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  ACCLAIM FOR BETH WISEMAN

  Home All Along

  “Beth Wiseman’s novel will find a permanent in every reader’s heart as she spins comfort and prose into a stellar read of grace.”

  —KELLY LONG, AUTHOR OF THE PATCH OF HEAVEN SERIES

  Love Bears All Things

  “Suggest to those seeking a more truthful, less saccharine portrayal of the trials of human life and the transformative growth and redemption that may occur as a result.”

  —LIBRARY JOURNAL

  Her Brother’s Keeper

  “Wiseman has created a series in which the readers have a chance to peel back all the layers of the Amish secrets.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4 1/2 STARS AND JULY 2015 TOP PICK!

  “Wiseman’s new launch is edgier, taking on the tough issues of mental illness and suicide. Amish fiction fans seeking something a bit more thought-provoking and challenging than the usual fare will find this series debut a solid choice.”

  —LIBRARY JOURNAL

  The Promise

  “The story of Mallory in The Promise uncovers the harsh reality American women can experience when they follow their hearts into a very different culture. Her story sheds light on how Islamic society is totally different from the Christian marriage covenant between one man and one woman. This novel is based on actual events, and Beth reached out to me during that time. It was heartbreaking to watch those real-life events unfolding. I salute the author’s courage, persistence, and final triumph in writing a revealing and inspiring story.”

  —NONIE DARWISH, AUTHOR OF THE DEVIL WE DON’T KNOW,

  CRUEL AND USUAL PUNISHMENT, AND NOW THEY CALL ME INFIDEL

  “The Promise is an only too realistic depiction of an American young woman motivated by the best humanitarian impulses and naïve trust facing instead betrayal, kidnapping, and life-threatening danger in Pakistan’s lawless Pashtun tribal regions. But the story offers as well a reminder just as realistic that love and sacrifice are never wasted and that the hope of a loving heavenly Father is never absent in the most hopeless of situations.”

  —JEANETTE WINDLE, AUTHOR OF VEILED FREEDOM (2010 ECPA CHRISTIAN

  BOOK AWARD/CHRISTY AWARD FINALIST), FREEDOM’S STAND (2012 ECPA

  CHRISTIAN BOOK AWARD/CAROL AWARD FINALIST), AND CONGO DAWN (2013

  GOLDEN SCROLL NOVEL OF THE YEAR)

  The House that Love Built

  “This sweet story with a hint of mystery is touching and emotional. Humor sprinkled throughout balances the occasional seriousness. The development of the love story is paced perfectly so that the reader gets a real sense of the characters.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4-STAR REVIEW

  “[The House that Love Built] is a warm, sweet tale of faith renewed and families restored.”

  —BOOKPAGE

  Need You Now

  “Wiseman, best known for her series of Amish novels, branches out into a wider world in this story of family, dependence, faith, and small-town Texas, offering a character for every reader to relate to . . . With an enjoyable cast of outside characters, Need You Now breaks the molds of small-town stereotypes. With issues ranging from special education and teen cutting to what makes a marriage strong, this is a compelling and worthy read.”

  —BOOKLIST

  “Wiseman gets to the heart of marriage and family interests in a way that will resonate with readers, with an intricately written plot featuring elements that seem to be ripped from current headlines. God provides hope for Wiseman’s characters even in the most desperate situations.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4-STAR REVIEW

  “You may think you are familiar with Beth’s wonderful story-telling gift but this is something new! This is a story that will stay with you for a long, long time. It’s a story of hope when life seems hopeless. It’s a story of how God can redeem the seemingly unredeemable. It’s a message the Church, the world needs to hear.”

  —SHEILA WALSH, AUTHOR OF GOD LOVES BROKEN PEOPLE

  “Beth Wiseman tackles these difficult subjects with courage and grace. She reminds us that true healing can only come by being vulnerable and honest before our God who loves us more than anything.”

  —DEBORAH BEDFORD, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HIS OTHER WIFE, A ROSE BY THE DOOR, AND THE PENNY (COAUTHORED WITH JOYCE MEYER)

  The Land of Canaan Novels

  “Wiseman’s voice is consistently compassionate and her words flow smoothly.”

  —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW OF SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART

  “Wiseman’s third Land of Canaan novel overflows with romance, broken promises, a modern knight in shining armor, and hope at the end of the rainbow.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS

  “In Seek Me with All Your Heart, Beth Wiseman offers readers a heartwarming story filled with complex characters and deep emotion. I instantly loved Emily, and eagerly turned each page, anxious to learn more about her past—and what future the Lord had in store for her.”

  —SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SEASONS OF SUGARCREEK SERIES

  “Wiseman has done it again! Beautifully compelling, Seek Me with All Your Heart is a heartwarming story of faith, family, and renewal. Her characters and descriptions are captivating, bringing the story to life with the turn of every page.”

