Henry approached, his features filled with happiness. “Leah delivered our babies. We have twin sons! I’m a dat!”
Emma beamed at him. “Congratulations.”
Daniel rested a gentle hand against her lower back and asked Henry, “When can we see them?”
“As soon as Arlin and Missy come downstairs. I thought it best to not overwhelm them with too many at one time.”
“How is Leah?” Emma asked. Leah had been a true friend to her. She wished the woman every happiness that life had to offer.
“She’s well,” Henry said with a bright smile. “Happy.”
Everyone had to wait their turn. Her sisters and their husbands were allowed to go in together before the others. When it had come time for the actual birthing, the midwife had asked everyone to leave except Missy, the babies’ grandmother. She’d stayed until Arlin came into the room with Arlin’s sister Katie and her husband Samuel. After they had enjoyed the sight of Arlin’s new grandsons, they had rejoined the others downstairs. Finally, Leah’s cousins were allowed in. Emma was prepared to hang back until everyone had enjoyed their turn. Hannah, Joseph and Daniel were called up to take a peek.
Daniel turned toward Emma. “Come with us,” he urged softly.
She blinked with surprise. She looked at Henry, who nodded and smiled his approval. Overjoyed to be included, Emma accompanied him up the stairs to the second floor.
The sight that met Emma nearly stole her breath. Her friend was propped up by pillows with a tiny newborn in each arm. Her gaze met Emma’s as the four of them entered the room. Her eyes suddenly lit up as Henry came in behind them. He went immediately to Leah’s side and stared at her adoringly. Emma was overwhelmed with emotion when Henry reached out to stroke a gentle finger over each of his tiny sons’ foreheads.
Leah waved the four newcomers closer. “Come and meet our sons, Isaac Henry and Daniel James.”
Emma felt Daniel tense, and she smiled when Leah explained, “Isaac for Henry’s closest friend with his middle name after Henry. Our other son is named after you, Daniel. You have always been there for us when we needed you. And James? It seems fitting that we give him the name of a man who gave up his English life because he loves my sister.”
Daniel seemed overcome with emotion. Emma wanted to reach for his hand but didn’t dare. He had offered her comfort when she needed it, but this was different. This wasn’t pain or sadness. This was joy.
The cousins were enjoying their visit with the newborns. Daniel pressed her forward to get a closer view of the tiny little boys in Leah’s arms.
As she studied their little features, then turned to observe their parents, who were in love and overjoyed with their family, she felt a longing so deep she was on the verge of tears.
She stepped back, and Daniel came to stand by her side. She loved the man next to her, but unfortunately her time here in Happiness with everyone, with Daniel, was coming to an end.
“I want that,” Daniel whispered in her ear as he leaned close, “with you.”
She gaped at him. “What?”
His smile was warm with affection...and love. She shook her head, for she couldn’t believe what she’d heard. Had he just admitted that he cared for her? Maybe even loved her?
“Daniel—”
With his mouth close to her ear, he whispered, “I want a life with you, Emma. I want to marry you and have a family with you.”
She wanted this so badly, she couldn’t believe it was happening. “Daniel, there is something you don’t know, and it might change how you feel about me.”
Daniel frowned. “I don’t believe that, Emma. You won my heart with your determination to do the right thing.” He reached for her hand, murmured that they were going downstairs so others could see the babies. “Leah. Henry. Danki. I’m honored that you chose to name your son after me.”
Then he pulled Emma from the room. Daniel tugged her through the house and then outside.
Emma halted him as soon as they stepped out. “I can’t stay. I...”
“What, Emma?” he asked gently.
She felt her face crumple as she started to cry. “You won’t want me here, Daniel. Promise me that I can say gut bye to everyone before I go.”
He frowned. “Tell me.”
“I’ve been shunned.”
* * *
Daniel studied the distraught woman before him and wondered what she was talking about. Emma was regretful. That alone made him wonder why she thought she’d been shunned.
“I used to live in an Amish community in Indiana. When I was younger, my parents left the church and took me with them. They told me that we could never go back to visit my grosseldre or any of our relatives, because we’d been shunned.”
“Emma, you were how old?”
“Six,” she breathed.
He smiled at her warmly. He saw her confusion and went on to quickly explain. “You were six years old, Emma. You were not a member of the church. You were never shunned. Your parents were, because they joined the church and decided to leave anyway. That is an offense against the Ordnung. Going with your parents because you were six and had to remain with your parents is not, Emma. You are not shunned.”
She reeled as if in shock. “But they told me—”
“They couldn’t go back, but you could have.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “After they died, I could have gone back to live with my family in Indiana?”
“Ja.”
Emma began to weep.
“I hate that you went through this, believing as you did. That you had to endure the Turners and what they did to you. But if you had gone to live with your grosseldre, then I never would have met you.”
She blinked. “Ja, you’re right,” she breathed with awe.
