Praise for the novels of Jennifer Beckstrand
“Beckstrand brings her Wisconsin-set Honeybee Sisters trilogy about the three Christner women to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion with a charmingly sweet story that beautifully celebrates the triumph of everyday courage and compassion as well as the importance in life of faith and family. For all fans of Amish romances, inspirational romance, and gentle love stories.”
—Booklist on Like a Bee to Honey
“A ‘wonderful-gute’ novel that celebrates women’s resourceful strength and pluck, rewarding the good-hearted who keep close to the spirit (if not the letter) of traditional values over those who are concerned with maintaining appearances but fail at human connection.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on Sweet as Honey
Praise for the novels of Amy Lillard
“A beautifully written romance with an adoring character who sees herself as merely ordinary looking. When an outsider comes into the mix, the outcome will shock readers. The story is fast paced and believable. Lillard writes stories readers can relate to.”
—RT Book Reviews on Just Plain Sadie
“Lillard’s evocative prose, well-drawn protagonists, and detailed settings result in an inspirational story of romance, faith, and trust. Caroline’s search for forgiveness and happiness will appeal to fans of Wanda Brunstetter and Beverly Lewis.”
—Library Journal on Caroline’s Secret
Praise for the novels of Molly Jebber
“Endearing characters and a delightful story make this a keeper for fans of Amish romance.”
—Emma Miller on Change of Heart
“Jebber is a talented author who always gives readers what they have come to expect from her books.”
—RT Book Reviews on Grace’s Forgiveness
Books by Jennifer Beckstrand
The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill
HUCKLEBERRY HILL
HUCKLEBERRY SUMMER
HUCKLEBERRY CHRISTMAS
HUCKLEBERRY SPRING
HUCKLEBERRY HARVEST
HUCKLEBERRY HEARTS
RETURN TO HUCKLEBERRY HILL
The Honeybee Sisters
SWEET AS HONEY
A BEE IN HER BONNET
LIKE A BEE TO HONEY
Books by Molly Jebber
CHANGE OF HEART
GRACE’S FORGIVENESS
TWO SUITORS FOR ANNA
Books by Amy Lillard
The Wells Landing Series
CAROLINE’S SECRET
COURTING EMILY
LORIE’S HEART
JUST PLAIN SADIE
TITUS RETURNS
MARRYING JONAH
E-Novellas
The Quilting Circle
MORE THAN FRIENDSHIP
MORE THAN A PROMISE
MORE THAN A MARRIAGE
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Amish Brides
JENNIFER BECKSTRAND
MOLLY JEBBER
AMY LILLARD
KENSINGTON BOOKS
www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Compilation copyright © 2017 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
“The Reluctant Groom” © 2017 by Jennifer Beckstrand
“Joshua’s Bride” © 2017 by Molly Jebber
“A Summer Wedding in Paradise” © 2017 by Amy Lillard
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
eISBN-13: 978-1-4967-1164-9
eISBN-10: 1-4967-1164-5
First Kensington Electronic Edition: June 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4967-1163-2
Table of Contents
Praise
Books by Jennifer Beckstrand
Title Page
Copyright Page
The Reluctant Groom
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Joshua’s Bride
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
A Summer Wedding in Paradise
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
The Reluctant Groom
JENNIFER BECKSTRAND
For my dear friend, Tonya Robinette, who literally prayed me through this story
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my agent, Nicole Resciniti, and my editor, John Scognamiglio. Nicole’s instincts are spot-on, and John’s eye for a good story never ceases to amaze me. I must also thank my husband, Gary, who is my biggest fan, my biggest supporter, and the prototype for all my heroes.
Chapter 1
Amish fraas were supposed to butt into their children’s lives—not the other way around. But Anna Helmuth’s daughter Esther passed out advice like most Amish mammis handed out cookies. And Esther had real trouble taking no for an answer.
“Mamm,” Esther said, stuffing her yarn into her jumbo-size canvas bag. “Your hands are going to shrivel up like chicken feet if you insist on crocheting a dishrag for every unmarried boy and girl in the district. You don’t want to be a cripple, do you?”
“I’d rather not be a cripple.” Anna purposefully doubled her speed with the crochet hook. Esther meant well, but she knew nothing about crochet or cripples. Anna’s hands were sure to shrivel up with arthritis if she didn’t keep them limber with her handicrafts. And there were so many of die youngie who still needed a dishrag. How was she supposed to get two young people together without a crocheted gift to soften them up?
“You’re working too hard, Mamm,” Esther said. “A woman your age shouldn’t be flitting about town making matches for all the unmarrieds. It’s not gute for your health, and it’s not exactly respectable, either. Mary Eicher says you encourage young people to kiss. Before they’re married.”
