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Harvest House Publishers - Mary Ellis

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135 pages

English

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A Little Bit of Charm, the third book in bestselling author Mary Ellis's New Beginnings series, is about fresh starts...and how faith in God and His perfect plans provide the peace and joy all long for.After the death of her parents and then watching both of her older sisters find happiness in homes of their own with husbands who adore them, Rachel King yearns for a new beginning. Her cousin Sarah lives near a thoroughbred stable in Kentucky, and working around beautiful horses is Rachel's dream come true. She leaves Lancaster County to find a job at Twelve Elms Stables and believes God has answered her prayers.And then she meets Jake, an attractive and charming Englisch man. At first she refuses to go out with him, but he eventually convinces her to give him a chance. When Amish men who also wish to date Rachel start encountering strange mishaps, she wonders if Jake is really who he seems to be. What does a young woman do when her heart is pulled in two directions?

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Romance

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers
Date de parution	01 septembre 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736943055
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0480€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Books by Mary Ellis
The New Beginnings Series
Living in Harmony
http://bit.ly/LivinginHarmony
Love Comes to Paradise
http://bit.ly/LoveComestoParadise
A Little Bit of Charm
http://bit.ly/LittleBitofCharm
The Miller Family Series
A Widow s Hope
Never Far from Home
The Way to a Man s Heart
The Wayne County Series
Abigail s New Hope
A Marriage for Meghan
Standalones
Sarah s Christmas Miracle
An Amish Family Reunion
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota
Cover photos Chris Garborg; Bigstock / volgariver, Elenamiv, molodec, IgorKovalchuk
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A LITTLE BIT OF CHARM
Copyright 2013 by Mary Ellis
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ellis, Mary,
A little bit of charm / Mary Ellis.
pages cm.-(The New Beginnings Series ; Book 3)
ISBN 978-0-7369-3868-6 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-4305-5 (eBook)
1. Amish-Fiction. 2. Christian fiction. 3. Love stories. I. Title.
PS3626.E36L56 2013
813 .6-dc23
2013000684
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a non-transferable, non-exclusive, and non-commercial right to access and view this electronic publication and agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
This book is dedicated to Virgil Bray, approaching one hundred years on God s earth, lifelong Kentucky farmer, father of eleven, grandfather and great-grandfather of dozens .
Virgil s favorite quip:
Look at that man.
He s acting like he eats chicken for breakfast.
A MAZING G RACE
John Newton, lyrics 1779
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
When we ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We ve no less days to sing God s praise
Than when we d first begun.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see .
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Pete and Donna Taylor for providing my home away from home during my research, and to my wonderful research assistants, Taylor, Jessie, and Keeley and their mother, Julie Miller. You are all family to me.
Thanks to Linda Hitchcock of Barren County, Kentucky, for her tireless assistance with contacts in the Amish and Mennonite communities and for plenty of storyline ideas.
Thanks to my agent, Mary Sue Seymour; to my lovely proofreader, Joycelyn Sullivan; to my editor, Kim Moore; and the wonderful staff at Harvest House Publishers.
Thanks to Emma of Mount Hermon and Michelle of Hillside Greenhouse and the helpful folks at Sunny Valley Country Store in Liberty, Kentucky, for answering all of my questions.
Finally, thanks to the charming Old Order Mennonites of Barren, Hart, Metcalf, Monroe, and Casey Counties who allowed me to peek into their lives. While they are real, Charm, Kentucky, is a fictional town.
Contents
Books by Mary Ellis
Amazing Grace
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Recipes Reader s Guide
Chicken Paprikas
Dumplings
Chess Pie
Kentucky Corn Bread
Discussion Questions
About the Author
Living in Harmony
Love Comes to Paradise
Ready to Discover More?
About the Publisher
ONE
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
Paradise, Missouri
W hew, it s already the middle of September and still hotter than blazes.
Rachel looked at her younger sister in horror. Shush, Beth, before someone hears you. What will the Gingerichs think of us?
Beth looked up with an innocent expression. Is blazes a bad word? I ve heard daed say build a blaze in the woodstove or a blazing sunset.
