Lilies on Daybreak Pond (Free Short Story)

By Mindy Starns Clark

This free short story prequel by bestselling author Mindy Starns Clark offers an exclusive bonus to The Men of Lancaster County series by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner. Fans of the series will enjoy this brief opportunity to revisit a family they have grown to love, and new readers will be introduced to a life-altering act that ends up reverberating throughout the three full novels of the series, The Amish Groom, The Amish Blacksmith, and The Amish Clockmaker. This e-short story also includes the first chapter of The Amish Groom.

It's coming on spring, and Joel Miller is beginning to understand that his daughter is never coming home again. Three months ago, 18-year-old Sadie snuck away in the dead of night, breaking from the Amish faith to live the life of an Englischer. The family she left behind has been dealing with the loss ever since—especially her father, who is still struggling to comprehend how God could have allowed this to happen. Now the family dog has gone missing as well, and Joel is determined to find him and bring him back home no matter what it takes. As he searches for the missing pet, he wonders how find the strength to let his daughter go and move on with his life. How can he help his family do so as well?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
• Release date: Dec 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9780736962353

Mindy Starns Clark

Mindy Starns Clark is the author of many books, which include the popular Smart Chick Mysteries, Whispers of the Bayou, Shadows of Lancaster County, and Under the Cajun Moon. In addition, Mindy’s plays and musicals have been featured in schools and churches across the United States.

Book preview

Author

Lilies on Daybreak Pond

APRIL 1990

LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

The man in the black felt hat stood at the center of the farm, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled as loudly as he could.

Shadow!

He listened and watched, peering out across a fallow cornfield as the sound dissipated in the chilly April air.

No response.

After a long moment, he turned and continued on toward the fence line, where he paused and tried again, facing a different direction this time.

Shadow! he bellowed, his own voice echoing back at him from the trees.

No response. No movement. Nothing.

Come on, you aifeltich hund. You silly dog. Where are you?

Even as he asked the question, Joel was afraid he knew the answer. Peering out beyond the pasture, he scanned the row of evergreens until his eyes landed on the entrance to the path, the one place on this entire farm that he’d been able to avoid for months, the one place he did not want to go. Still, if he was going to find this wayward beast, he had no choice. His heart heavy, Joel let himself in through the pasture gate, latched it shut behind him, and continued forward across the wide expanse of grass.

Thanks a lot, hund.

His gait slowed when he reached the trees, but he pressed onward, ignoring the sudden pounding of his heart as he moved onto the path. Telling himself to focus on the task at hand, he started down the gentle, grassy slope, his mind alert, his ears listening for sounds that didn’t fit. The further he went into the woods, the more he could hear the chatter of squirrels, the snap of branches under melting snow, the crunch of frozen grass beneath his feet. But no dog sounds, no clumsy trampling of brush or heavy panting from frantic play. Halfway there, Joel spotted a daffodil that had poked its head out of the ground, a sight that should have warmed his heart. But it didn’t.

For the past three months, nothing had.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He needed to stay on track. He needed to find Shadow. About to call out again, Joel hesitated when he heard something up ahead. Was that a splash? Maybe his hunch had been right.

Moving faster now, he continued down the path until he finally emerged into the clearing and came to a stop in front of the small body of water he’d been avoiding for several months, a large pond that doubled as a drinking hole for the cows on hot summer days. The farm had been in the family for generations, and they had always just called this the cow pond. But now as he stood here looking out at it, a different name popped into his head: Daybreak Pond. That was what his daughter Sadie had dubbed it years ago, because her favorite time to come here was at daybreak, when she could watch the sunrise reflected on the water.

Joel swallowed hard, swallowed back the pain. The last thing he needed was a reminder of Sadie.

Shadow? he said again, softer this time. He didn’t see the dog, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t around here somewhere. Joel squinted, searching for a recognizable shape within the brambles.

Nothing.

He sighed. He had wood to chop, paperwork to do, buggies to finish making. He couldn’t look for the aifeltich hund all day. But he couldn’t let his family down either. Between his four-year-old son, who couldn’t sleep for worrying about the dog, and his wife’s pleading eyes, which said more than words ever could, he knew he would keep at it until he succeeded in his quest.

Still watching and waiting, Joel directed his gaze back at the pond, the surface reflecting the gray morning sky. Now that April was here, the winter