Her Amish Suitor's Secret (Amish 0f Serenity Ridge Book 3)

by Carrie Lighte

  As she tucked the money away, a man called her name through the screen door. It was Henry, and his round face was more serious than she’d ever seen it. After she joined him on the porch, he said, “There’s something that’s been weighing on my heart lately and I can hardly bear it any longer. I need you to listen carefully before you tell me neh.”

  Ach! Is he going to ask to court me? “Okay, I’ll try.”

  “This spring I, uh... I was hunting by Paradise Point and I saw something—someone. I saw two people, a man and a woman, and they were digging—”

  Rose gasped. So he had heard what she’d yelled about the coins yesterday, even though afterward he’d feigned ignorance. “You know about the thieves, don’t you?”

  “Jah.” He hung his head. “After Eleanor told me about the FBI interviews, I did some research at the library. I felt so bad when I read about the man from the museum being suspended from his job. I wanted to speak up, but I was afraid—I’d already been in trouble with the game warden for hunting after hours. I rationalized that since the FBI didn’t question me directly, I didn’t need to report what I saw. But I felt so guilty I sent an anonymous note, a clue. I was constantly worried about you and the twins. I kept trying to return to the Point to see if the coins were there. I figured once they were gone, I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.”

  “Oh! So that’s why you kept hanging around. I thought it was because...”

  “Because I liked you? Eleanor may have told you that, but frankly, Rose, you’re kind of old for me,” he said, which made her giggle. “Besides, I thought Caleb was secretly courting you—until yesterday when you called out to him on the lake, I didn’t know he was connected to the coins. He has the same name as the man from the museum—Miller. It’s a common name, but...are they related? Is he... Is Caleb Englisch?”

  Rose nodded, confirming Henry’s guess. After the summer she’d had, she was only mildly surprised by what Henry had confided. “I hope you feel better now that you’ve gotten that off your chest.” I also hope I can convince you not to tell the leit that Caleb isn’t Amish. Rose wanted to protect his identity, at least until he left Serenity Ridge.

  “A little,” he said. “But I think it’s time I talk to the law enforcement agencies... And I think, uh—”

  “Jah, of course. I’ll go, too.” It was easy for Rose to complete his thought; she’d been thinking the same thing all morning. “You do understand we might get in trouble with the law for not coming forward sooner, right?”

  “Gott is sovereign. We’ll ask for Him to work everything out to His glory and our gut.”

  They agreed to go to the police station together after church. Rose couldn’t wait to tell Caleb herself.

  * * *

  Caleb stared out the window, astounded. He’d just gotten off the phone with Ryan, who’d called to report the FBI had apprehended “Julia” and her partner on the other side of Relaxation Rock. Apparently, the agency had been biding its time to catch the two thieves red-handed so prosecutors wouldn’t have to rely on the testimonies of reluctant Amish witnesses in court.

  “Was she someone you knew at work?”

  “Nope. She posed as a temporary cleaning lady. She didn’t have a key card but apparently she used mine. That’s why the agents thought I was involved. Supposedly she’s known to be quite the master of disguise.”

  I’m not, Caleb thought mournfully after he ended the call with his brother. He was watching sunlight dance on the water, imagining Rose heading to church alone in the buggy, when she appeared at his door. Before he could even cross the tiny room to open it, she was telling him Henry was the person who had sent the anonymous note and that they both intended to go to the police. Caleb shook his head in protest, but Rose insisted.

  “It’s my turn to help you and your familye the way you’ve helped me and mine.”

  “That’s very thoughtful, but it’s not necess—”

  “I want to do it, Caleb. I should have gone yesterday. I’m so sorry I didn’t.” Her eyes welled with contrition.

  “Neh, I mean it’s not necessary to do. They caught the thieves on the other side of the lake. Ryan’s name has been cleared.”

