An Amish Harvest Read online

  OTHER NOVELS BY THE AUTHORS

  BETH WISEMAN

  AMISH SECRETS NOVELS

  Her Brother’s Keeper

  Love Bears All Things

  (Available October 2016)

  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

  OTHER 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 (Available February 2017)

  AMY CLIPSTON

  THE AMISH HEIRLOOM SERIES

  The Forgotten Recipe

  The Courtship Basket

  (Available July 2016)

  THE HEARTS OF THE LANCASTER GRAND HOTEL SERIES

  A Hopeful Heart

  A Mother’s Secret

  A Dream of Home

  A Simple Prayer

  THE KAUFFMAN AMISH BAKERY SERIES

  A Gift of Grace

  A Promise of Hope

  A Place of Peace

  A Life of Joy

  A Season of Love

  A Plain and Simple Christmas Naomi’s Gift

  OTHER NOVELLAS

  A Spoonful of Love included in An Amish Kitchen

  A Son for Always included in An Amish Cradle

  Naomi’s Gift included in An Amish Christmas Gift Love Birds included in An Amish Market

  KATHLEEN FULLER

  THE AMISH OF BIRCH CREEK

  A Reluctant Bride

  An Unbroken Heart

  A Love Made New (Available September 2016)

  THE MIDDLEFIELD AMISH NOVELS

  A Faith of Her Own

  THE MIDDLEFIELD FAMILY NOVELS

  Treasuring Emma

  Faithful to Laura

  Letters to Katie

  THE HEARTS OF MIDDLEFIELD NOVELS

  A Man of His Word

  An Honest Love

  A Hand to Hold

  OTHER NOVELLAS

  A Miracle for Miriam included in An Amish Christmas

  A Place of His Own included in An Amish Gathering

  What the Heart Sees included in An Amish Love

  A Perfect Match included in An Amish Wedding

  Flowers for Rachael included in An Amish Garden

  A Gift for Anne Marie included in An Amish Second Christmas

  A Heart Full of Love included in An Amish Cradle

  VANNETTA CHAPMAN

  THE AMISH VILLAGE MYSTERY SERIES

  Murder Simply Brewed

  Murder Tightly Knit

  Murder Freshly Baked

  THE SHIPSHEWANA AMISH MYSTERY SERIES

  Falling to Pieces

  A Perfect Square

  Material Witness

  OTHER NOVELLAS

  Where Healing Blooms included in An Amish Garden

  An Unexpected Blessing included in An Amish Cradle

  Love in Store included in An Amish Market

  OTHER AMISH NOVELLA COLLECTIONS

  An Amish Christmas

  An Amish Gathering

  An Amish Love

  An Amish Wedding

  An Amish Kitchen

  An Amish Miracle

  An Amish Garden

  An Amish Second Christmas

  An Amish Year

  An Amish Market

  Copyright © 2016 by Elizabeth Wiseman Mackey, Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller, Vannetta Chapman

  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 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. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

  Poems “The Autumn” and “How Do I Love Thee” (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning are in the public domain.

  Poem “Sonnet LIV” (Sonnet 54) by William Shakespeare is in the public domain.

  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.

  ePub Edition © July 2016: ISBN 978-0-5291-1976-6

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Wiseman, Beth, 1962-author. Under the harvest moon. | Clipston, Amy, author. Love and buggy rides. | Chapman, Vannetta, author. Mischief in the autumn air. | Fuller, Kathleen, author. Quiet love.

  Title: An Amish harvest: four novellas / Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Vannetta Chapman, Kathleen Fuller.

