D Is for Daisy

Book 0: Amish ABCs

by Shelley Shepard Gray

Genres: Amish & Mennonite; Christian Anthologies & Collections; Clean & Wholesome Romance

Synopsis

Newcomers are always welcome in the rural Amish community of Walden, Ohio, but in this heartwarming inspirational romance from beloved New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Shelley Shepard Gray, a 50-something couple planning for early retirement learn even the simple life can sometimes be complicated. For fans of Beverly Lewis, Amy Clipston, and Charlotte Hubbard—and anyone who enjoys wholesome, uplifting stories about faith, family, and love.

Early retirement never sounded so good to Mervin and Ruthie Miller. After a lifetime in Millersburg, where Mervin worked at a furniture and shed factory and Ruthie helped out at a fabric store, they have exciting plans: They’re going to become “Amish Gentlemen Farmers.” That means buying a 30-acre, ramshackle farm, and all that comes with it—no matter what their grown children, friends, and aching muscles think . . .

Aaron Miller is worried about his parents, but there’s little he can do now that he lives in Kentucky and has a baby on the way. Then his childhood best friend, Kyle Burkholder, makes a heaven-sent offer: he’ll move in with Aaron’s parents to teach them about raising cows and chickens, and even give weekly reports to Aaron.

The arrangement is going well—until Kyle stumbles upon Daisy Lapp who’s just been in a bicycle accident. When he visits her in the hospital, he knows there’s something special between them. So does Daisy. But her something special is the fact that Kyle lives on the farm she’d always dreamed of buying one day. She knows it’s wrong, but she’s jealous. She wants nothing to do with Kyle and politely tells him so.

Still, like the Millers, Kyle’s not one to give up easily. Not on himself, not on the farm, and certainly not on Daisy. With dedication and a leap of faith, the lives they envisioned just might come true . . .

Release date: June 30, 2026

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

April

There was no doubt about it. Her expensive, beautiful, metallic-blue electric bike was something of a mistake. Daisy had known that from practically the moment that she’d taken her first test drive in the back parking lot of Jonny Schrock’s bicycle shop.

It wasn’t Jonny’s fault either. He was as laid-back, no-pressure a salesman as one could ever hope to interact with.

Unfortunately, the problem was all hers. She’d gone shopping in a snit because the beautiful, gorgeous, perfect farm that she’d been saving up to buy forever had been snapped up from under her. And by an aging, yet engaging couple who she couldn’t even dislike.

Mervin and Ruthie Miller were excited about farming in their “second season.” They were looking forward to new experiences and fulfilling their dreams.

Daisy was happy for them. She really was. She just wished they’d picked a different parcel of land on which to follow their dreams. That piece was supposed to have been hers. She’d chatted with the owners, Samuel and Rachel Burkholder about it for years.

She’d cut out pictures of improvements she’d wanted to make. She’d worked at Melissa’s bulk store for years in order to get the down payment. It was hard to forget about the many, many hours she’d carried around heavy cartons, dealt with Saturday sales, and haggled with customers who didn’t even want to pay the discounted prices Melissa charged. She’d had to do all of that for forty hours a week.

Plus, Melissa wasn’t even nice.

To make matters worse, she’d been so close to being able to buy the Burkholders’ property. Well, Daisy had been just two years away—if she didn’t up and quit working for Melissa like she privately threatened to do every month—when suddenly her goal was gone. Out of her grasp.

Like a really pleasant, swoony dream when she was a princess and a really handsome guy was her prince because he had a secret herd of fancy sheep. Yeah. It was like she’d been having a dream that was so good. So good! Until she woke up.

Samuel Burkholder hadn’t even seemed all that guilty when she cornered him, either. He pretended he didn’t remember his promises to her. And then, when that didn’t work, he pretended he couldn’t hear her protesting.

When all that happened—and yes, it was a lot—she’d walked down to Landon Bike Shop. She’d decided that the only reason she was still working for Melissa was because she could walk to work. But if she had a bike, she could work somewhere else and learn to be happy there.

Once inside, she test drove three models, and then bought the best one. For cash. Handsome Jonny Schrock was so pleased with the sale he’d thrown in a free bike helmet.

It was simply too bad that she was now experiencing buyer’s remorse. Big-time.

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy the Aventon Aventure 3 step-through e-bike. It rode like a dream and the nifty solar-powered converter that Jonny sold her worked like a charm. She could ride anywhere she wanted with ease.

It was just that she couldn’t seem to get the hang of the thing.