Poor Esther. She was always so worried about what other people thought.
Felty, Anna’s husband of sixty-six years, glanced up from his newspaper. “When you’re in love, it doesn’t hurt to do a little spooning to see if you like it.”
Esther fastened her most serious frown on her face. “Cassie told me that Dr. Reynolds kissed her for the first time in your barn. And there are rumors that Titus kissed Katie Rose Gingerich right here in your kitchen in front of their parents and you.” She waved her hands in Anna and Felty’s direction.
Felty grinned, even though he seemed to be paying rapt attention to his reading.
Anna couldn’t keep a smile from her face either. “Isn’t it wunderbarr that Titus found love right here in our kitchen? It didn’t even matter that both his goats pooped on my rug.”
Esther grunted. “I’m glad Titus found Katie. I was sure no girl would ever fall in love with him. But that’s no excuse for le
tting him kiss her right out in the open like that.”
Anna reached out and patted Esther’s hand. “Now, Esther. I don’t make a habit of encouraging die youngie to kiss. They might think it strange that a middle-aged woman was so concerned about their lips.”
“But you do encourage matches,” Esther said.
“Of course,” Anna said. “All young men should be married before they make nuisances of themselves. Bachelors and fish stink after three days, you know.”
Esther grunted when she didn’t agree with something Anna said. She was doing a lot of grunting today. She sounded like a bear who’d missed her breakfast. “It’s not your responsibility, Mamm.”
Anna snipped her yarn and tied a knot. “I don’t know who else would make the matches if I didn’t.”
Felty always stood up for her. She loved that about him. “If it weren’t for your mater, half the population of Bonduel would still be single.”
Anna smiled at her husband. “I wouldn’t dream of quitting. Die youngie need my help.”
Esther did the grunting thing again and zipped up her canvas bag. “Well, you could at least charge people money for your matchmaking. It would help pay for all that yarn.”
Anna tried hard to keep her patience. Esther was her very own daughter. Hadn’t she taught Esther better than to think she could put a price on true love? “I wouldn’t dream of charging money. Seeing two people fall in love is payment enough.”
Esther scrunched her lips together as if she held a pickle between her teeth. “Yarn doesn’t grow on trees.”
Anna simply gave her daughter a sweet smile. Esther was sixty-eight years old and a strong, determined widow. Anna had done her best to raise her, and she’d turned out quite well, even if she did have misguided notions about yarn and kissing. “Will we see you for Sunday dinner?”
Esther slung her bag over her shoulder, and the weight of it made her stoop. “I’ll bring pies and rolls. Do you want me to roast a chicken?”
“Nae. I’m trying out a new recipe. Gouda-and-raisin-stuffed hamburgers.”
Esther’s right eye twitched. “I’ll roast three chickens.”
Someone tapped firmly on the front door, and Esther opened it since she was on her way out. Suvie Newswenger stood on the porch, nibbling the nail on her index finger and holding a small brown paper bag. She smiled—Anna had rarely seen Suvie without a smile—and threw her arms around Esther as if she were her long-lost sister. “Esther! Gute maiya.”
Esther did not take kindly to affection, but she stood patiently until Suvie released her grip. Suvie was like that. Everybody in the community had mostly gotten used to it. When the hug finally came to an end, Esther took a giant step away from Suvie and ushered her into the great room that served as both a kitchen and living room.
“Cum reu, Suvie,” Anna said, jumping to her feet—well, not exactly jumping. Anna hadn’t executed a good jump for probably twenty years. “How wunderbarr to see you.”
Suvie laughed and reached her arms out for Anna. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need your help.”
Esther raised her eyebrows and gave Anna one of her I-told-you-so looks. “Remember what I said about the yarn.”
Felty rested his paper in his lap. “We love you, Esther. Travel home safely and give the kinner our love.”
Esther transferred her bag to the other shoulder, marched out the door, and closed it a little harder than she needed to.
“Cum and sit, Suvie,” Anna said. “And tell us what we can do for you.”
Suvie waved in Felty’s direction. “Wie geht?”
Felty folded his paper in his lap. “It’s wonderful-gute to see you, Suvie. How is your dat getting along with that new heifer?”
Suvie plopped onto the sofa, set her brown bag beside her, and took off her bonnet. “My dat got a new heifer?”
“Last week.”
Suvie giggled and leaned toward Felty as if sharing a great secret. “I hope he hasn’t named it yet. He named our last milk cow Fred. I told him not to name another animal on the farm without consulting me.”
Felty grimaced. “He named her Rocky.”
Suvie laughed harder. “I guess that’s better than Fred. We’ll just hope that Rocky doesn’t give lumpy milk.”
Suvie had a round, sensible face and especially intelligent eyes, as if she hadn’t forgotten a thing she’d been taught since first grade. The smile lines curved naturally around her mouth, and they’d probably been there since the day she was born.
