Hearts in Harmony Read online

  ACCLAIM FOR BETH WISEMAN

  HEARTS IN HARMONY

  “Beth Wiseman has penned a poignant story of friendship, faith, and love that is sure to touch readers’ hearts.”

  —Kathleen Fuller, author of The Middlefield Family novels

  “Beth Wiseman’s Hearts in Harmony is a lyrical hymn. Mary and Levi are heartwarming, lovable characters who instantly feel like dear friends. Once readers open this book, they won’t put it down until they’ve reached the last page.”

  —Amy Clipston, bestselling author of A Seat by the Hearth

  AMISH CELEBRATIONS

  “Wiseman’s (Amish Secrets) collection of timeless stories of love and loss among the Plain People will delight fans of the author’s heartfelt story lines and flowing prose.”

  —Library Journal for Amish Celebrations

  HOME ALL ALONG

  “Beth Wiseman’s novel will find a permanent home 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 ½ 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 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

  OTHER BOOKS BY BETH WISEMAN

  THE AMISH SECRETS NOVELS

  Her Brother’s Keeper

  Love Bears All Things

  Home All Along

  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

  NOVELLAS

  A Choice to Forgive included in An Amish Christmas

  A Change of Heart included in An Amish Gathering

  Healing Hearts included in An Amish Love

  A Perfect Plan included in An Amish Wedding

  A Recipe for Hope included in An Amish Kitchen

  Always Beautiful included in An Amish Miracle

  Rooted in Love included in An Amish Garden

  When Christmas Comes Again included in An Amish Second Christmas

  In His Father’s Arms included in An Amish Cradle

  A Love for Irma Rose included in An Amish Year

  Patchwork Perfect included in An Amish Year

  A Cup Half Full included in An Amish Home

  The Cedar Chest included in An Amish Heirloom

  The Gift of Sisters included in Amish Celebrations

  A New Beginning included in Amish Celebrations

  A Christmas Miracle included in Amish Celebrations

  When Love Returns included in An Amish Homecoming

  ZONDERVAN

  Hearts in Harmony

  Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Wiseman Mackey

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

  ISBN: 978-0-310-09882-9 (library edition)

  Epub Edition January 2019 9780529119056

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Wiseman, Beth, 1962- author.

  Title: Hearts in harmony / Beth Wiseman.

  Description: Nashville : Zondervan, [2019] | Series: An Amish Journey novel ; 1

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018043689| ISBN 9780529105400 (paperback) | ISBN 9780529119056 (epub)

  Subjects: | GSAFD: Love stories. | Christian fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3623.I83 H435 2019 | DDC 813/.6--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018043689

  Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version Bible.

  Any internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

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

  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.

  Printed in the United States of America

  19 20 21 22 23 / LSC / 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  To Karen Desroches, for being my friend when I

  needed one and for gifting me with Renee, the best

  BFF a girl could ever have. RIP, sweet Karen.

  GLOSSARY

  ach: oh

  Ausbund, the: songbook

  boppli: baby

  bruder: brother

  daadi: grandfather

  daadi haus: grandparents’ house

  daed: dad

  danki: thank you

  Englisch: those who are not Amish; the English language

  fraa: wife

  Gott: God

  gut: good

  haus: house

  kapp: prayer covering worn by Amish women

  kinner: children

  Liedersammlung, the: songbook

  maedel: girl

  mamm: mom

  mammi: grandmother

  mei: my

  mudder: mother

  nee: no

  Ordnung, the: 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.

  rumschpringe: “running around”; the period of time when Amish youth experience life in the Englisch world before making the decision to be baptized a
nd commit to Amish life

  schweschder: sister

  sohn: son

  Wie bischt?: Hello; how are you?

  ya: yes

  CONTENTS

  Acclaim for Beth Wiseman

  Other Books by Beth Wiseman

  Glossary

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  A Note from the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Discussion Questions

  About the Author

  PROLOGUE

  Dear Diary,

  I had never been to an Englisch funeral before today. I’ve only been to one funeral, when Uncle John died last year. But I’m only ten so maybe that’s why.

