Just When I Needed You Most

By Samantha Collier

Nancy is a young Amish woman who struggles to take care of her ailing mother. As her mother's condition deteriorates, so does the mental stability of her siblings. Nancy is at her wit's end trying to keep it all together when a handsome neighbor moves in next door. His name is Joseph and over time she falls head over heels in love with him. But does she want to expose him to all of the turmoil in her life?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201203566

Book preview

Mammi, sit down!

Nancy stopped what she was doing, walking toward her mother.  Mrs Lapp had left her chair and was stumbling around the room.

Nancy? The old woman’s face lit up. Is that you?

Nancy sighed. You know it is me, Mammi, she said. No one else is here. It is only the two of us, as always. Now sit down.  I was just about to bring your lunch and your drink over.

She settled her mother back at the table, then turned back to the lunch.  She still had to cut up the pot pie.  Her mother could no longer use a knife and fork properly.  Nancy had taken to cutting up her food into small pieces, like she was a child.

Which she was, in many ways, Nancy thought.  She brought the pie and drink to her mother. Mrs Lapp looked at her, as if waiting to be told what to do.  Nancy gently pierced a piece of pie onto the fork and brought it to her mother’s mouth, to show her.  It was always the same.  Mrs Lapp would remember, then, how to feed herself, and Nancy could sit down to her own food.

Lunch was underway, and Nancy sighed heavily.

As her mother ate, she picked at her own lunch.  She knew she should eat more, when she had the chance. But she was always so pre-occupied with her mother, it was like feeding herself was an afterthought, nowadays. 

It had been like this for the past year, disintegrating to the point it was now.

At first she had thought it was funny – how forgetful her mother was becoming. She would chide her, gently, and Mrs Lapp would laugh, saying of course she knew the milk didn’t belong in the pantry.  But it had gotten slowly worse, so much so that