The Amish Life of Katherine Ebersole

By Vanessa Carlson

Katherine has been a widow for several years now but she has been nothing but a rock of support in the Amish community. Her children are young adults now and she begins entertaining ideas of starting a business with an Englisch friend but she feels the pull to help in the local bakery when the baker's wife passes away...The two begin working alongside each other and an attraction builds. Their affection and respect for each other slowly builds into love. But can they put aside the feelings that that they are betraying their dead spouses...and open themselves to the prospect of once again experiencing the loss of someone they hold so dear?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jul 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201904289

Book preview

the amish life of katherine ebersole

vanessa carlson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE AMISH LIFE OF KATHERINE EBERSOLE

STARTING OVER

TO LOVE AGAIN

TO TRUST AGAIN

FOR A FIREFIGHTER’S HEART

ANGELA’S CHURCH

DON’T CRY CAROLYN

the amish life of katherine ebersole

Chapter 1

The Pennsylvania countryside was as verdant and fruitful as ever. Branches were heavy with fresh apples and pears. Katherine Ebersole picked up an empty wicker basket and rested it against her hip, ready to help.

Aaron! she called out. Do you need a hand?

A fair-faced man leaned forward so that he could address the woman calling his name. As a matter of fact, yes.

Katherine approached the ladder leaning against the trunk of the tree. Some women in the Amish community were afraid of heights and left this sort of work to their husbands. Katherine, on the other hand, was a bundle of energy, ready and eager for any task that might come her way.

You needn’t do that, said Aaron before she could get her foot on the first rung.

Oh? Then what would you have me do?

Might you be able to catch the apples if I throw them down? It is cumbersome and time consuming to venture down each time I have picked a bundle. This will save me a lot of hassle.

I am willing to try, she answered.

Catch them with your hands and then deposit them into the basket or they will be bruised by the impact, he instructed as he made a cupping motion with both his hands to indicate how it was that she should catch the fruit.

Okay, let’s give it a try, she said. And hope that God offers his blessing so that no fruit will be spoiled here today.

Amen, agreed Aaron. Now, are you ready?

Yes.

He picked the first apple and dropped it straight down to where Katherine was standing. She had her hands cupped just as he had instructed and by nothing short of a miracle, she caught it. A bright smile stretched across her face and she seemed to glow with her success. Why did Fredrick not think of this method when we owned our own pear tree? she whispered to herself. It would have made working together so much easier.

Hmm? Did you say something? Aaron asked before dropping down another apple. Again, Katherine caught it with ease and added it to the basket.

Nothing, she said. Let’s just keep this up so that I can reap the reward.

And what reward might that be? Aaron inquired as two more apples were dropped her way.

A slice of your famous apple pie. You should have opened up a bakery much, much sooner.

He sighed. Matilda was never very fond of the idea and besides, she was so talented with carpet weaving. I couldn’t have asked her to join me in the kitchen when she hated it so.

The cheery atmosphere that had surrounded them at the start of their apple picking suddenly turned sour and hard to swallow. Speaking of their deceased partners was no easy task. Even after six years as a widow, Katherine still felt that wound as if it had been recently inflicted. Most nights, as she laid in her bed – alone – her chest throbbed, searching for that missing piece of her heart that had disappeared the day Fredrick had been buried.

Neither Katherine nor Aaron felt much need for conversation from that point forward so they focused on their task and finished filling up the basket in record time.

Aaron climbed down and hoisted the basket off the ground and onto his shoulder. The shortness of his sleeves showcased the muscle hiding underneath his skin. Like most Amish men, Aaron was physically fit. The same could not be said for the English folk who lived in the city.

Shall we? he asked as he started ahead.

On second thought, I think I might join my youngest daughter and see if she doesn’t need some help with dinner.

Aaron chuckled to himself. You are always so eager to step in and help, aren’t you?

Katherine shrugged. It gives me a purpose in life and I believe it is God’s calling for me to be as helpful as I possibly can. It would be a sin for me to waste my energies on idleness.

Aaron studied the woman and something flickered against the back of his eyes but it was only there for a single moment. He blinked and it was gone. Just don’t work yourself too hard, he warned before walking in the opposite direction.

Katherine watched him go. She had a yearning to call after him but what she wanted to say, she did not know so she kept her lips pressed firmly together and waited until he was out of sight before she started the journey towards her daughter’s home.

***

Won’t you stay a little longer, mother? Jessabelle asked as she saw Katherine to the door. It must be lonely –

I am fine, dear. She placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. There is no need for you to worry because God is there alongside me and he keeps me company even when the empty rooms do not.

Jessabelle frowned. I miss you.

I miss you too, dear, but you are a wife now and your place is with your husband.

They exchanged a quick kiss of departure.

The temperature had dropped quite a bit, forcing Katherine to tighten the shawl she wore around her body. As she traveled through the community, she witnessed a plethora of happy families. Children squealed and enjoyed the moonlight’s silver glow while mothers tended to the households and fathers brought in wood for the fires.

