Amish Country Tours 3: Amish Country Tours, Amish Romance Series (An Amish of Lancaster County Saga), #3

By Rachel Stoltzfus

NEW RELEASE (STILL NOT A TRAVEL GUIDE) - MUST READ FOR AMISH ROMANCE LOVERS!

Can widow Sarah Hershberger and her new love John Lapp stand strong in the face of lies, spies, and a final, shocking betrayal?

Amish widow, Sarah Hershberger faces her greatest challenge yet as community dissenters prove they will stop at nothing to put her out of business for good. Will the help of her family, friends and John Lapp, the widower she has grown to love be enough to save her business, family and future? Find out in Amish Country Tours Book 3, the final exciting installment of the bestselling Amish Country Tours series, where love and industry are called to stand strong in the face of lies and fear.

If you LOVE Amish Romance and KNOW YOU ARE NOT GETTING A TRAVEL GUIDE, Scroll Up and GRAB YOUR COPY NOW!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Global Grafx Press
• Release date: Sep 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516349111

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Monday, April 13

As Mamm and the kinner head outside to start their evening chores, John and I walk around to the front porch to talk. In spite of the difficult weekend, I feel comforted just being in his presence.

"I know you made light of the situation in front of the kinner, Sarah, but what really happened with Mrs. Shetler yesterday?"

"I suspected something was wrong when she came for visitation alone. Mr. Shetler and their kinner had stayed behind after church services and I didn’t see them again until they stopped to pick her up after dinner."

I look down at my hands fidgeting in my lap. The Shetlers aren’t exactly what you would describe as overly warm and friendly people, but from the moment she arrived, her manner was very cold and distant; I could tell she didn’t want to be here at all.

When the boys and I were unloading the hay today, Mark said that he thought you had been crying when Mr. Shetler arrived to take her home, he says looking at me intently.

I feel ashamed and as much as I want to, I find it difficult to look him in the eye for fear I will burst into tears. "After dinner, when Mamm and the kinner went outside to do their evening chores, she told me quite bluntly that she and Mr. Shetler believe that my tour business will be the downfall of our community and that they would not support the endeavor. She said that she hoped I would come to my senses and do what’s right, but that we’re all judged by the company we keep and she couldn’t afford for her family to fall under the wrong influence. She told me not to come to the ladies’ quilting frolic that’s being held at her house next week unless I get over this foolish idea by then. And she said that it goes for Mamm too." I sigh and finally look over at him.

He meets my gaze with a slightly puzzled look, What did you tell her? he asks.

"I told her that I was sorry she felt that way but I have a family to provide for. I felt like such a fool for sitting there all evening and trying to make conversation. Mr. Shetler arrived to take her home before I could say anything more. She didn’t give me a chance to describe the tours or to even talk about the situation, though I’m sure it wouldn’t have made any difference, her mind was made up before she’d gotten here.

"I think I was more upset that we all had to sit through the whole awkward evening with her, not knowing what was wrong. I wasn’t crying when the kinner came in, her soup felt like it was burning a hole in my stomach. I had just been ill in the trash bin and my eyes were still watery." I look down at the porch when I feel him place his hand on mine.

I’m sorry, he says in his deep, soothing voice.

I’m okay, I say, managing a half-smile, Looking back, I don’t know why I was so taken aback by it all in the first place; the Shetlers have always been conservative minded people. I guess I was just so excited about the turnout we’d had on Saturday that I wasn’t even considering the possibility of her open disapproval, but I should have seen it coming.

Well don’t beat yourself up for hoping for the best, it’s not in your nature to assume the worst about people before they disappoint you, and I, for one, like that about you, he says, squeezing my hand reassuringly.

I suppose he’s right, I hate to think of what a miserable existence it would be to go around expecting the worst of everyone. Maybe it’s your fault for setting my expectations so high, I chuckle.

"Danki for the hay and for all the work you did today. The kinner had a wonderful time building the slide and finishing the toddler maze this afternoon," I tell him.

I’m just glad to be part of it all. This place has really turned into something special. Even Caleb is excited, I think he wants to learn to play golf, he laughs.

"He’s wilkom anytime, I smile, You both are."

Just don’t tell him that until after we get the fields planted, he chuckles.

What are you going to do with the harvest at your place? I ask curiously.

I’m planning on using most of the land for some specialty crops. We’ll probably sell some at the farmer’s market but I was thinking of letting Caleb run a produce stand out by the road in front of the shop. I’d like him to learn to run the business side of farming too.

"Well between the tours, my garden, the corn fields, the potato field and the pumpkin patch, I don’t think we can handle any more farming projects. You’re wilkom to use that back ten acres or so of our land for planting if you’d like."