“Do you want to go home to Indiana, Emma? Or would you consider staying here in Happiness with me? I love you, Emma Beiler. I want you here with me. When you’re ready, I want you to be my wife.” He smiled at her. “Earlier today I put an offer in for that property. The owner accepted it, and I put down a deposit. That’s why I didn’t pick you up this morning. I had to work this afternoon, but I came to see you as soon as I got off work.” He took hold of her hands. “I won’t be working for Rhoades Construction for much longer. In fact, I put in my two weeks’ notice. I’ll be opening my harness shop. I thought that once we marry, we’ll live in the house we looked at. What do you think?”
Her eyes shone with happiness. “I’d like that very much.”
“Gut.”
“Daniel?” she murmured softly.
“Ja?”
“I’d like to see my family in Indiana.”
“Ja, you should,” he said approvingly. “And we can invite them to our wedding.”
“Danki, Daniel.”
“And you no longer have to worry about the Turners. I have a feeling Bryce and his son will be put in jail for their drug dealing and the abuse you suffered at their hands.”
Emma beamed at him. “I love you, Daniel.”
“I love you, Emma.”
Epilogue
A year later, Emma and Daniel wed before the Amish community in Happiness. Only weeks before, Daniel and Emma had joined the Amish church. Daniel with Emma’s help had set up his harness shop on the property he’d purchased. He’d accepted his father’s help with financing because he wanted to own his home before he married Emma.
Emma stood beside Daniel as they made their vows. She was overwhelmed with love for her new husband. He had proved time and again over the last months how much he loved her. He found her first foster parents whom she’d loved. John Bowden’s cancer was in remission, and he and May were happy to attend the wedding.
Emma’s family from Indiana were seated among the congregation. They had been stunned to hear what happened to her and were happy to be a part of her lif
e again. Their pleasure was twofold when they saw that Emma had found love and a new life in an Amish community.
After the wedding reception was over, Daniel and Emma, alone in their new home, gazed at each other in the waning light of a beautiful autumn day.
Emma smiled at her husband. “I love you. More than you’ll ever know.”
“Wife, I’ll love you forever.” Daniel pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
As she leaned into him, Emma sent up a silent prayer of thanks. She had everything she’d ever wanted—Daniel, a family and the promise of a future blessed by God.
* * *
If you loved this story,
check out the other books
in Rebecca Kertz’s miniseries
Women of Lancaster County.
A Secret Amish Love
Her Amish Christmas Sweetheart
Her Forgiving Amish Heart
Her Amish Christmas Gift
His Suitable Amish Wife
Available now from Love Inspired!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Amish Marriage Bargain by Marie E. Bast.
Dear Reader,
If this isn’t your first visit to Happiness in Lancaster County then you’ve most likely met the Lapp family—Samuel and Katie Lapp with their eight children, especially their five oldest sons who each found love in my Lancaster County Wedding books. In the Women of Lancaster County series, you meet the five Stoltzfus sisters, who happen to be the Lapp siblings’ cousins, who also find true love.
In Finding Her Amish Love, Emma Beiler is a runaway foster child who returns to Happiness after escaping her Maryland foster home for the second time. Emma doesn’t want anyone to learn that she was raised in an Amish community until the age of six, when her family left for an English life. When she is given a temporary home and job in Leah’s community, Emma worries that if anyone learned the truth about her past, she’d be sent away. She needs a safe place to stay until she’s eighteen, when she’ll be free of the foster care system.
Daniel Lapp discovers Emma sleeping in the barn on his cousin Ellie’s property. He helps Emma and eventually develops feelings for her. He doesn’t know that Emma has lied about her identity.
I hope you enjoy Emma and Daniel’s story during which Emma finds a place within the Stoltzfus family and a forever home with the man she loves.
I wish you joy, good health and many blessings.
Love and light,
Rebecca Kertz
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.
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The Amish Marriage Bargain
by Marie E. Bast
Chapter One
Washington County, Iowa
May Bender had made her decision, but how could she possibly tell him?
Conjuring up the strength of a Goliath, she readied herself for battle. But first, she set dinner on the table, lifted her year-old niece, Leah, into her high chair and handed her a piece of bread smeared with jelly. Leah tilted her head and gifted aentie with a very toothy smile.
She was going to miss this little pumpkin. May wrestled a tear from her cheek with the tip of her finger.
Tucking that sad thought away, she eased onto the chair across the table from Thad and bowed her head for silent prayer. After the blessing, she took potatoes for her and Leah’s plate, then handed the bowl to Thad. His hand glided over hers as he grabbed the bowl. She jerked her hand back as a tingle shot up her arm.
Thad, toting a farmer’s appetite, loaded his plate and took a bite of pork chop. “Mmm, gut.”
The compliment stunned her. He didn’t often hand them out. In fact, they didn’t often talk much at all. “Danki, it was just a little seasoning. That reminds me, the door on the spice cupboard sticks and a couple of the others are swollen from humidity.”
Without raising his head, Thad nodded. “I’ll take care of them on the next rainy day.”