  —AMY CLIPSTON, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A GIFT OF GRACE

  The Daughters of the Promise Novels

  “Well-defined characters and story make for an enjoyable read.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS ON PLAIN PURSUIT

  “A touching, heartwarming story. Wiseman does a particularly great job of dealing with shunning, a controversial Amish practice that seems cruel and unnecessary to outsiders . . . If you’re a fan of Amish fiction, don’t miss Plain Pursuit!”

  —KATHLEEN FULLER, AUTHOR OF THE MIDDLEFIELD FAMILY NOVELS

  ALSO BY BETH WISEMAN

  THE AMISH SECRETS NOVELS

  Her Brother’s Keeper

  Love Bears All Things

  THE DAUGHTERS OF THE PROMISE NOVELS

  Plain Perfect

  Plain Pursuit

  Plain Promise

  Plain Paradise

  Plain Proposal

  Plain Peace

  THE LAND OF CANAAN NOVELS

  Seek Me with All Your Heart

  The Wonder of Your Love

  His Love Endures Forever

  OTHER NOVELS

  Need You Now

  The House that Love Built

  The Promise

  Home All Along

  © 2017 by Elizabeth Wiseman Mackey

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

  Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

  Scripture quotations are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION, public domain and the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

  Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

&nbs
p; Names: Wiseman, Beth, 1962- author.

  Title: Home all along / Beth Wiseman, Beth Wiseman.

  Description: Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson, [2017] | Series: An Amish secrets novel ; 3

  Epub Edition August 2017 ISBN 9781401686017

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017017661 | ISBN 9781401685973 (softcover)

  Subjects: LCSH: Amish--Fiction. | Life change events--Fiction. | GSAFD: Christian fiction. | Love stories.

  Classification: LCC PS3623.I83 H66 2017 | DDC 813/.6--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017661

  Printed in the United States of America

  17 18 19 20 21 LSC 5 4 3 2 1

  To Cake and Icing Lovers Everywhere

  PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH GLOSSARY

  ab im koff—off in the head, crazy

  ach—oh!

  aenti—aunt

  boppli—baby

  bruder—brother

  daadi haus—grandparents’ house, usually a smaller dwelling on the same property

  daed—dad

  danki—thank you

  Die Botschaft—Amish newspaper; translated it means “The Message”

  dochder—daughter

  Englisch, Englischer—a non-Amish person

  fraa—wife

  Gott—God

  gut—good

  haus—house

  kaffi—coffee

  kapp—prayer covering or cap

  kinner—children

  maedel—girl

  mamm—mom

  mei—my

  mudder—mother

  nee—no

  Ordnung—the written and unwritten rules of the Amish; the understood behavior by which the Amish are expected to live, passed down from generation to generation. Most Amish know the rules by heart.

  Pennsylvania Deitsch—the language most commonly used by the Amish. Although widely known as Pennsylvania Dutch, the language is actually a form of German (Deutsch).

  rumschpringe—running-around period when a teenager turns sixteen years old

  sohn—son

  Wie bischt—How are you? or Hi there

  wunderbaar—wonderful

  ya—yes

  Contents

  Acclaim for Beth Wiseman

  Also by Beth Wiseman

  Pennsylvania Dutch Glossary

  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

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  One

  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

  Charlotte pulled her black sweater snug and looked around at the people in attendance for her mother’s funeral, a final good-bye to the woman Charlotte only thought of as Janell despite their shared genes. Almost everyone at the service was Amish, except for a couple of people from the psychiatric hospital where Janell had resided for the past three months. Was it obligatory for someone from the rehab facility to attend or, at the least, considered polite protocol?

  Bursts of sunlight penetrated a cloudless blue sky as orange, yellow, and red leaves swirled within a gentle breeze, misting the small crowd. As a groundskeeper fought to corral the fallen leaves into a pile, a tractor in the distance harvested a corn maze in which Charlotte wished she could get lost.

  Janell had fled four days ago, apparently found her drug of choice, and overdosed. At least that was what the autopsy results would most likely reveal. She had been found on the outskirts of Lancaster County, lying on the steps of a small church with a syringe in her hand. Preliminary toxicology reports showed large doses of methamphetamine in her system—enough to stop her heart, the doctors said. It would remain a mystery as to how Janell ended up at the church, but Charlotte prayed that she’d brought Jesus into her heart before she left this life.

  Janell had been an abusive mother, whom Charlotte had tried to love after reconnecting with her a few months ago. She knew her mother’s mind wasn’t right, but even after Janell had been weaned off the drugs, she spat abuse like a snake, poisoning anyone who came near her with a large dose of verbal venom.

  Charlotte wasn’t sure if her mother’s passing was unintentional, or if she’d committed suicide, like Ethan. She couldn’t help but worry since she had the same DNA makeup as the rest of her family. A father killed in a barroom brawl. A mother hooked on meth with mental problems and a mean streak. And a brother whose heart was too tender to endure heartbreak, so he’d taken his own life. I miss you every day, Ethan.

