A Promise of Grace

by Lynette Sowell

  Steven was nowhere to be found at the ceremony. Rochelle suspected he was somewhere helping prepare fish for the wedding meal to follow in the late afternoon.

  He’d heal up and would be blessed with a wife at the right time.

  Would she be Lena, the daughter of Rochelle’s heart? No one knew. In the meantime, he had his beloved boat and charters.

  Lena moved closer to Rochelle, slipping her arm around Rochelle’s.

  “You had a beautiful wedding,” she whispered.

  “I thought so.”

  “Thank you for making my dad so happy.”

  Rochelle nodded. “He has made me happy, too.”

  They fell silent as the wedding continued. The streets surrounding the park swelled with people, wanting to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom.

  A wedding in Pinecraft didn’t often happen.

  Rochelle never imagined hers would happen here. But so it did. She glanced up at Silas, her husband, and squeezed his hand.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Rochelle’s hands trembled as she handed the house key to Betsy. “Here. I know you’ll take good care of the place.”

  “You have our promise we will.”

  “And the freezer in the garage, it’s quit working, and I haven’t figured out what to do with it—”

  “We’ll dispose of it properly.” Betsy glanced past Rochelle’s shoulder. “Aenti Chelle.”

  The women embraced, and Rochelle willed the tears away.

  “I’ll write. Maybe I’ll even call. Let me know as soon as you can, when the baby, he or she, arrives.” Rochelle smiled down at the first signs of new life growing inside her niece.

  Betsy nodded as Thaddeus stood at her side. “We will.”

  “Rochelle . . .” The sound of her name on Silas’s tongue sent a happy shiver down her spine. “We need to leave now if we’re to make our connecting flight.”

  “I know, I know. I didn’t think it would be so . . . so hard.”

  “Thaddeus.” Silas shook hands with Thaddeus.

  “We’ll be praying for you, brother.”

  “Thank you.” Silas’s smile was warm as he gazed at Rochelle. “Before we say good-bye a dozen more times, we must go.”

  “We’ll see you again, God willing.”

  “Gotte willing.” Betsy waved as Rochelle and Silas drove away.

  The lump in Rochelle’s throat swelled as Silas maneuvered the car through Pinecraft’s streets. The last few weekends of the winter season still made the village’s population feel a bit crowded.

  Someone—one of the Lapp brothers—was attaching a flier to a corner light pole on Fry Street.

  Even from the van windows, Rochelle read the notice someone had painstakingly written in precise black lettering on a plain piece of paper: SINGING TONIGHT AND HAYSTACK SUPPER, PINECRAFT PARK.

  She would miss everything about this dear place. Nellie Bontrager, pedaling her three-wheeled cycle, waved, then slowed down to meet up with a trio of women chatting on the opposite street corner.

  “I know you’re a little sad.” Silas reached across the space between them and squeezed her hand.

  “I’m happy, too, you know. About you and me. Overseas. How much good we can both do. I feel like I’m waking up from a dream, but oh, what a sweet dream it’s been. And yet, it didn’t have you.” She’d had a ton of convincing to do—convincing herself she wasn’t taking up where Belinda left off, and she wasn’t trying to make Silas’s dream her own, just so she could have him.

  “I loved Belinda, but she wasn’t you.”

  “We won’t go down the road again. It’s time to go forward.” She tried not to look wistfully at the palm trees.

  Pinecraft had helped her grow up, by encouraging her to spread her wings and run her own business, yet stay true to her Plain faith. Silas coming to Pinecraft had taught her about grace, truly forgiving. Surely, some in the village might talk about their “hasty” betrothal and swift wedding beside Betsy and Thaddeus. However, the seed had lain dormant for decades.

  “Pinecraft will always be here.”

  “I know. We’re only leaving for a year, but it feels like it’ll be longer.”

  They now arrived at the Bahia Vista traffic light and Big Olaf’s Ice Cream parlor. Rochelle wanted to ask Silas to stop the van so they could get one more taste before leaving.