May took a slice of bread, buttered it and pushed a few crumbs off the table, watching them drop to the floor like pieces of her life. Her faith taught her to forgive, but how could she forget April and Thad’s betrayal when he sat across the table from her every day?
Leah picked up a few peas with her index finger and thumb. Dropping a couple, she managed to shove a few in her mouth, giggling at her achievement. She smacked her lips and handed her soggy bread to Aent May. “Mamm, Mamm, Mamm...”
“Oh, danki for sharing, but you can keep it, sweetie.”
Pushing her hand in her pocket, May touched the letter, to draw encouragement. “Thad, my aent in Indiana has offered me a job. She wants me to help run her café and bake shop in Shipshewana and take it over when she retires. Edna has given me three months to make up my mind.”
He took another bite of food but didn’t respond.
May didn’t need twelve weeks to think it over; she just needed to box up all her belongings and make the arrangements. It was time she moved. Time she got away from Thad Hochstetler, her brother-in-law. A man who had once courted May, then dumped her for her beautiful sister, April.
She raised her chin to face him. “You know you’ll need to hire a nanny?”
He took another bite of pork chop, then nodded.
May glared at him. Nineteen months ago, Thad had brought May home from singings, and April rode with his bruder Alvin. Her sister must have loved Alvin. They had both been baptized, joined the church and their banns were set to be read on the next Church Sunday. Six weeks after Alvin’s death from his buggy accident, April and Thad wed.
Thad cleared his throat. Deep lines creased his forehead just under a dark brown swatch of hair that had fallen forward. He raised his head and locked eyes with hers. His mouth twisted into a weak smile, the edges nervously twitching. “Would you...consider postponing your plan to move to Indiana? I hate to ask this, but I’d appreciate it if you would stay on a little while longer and watch Leah.”
“What?” A tear pressed at the corner of her eye. “You’re joking, right?”
“The farm’s income has declined by almost 35 percent this past year with the problem The Amish Dairy Association has been having with the USDA and its inspection agencies. Small farmers are losing money by the day trying to compete with the big dairy producers out west when they violate the organic rules and overproduce.” His voice quaked. “The inspection agencies have been lax in suspending violators and writing citations for fines. I can’t afford a full-time nanny right now with a mortgage, and Mamm’s arthritic hips won’t allow her to chase a one-year-old all day.”
May drew a deep breath, holding it deep in her chest before blowing it out. “The longer I postpone the move, the harder it will be on Leah.” And me.
“Look, May, I’m in dire straits here... I could lose the farm.”
Contempt for him boiled her blood. “You mean my mamm and daed’s farm that you inherited from my sister. It’s been in our family for 170 years.” She spit out the words as if they were wrapped with barbed wire.
“Small dairy farmers are being driven out of business all over the Midwest.” He let his gaze drop, then raised his eyes to meet her glare. “I’d really appreciate it if you could stay a while longer.”
May fisted her hands. Her world was tumbling, as if a spool of thread dropped to the floor, unraveling before her eyes.
/> She heaved a sigh but caught the look of pleading cross his face, then vanish in a heartbeat. “I’ll think about it.”
Thad nodded, scooted his chair away from the table, snatched his straw hat from the peg on the wall, plopped it on and headed outside.
May clutched her chest while pain arrowed through her. Why had she told him she’d think about it? She had thought about it, and the time was right to move.
She dropped her fork and covered her face with her hands. Nein. Nein. Nein.
April’s words whirled through her head. “I’m dying, sister. Promise me you’ll take care of Leah and Thad.”
“Nein, April, I can’t do that. Not after what Thad did...”
“I feel the life draining from me. You must do it, May, please! Forgive me. Thad and I never meant to hurt you. Things just happen.” April exhaled a long breath and closed her eyes. Her hand fell limp.
May steered her mind back to the present.
Why had she made that promise?
A blast of evening air squeezed through the screen in the door and circulated around the room, giving it a fresh scent. While Leah played on the floor with her blocks, May stowed her decision for now, washed the dishes and straightened the kitchen.
When Leah started to fuss and rub her eyes, May snatched her up and snuggled her close. “I won’t be able to do this much longer if I decide to go, little one.” She kissed Leah’s sweet little head when she laid it against her shoulder, almost falling asleep. “Nein, let’s get you bathed and settled in bed.”
After putting the child to sleep, May closed Leah’s door with Thad’s request still whirling in her head. How could she stay here? He was certainly insensitive to her need. Her fingers twitched with the impulse to start packing now. She’d never be able to sleep. Tiptoeing quietly down the hall, she headed to her sewing room.
Sewing always calmed her nerves.
She grabbed her basket of long strips of cloth she’d torn from old clothes and started sewing them together to make rag rugs. She finished connecting the last strips together, then glanced at the battery clock. Ach. Midnight. After tidying the sewing room, she trudged down the hall to her room and collapsed on her bed.
Finding Her Amish Love Page 18
