For Every Season
Page 1
Praise for
For Every Season
“With her gift of storytelling and excellent characterization, Cindy Woodsmall sets the standard for Amish romance. I’m a fan!”
—SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author
“It’s supposed to be a time of new beginnings for Rhoda Byler and brothers Samuel and Jacob King as they leave Pennsylvania to restore an old apple orchard in Maine. But the past, Rhoda discovers, has a way of tagging along. She is caught in a love triangle between Samuel and Jacob that threatens their hopes for a fresh start. Torn between the two brothers, Rhoda must choose. Will she follow her sense of duty? or her heart? For Every Season is Cindy Woodsmall at her finest. Readers will enjoy this satisfying third installment in the Amish Vines and Orchards series.”
—SUZANNE WOODS FISHER, best-selling author of Stoney Ridge Seasons
“For Every Season is a tantalizing story about moving forward and following God’s plan for our lives … even when that plan takes us places we never imagined.”
—VANNETTA CHAPMAN, author of the Pebble Creek Amish series
“Resettled far from home, a small enclave of Amish orchardists strive to keep their new venture safe from Englisch ways while facing worse threats from within. For Every Season is a thoughtful story of conflicting loyalties, heartbreaking choices, and a visionary’s God-given abilities that sometimes reveal more than her loved ones want to know. Once again Cindy Woodsmall writes from a compassionate understanding of the human heart.”
—MEG MOSELEY, author of Gone South
BOOKS BY CINDY WOODSMALL
SISTERS OF THE QUILT SERIES
When the Heart Cries
When the Morning Comes
When the Soul Mends
ADA’S HOUSE SERIES
The Hope of Refuge
The Bridge of Peace
The Harvest of Grace
AMISH VINES AND ORCHARDS SERIES
A Season for Tending
The Winnowing Season
For Every Season
Seasons of Tomorrow (spring 2014)
NOVELLAS
The Sound of Sleigh Bells
The Christmas Singing
The Dawn of Christmas
The Scent of Cherry Blossoms
NONFICTION
Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women
FOR EVERY SEASON
PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version.
The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.
eISBN: 978-0-307-73007-7
Copyright © 2013 by Cindy Woodsmall
Cover design by Kelly L. Howard
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
WATERBROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Woodsmall, Cindy.
For every season / Cindy Woodsmall. — First edition.
pages cm — (Amish vines and orchards; book 3)
1. Amish—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3623.O678F67 2013
813′.6—dc23
2013021866
v3.1
To Alan and Carla Weatherly
Thank you for being such wonderful friends, great encouragers, gentle yet strong spiritual teachers, and all-around remarkable people.
As a pastor and pastor’s wife, you’ve each faced many challenges while fulfilling your God-given roles.
The constant needs of others are as rhythmic as the beating hearts of the many you’ve helped.
You are to those in need who you were to us thirty-something years ago: a godsend who nourished and strengthened us so we could go forward and do so for others.
But, Carla, hopefully you won’t need to shelter all the others as often as you have us of late.
Otherwise, to whom would we go when we sojourn to your area? Much love to both of you!
I look forward to our years ahead and a few trips to Amish auctions!
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Amish Vines and Orchards Series
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Main Characters in For Every Season
Glossary
Amish Vines and Orchards series
The story so far …
In A Season for Tending, Rhoda Byler, a twenty-two-year-old Amish girl, struggles to suppress the God-given insights she receives. Her people don’t approve of such intuitions. Because of their superstitions and fears, Rhoda spends most of her time alone in her bountiful fruit and herb garden or with her assistant, Landon, canning her produce for her business—Rhode Side Stands. Although she lives with her parents, two married brothers, and their families, Rhoda is isolated and haunted by guilt over the death of her sister two years ago.
Thirty miles away, in the Amish district of Harvest Mills, three brothers—Samuel, Jacob, and Eli King—are caretakers of their family’s apple orchard. Samuel has been responsible for the success of Kings’ Orchard since he was a young teen, but due to Eli’s negligence, one-third of their orchard has produced apples that are only good for canning. If Samuel doesn’t find a way to turn more profit on those apples, he’ll have to sell part of the orchard, resulting in even smaller harvests in the future.
When Samuel and Rhoda meet, they see eye to eye on very little until she shows him her fruit garden. He soon realizes that her horticultural skills are just what he needs to restore the orchard, and her canning business could provide an established outlet for their apples—if he can convince her to partner with them. Without telling his girlfriend, Catherine, he asks Rhoda to work with Kings’ Orchard.
