Secrets of Willow Springs - Book 3: Amish Christian Fiction: The Amish of Lawrence County

by Tracy Fredrychowski

Genres: Amish & Mennonite; Christian Fiction; Contemporary Christian; Christian Romance; Small Town & Rural; Clean & Wholesome Romance; Christian fiction; amish romance; amish; clean read; amish authors; amish novel; mennonite fiction; clean wholesome fiction

Synopsis

Can an English family find peace deep in Amish country in this Christian Amish series filled with lies and deception?

Secrets from the past make a full circle as Daniel Miller faces the truth about his Amish family.

Raised English, he was left to fight his way through foster care, believing he had no living relatives other than his imprisoned mother. Only after finding his biological sister, Emma, was he made aware of Bishop Shetler's lies and deceit.

When life becomes too hard to bear will Daniel turn his back on his family, and drown the pain like his father did so many years ago? Can he forgive the man who ignored his existence, and will Katie Yoder be able to help him see God's true plan?

Two worlds collide in this final book of Secrets of Willow Springs. Read how Emma Byler, Marie Cooper, and Daniel Miller pull from their Amish heritage to face life's most difficult challenges.

Excerpt from Chapter 1

Daniel Miller stood behind his sister, Emma, protecting her from the ice pellets stinging the back of his neck. He waited for her to tell him she was ready to leave. Everyone who came to pay their last respects had already added a shovel of dirt to the top of her mother's grave and went to their waiting buggies. She didn't make a sound, frozen to the spot she had claimed as her own for the past hour, ignoring his pleas to go back to the house and out of the cold.
The sound of metal wheels on the frozen ground disappeared, replaced by an unnerving quiet. The last of the buggies pulled away from the Amish Cemetery, leaving his truck alone amidst the small white grave markers. He pressed the remote starter in his pocket before trying to convince her again to leave. Frozen rain gathered on Emma's black wool coat as he rubbed his hands on her upper arms and rested his chin on top of her thick brown bonnet.
"The temperature is dropping. Will you please let me take you home now?"
A sob lodged in Emma's throat. It took Daniel a few seconds to understand what she was trying to say. "I don't want to leave,” her voice labored.
He pulled her close. "I know, but she wouldn't want you standing out here in the cold either."
"I can't believe she's gone. This was Gott's will, but how am I ever going to live without her?"



Amazon Categories:

Amish & Mennonite Fiction

Amish Romance (Kindle Store)

Mennonite Christianity (Kindle Store)

Amish Christianity

Amish Romance (Books)


Will years of lies and deception hinder God's healing power in this Christian book by Amish Fiction Author, Tracy Fredrychowski?

Release date: April 30, 2021

Publisher: The Tracer Group, LLC

Print pages: 185

Sample

Prologue

December 31, 2017 - Willow Springs, PA

Daniel Miller stood behind his sister, Emma, protecting her from the ice pellets stinging the back of his neck. He waited for her to tell him she was ready to leave. Everyone who came to pay their last respects had already added a shovel of dirt to the top of her mother's grave and went to their waiting buggies. She didn't make a sound, frozen to the spot she had claimed as her own for the past hour, ignoring his pleas to go back to the house and out of the cold.

The sound of metal wheels on the frozen ground disappeared, replaced by an unnerving quiet. The last of the buggies pulled away from the Amish Cemetery, leaving his truck alone amidst the small white grave markers. He pressed the remote starter in his pocket before trying to convince her again to leave. Frozen rain gathered on Emma's black wool coat as he rubbed his hands on her upper arms and rested his chin on top of her thick brown bonnet.

"The temperature is dropping. Will you please let me take you home now?"

A sob lodged in Emma's throat. It took Daniel a few seconds to understand what she was trying to say. "I don't want to leave,” her voice labored.

He pulled her close. "I know, but she wouldn't want you standing out here in the cold either."

"I can't believe she's gone. This was Gott's will, but how am I ever going to live without her?"

He turned her around and guided her to his truck. "For a while, I'm sure it will be hard."

No sooner had they made it to the truck when a van pulled up beside them. Barely waiting for the white vehicle to come to a complete stop, the side door slid open, and Nathan Bouteright and their English mother, Marie Cooper got out.

"Mom, Nathan, you came. How did you get permission to leave Ohio?" Daniel asked.