  Trembling, she forced herself not to cry. A part of her wanted to weep for the mother she’d never had, but stifling her tears protected her from an onslaught of emotions that might derail her. Despite her odious childhood, a few tender memories crept to the surface, comingling loss and anger into a knurly ball of grief.

  Daniel reached for her hand and squeezed, a particularly endearing gesture since the Plain People weren’t big on public displays of affection. Charlotte loved him for embracing her shaky hand at that moment, but she also loved Daniel Byler for the many ways he’d calmed her soul since she moved to Paradise, in the heart of Lancaster County.

  A few moments after the pastor said the final prayer, Hannah Miller and her new husband, Isaac, walked up to Charlotte and Daniel. Hannah’s face was moist, her cheeks flushed. Charlotte eased her hand from Daniel’s to hug her. Hannah didn’t really know Janell, so Charlotte was surprised by the outpouring of emotion, something else uncommon to her Amish friends.

  Hannah held on to Charlotte like her life depended on it. She finally backed away as her bottom lip trembled. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Charlotte nodded, sniffling. Hannah was her best friend, but if anyone knew that Janell’s passing was causing Charlotte to have mixed emotions, it was Hannah. And ultimately, the Amish believed that everything that came to pass was God’s will.

  “Where are your parents?” Charlotte had noticed that Amos and Lena weren’t at the funeral, which was odd.

  “They said they are sorry they can’t be here.” Hannah reached into the pocket of her apron, pulled out a tissue, and dabbed at her eyes.

  Charlotte waited for Hannah to give her a reason for their absence, but Hannah just hugged her again, then turned and left. Isaac tipped his hat before they both walked away.

  “Do you think Hannah is acting funny?” she asked Daniel, staring into the comfort of his soft gray eyes, his broad shoulders a protective shield from the early morning rays of sunshine.

  He shrugged. “People handle death in different ways.”

  “I guess.” Charlotte wanted to fall into Daniel’s arms. Not only would it be inappropriate, but the bishop was heading their way.

  Bishop Miller offered his condolences to Charlotte before he asked to speak to Daniel privately. Michael Miller, a man in his early forties, was the youngest bishop Daniel’s district had ever had. As such, he was thought to be more lenient than past bishops and elders in the community.

  Charlotte knew more about the Amish folks than she could have ever thought possible. Most of them had welcomed her into their world, although some slower than others.

  Daniel walked with Bishop Miller until they were away from the crowd and out of earshot. The bishop sighed as he ran a hand the length of his dark beard, slowing his stride as he turned to face Daniel. “Today is not the right time, but I feel we must talk, Daniel. Can y
ou come visit with me within the week?”

  Daniel swallowed hard. Bishop Miller had only been bishop for a year, and so far he’d been fair. But Daniel feared that an ultimatum was heading his way. “Ya. Okay.” He squinted from the sun’s glare, not wanting to prolong the conversation. He searched the area until he saw Charlotte talking with his mother and sister. “Can we just talk now?”

  Bishop Miller nodded. “Ya. Then we can follow up at another time if you’d like.” He paused, stroking his beard again. “I took note of those in attendance today, and they were mostly our people. Charlotte has become a member of our district without being a member at all. She’s not even Amish, yet she seems to be living the lifestyle.”

  Frowning, the bishop raised one shoulder, taking his time to drop it. “But she only practices some of our ways. She has no electricity, but she drives a big red pickup. She attends our worship services every other week, but she hasn’t been baptized into the faith. And the entire community knows a romance is kindling between the two of you.”

  Daniel stood taller, his jaw tensed, ready to defend Charlotte’s reputation if necessary.

  Bishop Miller chuckled. “Calm down, Daniel. I know what it’s like to be in love, and I know that you and Charlotte are abiding by God’s rules as you sort through your emotions. But I feel that it’s time for her to consider what she wants. She can’t have her cake and eat it too, as the Englisch would say.”

  “Ya, ya. I know.” Daniel eased his stance and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he scratched his head. “She lives in her bruder’s haus, and it didn’t have electricity when it was left to her after his death.”

  Daniel had felt comfort in the fact that Charlotte hadn’t chosen to put electricity in. At first her decision had been financial, but she’d been at her proofreading job at the newspaper long enough that Daniel suspected she could have installed power if she’d wanted to. “As for the worship services . . .” He sighed. “Hannah and her parents are Charlotte’s family, and I think she wants to share in that fellowship with them.”

  Bishop Miller smiled. “Back in my father’s and grandfather’s days, an Englischer would not be allowed to worship with us on a regular basis. And if a young lad was courting someone in the outside world, he could have expected a good talking-to. But I’ve let this go on between you and Charlotte because the poor girl has suffered, and I was hoping that the two of you would figure things out. But I fear the time has come to make decisions. If a situation goes on for too long, it becomes the norm, and I can’t allow that.”