  Instead, she kept silent and allowed her last glimpses of the village, of the Plain people—her people—walking its sunny streets, to etch themselves into her memory.

  Glossary

  Ach-—oh

  Aenti—aunt

  Bruder—brother

  Daadi—grandfather

  Daed—father

  Danki—thank you

  Dochder—daughter

  Englisch—non-Amish

  Gotte’s wille—God’s will

  Gut—good

  Kaffi—coffee

  Kapp—prayer covering

  Kind—child

  Kinner—children

  Mamm—mom

  Mammi—grandma

  Mudder—mother

  Nein—no

  Onkel—uncle

  Ordnung—set of rules for Amish living

  Rumspringa––running around; time before an Amish young person has officially joined the church, provides a bridge between childhood and adulthood

  Ya—yes

  Group Discussion Guide

  1. Who was your favorite character in A Promise of Grace? Explain why this character appealed to you?

  2. Both Rochelle and Belinda experienced deep grief as young women. What can you do to help a grieving friend?

  3. Silas is finding it hard to let go of his maturing children. What would you suggest to him to make the transition easier?

  4. Rochelle decides to go back to school and finish her nursing studies. If you had the chance to go back to school, what would you study?

  5. One of Rochelle’s gifts is hospitality. What are some of your favorite at-home activities to enjoy with family and friends?

  6. If you could give Emma (or Betsy) some pre-wedding advice, what would it be?

  7. Silas feels conflicted about an ideal job opportunity. Have you ever had to make a difficult choice when it comes to a job?

  8. Rochelle’s advice to Emma backfires—or so she thinks. Talk about a time you gave a friend or family member a bit of advice and it didn’t turn out like you expected.

  9. Both Rochelle and Silas realized they still feel the effects of past hurts. What do you do when you discover you still need to work on extending grace to someone who’s hurt you?

  10. What was your favorite scene in A Promise of Grace? Why did that scene stand out for you?

  Want to learn more about author

  Lynette Sowell and check out other great

  fiction from Abingdon Press?

  Check out

  www.AbingdonFiction.com

  to read interviews with your favorite authors, find tips

  for starting a reading group, and stay posted on what

  new titles are on the horizon. It’s a place to connect

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  comment about this book.

  Be sure to visit Lynette online!

  https://www.facebook.com/lynettesowellauthor

  We hope you enjoyed Lynette Sowell’s A Promise of Grace. If you haven’t read the first two books in the Seasons in Pinecraft series, please check out A Season of Change and A Path Made Plain. Here’s a sample from A Season of Change.

  1

  We’re having ice cream at Christmas time, Daed?” Zeke Miller trotted alongside his father on the pavement, trying to keep up with Jacob’s pace. The boy would definitely sleep well tonight; he’d barely stopped since he’d gotten off the Pioneer Trails bus and tumbled into the Florida sunshine.

  “Yes, we are. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? We’re definitely a long way from home.” Jacob rubbed the top of his son’s head. At only
five, Zeke didn’t comprehend the idea of ice cream in winter. His sister, Rebecca, a dozen paces ahead of them, pranced alongside her cousins. The sound of the children’s giggles drifted on the air.

  Jacob slowed his steps to match Zeke’s five-year-old stride. Their figures made long shadows as they strode toward Big Olaf’s Ice Cream Parlor. The December twilight came early, even in Sarasota.

  To Jacob, the words Christmas and ice cream didn’t belong in the same sentence. And he certainly never thought he would be entertaining the children’s eager pleas to ride the bus to the beach on Christmas Day. But, here they were, nestled in Sarasota’s winter haven called Pinecraft.

  “We’re here, we’re here!” Rebecca giggled, and stumbled. “Ach.” She stopped long enough to stick her foot back into the pink plastic flip-flops, a gift from her cousin Maybelle.

  Jacob shook his head over his daughter wearing the sandals, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth anyway. As soon as they’d all climbed off the immense travel bus and stepped onto the parking lot of Pinecraft’s Mennonite Tourist Church, the surroundings seemed to draw them in. The children burst with energy after being stuck on a bus for two days, save for a stop here and there to stretch their legs or pick up more passengers. The more distance between Ohio, the more passengers on the bus.

