Free Naomi’s Christmas by Marta Perry

the lights and the warmth of the ovens.
    It was peaceful, being here with Paula, kneading the bread and shaping it into loaves
     that would nourish others. The rhythm of kneading was soothing, and it made Naomi
     happy to think that she was giving Hannah this evening to spend with her husband and
     son. It made a long day, for sure, but it was worthwhile, and that was a good feeling.
    Finishing the loaves and setting them aside under clean tea towels for a second rising,
     Naomi began shaping the walnut coffee ring. Slicing partially through the roll of
     filled dough, she turned each slice so that the rich filling showed. They would bake
     the rings tonight, and then Paula could finish them off quickly with a bit of powdered
     sugar drizzle in time for the morning coffee rush.
    “Are you sure it’s not a problem for me to be gone so many days at Nathan’s?” Paula
     was so kind to her that Naomi felt a twinge of guilt each day she took off.
    “Now, we’ve been through all that,” Paula said with mock severity. “I’d be selfish
     for sure if I begrudged that time to help aneighbor. Anyway, with Hannah partnering with me now, things are running smoothly.
     You don’t need to worry.”
    That raised another troubling thought. Paula had always said she could use Naomi for
     as many hours as she could work, but that was before her niece, Hannah, had come back
     to Pleasant Valley and gone into partnership with her. Maybe…
    A sharp knock at the back door interrupted Naomi’s train of thought. She exchanged
     startled glances with Paula and then reached for a towel to wipe her hands off.
    “I’ll go.”
    “Look before you unlock the door,” Paula cautioned, and she nodded.
    There’d been a time when no one in Pleasant Valley would even think of locking their
     doors, but times had changed, even here.
    She drew aside the curtain on the window to find that the late-evening caller was
     her brother Elijah. Her heart jolted with unpleasant speculations, and she hurried
     to unlock the door and yank it open.
    “Elijah, was ist letz? Is one of the kinder sick? Or something wrong with Daad?”
    “No, no, nothing like that.” Removing his hat, he nodded politely to Paula. “I am
     sorry to disturb you when you are working, but this is the only chance I had. Naomi,
     I must talk with you.”
    He sounded solemn. With the sense of some new disaster about to befall her, Naomi
     led him into the shop.

C HAPTER F IVE
    N
aomi
switched on the low lamps in the section of the bakery where there were tables and
     chairs for customers. She gestured Elijah to a seat and stood for a moment, hand on
     the back of a chair.
    This was the first opportunity she’d had to talk with Elijah alone about her situation
     with Daad. As the oldest son, even though he was younger than she by nearly three
     years, Elijah was the one Daad was most likely to listen to. If anyone could heal
     this breach in the family, surely it would be Elijah.
    His coming here alone to talk was a good sign, wasn’t it? She smiled at him as he
     removed his winter black felt hat and put it on the table.
    “You’ll have a cup of coffee, won’t you? And there’s some walnut streusel coffee cake,
     too.”
    He started to shake his head, and then he seemed to think better of it. “Ja, that
     would be a treat just now.”
    Elijah seemed tense, but perhaps he’d relax if she gave him a bit of time. Naomi fetched
     the coffee, setting a cream pitcher and sugar bowl next to the cup. Elijah doctored
     his coffee so much it was a wonder he could taste it at all. She cut a generous slab
     of the streusel coffee cake and put it in front of him before she sat down.
    “Eat,” she urged him. “We don’t often have a chance to sit and talk by ourselves,
     ain’t so?”
    “Ja, that’s what Lo— That’s what I thought,” he said.
    So it was Lovina who had prompted this evening visit. Naomi’s sister-in-law was a
     loving creature, but she had a firm core when she