A Child's Christmas Wish
A Baby for ChristmasThe only Christmas gift Oscar Rabb’s four-year-old daughter prays for is one the widower can’t provide: a baby sibling. And when his neighbor’s house burns down, he’s willing to open his home to pregnant and widowed Kate Amaker and her in-laws—but not his heart. Even if his little girl’s convinced Kate’s unborn child is the answer to her wish.Kate quickly sees the generous but aloof Oscar has little interest in growing closer to his houseguests. Still, she intends to make the coming Christmas a season to remember for his daughter. And as Oscar starts to open up to her, Kate can’t help picturing just how wonderful the holidays—and a future together—might be.
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A Baby for Christmas
The only Christmas gift Oscar Rabbâs four-year-old daughter prays for is one the widower canât provide: a baby sibling. And when his neighborâs house burns down, heâs willing to open his home to pregnant and widowed Kate Amaker and her in-lawsâbut not his heart. Even if his little girlâs convinced Kateâs unborn child is the answer to her wish.
Kate quickly sees the generous but aloof Oscar has little interest in growing closer to his houseguests. Still, she intends to make the coming Christmas a season to remember for his daughter. And as Oscar starts to open up to her, Kate canât help picturing just how wonderful the holidaysâand a future togetherâmight be.
Oscar found himself wanting to put his arm around Kate, to shield her from the life blows sheâd been taking.
Which brought him up short. What was he doing thinking about a woman that way? He had no business having tender feelings for anyone. What was wrong with him?
âIâve got chores to do and then I need to get into the workroom. Orders are backing up with all the time Iâve been spending on other things.â He let his daughter Liesl slide to the ground, but in spite of cautioning himself, his thoughts were still on Kate and his reaction to her.
Heâd done more than heâd intended already, housing her, feeding her, even clothing her. That was neighborly, and that was also where he drew the line. Heâd share his material possessions up to a point, but he would not share his heart. That belonged entirely to his dead wife.
He needed to be by himself to get his head on straight. Too much time spent with the widow Amaker was making him forget himself.
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I love Christmas, donât you? I especially love Christmas traditions, those special things we do once a year, those things we anticipate all year long. For the Vetsch family it is making peanut brittle, watching the 1951 Alastair Sim version of Scrooge, waffles on Christmas Day and reading the Christmas story from Luke 2 before we open gifts.
In A Childâs Christmas Wish, the Christmas activities center around Swiss traditionsâespecially dear to me, as my husbandâs family is Swiss. In Switzerland, Advent calendars are a big part of the festivities. Parents desire to instill both patience and anticipation in their children through the countdown to Christmas Day. I love this practice, because isnât anticipation of Christmas a huge part of the holiday season?
I hope you enjoy A Childâs Christmas Wish, and that you will celebrate this season with a few traditions of your own!
Merry Christmas!
Erica Vetsch
ERICA VETSCH is a transplanted Kansan now residing in Minnesota. She loves history and romance and is blessed to be able to combine the two by writing historical romances. Whenever sheâs not immersed in fictional worlds, sheâs the company bookkeeper for the family lumber business, mother of two, wife to a man who is her total opposite and soul mate, and an avid museum patron.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.
âLuke 2:14
For Heather Vetsch, whose love language is gift giving, and who anticipates Christmas better than anyone I know. Love you, dolly! âMom
My thanks to Adriana Gwyn for her help with the German translations, and to the Dodge County Historical Society for help with the history of Berne and Mantorville, Minnesota.
Contents
Berne, Minnesota
November 1, 1875
âLord, havenât we suffered enough?â Kate Amaker didnât say the words aloud, but they echoed in her head as Grossvater Martin urged the horses to hurry over the wooden bridge and up the slight rise to their farm drive. âHow much more can we take?â
Ahead, a dull orange colored the night sky, illuminating the undersides of billowing gray clouds of smoke. Something on their farm was burning. Something big. What building was it? The barn? Thankfully, all the cows were out in the pasture tonight. The cheese house? An entire summerâs worth of cheeses gone up in smoke? All their equipment...their livelihood?
Rattling over the bridge, they drew near, and Kateâs heart sank. It was neither the barn nor the cheese house.
It was their home.
Kate put her arm around Grossmutter Inge and gripped the edge of the wagon seat with her other hand. The horses responded to Grossvaterâs shouts by galloping up the hill, the wagon jouncing and slewing.
Johann and Grossvater had built the farmhouse together, replacing the three-roomed log cabin the family had lived in when they first arrived from Switzerland more than twenty years before. It was the house Johann had been so proud to bring his bride home to after their wedding almost two years before. The farmhouse was to shelter them through the coming Minnesota winter and welcome her baby in a few weeks. An ache started behind Kateâs ribs, so heavy she couldnât take a deep breath.
