Patchwork Dreams Read Free

the offer. We’ll be seeing you, Miz Becky.” He placed the rest of Jacob’s luggage inside the door.
    Following Abbie, Daed approached from the barn, so Tony turned away to speak to him. Becky followed Abbie, Katie, and Jacob inside to the warm kitchen. The scent of bread baking filled the air. Pans of cookies waited to go into the oven as soon as the bread was done. Daed’s sweet tooth always expected a couple of cookies when he came in from the fields, and their supply had run low.
    Katie had already seated Jacob at the long table and had filled the kettle with water, putting it on the stove to heat. Becky grabbed some potholders, peeked inside the oven, and checked the bread. It was nicely browned, so she opened the door and removed the five pans, one at a time.
    “Care for a crust, Jacob?” Katie lifted a knife.
    “Jah, sounds good.”
    Becky glanced around in time to see his nod. But his eyes weren’t on Katie. Instead, they were locked on her.
    Her heart pounded. Could he feel the strong attraction that made her almost forget to breathe? She told herself to concentrate on the cookies so that she wouldn’t drop them or burn herself on the hot oven rack. But she couldn’t look away. Instead, she wished she could pull up a chair, plunge into his friendship, and delay the inevitable.
    The door banged open. Cold wind swirled in with her father.
    “So, Jacob. You have arrived. You had a gut trip, jah?”
    “Jah.” Jacob’s jaw lifted, his gaze still holding Becky’s. Then, he glanced away. She looked at the open oven door and silently slid the tray of cookies inside the oven. She knew Daed had seen the whole exchange. And she knew what he thought.
    She didn’t turn to check. After all, he’d be wrong. No man would want her. Not when he learned the truth.

Chapter 2
    Cousin Daniel pulled off his leather work gloves, laying them on a counter. He washed his hands, then sat down at the table. Instantly, a young teenage girl put a slice of buttered bread in front of him. “Cookies are in the oven, Daed.”
    Jacob took advantage of his distant cousin’s preoccupation to glance toward the woman busy at the stove. Becky seemed the exact opposite of his sweet Susie in every way. Pale blue eyes instead of dancing brown. Light blonde hair instead of strawberry blonde. Quiet instead of talkative—although that might be a good thing. And apparently unhappy rather than cheerful.
    It seemed odd that she didn’t act happier about his arrival. After all, Jacob’s backbreaking labor would be helping them out. Or maybe his arrival put her beau out of work.
    Didn’t matter much, though. He was here, and here he’d stay—for a while. He straightened his spine. He would be home in time for wedding season in November, if he had anything to do with it.
    And in the meantime, he’d work on seeing a real smile on Becky’s face. She’d be pretty if she smiled. Well, prettier. She had a delicate beauty that appealed to him. He squared his shoulders. He liked a challenge, and he sensed that erasing that gray cloud of doom that hovered over Becky would take a significant amount of effort.
    Her daed, his cousin Daniel, reached for another slice of buttered bread, drawing Jacob’s attention. He was sure that each person had been introduced by name, but he couldn’t remember any of them. For some reason, the only name that stuck was Becky’s.
    One of the girls, she looked to be about seven years of age, placed a cup of coffee in front of Jacob, along with a pitcher of cream and a bowl of sugar cubes. He dropped two cubes into his mug and was starting to pour the cream when the older man cleared his throat“So, Jacob. You are looking forward to settling in this area, jah?”
    Jacob’s hand wobbled. A drop of cream landed on the table. He set the pitcher down with a thud. “Excuse me?”
    “No special woman back home, is there? Is that why you agreed to kum out here to marry?”
    “Marry?” Jacob was certain his eyes were