Cakes and Kisses: An Amish Christmas Bakery Story

By Kelly Irvin

Martha Ropp works hard at her family’s bakery, making cakes and pies in preparation not only for Christmas but the many community weddings, including her sister’s. To help during this busy season, Martha’s mother hires Ambrose Hershberger to make deliveries. Martha remembers Ambrose as a gentle giant from her school days, but soon discovers that still waters run deep. The more they work together, the more they want to spend time together outside of the bakery, but both Martha and Ambrose are too timid to make the first move. That’s when the town matchmakers step in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780310352853

Kelly Irvin

Kelly Irvin is a bestselling, award-winning author of over thirty novels and stories. A retired public relations professional, Kelly lives with her husband, Tim, in San Antonio. They have two children, four grandchildren, and two ornery cats. Visit her online at KellyIrvin.com; Instagram: @kelly_irvin; Facebook: @Kelly.Irvin.Author; Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin.

Book preview

Copyright

ZONDERVAN

Cakes and Kisses

Copyright © 2019 by Kelly Irvin

Requests for information should be addressed to:

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

ISBN: 978-0-310-35285-3 (e-book)

Epub Edition September 2019 9780310352853

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.™

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

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

19 20 21 22 23 / LSC / 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my sweet uncle Duane, may he rest in peace

CONTENTS

Copyright

Title Page

Glossary

Epigraph

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Discussion Questions

Author Note

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.

Epigraph

So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

GENESIS 1:27

1

AMBROSE HERSHBERGER COUNTED THE CHANGE AGAIN. The last time his boss sent him to the Jamesport Grocery Store to buy extra food for the café, the change hadn’t matched the receipt. Ambrose wasn’t good at math, but his boss, Burke McMillan, never complained. He never yelled at Ambrose. He simply pointed out the mistake. Then he gave Ambrose a cup of coffee, sat him down on a stool at the front counter of the Purple Martin Café, and went over the numbers with him, like he was a regular guy who understood these things.

Like he cared about Ambrose knowing how to count change.

Jonnie Parker’s forehead furled. The cashier’s dark eyebrows, mismatched to her blonde-and-blue hair, rose and fell. Is everything okay, Ambrose?

Yes, ma’am.

I keep telling you, don’t ‘ma’am’ me. I’m only twenty-nine.

Sorry, ma’am.

Jonnie giggled. You’re holding up the line, sweetie.

Ladies always called Ambrose names like sweetie and honey. He had no idea why. Sorry.

You shouldn’t apologize so much. She handed him a chocolate Tootsie Pop. On me. See you next time.

Thank you. He liked chocolate. A lot. He unwrapped the sucker and popped it in his mouth. The cashier held out her hand. He deposited the wrapper on her palm. See you next time.

Not if I see you first.

That wasn’t very nice. How did a man answer that?

I’m joking, sweetie. You’re welcome here any time.

Oh. Okay. He laughed. He liked a good joke, even if it was on him. Take care.

You too. Don’t take any wooden nickels.

He glanced at the change in his hand. Three dollars, a quarter, two dimes, and two pennies. No nickels. Wooden or otherwise.

It’s a joke, Ambrose.

I know. Of course he knew. No wooden nickels. Careful not to jostle the two twenty-four packs of eggs nestled on top, he scooped up three large paper bags and headed for the door.

Do you need some help? Louis, the stock-boy-slash-janitor, set aside his push broom and rushed to open the glass door for Ambrose. I can carry some of those bags out for you.

Louis was a nice kid, but Ambrose topped six four and weighed at least two hundred pounds. He had lots of muscles from working on his little farm, doing handyman jobs for folks around town, and delivering for the Ropp family’s bakery. Thank you, but I got it.

Take care.

You too. Louis closed the door after Ambrose.

They were such nice folks. Most people in Jamesport, Missouri, were. It was one of the many reasons Ambrose was content to live in the place he’d been born thirty years earlier.

Contentment felt good. Like hot coffee on the front porch as the sun crept over the horizon each day.

He’d parked the wagon in the only open spot, near the corner. He didn’t mind the short walk. The chocolate sucker tasted good. The sun shone on this first day of May. A breeze blew and only a hint of summer’s heat touched his face when he lifted it to the sun. Spring was by far the best time of year. He tilled the soil for his garden, planted vegetables and flowers, filled the bird feeders, and sat on his front porch to drink his coffee and share his breakfast with Samson, Jasper, and Amelia, his cats, and Pirate, the one-eyed dog who acted like he owned the place.

Sometimes Aunt Mae joined them, but she didn’t talk much, so Ambrose didn’t mind.

He had a good life. It lacked a wife and children, but he’d given up the desires of his heart long ago. A simple man like himself couldn’t expect to be a husband and father. He wasn’t smart enough to be in charge of anything.

A group of English boys clustered around a bench outside the store. They bellowed over something on a phone.

Ambrose zigzagged to avoid their sprawling legs and feet that wore fancy, expensive sneakers.

A second later, his boots encountered an obstacle he

Reviews for Cakes and Kisses

[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.