Delivered From Doubt (The Amish of Elkhart County #3)

By Daisy Fields

(Part Three of the Amish of Elkhart County serial.)

Amish farmer Abram Schrock can’t deny that he’s come to care very much for Owen, the boy he found nearly frozen in his barn just weeks before. Nor can he deny that instead of thinking all the time of Mary, his lost love, he has begun to think more of Owen’s other guardian, Katherine. But when Owen’s father appears to take the boy home, will Abram and Katherine be able to find solace in each other?

After a humiliating experience at her rich Englischer friends’ dinner party, Mary chooses to trusts in God’s signals. She returns home to Elkhart County, certain that everything will work out. But Mary can't keep running from her decisions forever, and just when she can't take another drop of disappointment, her Englischer life and Amish life collide, bringing with it the possibility of destroying everything she's tried to build.

Will Abram and Mary find love and fulfillment in their new lives? Or have things simply gone too far this time? Find out in the riveting conclusion to this tale of Amish fiction!

If you like Amish Christian Romance Series, scroll up and click "Buy Now" to start reading today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daisy Fields
• Release date: Jan 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310441929

Daisy Fields

Daisy Fields is a former accountant whose life changed after she took a trip through Amish country in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The simple pace of life and the Amish devotion to God made her question her own current breakneck lifestyle, and Daisy decided she wanted something more. She quit her job, threw away her cell phone, and began to pray.Now she pens stories about the people she admires so deeply and hopes you'll enjoy reading them as much as she did writing them. Please check her Amazon author page for new releases.

Book preview

Delivered From Doubt

(The Amish of Elkhart County #3)

By Daisy Fields

Copyright 2013 Daisy Fields

All Rights Reserved

In shock, Mary rubbed her eyes. That was impossible. She could not have conjured him merely by thinking of him. Yet when she opened them again, there he was. There, on her porch, clear as the sky above and dressed as a good Amish man—but minus the beard—stood Daniel. His green eyes glinted from beneath his wide-brimmed hat.

He opened his arms, the corded muscles straining against his shirtsleeves. My Mary-Mary, he exulted, I found you.

Mary’s mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out. A tornado roared in her chest as joy and disbelief and anger all vied for supremacy. Her hands, which had been open to receive the sky, defensively tightened into fists. Her fingernails bit into her palms, but the pain was secondary to the pain of seeing Daniel there.

What are you doing here? she murmured.

Daniel either didn’t hear her or pretended not to, because he came down the porch steps and moved to embrace her. Conflicted, Mary stood still as a tree and held herself just as stiffly.

What’s the matter? Daniel asked, stopping just short of slipping his arms around her. Aren’t you happy to see me, Mary-Mary?

Was she?

Oh, pleased as punch, Mary said through her teeth. Just as pleased as any woman can be after seeing the man she thought she was courting still holds a torch for his former love, and she for him.

Daniel’s full-lipped mouth fell open, revealing those annoying perfect teeth. Mary couldn’t help noticing just how beautiful a mouth it was, just as beautiful as the carpenter’s hands he held up then. He certainly looked like he belonged with Alexandra, not her. Wait, you think I still love Alexandra?

I know you do. I saw you, said Mary, the sting of the memory cutting through her as harshly as one of the saws Daniel might use in making the furniture he sold.

At the party, you mean?

Mary nodded, and Daniel burst into laughter. Mary wanted to cry or scream. Why was he laughing at her? She had been there! She had seen what she had seen.

Daniel kept laughing. Oh, Mary-Mary, my Mary-Mary, my precious girl, I’m sure it looked bad, but that was the first time I’d seen Alexandra since we parted ways. Of course I didn’t know how to react. And I certainly didn’t expect to have her turn up at the party you took me to!

I saw how you looked at her, Mary insisted. She trembled. If she stayed here much longer, she would burst into tears. But there was one thing she had to know before she fled. How did you find me?

I went to your apartment this morning, and when you weren’t there, I tried your place of work. The manager told me you’d quit just that morning, and I assumed you must have gone back home, so I got into my car and drove . . .

Her mamm called for dinner then. Somehow, by God’s grace, she hadn’t heard Daniel, or Mary would have been forced to invite him in.

Cars aren’t welcome here, as you well know, Mary snapped as she stormed past him up the porch stairs. And neither are you.

It took all the strength she had not to slam the door behind her, but somehow she managed to close it gently. She even pushed her mouth into a smile and went to the kitchen. She could stay civil. She could make herself eat. She could even face her daed and his mixed reaction at her sudden return.

But what she couldn’t do was forget how well the Amish style of dress suited Daniel, or how for a moment, all she had wanted to do was throw herself into his strong arms and stay there forever.

* * *

Mister Abram, Bishop Miller says God said I’m supposed to stay with you. Owen’s voice quivered, but he made himself smile. So here I am. I have to do what God says, right?

Mister Abram blinked a few times and then looked down at him. What did you say?

Owen was getting a little worried. First Miss Katherine had seemed so angry yesterday, at least at Mister Abram. They’d whispered so Owen couldn’t hear, and then Miss Katherine had gone away. It scared Owen.

And then she’d come back later that evening with the bishop’s wife and told Owen he had to spend the night with the bishop. Before she went away again, Miss Katherine had told Owen a secret.

They sat in front of the roaring fireplace, sipping hot chocolate from stone mugs. Owen liked how sweet the hot chocolate was. It tasted good on his tongue, and the foamy milk made his lips feel tingly, the way the heat from the flames made his hands nice and warm. Maybe they could stay there forever!

"Can I have some more?" he asked, holding up his empty mug.

Miss Katherine had sighed and put her arms around him. She rocked him gently, and it was nice, but it also made Owen miss Mommy. Maybe tomorrow, said Miss Katherine, but not today. Today good little boys need to get ready for bed.

"But this isn’t your house or Mister Abram’s," said Owen. He was so confused. The bishop and his wife had been really nice, but they weren’t Mister Abram, and they