  “That’s wunderbaar!” Rose exclaimed and promptly burst into tears. At first Caleb thought she was overwrought with relief, but when she covered her face with her arm and cried so hard she gasped, it seemed the most natural thing in the world for Caleb to draw her to his chest.

  “Rose? What is it?”

  “Gott forgive me but I can’t stand the thought of being without you in my life,” she wailed, holding on to him as tightly as she’d clung to the life vest the day before. Or maybe he was the one clinging to her.

  “Does that mean you’ve forgiven me?”

  Rose dropped her arms and took two steps back. In the moment before she answered, Caleb wondered whether she could hear his heart imploding. Then she looked him in the eye and said the one word that would change everything between them.

  “Jah.”

  Epilogue

  After the wedding service, Abram and Jaala wished Rose and Caleb blessings in their marriage. “I probably shouldn’t say this because I don’t want to embarrass him,” Abram confided, “but I knew Caleb’s secrets from the start.”

  “You knew he was Englisch?” Rose wondered why the deacon hadn’t warned her.

  “Neh. I knew he cared deeply for you and the girls. I knew what a hard worker he was and that he desired a stronger relationship with Gott.”

  “He hasn’t changed much since then,” Rose said, squeezing her husband’s hand. “Except for becoming Amish, I mean.”

  “And I hardly ever forget when to take my hut off or put it on anymore,” Caleb joked.

  After Abram and Jaala went to the dessert table, Nancy and Sol approached. “You’re looking strong,” Rose said to her uncle.

  “Selling you and Caleb the camp was one of the best decisions we ever made. My health is better, I’m closer to the clinic and Nancy is hallich to be living near her sisters again. Even the meed have adjusted well, especially because they get to kumme back here and help you during the summers.”

  When Nancy and Sol excused themselves, Liam came over and announced, “I like this hochzich, Ant Rose. And your haus.”

  “Denki,” she said. “Who taught you to speak Deitsch?”

  “Onkel Caleb.”

  “Your accent is even better than his was when he first came here.”

  Liam looked at Rose with big eyes. “Will people think I’m Amish, too?”

  “Neh,” Caleb told his nephew. “We’ll make sure they know from the start you’re Englisch. We don’t want to trick anyone, do we?”

  “Neh, but I still need to learn more words so I can talk to the other kids when I come here to go camping in the spring.”

  “I know someone who can help you with that,” Caleb said. He touched Rose’s elbow. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to introduce him to David and Elizabeth Swarey.”

  Meanwhile, Rose’s mother sidled up beside her. “Such a beautiful smile you’re wearing,” she said, cupping her daughter’s chin in her hand.

  “Denki, Mamm,” she said. It’s the smile of a woman who has no regrets...

  * * *

  If you enjoyed this story in Carrie Lighte’s

  Amish of Serenity Ridge miniseries,

  be sure to read these previous books:

  Courting the Amish Nanny

  The Amish Nurse’s Suitor

  Available now from Love Inspired!

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from The Nanny’s Amish Family by Patricia Johns.

  Dear Reader,

  If you’ve ever eaten wild Maine blueberries—the state’s official fruit—you know they’re smaller, sweeter and often darker blue than cultivated ber
ries. There’s evidence to suggest they’re more nutritious, too, although all blueberries are abundant in antioxidants.

  If you’ve picked them, you’re aware wild blueberries grow on shrubs that are lower to the ground than their cultivated or “highbush” cousins. In Maine, wild berries are traditionally harvested manually with rakes to avoid bruising.

  And if you’ve grown them, you’ve learned that wild blueberry bushes thrive by spreading out over large surface areas of gravelly soil (which, as Rose mentioned, is why her aunt and uncle could only grow cultivated berries on their farm by Serenity Lake).

  But I’ll let you in on a little secret I discovered about wild Maine blueberries the summer I was writing this book: they taste absolutely amazing with goat cheese on panini. You have got to try it!

  Blessings,

  Carrie Lighte

  WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM

  Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.