Katherine remembered the past when all her children were nothing more than tykes and she would watch them from the window and Fredrick would come up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist.

You are with God now, she thought to herself as she looked up at the Heavens. And I know that he summoned you for good reason but I wish he hadn’t summoned you so soon because I miss you dearly each and every day.

Chapter 2

That night.

Katherine could not sleep. The sheets felt particularly itchy and there was blaze simmering underneath her skin that caused her to sweat through the nightshirt that she wore. Unable to stand it any longer, she changed her nightshirt for another and sat down at her writing desk.

The feather pen felt familiar in her hand – almost warm even. It had belonged to Fredrick and he had once used it to pen all of his letters. Now, Katherine used it to pour her abundant creative spirits into writing stories. Most of them were borderline on journal entries where she would speak aloud to her late husband, weaving the future that they could never share now that he was gone. Others had nothing to do with Fredrick and only with the weight of her womanhood and how it felt to carry inside her a broken heart.

When she came to realize it, the sun had started to rise over the horizon, painting the outside landscape in a palette of pinks. Katherine admired it for a while before she turned her tune and started to write a letter to a good English friend that had once taken refuge inside the Amish community to escape the terrors of an abusive husband. This refugee was now a businesswoman of good standings. Katherine imagined that together, they could open up a lovely little bookstore.

It has always been a dream of mine to open up such a shop, she wrote in her letter just before signing her name at the bottom of the page.

With jitters causing her fingers to shake, she folded the sheet into three even sections and slipped it inside an envelope. Using the warmth of the candle’s flame, she melted some wax and sealed the letter inside the envelope. She kissed it for good luck before setting it aside. It was still much too early for her to bring it to the post office.

***

Time crawled by as Katherine waited for the hour to come.

Finally, however, she made the trek but on her way to deliver the letter, she was intercepted by the church elders. Typically, they walked as one body and today was no exception to that rule.

Elder Jerimiah greeted her first with the Lord’s blessing and a nod of his head. All the others were quick to follow. His eyes then drifted to the letter in her hands. And who might you be writing to?

Miss Warren, Katherine explained. The woman that took refuge here due to her husband’s abuses.

Ah, he said with yet another nod. He had his hand clasped behind his back and he rocked slightly on his feet like it was impossible for him to keep still. It had the effect of making everyone around him a bit nervous.

Katherine felt that now as she came under scrutiny.

And what business do you have with an outsider who has decided to leave the protection of our fold?

Her mouth felt incredibly dry so she tried to moisten her lips with a pass of her tongue but it did not help.

It is rude to leave an elder waiting for his answer, interjected Jacob, the oldest of the eldest and the one with the least amount of patience left to offer his flock.

It is not uncommon for members of our community to venture into the city in order to establish businesses. I, too, would like to do just that.

And what sort of business are you hoping to start with this Miss Warren? asked Jerimiah.

A book shop, sir.

A book shop? he repeated. What need have we to run a book shop? It will not benefit this community in any way.

But – Katherine took a step forward in hopes of defending her dreams but the body of elders held up their hands, silencing her.

We would think it much wiser if you worked in an Amish-owned store instead if work is what you are looking for, Jerimiah said with a tone that was civil but which left no room for argument.

Katherine felt her shoulders sag as her dream was snuffed before it could even begin to come to fruition.

Perhaps –

Katherine. Jerimiah tossed her a look that demanded silence.

The woman stammered but, in the end, she managed to keep her mouth shut and avoid the elders’ wrath.

And so, they walked away and left Katherine feeling crushed and defeated. How long she stood there, she did not know but it felt like an eternity before she blinked back into a state of reality.

Just then, a horse-drawn buggy came ambling down the dirt road at a leisurely pace. She instantly recognized the horse with its smattering of brown spots against a silky white coat. Chestnut, Katherine whispered as the horse came to a stop and nuzzled its long snout into her shoulder, begging for some attention.

Katherine? Aaron called her name from the driver’s seat. What are you doing, standing in the middle of the road?

She did not answer him right away but joined him on the buggy and waited for him to set off toward his intended destination.

I was going to the post office, she said after a while. I meant to send a letter to Miss Warren in hopes that we might open a book shop together but the elders are not very fond of the idea and say that I should work for an Amish-owned store instead.

Aaron looked at his old school friend and saw the disappointment written on every inch of her face. I know it is not much by comparison, but you always have a place at the bakery. The elders shouldn’t have any qualms about you working there.

Katherine bit her bottom lip to keep herself from responding too quickly. Logically, she knew that she should accept but she could not come to terms with a future that involved spending her time slaving over a hot oven. 

It is just a thought, said Aaron. You do not have to accept today or tomorrow, even.

Thank you, she responded with an air of gratitude. I will certainly think about it.

Chapter 3

The buggy continued to the bakery while Katherine’s mind wandered elsewhere. Her fingers itched for the pen and everything she still needed to write down in order to lift some