Rhoda declines … until someone maliciously destroys her garden and her livelihood. She gives her land to her brothers and commits to partnering with Kings’
Orchard. Before long she and Jacob begin courting, and Samuel severs his relationship with Catherine.
Just as they begin to harvest the apples, a tornado destroys most of the orchard and almost costs Samuel his life. In an effort to make a new start, Jacob, Samuel, Rhoda, Landon, and others decide to buy an abandoned apple orchard in Maine that they can restore. As the families commit to establishing an Amish community in Maine, Samuel realizes he’s in love with Rhoda.
As The Winnowing Season opens, a small group is preparing to move to Maine—Rhoda Byler, her brother Steven, his family, her assistant Landon Olson, brothers Samuel and Jacob King, and their sister Leah. Their goal is to establish a new Amish community and to cultivate an abandoned apple orchard to replace the income from the orchard the tornado destroyed.
But the day before they leave, Rhoda’s church leaders insist she attend a meeting, because Samuel has reported Rueben Glick for vandalizing her garden. She’s upset with Samuel and dreads going, but to make matters worse, Jacob, her boyfriend, is called away at the last minute. Samuel goes with her and is outraged at the hostility and suspicion they express toward Rhoda. Although the meeting does not go well, Rhoda is given permission to move to Maine in good standing with the church.
The following day the Bylers and Kings leave, except for Jacob, who never returned. Rhoda feels alone in her new surroundings as she continues to see her late sister and begins to hear music and a new voice calling her to meet an isolated couple, Camilla and Bob Cranford. She tries to confide in Samuel, but he pushes her away for fear she’ll discover he’s in love with her.
When Jacob arrives, Rhoda begins to learn about his past. Their love and loyalty to each other are unshaken, and everyone at the farm soon settles in to revitalizing the orchard. Whenever Jacob’s past calls him away, the others work extra to make up for his absence.
Although most of their neighbors welcome the Amish, Rhoda finds herself in legal trouble as three teenagers from powerful families accuse her of giving them drugs. That forces Jacob into hiding to protect Rhoda from negative scrutiny because of his past. As pressures mount, Samuel helps her find strength.
Months pass with Jacob gone, and Samuel continues to withhold his feelings from Rhoda. After she is finally cleared of charges, Samuel is alone with her in the barn, and the conversation turns personal. His emotions get the best of him, and he kisses her. Rhoda is swept up in the moment before pushing him away. Almost immediately Jacob arrives home and discovers what has happened. He breaks up with her and is furious with his brother. Without explanation, Samuel withdraws from her. Rhoda realizes she has lost both men, so she moves in with Bob and Camilla, hoping Jacob will eventually forgive her.
For a list of main characters in the Amish Vines and Orchards series, see the Character Chart at the end of the book.
ONE
Rhoda tiptoed across the dark kitchen. Only the blue flame under the pan on the stove and a lone candle illuminated the room. Electric lights first thing in the morning bothered her. Besides, when she got up before Bob and Camilla, she found comfort in the familiarity of a wavering flame.
She measured out freshly ground cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and mixed it into her apple purée and sugar mixture. The aroma of simmering apple butter filled the air. Since she couldn’t start her days at the farm alongside her sister-in-law Phoebe in the kitchen, this was the second best thing—alone and trying new recipes.
Choose … A female voice sliced through the quietness.
Rhoda’s heart clenched. Had she wakened Camilla? Or was Rhoda hearing her sister again? It had sounded like a real person, and something moved, maybe someone in a dress, near the doorway. She turned off the flame under the pan before easing toward the living room. She saw no one.
Choose! The shriek jolted her like an unexpected clap of thunder, and Rhoda stumbled against a table.
Something fell over, and cold water, a lot of it, splashed on her dress and bare feet. The word choose continued to echo in her ears.
Her heart pounded as she skimmed her hands over the tabletop, searching for what she’d knocked over. Perhaps she felt stems of some kind and what seemed like cool textured glass rolling back and forth. A vase, a large one that apparently had been filled with water. She set it upright. As her eyes adjusted to the soft glow of moonlight, she padded across the wooden floor and reached for the light switch. But she paused mere inches from it. How had it come to this—she, a devout Amish woman, taking refuge in an Englisch home?
She lowered her hand, leaving herself in the dark.
The easy answer was that Jacob had banished her from living on the farm.
Well, more or less.
He hadn’t made her go. But he’d invited her to leave and then had refused to talk to her. Fresh ache flooded her. Not a minute had gone by that she didn’t miss him. He felt the same way. She knew he did.