  Fall in love with stories where faith helps guide you through life’s challenges, and discover the promise of a new beginning.

  6 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!

  The Nanny's Amish Family

  by Patricia Johns

  Chapter One

  Thomas Wiebe pushed himself to his feet and headed toward the side door to look out at the warm August evening. Low, golden sunlight washed over the grass, and birds twittered their evening songs. His jittery nerves didn’t match the peaceful scene. The social services agent who had come by the night before had said that they’d be here by seven, and it was a quarter past already.

  “Stop fussing, Thomas,” Mammi said, pulling a boiling kettle from the woodstove. Her crisp, white kapp was a shade brighter than her white hair. “She’ll come.”

  Thomas glanced back at his family in the kitchen. They weren’t all blood relatives, but this was as close to family as he had left in the community of Redemption, Pennsylvania. His older brother, Noah, sat with a glass of lemonade in front of him, his straw hat on the table. Thomas and Noah were both old enough to be married with families of their own by now, but not having found the right wife meant that they stayed here with Uncle Amos—an honorary uncle, not a biological one—and his elderly grandmother. It was a house filled with men, as Mammi described it.

  And any minute now, Thomas’s daughter would be joining them... His daughter. He’d known about her, but he’d never been given the option to be in her life. Thomas had made a mistake with an Englisher girl on his lengthy Rumspringa, and the breakup had been messy. Tina wanted nothing more to do with him. It wasn’t that he forgot about his daughter, but he’d accepted that heartbreak as part of the consequences for his mistakes. Coming back home to Redemption four years ago was supposed to be his new start. But when a social services agent came to his house last night and told him of a fatal car accident that killed his daughter’s mother, everything had changed.

  His daughter, Rue, was now coming to live with him after never having met him even once in her young life. Would she hate him just a little? He wouldn’t blame her. But at the age of four, he wasn’t sure how much she’d even understand about her new situation.

  Outside, a car rumbled up the drive, and Thomas pulled open the screen door and stepped out onto the raised patio next to the house. A clothesline full of men’s pants and shirts flapped in a warm breeze.

  Thomas waited while the car stopped, the door opened and the social services agent from yesterday got out. She shot Thomas a smile and waved. She was an older woman, plump and pleasant. Tanya Davis, she’d said.

  “Good evening, Mr. Wiebe!” Tanya called.

  Thomas would do just fine, but he didn’t trust himself to speak just yet. He came down the steps toward the car and glanced back to see Noah and Amos in the door. Tanya opened the back door to the car and leaned in, undoing the buckles from a children’s car seat. Then she backed out again, followed by a small, frail child.

  The little girl stood there, a teddy bear clutched in front of her. She wore a pair of pink pants and a ruffled purple T-shirt. Her hair was stringy and blond, and she looked around herself with large, frightened blue eyes. She reminded him of a bedraggled bird.

  Thomas came closer, unsure if he’d scare her or not.

  “Hello,” he said in English. He wasn’t very eloquent in English... But then he wasn’t very eloquent in German, either.

  The little girl looked at him, silent.

  “I’m your daet, it would seem,” he said slowly. Then he realized she might not know the word. “I’m your...father.”

  “Hello, Mr. Wiebe.” Tanya held out a hand and Thomas shook it. “Shall we go inside? Maybe you’re hungry, Rue,” Tanya said quietly, smiling down at the girl, then glancing up at Thomas.

  “Yes, Mammi has made some sticky buns. She thought you might like that,” Thomas said.

  He turned around and led the way to the house, feeling that strange distance between himself and that little girl behind him. Rue had never met him, but he’d also never had a chance to even see her... He’d been a daet, but until this very moment, it had been theoretical. How was he supposed to do this—be a daet to an Englisher child? There was a time he thought he could be an Englisher himself, but that was when he was young and foolish, and he’d forgotten that it wasn’t possible to change what a man was born to.

