Bond Never Broken (Daughters of Amana Book #3) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Judith Miller

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139 pages

English

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For many years, Ilsa Redlich has helped her parents run a hotel in South Amana, but as the United States enters the Great War, she can feel her world changing. The residents of the towns surrounding the Amana Colonies used to be accepting of their quiet, peaceful neighbors, but with anti-German sentiment running high, the Amana villages are now plagued by vandalism, threats, and insults. Things get even worse when Ilsa finds out her family won't be allowed to speak German in public--and that Garon, the childhood friend she's long been smitten with, has decided to join the army.Jutta Schmidt is shocked when several members of the Council of National Defense show up on her family's doorstep. Sure, the Schmidts once lived in the Amana Colonies, but that was years ago. She's even more surprised when the council demands that she travel to Amana and report back on any un-American activities. Not daring to disobey the government agents, Jutta takes a job at the South Amana hotel, befriends the daughter of the owners, and begins to eavesdrop every chance she gets.When Jutta hears Ilsa making antiwar remarks and observes Garon assisting a suspicious outsider, she is torn at the prospect of betraying her new friends. But what choice does she have? And when Garon is accused of something far worse than Jutta could imagine, can the Amana community come to his aid in time?

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Historical fiction

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 mars 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441214140
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0259€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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© 2011 by Judith Miller
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2011
Ebook corrections 02.07.2017
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, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-1414-0
Cover design by Lookout Design, Inc.
Cover photography by Aimee Christenson
With special recognition to The Amana Historical Society
To My brother, Tom McCoy, and my sister, Mary Kay Woodford. I am forever grateful for your love and support.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
– G EORGE S ANTAYANA
Contents
Cover
Title
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
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
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Special Thanks to...
Note from the Author
About the Author
Other Books by Judith Miller
Ad
Back Cover
CHAPTER 1
October 1917 Amana Colonies, Iowa Ilsa Redlich
I had failed.
There was no other way to justify our presence at the train station.
My brother, Albert, tipped his head and leaned down to look into my eyes. “Please smile, Ilsa. I don’t want this to be a sad occasion. I want to remember your engaging smile and the twinkle in those big blue eyes.”
I tried, but even his reference to my eyes didn’t help. Gaining control over my trembling lips would be an impossible feat. “Please don’t ask me to smile. To see you depart does not please my heart.” The headpiece of my woolen cloak had fallen to my shoulders, and I touched my index finger to the black cap that covered my hair. “My head will not accept your choice, either.”
Once Albert stepped onto the train, nothing would ever be the same. The war had changed everything, and who could say when I would ever see him again.
As if reading my thoughts, he rested his arm across my shoulders. “They’ve told me I’ll serve all of my time at Camp Pike, and I’ll probably get to come home for Christmas.”
I nodded. “They told Dr. Miller the same thing. Did that stop them from sending him to Europe?” I didn’t wait for my brother’s answer. “The same is true for you, Albert. Those people can tell you anything they want, but it doesn’t mean they will keep their word.”
He tightened his hold and squeezed my right shoulder. “You worry too much, Ilsa. All will be well. You must put your trust in God.”
Passengers skirted around us, eager to purchase tickets or locate a seat near the station’s wood-burning stove. “Like Sister Miller? When I saw her at the Red Cross meeting last week, she didn’t think all was well. She was in tears when she spoke of her husband.” I lowered my voice. Speaking against the war was not a good thing, especially for those of German heritage. “And she was angry, too. She said her husband was told he wouldn’t be sent overseas because of his conscientious objector status, but still they sent him.”
“ Ach! Who can know what happened with Dr. Miller? Not me or you. I am only certain of what I’ve been told: I will serve at Camp Pike and then return home.”
He wasn’t going to listen, so I bit back any further arguments. Not knowing when I would see Albert again, I didn’t want to spoil our parting with cross words. Mother had kissed Albert’s cheek, said her good-bye, and hurried to the kitchen to prepare the noonday meal for the hotel guests, but I hadn’t failed to notice the tears she’d squeezed back. And Father had murmured a hasty farewell and pulled Albert into an awkward hug before heading to the wheelwright shop after breakfast.
Around us, the clamor of conversation rose and fell. A train whistled in the distance. “You promise you’ll write? Mutter and Vater will worry if they don’t hear from you each week.”