  This funeral was different from Uncle John’s. There were a lot of flowers inside the church and people singing. I liked the singing even though I’m not supposed to. We don’t sing the way the Englisch do. And nobody plays instruments, but a lady at the church played a big one with tall pipes. It looked a little like a piano, but Mamm said it was an organ.

  The man’s family left his coffin half open. I’m not sure why. When an Amish person dies, you can see the whole body. The man was old, but they tried to make him look young, and it didn’t look right. His fraa cried a lot. Everyone followed in cars and buggies to the cemetery. There were almost as many buggies as cars. Daed said it’s because the dead man was kind to our people and a man of the Lord. Daed had done work with him, I think. Mamm mostly says we are unequally yoked with the Englisch. That means we shouldn’t be around them too much. But sometimes it’s okay.

  When we got to the Englisch cemetery, I saw big fancy headstones and even more flowers. A man like our bishop said prayers at the cemetery. He was the same man who talked at the church.

  Then everyone went to the dead man’s haus to eat. It looked like a farmhouse on the outside, but not on the inside. Mamm said it was old and had been restored, but I don’t know much about Englisch houses. It was fancy inside with pretty furniture and pictures on the wall. People still cried, but not as much. Except for the dead man’s fraa. She cried a lot. She’s old too.

  After everyone ate, the girls and ladies helped the old woman clean things up, then people started to leave. We were one of the last buggies still left there because not as many of the Englisch people stayed to help clean up. It was mostly our people from Montgomery, and there were some Amish families from a place I’ve never heard of. Orleans. Mamm said it is a small town forty miles away from Montgomery. I guess maybe that’s why we’ve never been there. Even a strong horse can only pull a buggy twenty miles before it needs a good long rest.

  Finally, it was time to go home, and I was glad. I prayed for the sad fraa and that her husband was in heaven. But I felt like my heart hurt through it all. I don’t like to be sad, and I felt sad for everyone. Especially the dead man’s wife. Her name was Adeline. I like that name.

  Mei mamm, daed, and Lydia were in the buggy when I remembered how far it was home. Daed doesn’t like to stop during trips, so I had to run back inside to go to the bathroom. I didn’t want to see the sad lady—Adeline—so when I saw her on the porch talking to people, I hurried past her.

  When I got in the haus, it was quiet, and I didn’t see anyone. I walked down a hallway, and that’s when I heard music. I could only hear it a little. I still hadn’t found the bathroom, but maybe whoever was making the music could help me find it. I slowed down when I could tell the music was coming from behind a closed door. I pressed my ear against the door to hear better. I liked the sound of it and wanted to listen longer. But I needed to find the bathroom so I opened the door. This room was even more fancy than the rest of the haus, and it had a pretty red couch and matching chair and shiny tables.

  I think I might have made a noise like a gasp because the boy stopped playing the piano right away and stood up. He was taller than me, but I think he was my age. There are four boys my age at our school. He looked the same size.

  I’d never seen one of our people play an instrument, and the boy had played the piano like he had been doing it his whole life. Maybe music is allowed where he’s from. I knew he wasn’t from Montgomery.

  But when the boy asked if I was going to tell on him, then I knew music must not be allowed where he lived either. I told him I wouldn’t tell. And I won’t. He’s the cutest boy I’ve ever seen. He has blond hair and pretty eyes.

  He told me his name is Levi and that he lived in Orleans. I told him my name is Mary and that I lived in Montgomery, and I asked if he wanted to be friends. He shrugged and said we lived too far away from each other. I asked if he wanted to write me a letter. My cheeks felt hot when I asked him that. He shrugged again, then said ya. I found a piece of paper on a table by the piano, and then I found a pen. I wrote down my address. It was the first time I’d given a boy my address.

  He asked me again if I was going to tell on him. I shook my head. My stomach felt funny, all swirly. Then he waved and left. He was gone before I even asked him where the bathroom was. But I knew I would check my mailbox every day.

