A Quiet Love: An Amish Harvest Novella

By Kathleen Fuller

Two young people must stand up for the love they know is right, despite what their friends and family say.

Dinah Hochstetler, quiet and bookish, longs for marriage but hides in her shyness. Amos Mullett, a simple farmer, knows he’s different but aches for a loving wife. As Dinah and Amos navigate a budding romance, will the power of love—and the blessing of God—be enough to overcome their doubters?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Aug 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9780718023638

Kathleen Fuller

With over two million copies sold, Kathleen Fuller is the USA TODAY bestselling author of several bestselling novels, including the Hearts of Middlefield novels, the Middlefield Family novels, the Amish of Birch Creek series, and the Amish Letters series as well as a middle-grade Amish series, the Mysteries of Middlefield. Visit her online at KathleenFuller.com; Instagram: @kf_booksandhooks; Facebook: @WriterKathleenFuller; X: @TheKatJam.

Book preview

Chapter One

Do you, Jeremiah Mullet, take Anna Mae Shetler as your lawful wedded wife?"

Amos Mullet grinned as he looked at his brother. It was strange, standing here in a Yankee church for the first time, watching his brother and his best friend get married. Anna Mae looked so pretty. She was always pretty, but today she was prettier than usual. She was wearing a fancy white dress and her blond hair was still short. She said it was easier to have short hair because of her work as a nurse. At first Amos wasn’t used to it, just like he wasn’t used to Jeremiah’s mustache and beard, and that he was wearing a suit with a short black tie instead of his Sunday Amish clothes. But Jeremiah and Anna Mae were Yankees now. They hadn’t joined the Amish church like Amos had.

I do, Jeremiah said with the biggest smile Amos had ever seen.

The man at the front of the church—the pastor, Jeremiah had called him—turned to Anna Mae. Do you, Anna Mae Shetler, take Jeremiah Mullet as your lawful wedded husband?

Amos glanced around the church. He’d never been inside a Yankee church before. A huge cross hung at the front. Behind it were white curtains, and behind the curtains were white lights, which made the cross look like it was glowing. The long bench Amos was sitting on had dark blue padding, which was a lot softer than the hard benches he sat on in Amish church.

I do, Anna Mae said, her smile making her look even prettier. He wished he had a pad and pencil so he could sketch her and Jeremiah.

As the pastor said a few more words, Amos watched Jeremiah and Anna Mae, trying to remember details. It was hard to remember things. He squinted and studied them carefully.

The tears in his brother’s eyes.

Anna Mae’s lacy dress.

The exact shade of pink and white in the bunch of flowers she was holding in front of her. The flowers shook a little, as if her hands weren’t steady. Maybe he would draw that detail too.

Jeremiah, you may kiss your bride.

Jeremiah took a step toward Anna Mae. His smile widened. So did hers. When Jeremiah kissed her, Amos looked away. He and Jeremiah and Anna Mae were best friends. Growing up, they did everything together. Then Jeremiah decided to become a veterinarian. Everything changed after that. Several years later, Jeremiah and Anna Mae fell in love. That made everything change again.

Judith sniffed next to him. She was his neighbor and she had come to the ceremony with Amos and Daed in a taxi they hired to bring them to this church. There weren’t many people here. If this was an Amish wedding, their whole district would have come. But Jeremiah and Anna Mae said they wanted only family and close friends: Anna Mae’s parents, her siblings, and Doc Miller and his wife, who had traveled all the way from Arizona to see Jeremiah get married.

Jeremiah’s like a son to me, Doc had said. Amos thought Daed would be mad about that, since Doc Miller wasn’t Jeremiah’s dad. But Daed had just nodded, then swallowed so hard Amos saw his throat move up and down.

Ladies and gentlemen, the pastor said, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Mullet.

Amos saw everyone else stand, and he made sure to do the same. He didn’t want to mess up Jeremiah’s special day. A warm feeling filled his heart as Jeremiah grinned at him. Amos smiled back. He was happy for his brother and Anna Mae. His father and Judith were happy too. Everyone in the church was happy because Jeremiah and Anna Mae were now married.