He wagged his finger back and forth beneath my nose. “It is not Mutter and Vater who will worry. They have peace because they trust God. But you, dear Ilsa, are not so quick to find that peace.”
“ Nein . Probably because I prayed you would be spared from the draft, yet you received your notice. Then I prayed you would file a request to be released from military duty because of your religious beliefs, but you didn’t. Instead, you only checked the box saying you are a conscientious objector. So then I prayed you would fail the physical exam, but you passed with flying colors. My prayers failed on all accounts, and I find it hard to trust that God will answer my prayers to keep you safe.”
“God heard your prayers, Ilsa, but He has other plans for my life, and those plans include serving in the U.S. Army. It’s as simple as that.”
I glared at a group of boisterous passengers congregated nearby, angry that their lives remained unchanged while mine was being turned upside down.
“I promise I’ll write,” Albert said, “but you shouldn’t expect a letter every week. I don’t know what my duties will be, and I don’t want you to be disappointed.” He grinned. “Maybe you could bake me some cookies and send them.”
I forced a tight smile. “ Ja . You know I will.”
He pecked a kiss on my cheek. “I will be happy to have some, even if you burn them.”
I gave him a playful shove. He never failed to tease me about the first cookies I had baked without Mother’s help. Tearful when they had burned, I fretted there would be no dessert for the hotel guests. Albert had come home and joined me in scraping off the black crust. He’d declared them perfect, though I don’t think the guests had agreed.
Tears threatened and I swallowed hard to keep them at bay. I could cry later. But not now, not during these precious final minutes with Albert.
With only an eighteen-month difference in our ages, we’d been close all of our lives, unlike many of our friends who didn’t get along with their siblings. Perhaps that was why I’d taken it so personally when he refused to take my advice to remain at home. Then again, maybe it was because I feared his decision would influence Garon and change my life even more. And it had. Not only had Albert’s decision wreaked havoc in my relationship with him, it had also caused problems between me and the man I was pledged to marry.
“Unless the elders tell us the government wants us to use even less flour and sugar than we already do, I will do my best to send you something gut to eat at least once or twice a month.” I did my best to keep my tone light.
The station doors burst open, and a group of travelers flooded inside. Teeth chattering, they hurried to cluster around the stove. A cold gust of wind swept across the wooden floor, and I drew my wool cloak close. It was early for snow and ice, but not so unusual that we hadn’t faced the same circumstances in the past. If we were fortunate, this cold weather would pass and warmer fall weather would return for a few more weeks. Garon followed the group inside. He’d been to the depot at Upper South and driven the passengers to Lower South in the special carriage used to transport travelers back and forth between the two train stations in South Amana.
Give or take a few, our population in South had remained at two hundred residents for more than thirty years, but the constant flow of train passengers and visitors made it seem bigger. And though we were smaller than Main Amana with its more than five hundred residents, we were the only village with two train stations. A point of pride, though pride wasn’t considered a good trait among our people. Nowadays we didn’t worry so much about boasting, for the elders didn’t enforce the less significant rules with the same strictness that had prevailed in the early days of the settlement.
Garon stomped the light dusting of snow from his boots and yanked the woolen cap from atop his thatch of coffee brown hair. He grinned at me. “Got a few passengers planning to stay overnight at the hotel. Hope you’ve got rooms for them.”
“Ja, we can take care of them.”
“I told them I had to stop at the depot before I could take them on to the hotel, but they didn’t seem to mind.” Garon clapped my brother on the shoulder. “Didn’t want you to board the train without saying a proper good-bye, Albert.” He leaned closer. “I may be joining you soon, so be sure to write.”
I snapped to attention. “What do you mean, Garon?” Panic gripped my stomach in a tight knot, and I was thankful I hadn’t eaten much breakfast. “Have you received your notice to report for a physical?” My fingernails dug into the soft flesh of my palms.
He shook his head. “Nein. For sure I would have told you if it had come.” Doubt must have shone in my eyes, for he stepped closer and leaned down until we were nose to nose. “I give you my word, Ilsa. I have not received my notice. If I hear anything from the local draft board, you will be the first to know.”
His words didn’t soothe me. What I truly wanted was a promise he wouldn’t join the army no matter what. But I knew I wouldn’t hear that—at least not right now. I had quit arguing with my brother, and look what had happened. I would not make the same mistake twice.
Albert and Garon continued their talk of service and patriotism until the train rumbled into the station. I clung to Albert’s arm while Garon strode alongside us, carrying my brother’s bag.
“Well, this is it until I g