Unknown Life Change

By Samantha Harshbarger

Unknown Life Change is about how our lives can change with every decision that is made. Natalie Parker and Levi Kurtz love each other from a young age after knowing each other for most of their childhood. But with one being Amish and the other one being English, is it possible for them to end up together? Follow along as they struggle with betrayal, trust issues, family, and many more stumps along their paths. Will they end up together? Was it just a childhood crush that wasn't meant to be?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890430212

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Unknown Life Change

Samantha Harshbarger

ISBN 979-8-89043-020-5 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89043-021-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Samantha Harshbarger

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Young Adult Christian Romance

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

About the Author

Young Adult Christian Romance

Chapter 1

My name is Natalie Parker. I am seventeen years old. I have medium-length brown hair and brown eyes. It is five o'clock in the morning on the third of September, and right now I am packing. I want to be gone by lunchtime. I live in a small town called New Wilmington, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, which is made up of Amish communities and has Westminster College in the borough.

Now let me explain why I have to leave. I knew an Amish guy. His name is Levi Kurtz, who I fell in love with when I was fourteen. He was twenty at the time, and for some reason, he vanished and left town for three years now—that is, till I went to a party a month ago and he ended up being there.

By the end of the night, we both were drunk, and we ended up having sex, which means he took my virginity. When I woke up the next morning, I was saddened by how I lost my virginity because I had wanted to save it for my wedding night, for that is what I grew up believing in. The one verse I always believed in was Hebrews 13:4, which is, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

After I got over my feelings and realized Levi was still sleeping, I hurried up in getting dressed and fled as fast as I could back to my house. But I had received one extra thing that night, and that was a baby. He got me pregnant, and I didn't want him to reject the baby like he rejected my love when I was fourteen years old. I will always regret defiling my future marriage bed, but I will never regret this child, and I will stay a single parent if that is what it takes to right my sin.

My bags are packed, and the taxi finally showed up, and now I just have one errand to run, then I will be out of this town. I decided to let my parents know. They are divorced, so I wrote two letters. I am going to drop them off at the post office box.

I mean, my mom will be the only person who cares where I will be and about my safety. I figured my father deserved to know he was going to be a grandfather, but he won't care because he is an absentee dad. He never came to any of my school functions. I remember him coming to one of my concerts, but he brought Amish with him, and that's all he cared about, driving the Amish. To him they mattered more than me. I was never against him driving them around, but the thing was, he treated them more like family than his own family. It was almost as if he had two families and only cared about one more than the other, and that was the Amish.

Am I afraid he will tell Levi Kurtz? Yes, but I guess, if he tells him, then he tells him. I mean, it won't matter because I won't be in town much longer, and I am not telling him where I will be.

Three hours later

Sir, I think this town is good. Thank you for the ride. How much is the cab fare? I told the taxi driver as soon as I saw the town sign.

I chose Mount Hope, Ohio. I figured I would find a house around here so my child can be raised around their father's roots. He also lived in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, but Mount Hope is just a bigger version of Amish communities, and my child's father is ex-Amish.

It was $100.00 here, so for me to go back, we will say $200.00, the taxi driver said, startling me, and once I realized what he was talking about, I got the money out of my wallet.

The reason I can afford to move and live on my own is because I was left an inheritance from my deceased grandparents, and since I will be eighteen years old soon enough, my mom let me move into my own house, the one I left back in New Wilmington. She let me move on my own because she has three other children—my eleven-year-old twin sisters, Selena and Amelia, and my ten-year-old brother, Carter. So she had her hands full, as was the house. She has only three bedrooms, so I had to share with the twins, and it was becoming too crowded in the bedroom.

Once the taxi driver was gone I walked down the road a ways till I saw a place to eat, and since my stomach growled, I decided to stop. So the first place I stopped at was Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen to eat and find a room for rent till I can find a house for sale with electricity. I won't need a car because I plan on buying a house in town and also because I don't drive since I have too many anxiety and fears.

When I walked in, it was like a restaurant scene with a podium at the front door with a greeter, and it smelled great. Once fully inside, I could smell bacon, sausage, and pancakes. I checked my phone, and I noticed it was eight in the morning.

Hello, madam, how can I help you this morning? a girl said as she walked up to the podium, grabbing a menu and silverware set. She looked like she was sixteen years old.

Hello, do you know a place for rent or a house for sale nearby? Also, I would like a table for one to eat breakfast, I told her.

She took me to a table and went to get me a glass of Pepsi.

Hello there, my name is Mary Yoder. My daughter Katie said you wanted to find a place to rent or buy?

I figured Katie was the greeter since she was the only person I talked to since arriving.

Yes, I actually want to find a house in town here to raise my child. I would like electricity in the house too though. But for now I will be fine renting a house or room. I hoped and prayed she knew of a house for sale.

Well, there was an English couple living on the corner three buildings up who just moved out and are trying to sell it. They gave us their number in case if we heard someone wanting a house. I could give you the number, she said, walking toward the counter.

She handed me the number, and I thanked her for it, then I gave her my order of two sunny- side eggs, two bacon, three slices of pancakes, and two pieces of toast, plus a refill on Pepsi. I know it's a big meal, but I am feeding two.

After I was done and paid, I decided to tour around town till eleven, which was two hours from now, because the house owners said they could give me a tour, and if I wanted it, I could buy it.

I went up to the house first, just to see the outside and what was nearby, and it had a white picket fence with small yard. It was a two-story house with a basement, they said, and it had three bedrooms. The house was light-blue in color with a white door, and the yard looked big enough for one horse and a dog. The house had one house to the left of it, on the right was the barn and fence that looked like it went all behind the house, and Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen was right down the road. There was a country mart on the corner down the road across the street from the restaurant, which is where I could buy groceries, and right next to it was a clothing store. This seemed to be the perfect place. I am just hoping the house is great on the inside.

Eleven could not have come soon enough, and the homeowners arrived. They showed me the inside of the house. They said there is one house and one small barn with two acres of land. They said they had a horse and three dogs with four kids.

The inside was great. I mean, exact colors I would use. They said they had repainted the kids' rooms and the master room. One kid's room was a blue, and the other was yellow, and the master room was a nice gold. There was a bow window with a seating area, and it was cushioned. The bow window could be my reading nook. The kitchen had a wooden floor and black-and-white tile walls. Then there was a dining room and living room. The dining room had sliding doors leading out to a deck, and in the backyard, I could see the back of the small barn to the right of the house, and the fence did go around the whole backyard like I assumed.

You couldn't see the neighbors on the left at all because there was a tall wooden fence on that whole side, which I liked, because back in New Wilmington, there was plenty more distance between me and my one neighbor. They also told me they were selling all the furniture that was still in the house, so that meant I just needed a crib, a queen-sized bed, two nightstands, one baby dresser and changing table. They said they were selling it all for $6,000, so I wrote them a check. They said the only reason it was that cheap was because they wanted it sold and they knew what it was like first starting out with no help. They had each other, and they couldn't imagine how hard it is for me being single.

So here I am at six at night with a house to my name and all the furniture and groceries I needed. After shopping and putting everything away, I ate a big dinner since I skipped lunch. I decided to try to