Then Amos saw a flash of light glint off his brother’s wide silver wedding band. Amos stopped smiling and the nice feeling went away. Would he ever get married? Would he know happiness like Jeremiah and Anna Mae? Would he ever have a family of his own?

Jeremiah and Anna Mae walked down the aisle, her arm looped through his. They disappeared through the sanctuary doors. Amos remembered what Jeremiah had told him would happen after the ceremony.

We’ll have a reception in the church hall, Jeremiah had said. He’d met with Amos privately before the wedding. Amos had noticed his tie looked like a bow and that it was a little crooked. But he didn’t say anything so he could focus on what Jeremiah was telling him.

There will be food, like at an Amish wedding. Jeremiah smiled. After a while Anna Mae and I will leave. We have a plane to catch.

Amos had frowned. How do you catch a plane?

Jeremiah chuckled. You don’t. Not literally. We’re going to Florida for our honeymoon, and we’re traveling by plane. We’re leaving tonight. He put his arm around Amos’s shoulders. That’s why I wanted to talk to you now. After the wedding, things will be busy. I might not get a chance to say good-bye.

Good-bye? That had scared Amos. Jeremiah had left once before, when he had gone away to veterinarian school. You’re leaving again? he asked, his chest feeling tight.

Just for a week. Jeremiah squeezed Amos’s shoulders. Only a week. Then we’ll be back and Anna Mae and I will come see you.

Amos relaxed. "I’m glad you’re not leaving for gut again."

Jeremiah pulled Amos in for a hug. I’ll always be here for you, Amos. I promise. His brother’s voice sounded thick, like he had peanut butter stuck in his throat.

Wasn’t that a lovely wedding, Amos?

Judith’s question brought Amos back to the present. She was his daed’s age, and she and Daed were close friends. Just like Jeremiah and Anna Mae had been. Would Judith and Daed ever get married? For some reason he thought so. Ya. Amos nodded. It was nice.

"We should geh congratulate the happy couple." Judith glanced at Daed. His eyes were bright and shiny, like Jeremiah’s had been before he kissed Anna Mae.

Daed’s throat made a funny sound. "Ya. We should."

Judith and Daed left the bench and walked down the aisle together. Amos decided he would like Judith to be his stepmother. He’d spent most of his life without a mother. It would be nice to have one now, even though he was an adult.

Amos hung back as everyone left the church. He was alone in the sanctuary and he knew he needed to join his family. But he couldn’t leave. Not yet.

He turned and looked at the glowing cross, wondering again if he would ever find love. Until now he’d never thought about it. He’d never had a girlfriend. He’d never even met a girl he liked, not the way Jeremiah liked Anna Mae. No one in his district liked him, either. Not enough to marry. He was different. Jeremiah and Anna Mae said he was special, but he didn’t believe that. There was nothing special about being different, about being called a dummkopf while growing up, about not understanding a lot of things everyone else easily understood. He looked down at his hands as they gripped the back of the bench in front of him. A pew, he’d heard Judith call it. He didn’t even know what a pew was.

No, he wouldn’t find love. Or a wife. That was impossible.

Then he heard the words as clearly as if God were standing next to him, whispering in his ear.

Nothing is impossible, my son.

Amos looked at the cross again and smiled.

Chapter Two

Two years later

I-I d-don’t understand w-why I have to l-leave t-today." Dinah watched her mother fold one of Dinah’s long-sleeved dresses and put it into the suitcase. Long sleeves? It was only the end of August. How long would she be gone?

"I

Reviews for A Quiet Love

[Elizabeth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was so so sweet and real...I loved the love story that developed between two very different people, different from what our society considers normal. She has a speech defect and is very introvert, but behind that wall we see so much love, understanding and depth. He is inteligent in his own way, devoted and hard working, and I really ached for his need to be loved and accepted as he was.
A very unique pair that understand eachouther better than the judgemental society around them and that make it work despite all the odds.