Mattie's Pledge (Journey to Pleasant Prairie Book #2) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Drexler Jan

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152 pages

English

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A Tender, Poignant, and Heartwarming Glimpse into the Amish Migration West from PennsylvaniaMattie Schrock is no stranger to uprooting her life. Even as her father relocated her family from one Amish community to the next, she always managed to find a footing in their new homes. Now as the Schrock family plans to move west from Somerset County to a fledgling Amish settlement in Indiana, she looks forward to connecting with old friends who will be joining them from another Pennsylvania community--friends like Jacob Yoder, who has always held a special place in her heart.Since Mattie last saw Jacob, they've both grown into different people with different dreams. Jacob yearns to settle down, but Mattie can't help but dream of what may lie over the western horizon. When a handsome Englisher tempts her to leave the Amish behind to search for adventure in the West, will her pledge to Jacob be the anchor that holds her secure?Tender, poignant, and gentle, Mattie's Pledge offers readers a glimpse into Amish life in the 1840s--and into the yearning heart of a character they'll not soon forget.

Sujets

Historical romance

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	20 septembre 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493405206
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2016 by Jan Drexler
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2016
Ebook corrections 06.20.2017
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—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—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 978-1-4934-0520-6
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Author is represented by WordServe Literary Group.
Praise for Hannah’s Choice
“ Hannah’s Choice is a compelling story of family and place that demonstrates how choices in life can be both difficult and exciting. Jan Drexler’s Amish family is so engaging that we’re right there with them, sitting down at their supper table, sharing their joys and sorrows as they embrace the adventure of life. A great read for anyone who enjoys a page-turning mix of appealing characters, exciting story action, sweet romance, and interesting history.”
— Ann H. Gabhart , bestselling author of The Innocent
“A new historical romance with family dysfunction and well-written characters who are caring and strong-willed, both in body and mind. The story will leave fans wanting more. Drexler weaves a beautiful storyline, and her research makes it shine.”
— RT Book Reviews
“This is a compelling story that speaks on depression and family ties, as well as looks into the historical and Amish setting. The story is a definite page-turner.”
— Parkersburg News & Sentinel
Dedication
To my great-grandmother, Bessie Ellen Schrock Sherck, in whose eyes I saw Mattie’s dreams. Thank you for your faithfulness to God and our family.
Soli Deo Gloria
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Praise for Hannah’s Choice
Dedication
Epigraph
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
Sneak Peak into Book 3
About the Author
Other books in the Journey to Pleasant Prairie series
Back Ads
Back Cover
Epigraph
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvelous things.
Micah 7:14–15
1