  At first the novelty of riding on a mechanized vehicle had the children enthralled with the speed they traveled and the levers that brought the seats forward and backward, but eventually even Rebecca fidgeted and squirmed in her seat. Bored, as all the children soon became.

  Jacob sympathized, but instead of running like a child would, he stared at his surroundings, the rows of homes both large and small, the orange and grapefruit trees in front yards. And the palm trees, of course.

  He’d never had the opportunity to visit Florida, even after his grandparents bought a home here in Pinecraft. He hadn’t seen the practicality of cramming himself on a bus and traveling hundreds of miles only to do the same two weeks later. Finally, however, desperation had won out over practicality.

  He’d only seen photos of palm trees, only heard about members of his Order using tricycles for transportation instead of horse and buggy. No room for horses in a city. His own grandfather rode an adult-size tricycle with a large basket, peddling fruit for sale to tourists.

  Zeke’s grin lit his face and he pulled his hand from Jacob’s grasp, trotted ahead to catch up with his sister and cousins.

  Here, hundreds of miles from Ohio’s fields and the cabinet factory where Jacob worked, his children laughed like they hadn’t in six months. This made him smile, too, though his heart still hurt.

  Hannah, gone so soon. When they were younger, they’d exchanged glances across the room on Sundays until he found the nerve to talk to her at a singing. Then they married when he was but twenty-three and she eighteen. They’d both vowed to embrace their Order and planned to be married as long as the Lord allowed. Which had turned out to be a mere eight years.

  Hannah’s third pregnancy had been much harder than the first two, and even modern technology hadn’t saved her when the midwife urged him to allow the Englisch physicians to stabilize her at an Englisch hospital. The boppli, another son they’d named Samuel, had come too early. No one could have warned Jacob how difficult it was to carry a double load of grief. Their days together were finished on this earth, but Jacob found himself asking, Why?

  He caught sight of his brother waiting for him at the sidewalk’s edge. “The Yoders are arriving on the last bus before Christmas,” Ephraim said.

  The loaded statement snapped Jacob out of his pondering. A good thing. He was moving on, as he should. But he could still feel the emptiness in his bed every night Hannah wasn’t there. Even though Mammi had given him the twin air mattress to sleep on while visiting in Florida, Jacob’s memories and the children’s chatter in the living room kept him awake at night. In his grandparents’ snug home, filled with Millers in every nook and cranny, Jacob’s lone state set him apart.

  “That’s what Daadi said after supper tonight.” Jacob knew where Ephraim’s small talk was headed, straight to Betsy.

  “Betsy Yoder is coming with her parents, too.” Ephraim glanced his way. “She told Katie at our last Sunday meeting they’ll be here just in time for Christmas.”

  “It will be nice to see her and her family.” Jacob tugged on his suspenders. Not too much farther, and they’d be at the Bahia Vista stoplight. A hint of a chill drifted on the breeze, waving the fronds of a nearby palm tree.

  “Nice? Is that all you can say, it’ll be ‘nice’ to see Betsy?”

  “She’s a nice girl. Smart, pretty, and she bakes really gut pie. She’ll make someone a gut wife someday. A little on the tall side, though.” Jacob paused, and Ephraim did as well. “Happy now?”

  “You need to talk to her, not just hang back in the corner like you’re a mute.”

  “I’m not ready to talk to her. Not yet.”

  “Don’t wait too long. She likes you, and she told Katie so. She’s wondering why you keep staring at her and never saying anything.”

  “Like I said, I’m not ready. I don’t know if I ever will be. I’m grateful to you and Katie for everything you’ve done for me, especially Katie helping with the children. I can do my own mending. Rebecca has become a good little housekeeper.” Jacob felt his neck growing hotter with every footstep closer to the ice cream shop.

  “I know that. And Katie and I are glad to help you. But it’s time. Your children need a mother, and you a helpmate.”

