Read The Dawn of Christmas for Free Online Page B

lower back.
    She tucked the blanket around him and took his hand in hers again. “I’m Amish, and so is my family. But that’s not how we’re going to play this game. I’ll ask a question, and I’ll have twenty tries to get the right answer. You simply say yes or no. Whoever asks the fewest questions before coming up with the right answer wins. My turn. What color are your eyes?”
    “That’s hardly fair. There are only a few choices of eye color.”
    “Brown?”
    “Someone give the lady a cigar.”
    “No thanks. I gave them up last week.”
    “My turn to guess yours. Brown?”
    “Nope.”
    “Blue?”
    “Nope.”
    “Green?”
    “Nope.”
    “Okay, you’re just lying to me.”
    “I’m not.” Sadie giggled.
    “I’m injured, and you’re fibbing to win the game.”
    “They’re hazel.”
    “Isn’t that a shade of brown?”
    “Technically I think it is. But if I wear green, my eyes look green. If I wear blue, they look gray.”
    “So what color do they look when you wear purple polka dots?”
    “I told you, I’m as Amish as you are. There is no wearing of polka dots. Did you fall off your horse or something?”
    He liked her spunk and how she said things dryly when teasing. “I hope we’re here when the sun comes up, because I want to see your weird eyes.”
    “Do you want my entire family, including Mammi Lee, to turn my future inside out just so you can look into my eyes?”
    “Well, since you put it that way … yes.” He smiled as she chuckled. “I know a few Mammi Lees in the area.”
    “No shortage of Lees in this neck of the woods.”
    “You know someone Amish who has a unique name?”
    She chuckled again. “You can choose any combination of names, and I bet you and I both know at least ten people with the same name.”
    “Which Mammi Lee is yours?”
    “Verna Lee. Her husband was a woodworker who once made toys for Hertzlers’.”
    “I know Verna. We don’t live in the same church district, so I haven’t seen her in years. But my older brother apprenticed under your grandfather, and I went with him a time or two when I was around fifteen. One time she received a package from you. She loved her little Sadie, the girl who made soaps and candles and sent them to her.”
    “One of Verna Lee’s grandchildren. Number four thousand five hundred and eighty-two, I think.”
    He chuckled.
    Fireworks boomed in the distance, and Sadie jolted. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll keep you safe.”
    “Uh-huh.” Her playful tone mocked him.
    Without moving his head, he could see multicolored flashes of light in the sky behind Sadie. “Look.”
    She turned. “Beautiful.”
    If the fireworks weren’t exploding in the sky within his direct gaze, he wouldn’t be able to see them. Of course, they could see only a portion of the light display. She moved to his other side so she could see them and face him. They watched in silence for a little while.
    She patted the blanket, probably to make sure it was keeping him warm. “Does your brother make toys?”
    “He did. I took over.”
    Her eyes grew large, and for once he didn’t feel self-conscious for admitting he made toys. It wasn’t his only business, but he enjoyed doing it. Their conversation kept a steady pace, and they stopped talking in English. It surprised him how much they could talk about and how interesting he found each topic. It’d come naturally to tell her he lived with his brother and nephew, but he’d stopped short of saying anything about his missing sister-in-law. Thankfully, either Sadie hadn’t noticed, or she was too polite to ask. They even talked about where she lived and her need to earn money to return to the mission field. He was so caught up in their conversation, he didn’t notice when the fireworks ended.
    She tilted her head and sat up. “I hear a siren. It’s probably the ambulance. I’d better move to the road so I can flag them down.” She stood,brushing off her clothes. “I need to get back