Read Online The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cindy Woodsmall
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Still, it seemed odd how quickly Daniel could connect with a woman only to lose interest within the same evening.
Daniel’s plans aside, it was around one now, and it’d take two hours to get there. If Sadie were home, that meant he could visit with her for a couple of hours before the horses were on the block. Daniel didn’t need him to help buy the horses, only to pair each animal with a trainer.
“Levi?”
He looked at Daniel. “Sure. Just let me jump in the shower. I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” He headed for the house.
“The horses don’t care what you smell like,” Daniel hollered.
“Ten minutes.” Levi hurried into the house, hoping he would see Sadie tonight.
The wooden floors of the old store creaked as Sadie carried a large sign to the window. She taped it to the glass: For Sale.
It seemed as if her hopes of having enough money to go back to Peru hung in the balance more than ever, teetering under the weight of yet another unexpected change in her world.
She turned, taking a long look around her, enjoying the sights and smells of the old-fashioned place. In her mind’s eye she could see Loyd and Edna the day she’d wandered in here. She’d said she was looking for work, but she needed so much more than that. She’d been broken and mortified by Daniel. Although she hadn’t told Loyd or Edna about her former fiancé, they seemed to understand what she needed and took her under their wing. At the same time, they taught her how to earn a living while her heart mended.
Now, as unexpectedly as a summer storm, Loyd had fallen ill, and Edna insisted on getting out from under the pressure of running the store.
“Sadie.” Blanche, her coworker and a roommate, held up a large cardboard box. “Do you need another one?”
Edna had told them to get all their crafts off the shelves and to return what they could to the manufacturers. After some advertising, they would put everything else into a one-day-only, going-out-of-business sale.
“Ya. Denki.” She took the box and moved to the candle aisle.
Edna insisted on rearranging her life so she didn’t have to focus on anything but Loyd. The elderly woman had been ready to be free of the store for a long time, but Loyd enjoyed the work too much to let it go. Edna hadn’t set foot inside Farmers’ Five-and-Dime since Loyd’s stroke two weeks ago, because she hadn’t left his side for a moment.
Sadie pulled jars of her homemade candles off the shelves. Seeing Edna and Loyd like this made her ache all over, confirming her suspicion: life was easier if one never let in anyone else. If two hearts grow to become one, what happens when one stops beating? Sure, Loyd and Edna had good fruit to show for their years together, but today’s heartache seemed to weigh heavier than all the harvests of yesteryear.
Maybe she was wrong. She hoped so, for the sake of all who’d ever married.
Someone tapped at the front door.
“I’ll get it.” Blanche headed that way.
They had a huge sign on the door that said Closed, but people knocked on the door anyway. This old place had been open six days a week since the early fifties.
Old habits died hard.
“Sadie,” Blanche called, “there’s a man here to see you. I didn’t recognize him, so I told him to wait outside.”
Sadie went toward the glass door. Her eyes widened as she reached for the handle. The man was facing the other way, with his hat in his hand, but there was no mistaking those loose curls of golden-brown hair. Of course, if his hair wasn’t a dead giveaway, there was the neck brace too. A smile tugged at her mouth for the first time in quite a while. She opened the heavy door, and the bells suspended over the entryway clanged as she stepped outside.
He turned awkwardly, having to move his whole body because of theneck brace. There was a smile on his tan face, but what she noticed most of all was the spark in his eyes.
Sadie put her hands on her hips. “Well, look at you, standing on
Daniel’s plans aside, it was around one now, and it’d take two hours to get there. If Sadie were home, that meant he could visit with her for a couple of hours before the horses were on the block. Daniel didn’t need him to help buy the horses, only to pair each animal with a trainer.
“Levi?”
He looked at Daniel. “Sure. Just let me jump in the shower. I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” He headed for the house.
“The horses don’t care what you smell like,” Daniel hollered.
“Ten minutes.” Levi hurried into the house, hoping he would see Sadie tonight.
The wooden floors of the old store creaked as Sadie carried a large sign to the window. She taped it to the glass: For Sale.
It seemed as if her hopes of having enough money to go back to Peru hung in the balance more than ever, teetering under the weight of yet another unexpected change in her world.
She turned, taking a long look around her, enjoying the sights and smells of the old-fashioned place. In her mind’s eye she could see Loyd and Edna the day she’d wandered in here. She’d said she was looking for work, but she needed so much more than that. She’d been broken and mortified by Daniel. Although she hadn’t told Loyd or Edna about her former fiancé, they seemed to understand what she needed and took her under their wing. At the same time, they taught her how to earn a living while her heart mended.
Now, as unexpectedly as a summer storm, Loyd had fallen ill, and Edna insisted on getting out from under the pressure of running the store.
“Sadie.” Blanche, her coworker and a roommate, held up a large cardboard box. “Do you need another one?”
Edna had told them to get all their crafts off the shelves and to return what they could to the manufacturers. After some advertising, they would put everything else into a one-day-only, going-out-of-business sale.
“Ya. Denki.” She took the box and moved to the candle aisle.
Edna insisted on rearranging her life so she didn’t have to focus on anything but Loyd. The elderly woman had been ready to be free of the store for a long time, but Loyd enjoyed the work too much to let it go. Edna hadn’t set foot inside Farmers’ Five-and-Dime since Loyd’s stroke two weeks ago, because she hadn’t left his side for a moment.
Sadie pulled jars of her homemade candles off the shelves. Seeing Edna and Loyd like this made her ache all over, confirming her suspicion: life was easier if one never let in anyone else. If two hearts grow to become one, what happens when one stops beating? Sure, Loyd and Edna had good fruit to show for their years together, but today’s heartache seemed to weigh heavier than all the harvests of yesteryear.
Maybe she was wrong. She hoped so, for the sake of all who’d ever married.
Someone tapped at the front door.
“I’ll get it.” Blanche headed that way.
They had a huge sign on the door that said Closed, but people knocked on the door anyway. This old place had been open six days a week since the early fifties.
Old habits died hard.
“Sadie,” Blanche called, “there’s a man here to see you. I didn’t recognize him, so I told him to wait outside.”
Sadie went toward the glass door. Her eyes widened as she reached for the handle. The man was facing the other way, with his hat in his hand, but there was no mistaking those loose curls of golden-brown hair. Of course, if his hair wasn’t a dead giveaway, there was the neck brace too. A smile tugged at her mouth for the first time in quite a while. She opened the heavy door, and the bells suspended over the entryway clanged as she stepped outside.
He turned awkwardly, having to move his whole body because of theneck brace. There was a smile on his tan face, but what she noticed most of all was the spark in his eyes.
Sadie put her hands on her hips. “Well, look at you, standing on
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