  “Stop pushing me, Ephraim. I know what you’re trying to say.” Jacob continued the few steps to the street corner and the Bahia Vista stoplight. He didn’t want the children to try to cross the busy street alone. They weren’t used to watching out for traffic, not like this, anyway. They would make a few trips into town back in Ohio, but the town was far smaller than Sarasota and its infinite worldliness. The traffic, the constant reach of everything not-Plain into his Plain world. He didn’t always understand how Plain people could live in the middle of it all. Life in Ohio felt much more in control.

  Right. He almost laughed. Nothing had been in control since Hannah had left him. Left them all.

  Ephraim kept silent, and Jacob knew he’d probably aggravated his brother.

  God knew he’d accepted Hannah’s death, and little Samuel’s as well. The wounds inside him had scabbed over. Every so often, though, the pain would resurface and catch him when he wasn’t paying attention, like the one time he’d cut his hand with a band saw when he was distracted at the cabinet shop. He couldn’t help but pick at the scab as it healed.

  He expelled a sigh before continuing. “Ephraim, I promise, after we leave Pinecraft, once we’re home again, I’ll go on. I don’t know if it’ll be with Betsy Yoder, but I’ll think about it.” Jacob figured he’d give his brother a shred of a promise. But he couldn’t explain to Ephraim the restlessness he felt. His world was the same after losing Hannah and Samuel. His job at the cabinet factory, his home with the rooms Hannah had kept so spotless and filled with joy. Yet, his whole world had changed with the hole Hannah had left. If only an ice cream cone could help him forget his grief for a few minutes.

  In sharp contrast to the tropical colors around them, their group stuck out like proverbial sore thumbs as they stood at the traffic lights and waited. Cars crisscrossed at the intersection. Big Olaf’s ice cream parlor lay just across the street from them at the light.

  Jacob sucked in a breath. He still hadn’t grown accustomed to the traffic that zoomed through the heart of the Pinecraft neighborhood, and almost wished he had stayed back at the house with Mammi Rachel.

  He wasn’t scared of honking traffic, and ignored the pointing and stares as they crossed the street—tourists, Mammi assured him. The locals didn’t mind the novelty of seeing the Amish and accepted the village as part of the city.

  Jacob didn’t want the children to see his reluctance to venture to the edge of the block. Everyth
ing in Florida was so . . . different from Ohio. Yes, different. That was the best word. But he could understand loving the scent of the ocean, the warmth during winter time when all far away to the north was quickly freezing over.

  The children scurried into Big Olaf’s and Jacob followed as they gathered at the ice cream shop counter, Zeke and Rebecca with their cousins, clutching their money as they decided what ice cream they wanted. True to form, Rebecca changed her mind at least three times before choosing her flavor. That would have earned her a gentle scolding from Hannah. The thought made Jacob smile.

  “I thought you wanted a cone,” Jacob said as Rebecca turned to face him with a dish of vanilla ice cream, covered with chocolate sauce and nuts.

  “I did. But then I decided I wanted to take my time while I eat. You can’t take your time eating ice cream cones, you know,” she replied and grinned at him, the blue of her eyes matching the fading blue of the evening sky. Hannah’s eyes.

  Jacob tugged on one of her braids. “Truthful girl, you are.”

  They all turned to leave. Even Ephraim and Katie had ordered ice cream. But not for him. Jacob shared his son’s disbelief at the idea of eating ice cream at Christmas. And walking in shirtsleeves to the corner ice cream shop.

  They carefully crossed the road and began to meander back into the neighborhood and safety.

  “I forgot a spoon!” Rebecca exclaimed and whirled back toward Big Olaf’s. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Mind the road,” Jacob called out. “Wait, I’ll walk with you.” He strode back toward Rebecca and the corner.

  “Oh, Daed, I’m not a baby. I can watch for the light and look for cars.” Rebecca’s long skirt swished a few inches above her ankles. Not too many years from now, she’d be putting her hair up under her prayer covering. Jacob wasn’t ready for that.

  Just six paces behind her, Jacob saw the light turn. Rebecca kept her focus on the ice cream in the dish and then glanced up at Big Olaf’s across the street.