Romance In Amish Country Series Boxed Set: 1-3 Naomi's Story; Miriam's Story; Ruth's Story

by Melanie Schmidt

  ROMANCE IN AMISH COUNTRY

  Three Part Series Bundle

  by

  MELANIE SCHMIDT

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  Romance In Amish Country. 1st Edition

  Copyright © 2013

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Art by Manfred Rohrer.

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously.

  All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible

  Table of Contents

  Naomi's Story

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  Miriam's Story

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  Ruth's Story

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  More

  Also By Melanie Schmidt

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  Naomi's Story

  "And be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2

  1

  Naomi Miller sat on a high bank behind the big barn overlooking the wide expanse of spring wheat nearly ripe for harvest. She watched the mid-morning breeze creating ripples in the field of wheat, and she glanced down at the basket full of eggs beside her. Naomi realized that most people she knew would admire the beauty of God’s creation in the wheat and in the perfectly formed eggs. Naomi saw more, though. She always had. When Naomi looked at the wheat and the eggs, she saw business potential. Naomi sighed – long and resigned – as she realized that she needed to return to the house soon. Her Aunt Ruth was busy preparing the midday dinner, a special one today, and Naomi knew that it was wrong to leave Ruth working alone for any longer. Thinking about the occasion for today’s dinner made the young woman’s stomach drop at the thought of the guests and the reason for their visit. Naomi wished with all her heart she could simply pretend to be ill and skip it altogether, or better yet, escape to her refuge from the pressures of being a young, unmarried woman.

  The sound of a distant steam whistle interrupted her thoughts, and Naomi watched the plume of smoke and steam rising from the vintage locomotive heading the tourist train from Strasburg to Paradise. It was a sound that normally raised her spirits, but this morning, somehow, it only sounded lonely. Naomi thought about how frustrated she’d felt when her father insisted that she close her shop for the day so that they could entertain guests for dinner. Every tourist on that train could have been one more customer if her shop weren’t closed right now. Taking a deep breath and attempting to calm herself, Naomi knew that she must handle one problem at a time, and she also knew that she would need some help.

  Dear God in heaven, she prayed silently. What am I to do?

  Soft footsteps announced the arrival of her Aunt Ruth, who sat beside Naomi on the grass and gazed out toward the distant train. Neither woman spoke, but Naomi felt support and unconditional love radiating from the older woman. It had always been that way between them. Naomi’s mother had died only a few days after giving birth to her, and Ruth had moved in immediately, helping her oldest brother run the household and raise his children. Ezra Miller had found his way out of his grief enough to be an example to his two boys, but he’d needed Ruth’s help with ten-year-old Miriam and newborn Naomi, his two daughters who needed a woman’s presence, wisdom, and teaching. For Naomi, Ruth was her mother in every way but one, and while she sometimes envied her older siblings the blessing of having known their mother, she continually blessed God for giving her Ruth.

  Although Ruth and Naomi had discussed the day’s menu and the seating arrangements, what they hadn’t discussed was the way that Naomi felt about this very important dinner. Naomi tried to find a way to work around to the subject and finally decided that it would be best to just jump right in.

  “Is is a sin of pride and selfishness that I do not want to follow my father’s wishes? That I want to marry a younger man who will give me children of my own?” Naomi whispered, as though afraid to say the words out loud.

  “No,” Ruth said firmly. “It is not.”

  “Is it so wrong to want to marry a man who will see the value of my work and encourage me to continue to use the skills that God has blessed me with?”

  “Again, no.

  “I both love and respect my brother deeply,” Ruth continued after a moment, “but in this, he is wrong. God gave you talents, Naomi, and it is your duty to use them.”

  “You gave up everything to come and take care of us,” Naomi reminded her.

  Ruth shook her head. “The circumstances were entirely different.”

  “But still, you never married because of us. You have spent your whole life taking care of us.”

  Ruth sighed and wrapped one arm around Naomi, drawing her in as she had innumerable times since she was a little girl. Ruth was tall like her brother, and Naomi slight, like her mother had been, so the young woman still fit comfortably in her aunt’s embrace.

  “I chose not to marry when I came to take care of you, child. I prayed and decided that God had sent me here to care for all of you, and that I would see the job through to the end. In fact, while I have often lamented the terrible circumstances that caused your father to need me to come live with you, I have always blessed God for giving me this family.”

  Naomi pulled back just a bit to study her aunt’s face. Ruth’s usually serene expression was marred by a slight, worried frown. As always, Naomi was struck by the harmony in Ruth’s features. Tall, slender, and strong, Ruth came across as a force to be reckoned with, but the dark hair, pale blue eyes, and fair complexion she shared with her niece, gave her a wholesome, natural beauty the traditional plain Amish dress and kapp could not disguise.

