Read Online Amish Christmas Joy by Patricia Davids - Free Book Online Page A

she remembered who was holding her. Struggling to regain her composure, she moved away from him.
    “I wasn’t expecting to see you this morning.” Her voice sounded breathless. She stopped talking and pressed her lips together.
    Caleb thrust his hands in his coat pockets. “Joy and I are exploring. So this is the proud papa.” He bent to scratch Duncan behind one ear.
    “He showed up outside my door today. I guess he knew something was up.”
    “Did he like Pickles?” Joy asked.
    “ Ja . He looked over the litter, and I think he liked Pickles a lot. Trixie normally walks with me to school in the mornings, but she’s too busy with her puppies. Duncan occasionally joins us.”
    Joy was still hanging on to her leg. “Does he bite?”
    “Never,” Leah assured her in all seriousness. “Duncan, sit.”
    The dog promptly sat. “Now shake hands with Joy.”
    He raised his paw. Joy let go of Leah’s leg and tentatively shook the dog’s front paw. Duncan added a quick lick to Joy’s fingers, making her squeal.
    “Did you see that, Daddy? He kissed my hand.”
    “I saw. He’s a very polite pooch.”
    “It was nice seeing you again, Joy. I must be going. The teacher can’t be late to school. Come, Duncan.” There was always plenty to be done before her students arrived.
    “I thought I would show Joy the way to the school. Mind if we walk with you?” Caleb waited for her reply, watching her intently.
    “Of course not.” She had to be polite, didn’t she?
    “Duncan’s owner must not live far away,” Caleb said.
    “He belongs to Carl King. He works for Joseph Shetler on his sheep farm just over the next hill.”
    “I remember Woolly Joe, but I don’t remember a man named King.”
    “Carl is a newcomer. He has Englisch ways, but some people wonder if he isn’t ex-Amish from another place. He and Woolly Joe keep to themselves. I think Duncan enjoys visiting the school for a dose of company.”
    Joy, more confident now, ran ahead a little ways with the dog dancing at her heels. The path was wide enough for a few hundred yards, but it narrowed, forcing Leah and Caleb closer together. The bare branches of the trees laced together overhead and gave Leah the feeling of being sheltered. Snow crunched under their boots. Occasional clumps of it fell from the trees and scattered in the breeze, leaving sparkling showers in their wake. It was a beautiful morning. Caleb walked close beside her in silence.
    She glanced at him and wondered what he was thinking. His gaze was on Joy and the dog. A sweet smile curved his lips. It would be good for both of them if he changed his mind and stayed, even if he didn’t give up his Englisch ways. Could Leah help him see that?
    Joy stopped and pointed to the ground. “I see more rabbit tracks.”
    He squatted beside her. “You’re right. A rabbit went this way not long ago. Keep your eyes peeled for more tracks.”
    Joy patted Duncan’s head and grinned at Leah. “Daddy is teaching me about animal tracks. This is a rabbit track, and I know a raccoon track and people tracks and now I know dog tracks. Duncan is making big tracks in the snow.”
    The dog had his nose down investigating the new trail. After a few seconds, he took off at a trot back the way they had come.
    Joy frowned. “Where’s he going?”
    “Home, I reckon,” Leah said.
    Joy’s frown turned into a pout. “I wish he would stay with me. I miss him.”
    Caleb lifted her chin so she would look at him. “He has work to do. If you ask Leah very nicely, she might let you visit Trixie and her puppies again after school one of these days.”
    Joy’s beaming smile returned. “Could I? Please?”
    “I’d like that,” Leah replied and spared a sidelong glance at Caleb. He wasn’t as she had imagined him all these years. He wasn’t indifferent to his child or harsh. She had pictured him living in a perpetual rumspringa, doing all that was forbidden to the Amish, drinking, going to parties and movies and