  Description: Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016008308 | ISBN 9780529118530 (paperback)

  Subjects: LCSH: Christian fiction, American. | Amish—Fiction. | Romance fiction, American. | Pennsylvania—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS648.C43 A46 2016 | DDC 813/.01083823—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016008308

  16 17 18 19 20 21 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

  CONTENTS

  Under the Harvest Moon

  BY BETH WISEMAN

  Glossary

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Love and Buggy Rides

  BY AMY CLIPSTON

  Glossary

  Featured Amish Heirloom Series Characters

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  A Quiet Love


  BY KATHLEEN FULLER

  Glossary

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Mischief in the Autumn Air

  BY VANNETTA CHAPMAN

  Glossary

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Recipes

  Recipes from Under the Harvest Moon

  Recipes from Love and Buggy Rides

  Recipes from A Quiet Love

  Recipes from Mischief In the Autumn Air

  Under the Harvest Moon

  Beth Wiseman

  To Sharon Hanners

  GLOSSARY

  ab im kopp—off in the head; crazy

  ach—oh

  bruder—brother

  daadi—grandfather

  daed—dad

  dochder—daughter

  Englisch—non-Amish person

  frau—wife

  gut—good

  kapp—prayer covering

  kinner—children

  lieb—love

  maedel / maed—girl(s)

  mamm—mom

  mammi—grandmother

  mei—my

  mudder—mother

  nee—no

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

  Wie bischt—How are you? / Howdy

  ya—yes

  Prologue

  Naomi squeezed concealer into the palm of her hand, then gingerly dabbed it beneath her eye, smoothing it into her skin until the black circle was almost invisible. If anyone said anything, she’d feign lack of sleep and ask the Lord to forgive her lie. Again.

  Growing up, Naomi’s father had rarely laid a hand on her and never in anger. Maybe twice she’d received spankings for acting out, but he’d never hit her in the face. In the beginning, it was confusing why Stephen seemed to take out his frustrations on her, but her husband was a good man. Stephen was a hard worker, a pillar in their community, and a handsome man whom others took notice of when they were out and about. He was a good father too. He wasn’t like other Amish husbands who left all the child-rearing to their wives. Stephen played with the children, and when they were infants, he’d even changed a few diapers.

  They’d married when Naomi was seventeen, and over the past nine years, she had come to think that the problem must be her. She’d done her best to be a proper wife, even though she wasn’t a very good cook and her housekeeping skills could only be described as mediocre. But having two young children kept her busy, along with the list of daily chores that Stephen encouraged her to keep up with.

  Naomi leaned closer to the mirror in the bathroom, proud that she’d learned how to apply the Englisch makeup she’d found at the market. It had taken several purchases before she’d found the color that matched her pale skin almost perfectly. She jumped when there was a knock at the door and quickly stashed the tube in the pocket of her apron, in case she needed a touch-up between worship service and the meal.

  “You ready?”

  She opened the door, faced her husband, and smiled. “Ya. All ready.”

  Stephen looked at her, and for a few seconds, she thought maybe she hadn’t done a good enough job covering the black remnant of their argument a few days ago. But Stephen kissed her on the cheek, stepped back, and smiled.

  “You are the most beautiful woman ever born. I’m a blessed man to have you as mei frau.” He pushed back a wayward piece of hair that had fallen from beneath her prayer covering, a gesture that used to make her jump. But she’d learned long ago that being timid only angered Stephen, so she’d trained herself not to flinch or cringe, no matter what might be coming.

  “Danki,” she said. “I’m a blessed woman to have you also.”

  He grabbed her hand and together they went downstairs. Abby and Esther Rose were sitting on the couch, dressed and ready for church. It would be a grand day of fellowship and worship, and like always, Naomi would ask God to help her be a better wife, someone who didn’t anger her husband so often.

  Naomi followed Stephen and the girls down the porch steps, knowing her pace would be slow today, and probably for the next couple of weeks. A broken rib tended to slow a person down.

  Chapter One

  Four months later

  Naomi stood beside Stephen’s headstone; wooden and plain like the rest of the unmarked graves in the Amish cemetery. Her husband was laid to rest next to Adam, the baby Naomi had lost in her second trimester the year before. She and her children would make their final resting place here also, their souls journeying on to heaven where they’d all reunite someday. Stephen would be a different man by the time they got there. God would see to that. For now, Naomi would continue to bring her girls to the cemetery as often as she could.

  “Do you think Daed can see us?” seven-year-old Abigail said. “Do you think he is with baby Adam? Do kids have toys in heaven?” Naomi’s father had once remarked jokingly, “That one’s going to keep you on your toes. She’s wise beyond her years and would question a grape if it could talk back to her.”