A more cheerful girl had never been seen in Bonduel.
Did she need help finding a husband?
Surely that couldn’t be what she wanted from Anna and Felty. Suvie had been seeing Vernon Schmucker for several months.
“I need your help finding a husband,” Suvie said.
Well. You never knew with some people.
Suvie turned to Anna. “It’s no secret that you’ve been successful finding matches for many of your grandchildren, and I am hoping you can do the same for me.” She picked up her brown paper bag and unrolled the top. “I brought some cookies to butter you up.”
She pulled two blobs from the bag that were probably cookies, even though they looked like lumpy gray pebbles, and handed one each to Felty and Anna.
Anna plastered an excessively cheerful smile on her face, just to prove she wasn’t afraid, and took a bite. The cookie crumbled to dust in her mouth. If she accidentally breathed in, she’d die of smoke inhalation. Stifling a cough, Anna swallowed as best she could. “Would anybody like some milk?”
Felty took a hearty bite. He wasn’t shy about strange food. “Delicious,” he said. “Peanut butter?”
Suvie’s face fell. “Coconut and lemon.” She sighed the air from her lungs. “This is one of the reasons I need your help. I can’t cook, and a man wants a wife who can cook.”
Anna was immediately sympathetic. Not everyone had the talents in the kitchen that Anna had been blessed with. Suvie was a wonderful-gute girl. Her lack of cooking skills shouldn’t doom her to spinsterhood. “But, dear, why do you need us to help you find a husband? I thought you and Vernon Schmucker were serious.”
Suvie sighed again. Long and loud. She must have very deep lungs. “Vernon and I saw each other for six months, and I tried. For sure and certain, I tried. This is nothing against Vernon, but I’d rather be an old maid.”
Anna nodded. “I don’t blame you.” Vernon could do that to a girl.
“He asked me to marry him, and I feel terrible that I might have made him believe that marriage was even a possibility. He didn’t take it well, and Clara Yutzy told me he’s gained ten pounds in the last month.”
“Vernon never had trouble drowning his sorrows in a Big Mac.”
“My sister Hannah told everyone that we were practically engaged. She’s more frantic to see me married than I am.”
“Sisters can be that way sometimes,” Felty said.
Suvie shifted in her seat as if she couldn’t get comfortable. “I think I should tell you that I have had three marriage proposals. Vernon, Adam Wengerd, and Lee Zook. Lee has assured me that he will still marry me if I can’t find anyone else. He feels sorry for me, but I don’t feel sorry for myself. I won’t marry someone I don’t love or someone who makes me cringe whenever we’re in the same room. I don’t want you to think I’m flighty.”
“Of course not, dear,” Anna said. “You can’t talk yourself into loving someone, though some folks have tried.”
“After I turned twenty-four and the marriage prospects began to fade, I decided I was perfectly content to be an old maid.”
Anna smiled. Suvie was no shrinking violet. “You bought your own house.”
“Jah. With the money I earned from working at the feed store. My brothers built that greenhouse for me so I could start my own business.” The soft line of Suvie’s lips melted into a grin. “I’m twenty-eight years old, and I don’t want to be an old maid anymore. There’s someone I really like.”
Ann
a leaned forward, mostly to try to clear cookie dust from her throat. “Someone?”
Suvie laughed. “There’s a man who bought a shoat this spring, and he’s been coming into the feed store almost every week for three months.” She smiled sheepishly. “I’m in love with him, and I’m determined to make him fall in love with me. He’s tall and handsome and wonderful polite, and he mopes and sulks and broods like a gathering storm. Hardly says a word.”
Anna furrowed her brow until she felt her wrinkles crash into each other. “He sounds like a dud. Are you sure you want him?”
Suvie nodded, her eyes wide with eagerness. “I’m sure. He’s your great-grandson Aaron Beachy. You don’t think your own relative is a dud, do you?”
Felty smoothed his beard with his fingers. “Some of our relatives are duds, but Aaron isn’t one of them.”
It only took a split second for Anna to realize what a perfect match Suvie and Aaron would make. Suvie was eternally cheerful, Aaron was as gloomy as a funeral on a rainy day. They’d mix like oil and vinegar, raisins and meatloaf, peanut butter and maple syrup. “Why, Suvie,” she said, “what a wunderbarr idea! Aaron needs a girl like you. He hasn’t smiled for three years.”
Felty pressed his lips together and stuffed his newspaper between the cushion and armrest of his chair. “I hate to discourage you, Annie Banannie, but it’s too soon to talk about Aaron marrying again. Mary hasn’t been gone but a few months.”
“Nae, Felty,” Anna said. “Mary passed on almost three years ago.”
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