And, perhaps, that she had a terrible habit of gazing at pastures instead of the road while she rode. Which was why cars often honked at her and more than one person had forced her to listen to their well-intentioned advice.

It was also why just two minutes ago she’d been riding along, spied a pair of newborn lambs, braked too hard, and lost control of her new bicycle. She went flying into the fence, and her bicycle went sliding into the ditch.

“Oh my word! Are you okay?”

She blinked. Tried to discover the identity of the speaker, but everything was fuzzy.

“Huh?”

The speaker knelt beside her. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he said softly. “You’re not alone. Can you move?”

At last, Daisy focused. The speaker was a man. A blond, tan, gorgeous, prince-like man. He was Amish, had a smooth, caring voice and a slight Southern accent.

Though that didn’t make sense. Usually her dream-prince had dark hair and was riding a horse. Was she not dreaming after all?

“Mmmm,” she said.

His brown eyes widened just before he stood up and yelled something to a car that had just stopped.

“Jah. We need an ambulance. She fell. I don’t know. I just saw her go down and came running over. My name? Kyle. Kyle Hostetler. What? Oh. Okay. Yes. That makes sense. Thanks.”

Kneeling back down beside her, he said, “That was an Englischer. He’s on his phone and calling for help. An ambulance should be here shortly.”

An ambulance? Those were expensive. “Nee. Don’t do that.”

“Sorry, but it’s already done. And you’re bleeding. I’m not exactly sure where you’re bleeding from, but I don’t think we’re supposed to worry about that yet.”

Daisy thought she was starting to feel better. “I need to get up. And get my helmet off.”

He touched her hand lightly. “Settle. Sorry, but the 911 operator said to not move.”

“I really need this helmet off. Can you unbuckle it?”

“I could but I won’t. You might have a neck injury.”

“I don’t think I do.”

“Sweetheart, what’s your name? Do you remember your name?”

Sweetheart? That sounded rather prince-like. “I do.” She smiled at him.

“My name is Kyle. What’s yours?”

“Daisy.”

He blinked. Grew concerned. “Yes, you’re right. You landed in a field of wildflowers, and those are daisies …”

This man was an idiot and so was she for ever thinking that he was her dream Prince Charming. “I know I’m lying in a field of flowers. My name is Daisy.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh. So please, let me stand up.”

He pressed a hand on her shoulder. As if he was pinning her down in some kind of awful wrestling move. “No. No way do I want to be responsible for you suffering a permanent injury. Don’t move.”

“Kyle, please. I’m mighty uncomfortable.”

“Well, I’d be surprised if you weren’t,” he said. “I saw your accident. One minute you were flying down the road, and the next, your brakes screeched, you ran into that tire tread and then fell down here.”

She would’ve rolled her eyes if her head didn’t hurt so much. “Thanks so much for that recap.”

Indignation, followed by a small grin, filled his expression. “Boy, you’re a live wire, aren’t you?”

“I’m not sure what that means,” she lied.

“Oh. Well—” He took a deep breath.

No way did she want to hear anything more about something she didn’t care about in the first place. “Kyle, if you are thinking that I want an education about phrases right now, you’re mistaken. I do not.”

“I reckon you are right. Sorry about that.” He looked sheepish. “My only explanation is that seeing you like this has shaken me up something awful.”

Daisy just stared at him. Was he expecting an apology?

While she was debating the pros and cons of what to do, he tilted his head to the side. “Ah, here we go.”

“What?”

“Do you hear that?” He beamed. “The sirens are close. Things are going to be better for ya soon.”

Her brain felt fuzzy, but Daisy was pretty sure she heard the sirens, too. Jah, sure. They would make her feel better.

But was her life about to get better?

That was doubtful. None of her dreams were about to come true. None of the things she used to talk about doing, back when she was still in school, had happened.

Remembering Winter Walker, her beautiful, slim, perfect archenemy, made her wince. Growing up, Winter had teased her all the time about being a tomboy. About wanting things that only boys should want.

And because Winter had been the most popular girl in their Amish school, everyone else had sided against Daisy.

She’d put up with so much because she knew she was going to prove everyone wrong one day. She was going to make everyone see that just because she had different dreams, it didn’t mean that they weren’t good ones.

But maybe she’d been wrong.

Because here she was, sitting on the side of the road next to a broken bike. She was hurting something awful. At the moment, there wasn’t a whole lot that she felt good about.

