“You sound so serious. Is something wrong?” Worry crept into her eyes once more.
Didn’t she know how he felt? “Did you think this would be easy for me? I wish you had told me yourself instead of letting me hear it from the Bishop Zook.”
“I thought you would be happy with my decision.”
He took a deep breath and tried to disguise the hurt in his voice. “I will try to be happy for you, Miriam. Goodbye.”
He turned back and started to open the car door. She dropped her laundry basket and stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
“Okay, I really didn’t expect you would jump for joy, but I thought you’d be a little more enthusiastic. Tell me why you’re unhappy about this?”
The warmth of her hand on his bare skin crumbled his defenses. “Do you really need to ask that?”
She stepped closer. “Apparently I do. Talk to me, Nick.”
He closed his eyes. “I have loved you since I was twenty years old. I have never stopped loving you. I kept silent back then because I knew how much your faith meant to you. I could not ask you to choose me over your relationship with God. After Mark’s death, it was almost a relief to realize how much you hated me. It made it easier to stay away from you. I’m glad you have returned to the Amish life, Miriam, but it will never be easy for me to stay away from you.”
He felt her hands cup his face. Years of pent-up longing broke free and tears squeezed out from beneath his lashes. “I love you so much, Miriam.”
“And I love you, Nicolas Bradley. I don’t know where you got the idea that I have returned to my Amish roots, but you are grossly mistaken. I have no plans to leave my Englisch life.”
His eyes popped open and he focused on her face so close to his. “Bishop Zook said everyone, particularly your mother, is rejoicing because the lost lamb has been returned to the fold. I thought he was talking about you.”
“He was not talking about me. He was talking about Mary Shetler. She is the one who has returned to the fold. Yes, my mother is happy because she has a new daughter and a new granddaughter to help rear. That’s the news I wanted to tell you. Mary and Hannah have moved in with me and my mother.”
Unable to contain his joy, Nick pulled Miriam against his chest in a crushing hug. “Oh, thank you, God, for taking pity on this man. Thank you, God.”
Miriam pulled her arms free of his grip and then slipped them around his neck. “I thank God daily for bringing you back into my life. I have been so blessed.” Rising up on tiptoe, she kissed him as he had dreamed she would one day.
When she drew away, he saw love glowing in her eyes and his heart expanded until he thought it would break, not with sorrow, but with joy.
She smiled at him and he knew he would never tire of seeing that smile. “Nick, I have cared deeply for you since I was a teenager, but I never realized that I loved you until the day I found you rocking and singing to Hannah on the front porch.”
He still couldn’t believe he was holding her in his arms. “I love you. I don’t care when you fell in love with me, only that you did.”
“I didn’t think I deserved to find love. Now I know God wants all his children to love and be loved in return. So maybe what I need is a little more practice at loving you.” She lifted her face inviting his kiss. He was all too happy to comply.
As his lips closed over hers, the world narrowed to the softness of her skin and the taste of her lips, the way they fit his perfectly. His pulse hammered in his ears. He never wanted to lose her again.
When she finally broke away, he pulled her head forward and tucked it against his neck. “I think you’re getting the hang of it.”
* * *
Miriam smiled, breathing in the wonderful scent that was uniquely Nick’s own. Resting in his arms, she was happier than she had ever been in her life. She loved him, and he loved her in return. God was indeed good.
She couldn’t resist teasing Nick a little more. “You’re lucky I’m something of a perfectionist. I’ll keep trying until I get it right.”
“Oh, you have it right, sweetheart. But if you want to keep practicing, I’m going to be available for the next seventy years.”
She pulled back to look up at him. “Careful, Sheriff, that sounded surprisingly like a proposal.”
He cleared his throat and held her at arm’s length. “I’ve always believed that good communication is the key to any relationship. So let me be clear about this. Miriam Kauffman, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She stared at him in stunned surprise. “Nick, are you serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life. We have wasted enough time.”
“Two weeks ago I didn’t even like you.”
“If you’ve come this far in two weeks, I can only imagine how good things will be in two months or two years. I understand that this was rather sudden because, believe me, I didn’t come here intending to propose. So if you want some time to think it over, I understand completely, but I couldn’t stop myself from offering you my heart. I thought I’d lost you.”
“Yes.”
He eyed her intently. “Yes, you want some time to think it over? Or yes, you will marry me?”
“In an effort to improve the communication in our relationship, let me be perfectly clear. Yes, Nicolas Bradley, I will marry you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Are you trying to make me change my mind?”
He pulled her close once more. “Not at all, darling. I just can’t believe that I’ve attained my heart’s desire.”
She snuggled closer. “I’m good at helping people discover what it is that they really want.”