Still, here she was. An outcast.
Choose …
The taunting voice was clearer now. It sounded like Emma, her late sister. Although it had been as real as if someone were in the room with her, Rhoda realized it was her own conscience blaring at her.
She had chosen, but Jacob was too wounded to listen to her. Shoving back her frustration and regret, she set her will to get through the coming day. She returned to the kitchen to get a towel. The digital clock on the microwave glared at her: 5:19.
She’d been up for hours, and thankfully it’d be daylight within the hour. Despite feeling out of place in an Englisch home, she was here, in the dark, trying a new recipe for the canning business and hoping she didn’t disturb her hosts.
It wasn’t a disagreeable place, but she would never feel fully at ease inside this house. Sadness tried to rob determination from her. She was no longer a part of the farm’s mealtime discussions about the workday. Or part of the camaraderie, chats, or even disagreements that were vital to running the business.
What was she going to do if Jacob’s anger and hurt didn’t dissolve?
A tapping noise caught her attention. “Rhoda, are you okay?” Camilla’s whisper seemed to come from the front of the house. She was probably outside Rhoda’s bedroom door.
Poor Camilla. Rhoda had to be the most unpleasant houseguest ever, but the Cranfords were too good to ask her to leave. For that she was grateful.
She went in that direction, shielding her eyes from the bright light in the hallway. “I’m in here. So sorry to disturb you.” Rhoda turned around to see long-stemmed white roses scattered and water dripping off the edge of the round mahogany table. Bob had brought home a couple of bouquets a few days ago. “I’m so sorry.” Rhoda hurried back to the spot and spread the kitchen towel over as much of the puddle as she could.
Camilla joined her and picked up the flowers and put them back in the vase. “Neither the mess nor the noise matters.” Her tone was difficult to define at times, usually somewhere between guarded and caring.
Rhoda knelt, and her lone braid fell over her shoulder as she began mopping up the water. “I was trying so hard not to wake you and Bob.”
“We’re fine. It’s you we’re worried about.” Camilla put her hands on her hips, making her short gray ponytail sort of wave. “But it smells wonderful in here. You’re working on recipes again, aren’t you?”
“Ya.” Did Camilla mind?
“So just how long have you been up?”
“A while.”
“You need sleep more than new recipes. Is something keeping you up at night?”
Since Rhoda had arrived on her doorstep two weeks ago in need of a place to stay, Camilla had voiced concerns over why she’d left the farmhouse. She wished Camilla would stop asking, and so far Rhoda had managed to sidestep the questions. Nonetheless, of all the people she had ever known, Camilla was one of her favorites.
Rhoda continued drying the floor. It was tempting to open up … except she couldn’t bear to know what Camilla would think of her once she heard. Truth was, Rhoda had no one else she could talk to right now. Ev
en her brother and sister-in-law were disappointed in her. Since Leah was Samuel and Jacob’s younger sister, Rhoda couldn’t confide in her either. It’d be wrong to put Leah in the middle of this mess.
What had possessed Rhoda to think that two families—the Kings and the Bylers—could live under the same roof while trying to establish a new Amish community?
It had been naive.
Camilla wandered to the couch and picked up Rhoda’s prayer Kapp. Rhoda had placed it there hours ago, meaning to put it on before anyone else was up. Camilla ran her fingers down the long strings of the Kapp. “I read once that Amish women wear these even in their sleep.”
Was she changing the subject or aiming to start an easygoing conversation in hopes Rhoda would open the floodgates?
“Some do.” Rhoda flipped the towel and pushed it across the floor. The women who wore them at night were the kind who might wake and start praying. But lately Rhoda was more the kind who woke and stewed.
She was beyond disappointed in herself over this mess. But what had Samuel been thinking? And Jacob … What kind of a man was he to cut her off the way he had?
She wasn’t sure who she was the angriest with—Samuel, Jacob, or herself. But her frustration with the trio kept her in turmoil.
Camilla put the prayer Kapp back and crouched near her. “Rhoda.” She touched the back of Rhoda’s hands, stopping her from cleaning up the water. “I only want to help you the way I wish someone had helped me when I was your age.”
Rhoda eased from Camilla’s gentle touch and ran the towel in wider circles.
Camilla stood. “Bob and I don’t mind being awakened. But I believe you need to talk about why you’re staying with us.”
“I can’t.” She took the wet towel through the kitchen and into the laundry room. What could she say—that she was a hypocrite, a girl who dressed and lived plainly because she wanted to honor God but had let two good men, devoted brothers no less, each kiss her?