  “I don’t know. What do you think?” Naomi pulled her black sweater snug atop her black dress and apron. She’d be glad to shed her mourning clothes for brighter colors, although she wasn’t sure when it would be appropriate to do so. Her mother had said the choice was hers, but if that had truly been the case, Naomi would have chosen to wear a maroon dress, symbolic of the fall harvest that would soon be upon them. Even though she had no idea how she would bring in the crops Stephen had planted months ago.

  “I think Daed and baby Adam can see us and hear us from heaven, and that they are together. And I just know there will be toys in heaven!” Abby smiled brightly, unbothered by the fact that there was a black hole where her two front teeth had been until recently. Her oldest daughter had dimples that made her always look happy, even if she wasn’t smiling. Abby was the only person in the family with curly, blond hair and blue eyes. Everyone else had dark hair, on both sides of their families, except for one of Naomi’s cousins whose hair was red and her eyes green.

  Naomi wasn’t sure if Stephen and Adam could hear and see them, she only hoped her husband couldn’t read her thoughts. She folded her arms across her stomach. It saddened her that Abby, Esther Rose, and the child she now carried would grow up without a father—but it was hard not to feel a sense of relief.

  Esther Rose sat down in the overgrown grass by Stephen’s headstone. As she’d done a dozen times before, Esther Rose put her hand on the earth where her father was buried and said, “I miss you, Daed.” Then she did the same thing where Adam was laid to rest.

  Naomi’s five-year-old hung her head, and she suspected that tears were forming in the corners of her daughter’s eyes.

  “But remember, Daed and Adam are with Jesus now.” Naomi wondered how much Esther Rose would remember about the brother she’d lost and the father they’d buried four months ago. Naomi’s earliest memories ran back to when she was five, and she hoped her younger daughter would remember her father for the good man
the child believed him to be.

  “We must go now. Mammi is coming by later this morning.” Naomi looked forward to her mother’s visits, which had become more frequent since Stephen’s passing. No one said it aloud, but it was obvious that people were waiting for Naomi to either get remarried or have a nervous breakdown following the loss of her husband at such a young age. If they only knew. Some days, Naomi could picture God looking down on her and shaking His head at the wicked thoughts that trolled through her mind. But for the past four months, Naomi had felt more at peace than she had in years. It was awful to think that way, but she was getting reacquainted with a life she barely remembered. She no longer had to worry if the meat was undercooked, the pasta oversalted, or a host of other things that might set off her husband. She could stretch to the ceiling if she felt like it and hang clothes on the line without a pinching pain in her side. She could skip certain chores and opt to play with her children instead.

  She placed a hand on her stomach again, knowing that with each pregnancy, Stephen had kept away from her for fear of hurting each unborn child. He could control his temper, she’d come to learn. He just didn’t want to or need to unless she was with child. When she’d been pregnant with Esther Rose, her husband had put a hole through the wall with his fist and also thrown a trinket box that had belonged to Naomi’s grandmother across the room, smashing it into tiny slivers of wood.

  But Stephen had nothing to do with Adam being called home before his life had a chance to begin. Not even the doctor had a good explanation, saying only that a small percentage of miscarriages happen in the second trimester. But amid the whirlwind of emotions she’d felt about Stephen’s passing, fear had reared its ugly head in a different way. She didn’t think she could bear losing another baby.

  Naomi and her girls returned home from the cemetery later that morning, but it wasn’t her mother waiting on the front porch, it was her father. A rare visit for a Tuesday morning. As Naomi walked across the yard toward him, Esther Rose and Abby almost knocked her over, blowing past her and into their grandfather’s arms. Her parents would be excited to hear she was having another child, but she hadn’t shared the news with anyone yet. Even at five months, her pregnancy was easy enough to hide beneath her baggy dresses. At first, she’d wanted to wait until she felt more certain she would carry her baby to term, or at least longer than she’d carried Adam. Then Stephen died, and it just didn’t seem like the right time to celebrate this new life. Sadness still fell over her when she recalled miscarrying her son. It was the only time she’d seen Stephen cry. She would tell her parents about this baby soon.