  CHAPTER 1

  EIGHT YEARS LATER

  Is Adeline dying?” Mary Hershberger recalled her trip to the Englisch funeral when she was ten. She’d been to plenty of funerals since then—Amish and Englisch—but she dreaded every single one she attended. The Englisch focused more on the life the person led while on earth. Mary’s people praised Gott’s goodness more than they reflected on the person who had passed. Both ceremonies always left her with a deep sense of sadness that she would hold on to for weeks. She’d been taught to accept all things as Gott’s will, even death, but she struggled with that part of her faith.

  “I don’t know.” Daed flicked the reins a couple times, picking up speed in the buggy. “The fellow at the hardware store told me Adeline is having an estate sale. From the conversation, I sensed maybe she is in a bad way financially. So, I will try to find things we can use.” He shrugged. “But I will buy things whether or not we need them. We can give to those less fortunate if need be.”

  Mary hadn’t heard her father speak of Adeline or her deceased husband—Percy—in years. But Percy must have been a very gut man if her father was willing to go twenty miles to purchase things they might not even need just to help Adeline. Thankfully it was May, and the heat of the summer wasn’t upon them yet. During the middle of the summer, they had to stop at least twice for such a long trip. Mary couldn’t recall a trip to Shoals since Percy Collins’s funeral eight years ago.

  “Remember to call the woman Ms. Collins. The Englisch find it improper to call an adult by their first name, especially an elderly person.”

  Mary fought the urge to roll her eyes, a gesture that would surely irritate her father. “I know, Daed.”

  His eyes wrinkled in the corners as he grinned. “Just a reminder.”

  Mary smiled. She was eighteen, old enough to get married, but her father still saw her as a little girl.

  They passed a sign that said Welcome to Shoals. Not much looked familiar as they drove down Main Street, then wound through a neighborhood, before turning down a dirt lane. Rows of freshly tilled crops lined both sides of the road, corn seedlings sprouting from the dark soil. In the distance, Mary saw Adeline’s house. Ms. Collins, she reminded herself. As they neared the white farmhouse, memories filled the forefront of Mary’s mind. She recalled the brightness of the house, the pristine yard filled with flowers, and an old blue car in the driveway.

  She glanced at her fathe
r’s expression, the lines deepening on his forehead as he frowned. From the sight of things now, Adeline must have fallen upon hard times like her father mentioned. The formerly white house was grayer now, badly in need of fresh paint. The green grass needed mowing, and there wasn’t a car in the driveway. Mary wondered if the inside of the house was the same.

  “I should have checked on Adeline over the years.” Her father winced as they neared the house.

  Mary remembered the fancy furniture inside, and she wondered if Adeline would be selling all of her things or maybe just some furnishings. What Mary most remembered about that trip was the boy playing the piano. The cute Amish boy who never wrote to her like he said he would. But they were just children. She couldn’t even remember his name, which seemed odd since she could recall so many other details from that day, along with the sadness that lingered in her heart for weeks after the funeral. She hadn’t even known Percy Collins.

  Levi Shetler had six brothers and three sisters, but he was always the one nominated to take his mother on errands. Today he was carting her twenty miles to an estate sale. They’d spent most of the journey from Orleans to Shoals in silence, his mother occasionally commenting about the weather and what a lovely day it was. Levi had nodded and continued on the trek, but he regretted that he’d had to change his plans for today. “Why are we going all this way to an estate sale?”

  “Because Adeline is a fine woman. Until about a year ago I would see her at the Rural King in Bedford every week. She liked the store because of its hodgepodge of farm supplies, tools, clothes, and housewares. But mostly she liked the free popcorn.” His mother chuckled. “She enjoyed eating it while she looked around.”

  His mother turned to him and sighed. “I can tell you aren’t happy about taking me to this estate sale, but that woman never left the store without buying something from me. And on really cold days when I was set up in the parking lot, she’d bring me a thermos of coffee, and I’d sit in her car to warm up for a while. I always enjoyed our chats.”

  Levi kept the horse’s pace slow and steady to limit the bounce in the buggy. His mother had arthritis that gave her fits, and he knew this was a hard trip for her to make, even as a passenger. He drew in a long breath and reminded himself to be respectful, despite his disappointment.