The Fruits of Fall: A Seasons of an Amish Garden Story

By Amy Clipston

In Amy Clipston's new novella collection, young Amish couples manage a community garden to raise money for a good cause, harvesting friendships and love along the way.

Tena Speicher has come to live in Bird-in-Hand after her fiancé left her for an English woman. When a homeless veteran comes to the fruit stand one day and asks for food, Tena is not sure how to respond—but Wayne intervenes and offers to let him stay in the barn. Afraid to trust Englishers, Tena must learn, with Wayne’s help, that everyone is a child of God and deserving of kindness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Jan 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780310354352

Amy Clipston

Amy Clipston is an award-winning bestselling author and has been writing for as long as she can remember. She's sold more than one million books, and her fiction writing "career" began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories. She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan University and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. Amy works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC, and lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and four spoiled rotten cats. Visit her online at AmyClipston.com; Facebook: @AmyClipstonBooks; Twitter: @AmyClipston; Instagram: @amy_clipston; BookBub: @AmyClipston.

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COPYRIGHT

ZONDERVAN

The Fruits of Fall

Copyright © 2019 by Amy Clipston

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ISBN: 978-0-310-35435-2 (e-book)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

CIP data is available upon request.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

COPYRIGHT

GLOSSARY

FAMILY TREE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For my amazing friend and marketer,

Kristen Golden, with love

GLOSSARY

ach: oh

aenti: aunt

appeditlich: delicious

bedauerlich: sad

boppli: baby

brot: bread

bruder: brother

bruders: brothers

bruderskinner: nieces/nephews

bu: boy

buwe: boys

daadi: grandfather

danki: thank you

dat: dad

dochder: daughter

dochdern: daughters

Dummle!: Hurry!

fraa: wife

freind: friend

freinden: friends

froh: happy

gegisch: silly

gern gschehne: you’re welcome

Gude mariye: Good morning

gut: good

Gut nacht: Good night

haus: house

Ich liebe dich: I love you

kaffi: coffee

kapp: prayer covering or cap

kichli: cookie

kichlin: cookies

kinner: children

krank: ill

kuche: cake

kuchen: cakes

kumm: come

liewe: love, a term of endearment

maed: young women, girls

maedel: young woman

mamm: mom

mammi: grandmother

mei: my

naerfich: nervous

narrisch: crazy

oncle: uncle

schee: pretty

schmaert: smart

schtupp: family room

schweschder: sister

schweschdere: sisters

sohn: son

Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?

Wie geht’s: How do you do? or Good day!

wunderbaar: wonderful

ya: yes

FAMILY TREE

Featuring The Christmas Cat novella characters from the collection An Amish Christmas Love.

Thelma m. Alfred Bender

Mandy

Rhoda

Leona m. Marlin Blank

Darlene m. Uria Swarey

Ephraim

Katie Ann

Emma m. Henry (deceased) Bontrager

Hank the Cat

Darlene m. Uria Swarey

Savannah

Rebekah

Marietta m. Roman Hertzler

Clara

Gertrude m. Elvin King

Wayne

Feenie m. Jeptha Lantz

Arlan

Christian

Saloma m. Floyd Petersheim

Jerry

Biena

CHAPTER 1

More thunder rumbled as rain splattered harder on the roadside stand where Tena Speicher frantically packed her wares into coolers.

"Ach. No!" She groaned as she worked faster to clear the fruit and vegetables lining the shelves. Then, just as the rain let up, she grabbed the rest of the baked goods and shoved them into the last cooler. Thank goodness they were wrapped. It was bad enough that the burst had completely doused her clothes and shoes.

She swiped at the raindrops dripping from her prayer covering, and a new clap of thunder caused her to jump.

Where was Wayne?

Tena glanced toward the road, where huge puddles had formed. Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to a man walking along the side. Despite wet skin, the hair on the back of her neck raised as she took in his disheveled appearance and slight limp.

She could see what he was wearing beneath a billowing, clear rain poncho. Clad in dirty blue jeans with holes in the knees, he also wore a faded black T-shirt that looked streaked with mud, sandals on his feet, and an olive-colored jacket tied around his waist. His jaw was covered with a straggly brown beard, and his brown hair looked as if it hadn’t been trimmed in months. A large olive-green duffel bag was slung over his broad shoulder. As unshaven as he was, his face drenched with rain, she couldn’t guess his age.

His dark eyes locked with hers, and her heart thudded in her chest.

She glanced toward her great-aunt Emma’s house as her mouth dried. Why had she decided to pack up the stand by herself? Her friends rarely worked on their community garden on a Friday, preferring Saturdays. But a handful of them decided to care for their overabundance of ready-to-harvest crops today. They’d even decided to open the stand for business.

When they all decided to leave earlier than planned because of the threat of rain, she insisted she could pack up everything at the stand by herself so they could beat the storm. Wayne King stayed behind to help her carry it all to the house, but where was he?

Excuse me, miss. Do you have anything I could eat?

Tena spun as the stranger came closer. She took a step back and shook her head. No.

He lowered the duffel bag, but he didn’t let it fall to the already muddy ground. He gestured toward the empty shelves. Don’t you sell food here?

Yes, she said, making sure to speak English when with an Englisher. But if Wayne had been there, she would have told him how uncomfortable she felt in Pennsylvania Dutch. She gestured toward the dark sky. The rain was bound to come down again. But I have to close up because of the rain.

I would appreciate it if you could spare something first. I’m so empty my stomach hurts. Anything small would stop the hunger pangs. He pointed to the coolers. Is there anything in there I could have?

I’m sorry, but no. She folded her arms over her soggy black apron as more thunder rumbled above her. She needed to get away from him, but how? He was standing in her way.

Don’t you have anything too old to sell now?

No. We’ll store everything and sell it tomorrow. Our profits go to charity. She instinctively reached under the counter and placed her hand on the money box. Why hadn’t Wayne hurried down to help her carry the food to the kitchen when it started to rain? Even if she could get past this strange man, he might try to follow her to the house.

Panic swelled inside her. He could be just like the Englisher who’d left her brother for dead.

You’re sure none of your food just got ruined? The stranger leaned forward on the counter, his eyes trained on hers. I would be happy to take it off your hands. Anything is better than nothing, and then you won’t have to bother with throwing it away.