  “Why did you ‘choose’ not to marry, Aenti Ruth?”

  Ruth sighed once more and turned to look at her niece, a small, sad smile playing at her lips.

  “I almost married once,” she confessed. “I was in love with a good man.”

  “Did he not love you?”

  Ruth’s gaze wandered back over the waving wheat. “I believe he loved me, yes. But love is not enough to sustain a marriage. In the end, he did not truly know me, for he wished to take me away from here to live among the English.”

  “Surely he should have known you would never leave!” Naomi said, shocked at this piece of Ruth’s history and appalled that anyone would think Ruth, of all people, would ever want to abandon her family, her community, and the Amish way of life.

  Ruth smiled and turned back to Naomi.

  “He should have, yes, but he did not.” Ruth paused and thought for a moment. “Perhaps he did not love me as much as I thought. As it was, everything turned out for the best. God obviously wanted me to be here for you, and raising you, Abram, Isaac, and Miriam has been the greatest joy of my life.”

  “That is what Daed thinks I should do for
Joseph Hostetler,” Naomi said, sounding resigned. “And maybe it would be the right thing to do.”

  “Right? For whom, may I ask?”

  “But that is exactly what you did.”

  Ruth shook her head firmly and turned to face Naomi. “Our circumstances could not be more different. I was ten years older than you are now, and your mother was my best friend even before she married my favorite brother. I already knew you—and more importantly, all of you knew me. I was with Leah when she died, child, and when she begged me to take care of you, your brothers, and sister it was no hardship to promise her I would. We did so well together because we were already family. Miriam was only ten at the time—so I was old enough to be her mother—your brothers seven and three, and you only a babe.

  “Naomi, you are only eighteen, and the man your daed would have you marry is at least forty. Of his nine children, the oldest is almost seventeen—and did you not go to school with her?”

  Naomi nodded. “Hannah and Sarah, both.”

  “Well, then,” Ruth continued, “how can anyone possibly expect you to become their mother? And nine children in only eighteen years of marriage? No wonder his poor wife died young!”

  Naomi found herself smiling in response to Ruth’s uncharacteristically zealous defense, and she was about to reply, but Ruth wasn’t quite finished yet.

  “And Joseph has been quite clear about the fact that no wife of his will work anywhere other than in his home. Naomi, I know how hard you have worked on your shop, and our family has even come to rely on the income you earn from it. You would have to give up every dream you have to marry that man, and the Lord did not give you talents to see them wasted.”

  Naomi bowed her head as she tried to think through her options.. She knew her father would not force her to marry Joseph Hostetler—it just was not done among the Amish—but how could she honor her father, not insult Herr Hostetler, and still be free to marry a man who would give her both the children and the support she needed to be able to be both a mother and a business person?

  “I know what you are thinking, child,” Ruth said, her voice softening as she reached out to lay a gentle hand on Naomi’s shoulder. “But you did not make this awkward situation. Your father did. I will speak with him before our guests arrive today—I promise—and while dinner will likely not be all that pleasant, we will get through it, and your daed will see reason.”

  Naomi smiled up at her beloved aunt and friend then reached out to embrace her.

  “Thank you, Aenti Ruth,” she said. “I love you so much.”

  “Oh, and I love you, too, child.”

  They held each other for a long moment, before Ruth pulled away.

  “We do need to get back to the house, now,” she said, standing and pulling Naomi to her feet. “Dinner must be sehr gut , today, if we are to soften the blow for Herr Hostetler and keep from shaming your father.”

  “And we must also be certain everyone knows you did most of the cooking,” Naomi said.

  “Let us not, child!” Ruth said on a laugh. “Not only would it be untrue, since you have contributed a good bit yourself, but I do not want to give your father any ideas about marrying me off to Hostetler, either! Nine children in only eighteen years,” she muttered under her breath, causing Naomi to giggle once more and bringing a smile to Ruth’s face.

  Naomi rose to her feet and picked up the egg basket, her mind instantly calculating the worth of the eggs: some for sale to tourists who would pay top dollar for the large brown eggs, some for applesauce cake, and a few for the braided egg rolls that were one of the most profitable items for sale in her little stand that sold organic produce and fresh baked goods in the Paradise Amish Market. Looking forward to the following day, when she’d be back in her shop, Naomi realized that she felt a bit better for the talk with her aunt, though she still dreaded the coming meal.

  Preparation for dinner was well underway as they entered the kitchen, and Naomi could smell the vegetables and chicken bubbling in the pot pie Ruth had slipped into the oven before she left the house to look for her niece. Naomi’s overnight leaf salad waited in the refrigerator to be tossed, and loaves of freshly baked bread—this morning’s joint effort by the women—filled the kitchen and dining room with the fragrance of sourdough. Both a shoofly pie and a snitz pie sat cooling on the counter. Naomi was torn between wanting to impress her former schoolmate, Hannah Hostetler, who was certain to critique the Miller women’s cooking in minute detail for her sisters and friends, and not wanting to add fuel for Herr Hostetler’s interest. Still, it felt good to work with Ruth as they fell into the familiar pattern of preparing for the midday meal.

