. “Is this real?” he asked in wonder. “Do you . . . Are you . . . ?”

Her lips found his once more, and then he reached strong arms up to pull her to him. He pressed hot kisses along the line of her throat and through the cotton fabric of the shoulder of her gown.

“And what do you wish for, Abby Lambert?” he whispered in a breathless sigh, drawing the quilt over their heads.

She stared up at him, then pulled his eager mouth down to meet her own once more. “That’s easy,” she said between kisses. “As the Lord wills, I wish for a lifetime of joy, and children, and peace, with the husband of my heart.”

He smiled. “Well then, Mrs. Lambert, I’ll give it my earnest attention to make sure that your every wish comes very . . . very true.”

READING GROUP GUIDE

G
UIDE CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO DON’T READ BEFORE COMPLETING
the novellas.

1. Joseph battles an extremely tough addiction but relies on Christ to see him through, moment by moment. What problem does God help you with on a moment-to-moment basis?

2. At first Abby wants to escape her way of life, rather than yielding to God’s work in her. What do you wish you could escape that might be yielded to the Lord for transformation?

3. How does the idea of “play” develop intimacy between Abby and Joseph?

4. Abby learns to feel safe with Joseph. Who do you feel most safe with in your own life—safe to be yourself, express your ideas, and so forth?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’
D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY EDITOR
, N
ATALIE
H
ANEMANN
, that encourager of words! Thank you for listening . . . Beth Wiseman and Kathy Fuller, two delicious word users . . . LB Norton, my line editor . . . Dan Miller, my Amish consultant and good ear . . . Brenda Lott, my critique partner and encourager . . . my family, both near and far . . . and, most importantly, the living God who has given me the opportunity to write for Him.

Amish Recipes

D
ONNA’S
R
AISIN
-F
ILLED
C
OOKIES

1 egg

3 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup mill

2 teaspoon soda

2 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

flour (start with about 4 cups)

Mix ingredients together, adding enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll out dough, cutting to desired size. Place on cookie sheet and put a spoonful of raisin filling on top. Top with another cookie and seal around edges.

Bake in 350° oven until slightly brown.

Filling

1 box raisins

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoons butter

2 cup water

2 tablespoons flour

Cook the raisins until tender. Add the sugar and butter. Mix
eggs and flour together and stir slowly into raisins. (May be slightly
lumpy but it won’t matter.) Cook slowly, stirring constantly. Cool.

Hints:
Make the top cookie thinner than the bottom one. I take
the top cookie and sort of flatten it a little in my hand and then form
it around the bottom cookie, sealing the edges. I use about a box and
a half of raisins. That way you can put plenty of raisins in each
cookie. I use a medium-size glass to cut out my cookies. You can
make any size you want.

T
EABERRY
C
OOKIES

A teaberry is a low-growing, creeping evergreen plant with white flowers, aromatic leaves, and spicy edible scarlet berries. You can order teaberry extract at
www.country-pantry.com/candy_making.html
and teaberry candies at
www.nutsonline.com
.

1½ cups vegetable oil

1½ cups white sugar

2 eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup buttermilk

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon teaberry extract

optional: teaberry candies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix together vegetable oil (yes, 1½ cups!), sugar, and eggs.

3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, buttermilk, salt, vanilla, and teaberry extract.

4. Pour teaspoon-sized amounts of batter onto cookie sheets,
leaving plenty of room in between. Cookies will puff up and get large.

5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

—C
OURTESY OF
G
ILBERT
S
TOUT

A
MISH
I
CEBOX
C
OOKIES

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of any extract you like—vanilla, root beer, etc.

Mixing the Dough

1. In small mixing bowl, whisk egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and salt until well blended.

2. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula.

3. Add egg mixture and beat until blended and creamy.

4. Add flour and blend with the mixer on low speed or with a wooden spoon just until soft dough forms.

5. Divide dough into two equal portions and stir flavoring of your choice into each half of dough.

Preparing/Storing the Dough

1. Line your counter with plastic wrap and scrape one portion of dough onto it.

2. With lightly floured hands, roll dough into log about 9 inches long and 1½ inches in diameter. Repeat with second portion of dough.

3. Wrap each log separately in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. (Wrapped logs of dough can also be placed in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to a month. Slice and bake cookies directly from the freezer.)

Baking the Cookies

1. Position oven rack in middle of oven and preheat to 375°F.

2. Using a sharp knife, slice log into ¼-inch thick slices, rotating the log as you cut so it maintains its round shape.

3. Transfer slices of dough to ungreased cookie sheets (line sheets with parchment paper if desired), spacing them at least 1 inch apart.

4. Bake, one cookie sheet at a time, for 12 to 14 minutes (a minute or two longer for frozen dough), until cookies are pale golden around the edges but still soft on top.

5. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields about 6 dozen cookies—store in an airtight container or freeze.