served the small town of Wolf Creek. She also knew he had a reputation for being brilliant and devoted to the job and she had to admit feeling a small tug of attraction toward him.
She dismissed thoughts of Jimmy as she pulled in front of the store where signs advertised Amish cheese and furniture, fresh produce and nuts, and a variety of other items that would appeal to the tourists that came through the area on their way to the bigger, more popular tourist city of Hershey.
This was the kind of place Sheri had always envisioned working. She loved doing business with the nearby Amish community and visiting with travelers who passed through the store on their way to new adventures and family fun.
She was always the first to arrive and open the doors for the day. She’d work alone until ten at which time Jennifer Fletcher would come in to help out. Marlene would arrive between noon and one along with Sheri’s other part-time help, Abe Winslow.
Sheri wasn’t planning on replacing Marlene when she stopped working at the store and instead devoted all her time to her bakery. Sheri, Jennifer and Abe were a good team and would hopefully be able to manage the store during the hours it was open.
They were like a little family and since Aunt Liz had gone missing and her sisters had become romantically involved with their men, a sense of family had been missing for Sheri.
Her evenings were quiet with just Highway and her woodland creatures for company, and yet she knew there was somebody special fate had in store for her...her prince who would banish her loneliness and love her as nobody ever had before.
Once inside the store all thoughts of princes and loneliness vanished as she got to work stocking shelves, checking the produce to make sure it was still fresh and attending to all the duties to be ready for a day of business.
She hadn’t been open long when seventeen-year-old Jason King walked in carrying one of his mother’s handmade quilts. “Good morning, Jason,” she greeted him with a gentle smile. She had a special soft spot for the young Amish man. His mother, Mary, had died six months ago, leaving Jason and his father, William, the burden of caretaking for five little Kings ranging between the ages of seven and two.
Jason cast her a tired smile as he set the quilt on the counter. “Good morning to you, too.”
“I see you’ve brought me another of your mother’s treasures.” Sheri placed a hand on the lovely, close-stitched patchwork quilt. “We sold the wedding ring quilt almost the same day you brought it in. What design is on this one?”
“Mom always called it her field of flowers.” Jason’s gaze lingered on the quilt, as if remembering special moments with his mother.
Sheri’s heart squeezed tight. She wished she had any memories of her own mother, but her mother had dropped her off for her aunt Liz to raise when she’d been a couple months old.
“Same price as we put on the other one?”
Jason lifted his gaze back on her. “Yes, that would be good.” He leaned against the counter as if reluctant to leave. He was a good-looking kid with dark hair beneath his requisite straw hat. But his eyes held concern and dark circles rode beneath, making him appear much older than his age.
“Everything all right?” Sheri asked softly.
Jason shrugged slender shoulders. “Okay, I guess, although I’m worried a bit about my da.”
“Worried about what?” It wasn’t right for a child to worry about his father, she thought.
Once again Jason shrugged, a faint pink stain coloring his cheeks. “He’s just not been himself the last couple of months. He leaves the fieldwork and disappears and I don’t know where he goes. He’s distant and isn’t part of the family like he used to be.” Jason flushed again. “I shouldn’t be talking about this.”
Sheri reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Don’t worry, Jason. You know I’m not a gossiper. Maybe your father is still grieving and he’s dealing with it by isolating himself.” She pulled her hand from his.
“I know he misses my mother a lot, and dealing with the younger ones is difficult. Thankfully, Sarah Fisher is watching them for me this morning for a couple of hours.” He gave her a small smile. “I love my family but sometimes a little break away from them all is not a bad thing.”
“You have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, Jason. Just try to find some time for a little fun, too,” Sheri replied.
At that moment Jennifer arrived and the private conversation between Sheri and Jason halted. With a wave of his hand he left the store as Jennifer came around the counter to stand next to Sheri.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
Sheri nodded. “Jason brought in another of his mother’s quilts to sell. I feel so sorry for him. Since Mary died he’s had so much to deal with.”
“You know the old saying, ‘What doesn’t break you makes you strong,’” Jennifer replied.
Sheri eyed her wryly. “Ah, words of wisdom from a twenty-two-year-old who still lives at home with her parents who treat her like a princess.”
Jennifer laughed. “I’m the first to admit that I’m hopelessly spoiled.”
“Now that we agree on that, take thy spoiled bottom into the storage room and unpack the boxes of Wolf Creek souvenirs that came in yesterday,” Sheri said.
Jennifer gave her a saucy salute and then disappeared into the big back room that provided storage space and a picnic table for lunch breaks.
The morning seemed to fly by, with more business than usual for a Wednesday. She hoped it was a portent of a busy tourist season. Spring and summer business was great, but when the snow flew she shortened her hours and lived mostly on what she’d made during the busy season.
There were only three places where Sheri was happy—here at the store, at her cottage with the surrounding woods, and at her aunt’s home that had always smelled of cinnamon and apples or rich chocolate and dough.
Liz Marcoli was a talent in the kitchen when it came to baking sweets and desserts. Marlene had inherited her natural talent for baking. Roxy also had a genuine talent in the kitchen, but Sheri was hopeless when it came to cooking anything but the simplest of dishes.
A blur of tears misted her eyes as she thought of her missing aunt. She knew the law enforcement in Wolf Creek had done everything in their power in an attempt to find Liz, but there had been no leads to follow, no breadcrumbs of clues.
Three and a half months had passed and the hole in the fabric of their little family had been ripped right from the center. Aunt Liz had been their mother-figure, their support system, their snuggle buddy on dark stormy nights when they’d been children.
And now she was gone...vanished from her home, seemingly vanished from the entire world.
The tears that had been about to fall as grief attempted to take hold of her vanished when a car pulled up to the front door and a family of five tumbled from the doors.
It was one o’clock when Sheri’s cell phone rang and she saw Marlene’s number light up. “Hey, sis, what’s up?”
“I feel