Nathan reached out to shake Daniel's hand. "It took some doing, but we finally got her probation officer to sign the release allowing her to travel to Pennsylvania. We would have been here sooner, but Interstate 80 was a sheet of ice. Our driver couldn't go any faster than forty miles an hour."

It didn't take Emma any time at all to find her way to Marie's open arms.

“Oh, Momma, it happened so fast. The doctors hoped the chemo would help, but cancer had already spread to her bones."

Marie wrapped both arms around the girl and pulled her close. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it here faster."

Daniel blew warm breath into his cupped hands. "Maybe you'll have better luck getting her out of the cold. I'm having a hard time getting her to leave."

Marie broke the embrace long enough to look in her daughter's eyes. "Emma, it's freezing out here. You're not going to do anyone any good if you end up sick. Please, the van is warm."

Emma let her mother guide her to the open door, nodding her head in agreement.

"Have your driver follow me," Daniel instructed.

~~

Emma took comfort in the warm vehicle making her way to the bench seat in the back. Marie took a seat in the second row and moved over so Nathan could sit beside her. It didn't take but a few minutes to catch up to the procession of yellow-topped buggies making their way back to the Byler farm. The stillness in the van lingered by the slow journey through the back roads of Willow Springs. An overwhelming sadness filled Emma at the thought of returning to the comforts of her mamm's kitchen without her in it.

The announcer on the radio reminded her that it was the last day of two thousand and seventeen. A year that would be etched in her memory for the rest of her life. The cold glass eased the pounding in her head as she rested against the window. She closed her eyes and tried to remember her mamm's smile as she thought. Will I always remember her face so vividly? Or the way she smelled of spring lilacs and what her voice sounded like when she called my name?

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks when she opened her eyes, seeing Nathan whisper something in her mother's ear. Three months had passed since leaving Sugarcreek to come home to help care for her ailing mamm, but by the looks of things, Marie had found her own contentment with Nathan. A deep emptiness filled her, but for a quick second, at least, it was replaced with a genuine gladness for her English mother's happiness.

The window fogged over, and she wiped a small opening as she realized they were about to pass Yoder's Strawberry Acres. Within a few minutes, they would pull into her datt's driveway, and she'd have to face hundreds of neighbors waiting to pay their condolences. She was sure they meant well, but all she wanted to do was retreat to the privacy of her room. The next few hours would be harder on her than the last six months. Only her closest friends, Samuel and Katie Yoder, and her immediate family, knew she wasn't really Emma Byler. However, she was Emma Byler through and through, even if her birth certificate stated she was Elizabeth Cooper.

Not wanting to leave the warmth of the van, Emma stayed still as the driver took direction from Nathan. The porch outside her window reminded her of one of the last good days her mamm had. They sat in the white rockers enjoying a late warm spell, drinking a glass of her favorite mint tea. It was her mamm who had reminded her to stop trying to write her story. She told her only Gott knew the next chapter. Her job was to have enough faith to trust Him, whatever that might be. At the time, little did she know the next chapter would be this.

~~

After pulling up beside the van, Daniel walked to the side and opened the door. Nathan stepped out and turned to hold his hand to help Marie from her seat, and Daniel smiled at the gentleness in which Nathan treated his mother. While he decided to stay in Willow Springs when he brought Emma home, he didn't witness how close they had become over the last few months. Even with the bleakness of the day, he winked when he caught his mother's eye.

Marie looked toward Emma. "Are you ready?"

Emma crawled around the middle seat and pulled her bonnet tight to ward off the wind that swept into the van.

Nathan guided the girls up the stairs, and Daniel stopped when he saw Bishop Shetler standing near the front door. He reached up and pulled Marie's coat to get her attention. "What's he doing here?"

"Hush!" Marie said, spinning her head back. "He's Emma's grandfather as well, and I assume he's here for the same reason everyone else is. Please don't make a scene. Be cordial for Emma's sake, at least."

Nathan walked up the stairs and stopped to shake the bishop's hand before holding the door open for Emma and Marie. Without saying a word or making eye contact, Daniel took the door from Nathan and let him follow his mother and sister into the house.

A stern voice rang behind him. "Daniel, can I have a word with you?"

"I think the time for a word or two is long past," Daniel said, not missing a beat. "I don't have anything to say to you." As quickly as he opened the door, he let it close, leaving his grandfather out in the cold.