He chuckled and she felt the sound reverberate in his chest beneath her ear. She would never grow tired of being held in his arms. He lifted her hand and placed a kiss on her palm. “When?”
“When what?” she asked with dreamy happiness.
“When can we get married?”
From behind Miriam, Mary said, “It looks like it had better be soon.”
Miriam twisted in Nick’s hold but she didn’t move out of his embrace. “I think I would enjoy a long engagement. What do you think, Nick?” She gave him a saucy glance.
“I will wait for as long as it takes. As long as it doesn’t take more than two months.”
“Two months!” Ada had come out onto the porch with Hannah in her arms.
Nick said, “I can take her off your hands faster if you need me to, Ada.”
“Bah, no one can get ready for a wedding in two months. We shall need at least six months.”
“Is that what you want?” Nick whispered into her ear. His warm breath sent a chill up anticipation sweeping across her body.
“I want to stay here, wrapped in your arms for the rest of my life.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He pressed a kiss on her temple. It was nice, but she wanted more. She turned and raised her face. His lips found hers and she gave herself over to the magic of his touch.
Hannah began to fuss. Ada said, “Enough with the kissy-kissy. The baby wants to be fed, and we have many plans to make. Come inside everyone.”
Nick stopped kissing Miriam long enough to say, “We’ll be along in a little bit, Ada. Your daughter and I have a lot of lost time to make up for.”
Mary laughed and shook her head. She took Hannah from Ada’s arms “Kids today, they never listen to their elders.”
As she followed Ada back inside the house, Miriam gazed up at Nick. She would never grow tired of seeing the love shining in his eyes. “Before we get hitched, there is one thing you should know.”
“Only one?”
“This is an important thing. I intend to adopt Mary. Both she and my mother are in favor of it. That way, if anything happens to my mother, or to me, Mary and Hannah will always have a place to live.”
Nick raised one hand to rub his jaw. “You mean in addition to getting a bride, I’m also going to be getting a teenage daughter—with the baby.”
He groaned. “Grandpa? I thought I’d have twenty-five or thirty years before I got stuck with that label.”
“Well?”
“Well what?” he asked as he pulled her close and settled her against his hip.
“We come as a package deal. Take all of us or take none of us.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “You drive a hard bargain, Miriam Kauffman. I’ll do it as long as you include Bella in the deal.”
“Done.” She smiled at him with all the love in her heart.
“What do you think Mark would say about this?” His question held an odd edge.
“I think Mark is glad. He loved both of us.”
“How do you think your mother would feel about having an English grandchild?”
Miriam rolled her eyes. “You are getting a little ahead of yourself, Sheriff. You haven’t walked down the aisle with me yet.”
“I wasn’t talking about us. I’ve been debating whether to tell you this or not, but I think I should. I did some digging, and I found Mark’s girlfriend, Natalie Perry. She lives in St. Louis now, with her eight-year-old son.”
Miriam blinked hard. Had she heard Nick right? “She kept Mark’s baby?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Nick, that is wonderful. Oh, my goodness, how I agonized over the thought that I was responsible for two deaths. I’m so glad.”
“I knew you would be—that’s why I came here today. I wanted to give you some good news, and to tell you Kevin Dunbar has been arrested. Will you tell your mother about Mark’s child?”
“I have already told her about my part in Mark’s death. I told her the reason he was on the road that night. She will be as thrilled as I am that Natalie kept the baby. Do you think there’s any chance that we could meet her and see him? Do you know his name?”
“His name is Mark.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as words failed her. Nick slipped a finger beneath her chin and tipped her face up. “Please, don’t cry.”
“They are happy tears, Nick. Come inside and give Mamm the news.”
She started toward the door, but he caught her hand and pulled her back. “Not so fast. We have unfinished business.”
She grinned at him. “What business would that be?”
“You haven’t said when you will marry me. I’m not leaving this spot until I have an answer.”
Miriam wrapped her arms around his neck. “In that case, we could be here all night.”
“I’m in favor of that.” He lowered his head. Miriam had a moment to thank God for His mercy and goodness before Nick’s kiss made her forget everything but the wonder of his love.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of The Promise of Home by Kathryn Springer!
Dear Reader,
I hope that you enjoyed A Home for Hannah. So many of you have asked me to tell Nick’s story. I’m happy to oblige. He and Miriam had a rocky relationship, but God has a plan for us all, even when we can’t see it.
Coming next will be another story about Hope Springs. In December, look for A Hope Springs Christmas. Sarah Wyse, the Amish widow who works in the fabric store, is about to discover she has a knack for matchmaking. But does she know that love has been living next door to her for years?
