Exploring All Options: A Pair of Contemporary Christian Stories

By Helen Keating

The Amish Way: The Veterinarian, is a contemporary romance about a man who moves to another Amish community and helps save a girl’s horse after it throws her.

Catherine Heads For Greener Pastures In Chicago: One Amish Teenager’s Rebellion, is about Catherine -- a teenager who has always been rebellious within her Amish community.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Hart
• Release date: Sep 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310430459

Book preview

Exploring All Options

By

Helen Keating

Copyright 2014 Helen Keating

Smashwords Edition

The Amish Way: The Veterinarian

Lancaster County never knew talent until one young Amish man moved into the community. He had traveled from Holmes County and was relocating. He had big dreams of leaving the Amish life and becoming a veterinarian. He was great with animals and had a way of communicating with them.

No one had ever seen anything like it. It didn’t take too long for Jeremiah Troyer to become known and needed in the community. He could talk a rabid dog into changing its mind, or he could break a wild horse in fifteen minutes.

He was offered jobs outside of the Amish settlement, and even the government sought him out. However, his faith was strong, and he felt his duty was with the Amish. Fighting the urges and offers, he held on to his values.

One day, though, a young woman was out riding her horse and she was thrown, leaving her with a concussion. She spent over a month in the ward and when Jeremiah heard about it, he went to pay her visit. He stood over her watching her sleep, and she looked like an angel. Talking to her parents, he tried to find out what had made her horse throw her, but he returned with no explanation.

Her parents told him that the horse would be put down, while their daughter was unconscious, because she’d never agree with their decision. It appalled him that they would do such a thing, while their daughter lay helpless. He pleaded with them to try to give him time to find out what could be wrong with her horse. He looked at pictures of the woman and her horse, and he could tell that the horse was her prized possession. Her parents wouldn’t hear of it, and the horse was scheduled to be put down one week from that day.

Not being able to talk them out of it, he panicked. He found out where the horse was and he waited until dark. Then, he walked three miles to get there, snuck into the barn and rode the horse away. The horse rode fine and never once tried to throw him. When he returned home, he hid the horse in a back stall and then locked up his barn.

He would wait until the young woman came out her coma and then he would pay her a visit. In the meantime, he would work with the horse and find out what was wrong with it on that tragic day.

He paid visits to the young woman, sitting with her for most of the evening and into the night hours. Her parents only visited in the mornings, so they never knew of his visits.

One night while he was there, he overheard that her parents were having a search done for their daughters’ horse, and if they found it, they would prosecute the thief. He had to make sure that the horse wouldn’t be discovered and especially before the young woman awoke.

He waited for three more weeks, praying by her bedside for her to wake up. Then, one night as he sat by her side, she opened her eyes and studied him. Not knowing the man, she simply whispered, Hello? Who are you?

It woke him and he went to her side.

Hello. My name is Jeremiah Troyer.

Wow, are you Amish?

Yes, I am.

What are you doing here?

I read about you in the paper, about your accident and all.

My accident? I had an accident?

Yes. You don’t remember?

No, I’m sorry that I don’t.

Your horse threw you, Miss.

Oh no, that’s impossible. My horse would never throw me.

Well, that’s what the paper said and your parents as well.

My parents said my horse threw me?

Yes, they did.

He looked at her and wasn’t sure he should say anything more, but he realized that he needed answers.

Miss, what’s your name?

Oh, it’s Lori Morton.

He could tell that she didn’t have any damage, testing her with her name.

Lori, your parents intended to put your horse down, because they say it threw you.

She sat straight up in bed.

You’re lying to me! My parents wouldn’t do that. They know that Spark is my life. They can’t do that.

Lori, they can’t do that anyway, because I stole your horse.

You what? She thought he was crazy, a criminal. In addition, she was about to yell for