Rachel rolled her eyes. Just shush on general principles. You ll be on your way back to Lancaster County soon, and then you can revert to your normal self. But let s put our best foot forward while we re still visitors here.
Beth s green-eyed focus turned wary. What do you mean by I ll be on my way back to Pennsylvania?
Rachel ignored a question she wasn t yet ready to answer. Look, here comes the blushing bride and groom. She grinned with a heart swelling with joy and love for their sister.
Who would ever guess Nora would get hitched to Lewis Miller? Surely not me. Beth s words were an audible whisper. I thought she d end up with that wily fox, Elam Detweiler.
Rachel shifted her weight to her other foot, which she then placed directly atop Beth s. No other admonishment proved necessary.
Nora and Lewis approached with the glowing faces only a wedding day could inspire. Well, my dear schwestern , did you enjoy seeing us get married? Nora wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders, drawing them close.
The three-way hug brought a rush of moisture to Rachel s eyes. Truly, I did. I ve never seen you looking so pretty or so happy. Tears cascaded down her cheeks with the realization the four King siblings would not only be in four different districts, but different states as well.
A couple of years ago they were like any other Old Order Amish girls living at home, with their grandparents just next door. They dreamed of a future around the corner, married to boys they had known their entire lives. But a house fire had changed everything. It took their parents to the Lord and their two older sisters to where their hearts led them. Amy, the eldest, settled in Harmony, Maine, where her fianc s brothers lived. Nora, however, didn t find the ultraconservative district to her liking. So when the handsome, fence-sitting Elam Detweiler, Amy s new brother-in-law, took off with his secret driver s license and his secondhand red Chevy, Nora followed soon after.
But new beginnings are often hard to predict. Not long after moving to Missouri, Nora s independent streak began to fade. For the first time she longed to fit in and be part of a loving, supportive community. If Nora s facial expression today could be trusted, she had found what she was looking for in a town called Paradise.
A frisson of anxiety spiked up Rachel s spine. She thought of her upcoming plans and wondered whether she was making a big mistake. Would she cause her grossmammi grief and worry for nothing? Shaking off the notion, she joined Beth in cleaning up after the wedding meal while the happy couple walked guests to their buggies, expressing gratitude for the gifts and good wishes and thanking them for sharing in their most special day.
Later that evening, while fireflies lit up the backyard with a thousand twinkling lights, Rachel sat on the Gingerich porch. Sleep wouldn t come-that much she knew. But she didn t wish to pace the bedroom floor and keep Beth or her gracious hosts awake. She tried to pray, but the only words that came to mind were the rote prayers learned as a child. After several silent Our Fathers, she clenched her eyes tightly shut. Please, Lord, grant my sister a long life with many kinner and much joy . Unbidden tears started anew. Her emotions seemed to be a roiling kettle of soup, rattling the lid and threatening to overflow.
Why are you out here crying? Nora gently pulled on her sister s kapp ribbon before slipping into the rocker next to hers.
A better question would be what are you doing out here on your wedding night? Rachel wiped her face and arched an eyebrow. Don t you and Lewis have some business to attend to?
A pretty blush rose up Nora s neck. Don t speak of things you know nothing about. She pinched Rachel s arm. Besides, I ll join him in a little while. We re both too nervous to sleep much tonight. Tomorrow we move to our new home. It s not much, but it s ours. She rocked with the satisfied assurance of a woman whose life was laid out before her like a well-organized quilt.
Rachel knew no such contentment. Her future looked like an early spring sky-patchy clouds, intermittent rays of sunshine, and the smell of a coming storm. I wish Beth and I could stay longer to help you pack.
Worry not. My friend Violet arranged everything for our move and hers before she and Seth left on their wedding trip to the Gulf of Mexico. Violet might not be able to run, but she still maneuvers at the speed of light. She absolutely refused to use her crutches at her marriage ceremony. Her poor daed kept hovering as though she might fall over. Creak, creak, creak . For several moments the only sound came from the rolling wooden slats on the porch boards. Then in a hushed tone, Nora asked, Care to tell me what s troubling you? And don t say nothing. You ve been weepy eyed all day. That is