  Tanya brought Rue indoors, and introductions were made. Amos. Noah. Mammi. Mammi’s name was Mary Lapp, but she was never called Mary in this house. Rue stared silently around the room, looking stricken. Thomas sank down to his haunches in front of her.

  “Hello, Rue,” he said quietly.

  “Hello...” she whispered.

  “This is all very new, isn’t it?” he said.

  “Yes. I want my mommy...” Tears welled in her eyes, and Thomas reached out and patted her shoulder.

  “Have you had a...daddy...before?” He hesitated over the English word. Had Tina moved on with another Englisher man? That was what he was asking.

  “No, never,” she whispered. His heart clenched. How much wrong had he done in that woman’s life? He’d known better, and he wouldn’t ever completely forgive himself for the way he’d conducted himself in that relationship.

  “You’ll call me Daet,” he said softly. “And I’ll take care of you. You’ll be safe and happy here, yah?”

  Rue wiped her eyes on her teddy bear and looked hesitantly around the kitchen again. Her bright pants and T-shirt were in stark contrast to their plain clothing.

  “Where’s the TV?” Rue whispered.

  “We don’t have a TV,” he said.

  “How come?” She frowned, peering past him as if he were hiding it somewhere, and Thomas couldn’t help but smile.

  “Because we’re Amish, Rue. You’ll get used to our ways.”

  It didn’t seem to be the right thing to say because Rue’s eyes filled with tears again, and he looked helplessly toward Amos and Noah. He wasn’t quite so comforting for the little girl as he’d hoped, and he didn’t know how to cross that divide.

  “Thomas, pick her up,” Mammi said, waving a hand at him. “She’s just a tired little thing, and she needs to be held.”

  Thomas looked hesitantly around, and when Tanya nodded her approval of the idea, he gently picked Rue up and rose to his feet. She was light and small in his arms, and when he gathered her close, she leaned her little head against his shoulder and exhaled a shaky sigh. It was then that he felt it—that wave of protective love.

  “All right, then,” he murmured. “All right, then.”

  “Are you all set up for Rue to stay?” Tanya asked.

  “Yes, she’ll sleep in a little bed in Mammi’s bedroom,” Amos said, speaking up. “Mammi—” He hesitated. “That is, Grandma to us. So the child won’t be alone.”

  “I’ll take care of her with the washing and dressing and such,” Mamm
i said. “She’ll be well cared for.”

  “And we have another young woman coming to help,” Amos added. “She’ll arrive in a few minutes to meet Rue.”

  “It sounds like you’re prepared, then,” Tanya said. “I’ll go get Rue’s suitcase from the trunk.”

  The older woman disappeared out the door, the screen clattering back with a bang.

  “So, the new schoolteacher said she’d help?” Thomas asked, shooting Uncle Amos a questioning look.

  “She did,” Amos replied. “I’m sorry, I meant to tell you. She’s a nice young woman, too. You should take note—with a child, it’s high time you get a wife.”

  As if Thomas could even think about courting right now. He looked down into Rue’s pale little face. The delicate skin under her eyes looked almost bruised from lack of sleep, and he reached up and brushed her hair away from her forehead. He was still taking her in, looking her over, trying to see himself in that little face. He could see her mother there—the hair, the eyes. Was he there, too? He must be, but it was hard to tell.

  There was a tap on the door and Amos went to push open the screen. Thomas looked up, expecting to see the social services woman again, but this time a young Amish woman stepped inside. She wore a purple dress, and her apron was gleaming white. Her hair was golden—the part he could see before it disappeared under her kapp—and she smiled hesitantly, looking around the kitchen.

  “This is Patience Flaud,” Amos said. “She’ll be teaching school here starting in September, and she’s staying with the Kauffmans.”

  Hannah and Samuel Kauffman lived on the next acreage over, and Hannah and Mammi were good friends—they had coffee together at least twice a week and they’d been known to help each other out with canning and washing days.