Shy buggy maker Levi Beachy is in need of a wife, but he doesn’t know it. It’s up to his sister and his mischief-
making twin brothers to find one for him. Can Sarah help? Yes, she can, but finding the perfect wife for Levi may just involve finding the perfect mate for herself, too.
Love springs eternal in Hope Springs.
Many blessings to you and yours.
Patricia Davids
Questions For Discussion
Miriam could not forgive Nick for his part in her brother’s death. Without forgiveness there can be no healing. How can we learn to forgive the hurts of others?
Do you think Miriam was right when she said it is easy to say you have forgiven someone when actually meaning it is much harder? Why or why not?
Why do you read Amish fiction? What is the attraction?
At what point did you begin to see Nick was the man Miriam might love again?
I love reunion stories. How did this reunion story differ from others that you have read?
What new information, if any, did you learn about the Amish in this story?
Providing foster care is a calling. Have you considered fostering a child or pet? Why or why not?
Bella makes a good nanny dog. Have you had a dog that was good with kids? What was his or her name? Share about your pet.
What concept that the Amish embrace do you find the hardest to understand? Shunning? No phones? No electricity? Why?
Have you visited an Amish community? What did you enjoy about it? What did you find disappointing about it?
Miriam felt a lifetime of good works might make up for the one mistake she made in not giving her brother the note from his girlfriend. Can good works make up for mistakes? In our eyes? In God’s eyes?
Nick was Miriam’s first love. Do you remember your first love? Why didn’t it work out? Or did it?
Do you think Nick and Miriam can work out a happy future with two demanding careers? Why? Why not?
Are you likely to read more Amish romances?
Is there someone you need to forgive?
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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Chapter One
“Please follow the highlighted route—”
Jenna Gardner tapped the tiny screen on the GPS and silenced the voice of her invisible navigator once and for all. Not only because the high-tech gadget seemed to be as confused as she was by the tangled skein of roads winding around Mirror Lake, but because Jenna was tempted to take its advice.
She wanted to follow the highlighted route right back to her condo in the Twin Cities.
“You passed it, Aunt Jenna!”
A panicked cry reminded her that going home wasn’t an option. Not for awhile, anyway.
Jenna glanced in the rearview mirror. Once again, she experienced a jolt at the sight of the two children in the backseat.
Silver blond hair. Delicate features. Wide blue eyes.
Jenna had met Logan and Tori for the first time only three days ago. The children were practically strangers.
Strangers who were the mirror image of her younger sister, Shelly, as a child.
For a split second, Tori met Jenna’s gaze. Then she buried her face in the tattered scrap of pink flannel that doubled as a blanket.
Jenna pressed her lips together to prevent a sigh from escaping.
One step forward, two steps back, she reminded herself. The five-year-old girl was adjusting to the idea of having an aunt the same way Jenna was getting used to the idea of having a niece and nephew.
“You have to turn around,” Logan insisted.
“Are you sure?” Jenna tipped her Ray-Bans down and tried to peer through the hedge of wild sumac that bordered the road. “I don’t see anything.”
“Uh-huh. It’s back there.” Logan, the self-appointed spokesman for the two siblings, nodded vigorously.
Under the circumstances, Jenna was willing to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. She put the car in reverse and began to inch backwards.
In Minneapolis, a dozen horns would have instantly chastised her for the move. But here in the north woods of Wisconsin, the only complaint Jenna heard came from a squirrel perched on a branch near the side of the road. More than likely voicing its opinion on her presence rather than her driving skills.
She spotted a wide dirt path that could have been—if a person possessed a vivid imagination—a driveway.
Pulling in a deep breath, Jenna gave the steering wheel a comforting pat as she turned off the road. Her back teeth rattled in time with the suspension as the vehicle bumped its way through the potholes.
Logan leaned forward and pointed to something up ahead. “There it is.”
Well, that explained why Jenna had driven right past it.
She’d been looking for a house.
The weathered structure crouched in the shadow of a stately white pine looked more like a shed. Jenna’s gaze shifted from the rusty skeleton of an old lawn mower to the faded sheets tacked up in the windows.
Oh, Shelly.
Why hadn’t her younger sister admitted that she needed help? Why hadn’t she accepted Jenna’s offer to move in with her after Logan was born?
Throughout her pregnancy, Shelly had claimed that she and her musician boyfriend, Vance, planned to marry before the baby arrived. But when Jenna had visited her eighteen-year-old sister in the maternity wing of a Madison hospital, there hadn’t been a ring on Shelly’s finger. Not only that, she’d been alone. Faced with a choice, Vance had decided that a gig at a club in Dubuque was more important than being present for the birth of his child.
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