Read Online The Christmas Cradle by Charlotte Hubbard - Free Book Online Page B

step,” Savilla interrupted. “If the farm sells and then we can’t support ourselves in Willow Ridge—along with Lena and the baby—what’ll we do? If we stay here, at least we won’t have to worry about keeping a roof over our heads.”
    Why did new opportunities present so many problems? Savilla was making valid points, however, and she wouldn’t let him pretend he had no responsibility for creating a new life—and for the mother of his child. Savilla and Lena expected him to be the man of this family, so why couldn’t he step up and do right by them?
    â€œAll right, here’s the deal,” Josiah stated, hoping to be done with this push and pull of conflicting feelings. “We’ll cook for that wedding. If Willow Ridge and the people there don’t appeal to you, we’ll come back to Bloomfield and keep on catering.”
    Savilla ladled soup into two bowls, considering her response. “We’ll have a lot more work than we’ve been used to, serving supper five or six nights a week,” she mused aloud. “You and I can’t do that by ourselves, and Lena will have a baby to care for, so she won’t be helping us.”
    Josiah considered the folks he’d observed while he’d eaten breakfast in the Sweet Seasons. “With Miriam having a baby at Christmastime, and one of her waitress daughters getting married a while back, we might have to scout the wedding crowd for help,” he replied as he set the bread on the table. “And I have a feeling that because Miriam wants a supper shift to succeed, she’ll help us find the folks we need. She’s a woman who makes gut things happen, you know?”
    A tentative smile warmed Savilla’s dark eyes. “I’d like to meet this Miriam,” she murmured. “I miss being with our mammi . She always believed that if she asked God for something, she would receive His answer in due time.”
    â€œShe was a strong woman, our grandmother. Miriam’s a lot like her,” Josiah murmured, reaching for his sister’s hand. “You’re strong, too, Savilla. I don’t know what I’d do if you ever gave up on me.”
    â€œDon’t you forget that,” she teased. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll meet a nice guy in Willow Ridge and get hitched. You’d better take care of Lena, or someday you’ll be all by your lonesome.”
    Was that a sparkle in his sister’s eyes? A whisper of hope for her future? None of the eligible fellows around Bloomfield suited her so maybe a fresh start in Missouri was a better idea than he’d originally figured on.
    It was worth the effort of cooking up a wedding feast to find out.
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    Ben shifted one of the two wrought-iron trellises he’d made for the Simple Gifts shop, following Nora’s directions.
    â€œShift it a hair to the left,” she said from behind him. “Perfect! These will probably be gone by the end of the week, considering how fast your other pieces have sold.”
    Ben gazed at the amazing amount of merchandise Plain crafters had consigned to Nora’s store. Walnut bedroom sets, hand-tooled saddles, and wooden rocking horses sold soon after they were tagged. Magnificent quilts and hand-sewn banners hung from the loft railing. Even on this dreary Monday afternoon, ladies eagerly fingered embroidered linens and pottery—customers he’d seen eating lunch at the Sweet Seasons earlier.
    â€œI’m glad your place is doing so well,” he remarked. “And these orders for trellises and garden gates keep me busy when nobody’s bringing their horses in to be shod.”
    â€œI never dreamed I’d attract so much business so fast,” the redheaded shopkeeper confessed as she accompanied him to the door. “The store’s only been open two months, and every day I’m calling my crafters with special orders or asking them to replenish