  As Naomi set the table, she heard her father’s footsteps when he came in from the fields and went to his rooms to change for dinner. Normally, he would simply wash up, but with company expected today, Ruth had laid out a clean set of clothes for him. Naomi prayed that her father would reappear quickly so Ruth could speak with him before the Hostetlers arrived. She didn’t know exactly what Ruth would say, but Naomi knew that Ruth was on her side. She also knew that few women were as determined as Ruth when she’d made up her mind to accomplish a task.

  Ruth was just pulling the pot pie out of the oven when Ezra Miller appeared in the kitchen.

  “Is everything ready?” he asked.

  “Almost,” Ruth answered. “All will be ready when they arrive. Before they do, however, I would speak with thee, Brother.”

  Ezra raised an eyebrow in surprise at her formal request.

  “They could be here any time,” he pointed out.

  “Then we should speak quickly,” Ruth replied, drying her hands on a towel and taking his arm to lead him from the kitchen. She sent Naomi a reassuring smile over her shoulder as she ushered her brother out.

  Naomi smiled back. While there was never any doubt that Ezra was the head of the household, he nevertheless rarely argued with Ruth on those rare occasions when she put her foot down about something. Ruth had been the one to introduce him to Leah in the first place, and her unselfish devotion to the family since the death of Naomi’s mother had only cemented the special place Ruth had in her big brother’s heart. Both Ezra and Naomi trusted that Ruth had their best interest at heart.

  Naomi pulled the salad from the refrigerator and tossed it gently, mixing the lettuce, cauliflower, crisp bacon, red onion, carrots, and mayonnaise to blend the flavors in the dish. She cut generous slices off one loaf of fresh bread, placed them in a cloth-lined basket, and turned to the window as she heard a buggy pull into the yard. Naomi smoothed her apron over her dress, checked to make sure her hair was neatly tucked under her kapp , and headed for the front door, slipping out onto the porch to join Ruth while Ezra descended the steps to greet their visitors.

  “What did you say to him?” Naomi asked in a whisper.

  “I merely repeated what I said to you and suggested he watch young Hannah closely to see how she interacts with you,” Ruth said, her voice soft to match Naomi’s. “I told him that if he paid attention, that God would show him if you and Joseph are a good match. Marriage is too important to be taken lightly, and I suggested that he look for indications that you and Joseph would make a good team for life. Shhh, now,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper as their guests approached.

  2

  Dinner was going about as she’d expected, Naomi decided, as they passed the food around the table. While Joseph Hostetler’s expression looked hopeful as he dished out a most generous helping of the pot pie, Hannah looked daggers at Naomi, saying little. Though they had once been in school together, they had never socialized, then or since. Hannah and her sister, Sarah, did most of the housekeeping for their father, and although Naomi’s little shop catered to tourists, she also did a significant portion of her business with other Amish families, women who had discovered that her organically grown fruits and vegetables were both delicious and a good value. Naomi had realized about a year ago that neither of the Hostetler girls had set foot in
her shop, and she’d also heard rumors that Hannah had made disparaging comments about the quality of the baked goods that Naomi proudly sold. Naomi had long ago decided that it would be neither productive nor friendly to publicly accuse Hannah of having said nasty things, and she’d chosen just to steer clear of the Hostetler girl. It was a little harder to be civil with Hannah in her dining room, though. Naomi simply smiled sweetly at Hannah until the girl could no longer hold her gaze without making a scene. Relishing her little victory, Naomi served herself some salad and passed the bowl to Joseph.

  Suddenly it was Herr Hostetler’s turn to frown. “You have a refrigerator,” he observed, as he accepted the cold bowl of salad.

  “It is kerosene,” Ezra replied calmly, ignoring his guest’s censorious tone. While it was forbidden to connect to the electricity grid of the outside world, some of the English technology was slowly making its way into Amish homes as long as it could be run on local power sources, like twelve-volt batteries, generators, or kerosene. The refrigerator was a relatively new addition to the Miller home, having come only after Naomi’s oldest brother had brought refrigeration to his dairy, allowing him to sell milk to the outside world.

  “Still, it is an extravagance,” Hostetler said sternly, piling his plate high with the rich salad as he spoke.

  Ezra shook his head. “It allows us to waste far less food than we used to. With only three of us living here, now, and my sons’ big appetites living elsewhere, it was important to find a way to preserve the food Ruth and Naomi prepare for meals.”