B ROTHERS V ALL EY , P ENNS YLVANIA A PRIL 1843
“Mattie.”
Mattie Schrock ignored her sister, intent on the flutter of wings she spied through the branches of the tree, pulling her attention from wringing the water out of Daed ’s shirt. She leaned as far toward the edge of the covered porch as she could, her toes clinging to the worn wooden planks. The bird wouldn’t hold still. What kind was it?
“It’s your turn to hang the laundry. I have to help Mamm get dinner ready.” Naomi shoved the basket of wet clothes toward the porch steps with her foot.
Mattie gave up on identifying the bird. Hanging laundry wasn’t her favorite chore, even though it meant she was able to be in the yard instead of in the hot kitchen. She picked up the heavy basket and rested it on her hip as she took the bag of clothes pegs from the hook next to the porch steps. “It’s your turn next time, then.”
Naomi pulled the stopper from the washtub and let the water drain onto the flower bed in the yard below the porch. “I’d rather hang clothes than work inside today. The weather is so lovely and warm after the days of rain we’ve had.”
Mattie stopped with one foot on the bottom step. “Why did you insist I take my turn, then? You can hang the laundry if you want to.”
“Ne.” Naomi shook her head and wiped out the empty tub with a rag. “Fair is fair. It’s your turn.” She gave Mattie a smile. “I know how much you like to be outside.”
She hung the washtub on the wall and turned to the rinse tub. Naomi was tall and slender, the opposite of Mattie’s own short stockiness. Her hair, which had turned to a soft brown during the winter months, was beginning to lighten to its summer blond where it peeked out from under her kapp . Naomi worked with a spare efficiency that wasted no motions. She hung the rinse tub on the wall next to its mate, draped the rag over its hook, and started toward the back door, but stopped when she saw Mattie.
“You haven’t even begun yet. What are you doing, standing there? Daydreaming again?”
“You’ll be a wonderful wife someday.”
Naomi turned her face away. “Are you sure God’s plan isn’t for me to remain single? A maidle caring for Mamm and Daed in their old age?”
Mattie pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She shouldn’t have said anything. “There is someone for you. Someone wonderful.”
“You’re kind to say so. But don’t worry about me.” Naomi fingered the door latch. “I’ll be content, no matter what happens.” She slipped inside the house.
Mattie shifted the heavy basket on her hip and crossed the yard to the line strung between the porch roof and the big oak tree. Naomi had never had a beau. The boys who vied for Mattie’s attention never noticed Naomi except to enjoy her pies. They never teased her to join their games or asked her to go for a buggy ride on a spring evening. She didn’t mention it, but Mattie knew the slights bothered her. She had heard her sister crying in the middle of the night when Naomi thought no one would hear, especially after Mattie had been for a buggy ride with Andrew Bontrager. There must be someone for Naomi.
Lowering the basket to the ground, Mattie picked up the first shirt, shook it to release the wrinkles, then pegged it to the line.
If the boys ignored her, she wouldn’t be as calm as Naomi. At eighteen years old, Naomi should be planning her wedding. She should be filling her wedding chest with quilts and bedding, but Naomi kept herself busy helping Mamm or their sister Annie, or one of their sisters-in-law. She never took time to plan for her own future. She never made anything for herself.
Mattie stopped, a peg halfway onto the line, an apron forgotten in her hands. Why not make something for Naomi’s wedding chest herself? She pushed the peg onto the line with a firm shove. Because she could never sit still enough to finish any needlework. Her own quilt was barely started.
As she finished hanging the apron and reached for a dress wadded in the basket, an idea swirled through her mind. She could finish that quilt for Naomi. That would show her sister she had faith that there would be a husband for her, that she wouldn’t remain a maidle forever.
As she hung the last few items of laundry, Mattie tried to remember where the pieces for her quilt might be. Not in her own chest. She had packed it yesterday for their coming move to Indiana.
At that thought, she looked toward the west. Even though the surrounding hills blocked her view, she could see the western mountains in her imagination. Any day now the folks from the Conestoga in Lancaster County would arrive in Brothers Valley, and then they would leave on their journey.
Now she remembered. The quilt had been packed. It was in the barrel, the one with the blue lid, where she had packed her winter shawl and heavy comforter. Daed had already taken it to the barn, but if she looked for it now, she could start working on it this afternoon. Naomi needn’t know it was for her, she would think Mattie was continuing to sew her own neglected quilt.
Mattie took the basket and bag of clothes pegs back to the porch and hung them in their places. If only she could slip away to the barn before Mamm saw her. With her sister Annie, her husband, and their family coming to share dinner, Mamm would want Mattie’s help. But she could find her quilt and be back before she was needed.
Running across the yard to the barn, Mattie stopped inside the big open door, catching her breath while she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. Daed stood on the far side of the center bay, silhouetted against the open door on the other end. Christopher, Annie’s husband, stood facing him. Neither of them noticed Mattie.
“We’re staying here.”
Daed moved to the workbench and dropped a hammer on the wooden surface with a thump. When Mattie saw the expression on his face as he turned back to Christopher, she knew she should make herself scarce. She slid behind some boards standing against the wall next to the door.
“You can’t stay here. Our family is going west in a few days. You and my daughter are coming with us.”
Mattie peeked out between two of the boards. Eavesdropping was almost as great a sin as . . . as . . . Well, bad enough. She should leave or make her presence known. But she had to find out what was going on. Christopher held himself stiffly, his entire five and a half feet quivered as Daed stepped toward him, a frown on his face as he looked down on his son-in-law.
“We’re staying.” Christopher squared his shoulders. “I’m not taking my family to the wilderness. It’s too dangerous.”
“That isn’t your only reason though, is it? I saw you talking with Peter Blank last Sunday. You’re still in favor of building the meetinghouse.”
“I am. I think it’s time we let go of the past and move on toward the future. We no longer need to live like our ancestors, afraid of being arrested every time we meet. And hosting the church is too hard for some of