Even though it was weak, Daisy decided this accident was the final piece of a life that suddenly felt like far too much to handle. The pain, the conversation, the knowledge that Melissa was going to be more concerned about being shorthanded than she was going to be worried about her. She closed her eyes. Shutting her eyes away from the world.

Until a gentle fingertip brushed a line across her cheek. “Daisy, don’t go to sleep, okay? The EMTs are going to need to check you out.”

“Mmmm, okay,” she murmured.

“Daisy, what’s your last name?”

“Lapp.”

“Do you live nearby?”

“Jah. Ridge Road.”

“Wait, do you live on the Lapp property? Is that your family’s farm?”

“Jah,” she said tiredly. “We’ve been there forever.”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure someone at your house knows what’s going on.”

She was prevented from replying by another man’s voice. “Daisy, Daisy, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Daisy, my name is Camp,” the voice said as he picked up her wrist. “I’m an EMT and I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

“Okay,” she said for what had to be the tenth or twelfth time. She wasn’t sure. But as Camp started poking, prodding, and calling out numbers to someone nearby, Daisy decided she didn’t much care anymore.

She needed to take a break.



It had been hard to simply stand there while he watched the ambulance speed away with its lights flashing and the sirens blaring.

Kyle wasn’t sure why. He didn’t know Daisy Lapp and he wasn’t responsible for her. All that had happened was that the Lord had put him in the right place at the right time.

He was glad of that.

The fact was, he had a lot of faults, but he also had a strength, and that was that he was the type of person to take care of things. He always had been. From the time his little sister, Sarah, had been born, he’d looked out for her. When the doctors had determined that a terrible year of constant ear infections had damaged her hearing so badly in one ear that she was never going to be able to hear in it, he’d been her greatest protector.

He’d been the same way in school, too. If someone needed help, he’d offer to try. If someone had been teased or bullied, he’d try to put a stop to it.

So he was thankful that he’d been able to help Daisy this morning. But that didn’t mean he should care about her. They were strangers.

Plus, she hadn’t been all that sweet. She was nothing like his sister, Sarah. Or Mary, his ex-girlfriend. Well, Mary had been sweet until she’d cheated on him.

That was beside the point. What was important was that he’d already done everything that he should for Daisy. He’d fulfilled his responsibilities.

But even though that was the case, Kyle had still promised that he’d take her bicycle to her farm and let her family know about the accident.

He couldn’t believe she lived on the farm right next to the Millers. It was just about the only farm he knew besides the one he was working on.

A truck slowed down beside him. “Do you need a ride, son? Looks like your bike is a little worse for wear.”

“Thanks, but I’m almost there. The woman riding it was in an accident.”

“She gonna be okay?”

“I hope so. Thanks for asking.”

“All righty then. Good luck.”

Kyle nodded his thanks as he continued his journey.

Thirty minutes later, when he was about halfway up the Lapps’ driveway, the front door opened. It was a guy about his age with dark hair, blue eyes like Daisy’s, and a dark expression. “Where did you get that bicycle? Also, what happened to it?”

Taken aback by his tone, Kyle held up a hand. “Hey, I’m only trying to help. This is Daisy’s. I’m returning it for her.”

“Why? What happened?”

Briefly, Kyle relayed the story about her accident and that the EMTs had thought she needed to get checked out at the hospital.

By the time he finished, a couple in their late forties and what looked like another brother had stepped outside. All of them looked crushed. “We just got a call from the police. We need to go to County Hospital.”

“Are you sure she was conscious?” the first guy asked.

“I’m sure. Though I’m no doctor, I don’t think her life was in danger. She’s just injured.”

“Jah. Okay.” The guy’s expression eased but he still looked like he was at a loss for words.

“I knew she shouldn’t have gotten that bike,” the woman said. “I couldn’t tell her no, though. She was so brokenhearted.”

The guy with the glower placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Mamm, it wouldn’t have mattered if you had given her ten reasons not to get the bicycle. No one can tell Daisy no when she’s determined to do something, and she wanted that electric bike bad.”

“That’s true.”

Feeling like an interloper, Kyle cleared his throat. “If you all would tell me where you’d like this, I’ll wheel it over and then get out of your way.”

“Nee, wait.”

Kyle stopped mid-step.

“Listen, please forgive us. I’m sorry,” the daed said. “Where are my manners? I’m Jed Lapp, this is my frau, Esther. Obviously, we’re Daisy’s parents. And these two are her brothers, Lukas and Ben.”