I appreciate that and I’ll definitely give it some thought. In the meantime, I don’t want you to worry. With the flyers you and your friend Natalie put out on Saturday, plus the ones I put up on my way into Hopkinsville, I imagine you may have your hands full sooner than you think.

Don’t forget we’re on a blog now too, I chuckle.

Don’t laugh, you never know what might come of it, he smiles encouragingly and holds my gaze for a moment. It’s all I can do to look away, but just as I open my mouth to ask about his family, Mamm joins us on the porch.

"Well the kinner are going for a ride with Caleb and I’m going to go write a letter before turning in for the night. I imagine we have lots of quilting to catch up on tomorrow now that we have everything in place for the tours."

"Ya, Danki again, Mamm, for your help; I’ll see you in the morning," I smile.

Good night you two.

She kisses my cheek as John stands, offering to walk her to the Daadi Haus. I watch as she steadies herself on his arm. She looks so fragile next to his broad shoulders and tall, sturdy frame and I’m grateful for how attentive he is to her...to my whole family.

It’s only been two days since John and I sat on the porch alone talking after dinner, but I realize now just how much I’ve missed him in that short amount of time.

I look up at the evening sky and feel a sense of calm wash over me. As I take a deep breath and close my eyes, I feel as if my strength has been renewed. In spite of the things that have gone wrong, too much has gone right for this not to be God’s plan for us.

Sleepy? John asks, startling me from my thoughts.

Just enjoying the quiet, I smile as he sits back down in the rocking chair next to mine, How about you?

"Quiet is gut, he chuckles, It’s one of those things we long for when it’s noisy, but if we get too much of it, we find ourselves longing for the noise."

Are you speaking from experience? I ask curiously.

I am.

Well if it’s noise you’re looking for, you’re definitely in the right place, I chuckle.

"Ya, but it’s the right kind of noise, he says fondly, Kinner laughing and playing, dishes clanging, ladies chattering and chairs rocking. It always smells gut here too, something good’s always cooking."

When you put it that way, it seems so poetic, I smile.

Maybe it is, he smiles.

So how was your visit with your family in Hopkinsville?

"It was gut, my brother’s wife was a little sad to see Caleb go, but I think my brother is willing to do anything to keep him on the right path. They found out that he took a college entrance exam and they’re both terrified that he might make the wrong choice and decide not to get baptized into the church."

What does Caleb say?

He said he just wanted to know what his options were, but that he hasn’t decided either way yet.

How do you feel about it?

I don’t know. I want the boy to have a future and I want him to be happy but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope that he could find that happiness without having to be alienated by the people he loves.

He levels his gaze at me. I do know that being involved with your family and the idea of the tour business has sparked a lot of interest in him, I think he sees it as a way to embrace his Amish roots in a way that will still feed his desire to learn new things and implement new ideas.

"I hope it goes without saying that we wilkom his involvement, I reassure him, Just let me know how I can help."

That means a lot to me, I’m hoping that as he and I spend the next week or so getting everything planted, we’ll figure out a direction for the summer months. I think he’s planning to make his decision before classes begin in the fall. If he gets involved in something he can see a future in, maybe his decision won’t be so hard.

Is that why you’re planting specialty crops at your place?

Partly, I did some research last year when I first started looking for a property. I didn’t really have a desire to go back into farming in the traditional sense, but I knew that I wanted some land to tinker around with. At the time, I was more interested in building a new repair shop and the Schwartz farm offered the best of both worlds. Looking back now, I think it’s going to work out better than I ever imagined a year ago.

What do you mean?

"Well it’s thirty-two acres in total. The front plot consists of the house, the Daadi Haus, two barns and about ten acres of farmland, but the back plot has a small cabin and an old wooden barn on about three acres of farmland surrounded by fifteen acres of woods bordered by a creek. It was originally two plots of land. I think the Schwartz family bought the second plot from the old man that lived there to keep from ever having any rear neighbors, and they just used it to hunt.

He takes a sip of coffee, I figured if I ever wanted to farm that land I could always clear what I needed, but having the wooded area seemed interesting. I want to try growing some bamboo and wild ginseng on it. On the cleared acreage, I plan to start a crop of elephant garlic and maybe avocados and I plan to use the old wooden barn for growing mushrooms. I may even grow some micro-greens. The ginseng will take ten years to really harvest but if it works, it will be well worth it.

Where did you learn all of this?

"It’s funny, the mushrooms I just kind of got into because I love mushrooms and they’re so expensive at the store. When Elizabeth was in the hospital, I checked out a couple of books on growing them that were kind of vague. I learned a little about using a computer from one of the security guys that used to work the late shift, so one weekend before her last surgery, I did some research on the internet and found out basically all I needed to know.

"The security guy’s wife worked in her family’s restaurant and I sold my first mushroom harvest to her parents for $4.00 per pound. They referred me to some other folks