Melting Hearts: An Amish Christmas Bakery Story

By Kathleen Fuller

Mattie Shetler is an expert baker, so when her aunt Carolyn begs for help during the busy Christmas rush, Mattie eagerly packs her bags and heads to Birch Creek. What she doesn’t know is that her uncle has also asked for help with the bakery’s new expansion, and he’s asked none other than Peter Kaufman, Mattie’s sworn enemy. As the two work side by side, though, Mattie discovers not all is as it seems. With Christmas just around the corner, Mattie and Peter open their hearts for the greatest gifts of the season: forgiveness and maybe even love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780310352846

Kathleen Fuller

With over two million copies sold, Kathleen Fuller is the USA TODAY bestselling author of several bestselling novels, including the Hearts of Middlefield novels, the Middlefield Family novels, the Amish of Birch Creek series, and the Amish Letters series as well as a middle-grade Amish series, the Mysteries of Middlefield. Visit her online at KathleenFuller.com; Instagram: @kf_booksandhooks; Facebook: @WriterKathleenFuller; Twitter: @TheKatJam.

Book preview

Copyright

ZONDERVAN

Melting Hearts

Copyright © 2019 by Kathleen Fuller

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ISBN: 978-0-310-35284-6 (e-book)

Epub Edition September 2019 9780310352846

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

CIP data is available upon request.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America

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To James. I love you.

CONTENTS

Copyright

Title Page

Glossary

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Epilogue

Discussion Questions

Acknowledgments

About the Author

GLOSSARY

ab im kopp: addled in the head

ach: oh

aenti: aunt

appeditlich: delicious

boppli: baby

bruders: brothers

bu: boy

daadi: grandfather

daed/dat: dad

danki: thank you

dawdy haus/ daadi haus: grandparents’ house

Deitsch: Dutch

dochder: daughter

dummkopf: foolish person

Englisch/Englischer: English or Non-Amish

fraa: wife

Frehlicher Grischtdaag!: Merry Christmas!

freind: friend

freinden: friends

froh: happy

gegisch: silly

geh: go

gern gschehne: you’re welcome

Gmay: church district

Gott: God

groossmammi: grandma

gude mariye: good morning

gut: good

gut nacht/gute nacht: Good night

haus: house

hund: dog

Ich liebe dich: I love you

jah: yes

kaffee/kaffi: coffee

kapp: prayer cap or head covering worn by Amish women

kichli: cookie

kichlin: cookies

kinn: child

kinner: children

krank: ill

kuchen: cakes

liewe: love, a term of endearment

maed: young women, girls

maedel: young woman

mamm/mudder/mutter: mom

mammi: grandmother

mann: husband

mei: my

nee: no

nix: nothing

onkel: uncle

Ordnung: written and unwritten rules in an Amish district

rumspringa/rumschpringe: period of running around

schee: pretty

schtupp: family room

schweschder: sister

schweschders: sisters

sohn/suh: son

vatter: father

Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?

Wie bischt: How are you?

Wie geht’s: How do you do? or Good day!

wunderbaar: wonderful

ya: yes

yer: your

yerself: yourself

*The German dialect spoken by the Amish is not a written language and varies depending on the location and origin of the settlement. These spellings are approximations. Most Amish children learn English after they start school. They also learn high German, which is used in their Sunday services.

1

MATTIE, ARE THE COOKIES READY?

Mattie Shetler placed the last snickerdoodles specially wrapped for Christmas on a large tray. Each package, neatly tied with either a red or green ribbon, contained eight perfectly round cookies covered with sugared cinnamon. She handed the tray to her aunt Carolyn. "Here you geh. Fresh from the oven this morning."

Bless you. These are going faster than we can make them.

’Tis the season, Mattie said with a merry smile. Carolyn grinned before hurrying back to the front of the bakery she owned. It was still called Yoder’s Bakery, even though she was now Carolyn Shetler, having married Mattie’s uncle Atlee two years earlier.

Mattie picked up a clean dishcloth and started wiping crumbs from the stainless-steel worktable. She’d been in Birch Creek for two weeks, here at her uncle’s request. When he asked her to come help Carolyn with the Christmas rush after his wife suddenly lost a couple of employees, Mattie caught the first bus from Fredericktown. Her uncle thought she was doing them a favor, but Mattie was benefiting just as much, if not more. She loved to travel, she loved to bake, and she especially loved Christmas. From the crisp, wintry weather to baking treats to celebrating Christ’s birth, she always looked forward to this special holiday.

As if he sensed her thinking about him, Onkel Atlee strode through the back door.

"Something smells gut, he said with a grin. Then again, something always smells gut in this kitchen."

Mattie shook out the dishcloth over the sink. Snickerdoodles, she said. I was just going to start another batch. She turned to him and said in a low voice, Do you want me to save you a couple?

He chuckled and nodded. If you please. He leaned against the counter next to the sink. Asking you to come out here was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. Except for deciding to marry Carolyn, of course.

Of course. Her uncle had lost his first wife years ago, when they were both around Mattie’s age. He’d mourned her for a long time, even though he tried to be cheerful whenever he was around people. But a sadness had surrounded him, one he’d never been able to completely overcome.

Then he met Carolyn on a visit to Birch Creek, and his life changed. He was happy now—without even trying. Mattie was pleased for him, grateful he’d finally been able to move past his grief. She was staying at the couple’s home next door to the bakery until a few days before Christmas, and then she’d return home to Fredericktown.

In their late forties, her uncle and aunt got along very well. Not all married couples did no matter their age, as Mattie had observed in her own community. But she was discovering that Birch Creek was a generally friendly place. It wasn’t without its problems, as all communities had. But overall, she sensed a true togetherness here. That and a nice dose of Christmas spirit.

You’re home early, she said, referring to her uncle’s work as a cabinetmaker.

I took the rest of the day off. Those cabinets can wait another day. The plans are almost finished for the bakery addition, he said. I came by to get some last-minute measurements. I wanted to wait until spring to build it, but Carolyn insists on doing it now. She says she has a feeling we shouldn’t put it off until next year. He pulled out a tape measure from the tool belt slung around his waist. I’ve learned to trust those gut feelings of hers.

Mattie nodded as she pulled a

Reviews for Melting Hearts

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

These four novellas, as the title implies, all have to do with baking. Sometimes overwhelmed with the demands of the season and their jobs, it was interesting to read about how these Amish women coped . . . and how they didn’t! There were some life lessons to be learned along the way, that’s for sure and certain. All these authors have written enjoyable tales of inspiration, with just the right touch of romance thrown in. There were some problems to solve, but that just made the endings sweeter.