Both men had Daisy’s blue eyes. Beyond that, it looked as if both men resembled their father while Daisy was a younger version of their mother. Kyle could see their resemblance to each other, but it wasn’t readily apparent, mainly because one was obviously Amish and one was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and sneakers. He was definitely English.

“I’m Kyle Hostetler. Pleased to meet you.”

“Good to meet you, too,” Ben, the English brother said. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you visiting?”

“Nee, I just moved here a couple of weeks ago.”

“What part of town?”

“This part.” He grinned. “I got a job with Ruthie and Mervin Miller. I’m helping them with their farm.”

Within a few seconds, a new tension appeared.

Lukas was the first to speak. “Do you mean the Millers next door?”

“Jah.” Kyle was still feeling as if something was wrong. Well, wrong besides the fact that Daisy had just been taken to the hospital. “Do you know Mervin and Ruthie?”

“Only slightly,” Esther said. “As you know, they’ve only recently moved here.”

“Jah. From Millersburg.”

“Is that where you’re from, too?” Ben asked.

“It was at one time. I was friends with the Millers’ son Aaron, growing up. My family moved to Kentucky when I was twelve and I’ve lived there since.”

“Whereabouts in Kentucky?”

“Northern. Around Elizabethtown.”

“Ah,” said Jed.

Esther clapped her hands together. “Here you’ve been so kind to bring Daisy’s bicycle and we’ve been keeping you out in this heat. Where are my manners? It’s warm outside and you not only took care of our girl but walked her bicycle all the way here. Would you like some water?”

“Danke, but I’m good. I’ll get out of your way so you can get to the hospital.”

“Oh. Okay, gut.” Just as he was about to leave, he added, “For what it’s worth, she spoke to me for a few minutes before the ambulance arrived.” He grinned. “She didn’t like the fact that I wouldn’t unfasten her helmet. No matter that I explained we needed to be careful of her head and her neck, and that I was only following the 911 operator’s advice.”

Lukas shook his head. “That don’t surprise me one bit. She’s a bit stubborn.”

Ben chuckled. “She wouldn’t be Daisy if she didn’t try to argue about something.”

Kyle didn’t know what to say about that so he raised a hand. “I’ll be praying for her. I hope she recovers quickly.”

“Thank you,” Jed said. “I hope so, too. We’re beholden to you for doing so much for a stranger.”

“Well, we’re not strangers anymore. Even though I was rattled and she was hurt, I thought she was nice.” And pretty.

“Daisy is nice,” Esther murmured. “Sometimes to a fault, I fear. I’ll be sure to let her know how much you did for her.”

“No need for that. But, if you wouldn’t mind, maybe you could let her know that I’ll try to stop by in a few days. Just to say hello. Granted, of course, that she is up to seeing visitors.”

“We would like that very much. Thank you again for helping my daughter, and also for bringing us the news and the bicycle,” Esther added.

“Of course.”

Ben strode forward to take the bike. “Hey, let me have a phone number. I’ll give you a call as soon as we get some news at the hospital.”

“Danke.” After giving him a number, Kyle added, “That’s the Millers’ kitchen phone. They’re New Order.”

“Gotcha. Thanks again.”

After waving his goodbye again, Kyle turned around and headed back to the Millers’.

He’d been planning to go out to breakfast and maybe stop at the library or something. Now, though, his mind was on Daisy, her accident and the strange vibe that had been emanating from the Lapp family. For some reason, he thought they weren’t too thrilled about the Millers, but that sure didn’t make sense. Mervin and Ruthie were two of the nicest people he’d ever met.

Making an impulsive decision, he decided to ask them about the Lapps as soon as he got back.

That is, if they hadn’t messed up something else around the farm.



Lying in a hospital bed for almost two hours gave a person a lot of time to examine one’s surroundings, Daisy decided.

The hospital walls had been painted what she supposed was a soothing apricot. There was a rather large window in the room, too. The midday sun was shining through the pane, making the orange walls shine brighter.

In the corner of the room was a chair that could be reclined, if one pushed hard enough on the back of it. It was a muted green. Beside her bed was a pale yellow plastic chair, which completed the majority of the room’s décor. Altogether, Daisy thought it looked like she’d been deposited into the middle of a bowl of rainbow sherbet.

Most people would probably think there were far worse-looking rooms in which one could recover from an accident.

Unfortunately, Daisy didn’t seem to be one of them. Maybe it was her recent trauma, but all she could think about was that this place was yet another place where she didn’t want to be.

She’d really believed that she would be much further along in life when s. . .