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161 pages

English

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Bestselling author BJ Hoff's faithful fans will delight in the heartwarming conclusion to her acclaimed Riverhaven Years trilogy, following the success of the first two books in the series, Rachel's Secret and Where Grace Abides. In this third book, young Gideon Kanagy faces a life-changing challenge--and an unexpected romance with his young Amish friend, Emma Knepp. Gideon's sister, Rachel, and the "outsider" Jeremiah Gant add to the drama with their own dilemma and its repercussions for the entire community of Riverhaven.As with all of BJ's popular books, unforgettable characters and well-drawn suspense keep readers turning pages into the wee hours.

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Historical romance

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers
Date de parution	01 octobre 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736940528
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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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Cover by Koechel Peterson Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
BJ Hoff is published in association with Books Such Literary Agency, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5370. www.booksandsuch.biz
RIVER OF MERCY Copyright 2012 by BJ Hoff Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoff, B. J.
River of mercy / BJ Hoff.
p. cm.-(The Riverhaven years ; bk. 3)
ISBN 978-0-7369-2420-7 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-7369-4052-8 (eBook) 1. Amish-Fiction. I. Title. PS3558.O34395R58 2012 813 .54-dc22
2012012455
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, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I m thankful to so many people who helped bring this book to fulfillment, and especially to
My husband, Jim, who knows all the important stuff I can never figure out and doesn t make too much fun of my helplessness. (He can actually read maps and calculate how long a buggy would have taken to get from point A to point B.) He also puts up with my Irishness and smiles through it all.
My daughters, Dana and Jessie, who pray for me, cheer for me, and put up with me during deadlines and disasters. They also make me smile-a lot.
My grandsons, Noah, Gunnar, and Caleb, who enrich my life and crack me up on a regular basis.
Special friends-Cheryl, the bravest and most resilient woman I know; Sara, a true Steel Magnolia who never ceases to surprise me; Charlotte, who saves me from frumpdom, prays for me, and on occasion, feeds me; Wennie, who storms heaven with a velvet hammer and is known well by the Father; and Edith, who simply does too much for me to list. Bless you all!
My long-suffering editor, Nick Harrison, who wears a mantle of patience and shows the grace of a saint and rolls his eyes only when I m unaware.
Shane White, indefatigable encourager and optimist supreme.
As always, my agent and friend, Janet Kobobel Grant, who never gives up on me.
Kelli Standish, friend and wizard who teaches me something new at least once a week and holds my hand through the nightmarish maze of cyberspace, Facebook, and The Media.
Harvest House-a publisher of the highest integrity that treats its authors like family and friends. Every one of you is such a blessing!
And my readers. I am blessed to have patient and kindhearted readers who continually encourage me with their messages and ongoing prayers. I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all.
Thanks be to my God, who always brings me through in spite of myself.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Too Many Long Nights
1. A Visit to Riverhaven
2. A Future and a Hope
3. A Woman Grown
4. Night Watch
5. Missing Rachel
6. The Man Who Would Be Bishop
7. Music in the Night
8. A Not-So-Cozy Evening
9. Behind the Darkness
10. A Cry on the Mountain
11. A New Strategy
12. New Arrivals
13. What a Morning
14. Secrets
15. The Warning
16. An Enemy Within
17. A Change of Plans
18. Trouble Descending
19. Because of Rachel
20. Advice from a Friend
21. Fire in the Night
22. Counting the Cost
23. Failed Plans
24. Day of Blessing, Day of Trouble
25. Passing Through the Fire
26. What If?
27. End of a Search
28. From Hope to Grief
29. Family Matters
30. A Stirring of Rumors
31. A Secret Meeting
32. A Gift for Rachel
33. A Matter of Trust
34. Meetings That Matter
35. Confrontation
36. Stalker in the Shadows
37. An Unholy Proposal
38. Messages
39. Conviction
40. In Search of Guidance
41. A Highly Unexpected Turn of Events
42. Gant s Dilemma
43. Time to Go Home
44. Stalking Rachel
45. Encounter with the Enemy
46. Rachel s Answer
47. No Longer a Stranger
Epilogue: River Song
River of Mercy
Discussion Questions
About BJ Hoff
About the Publisher
P ROLOGUE
T OO M ANY L ONG N IGHTS
I feel like one who treads alone Some banquet hall, deserted.
T HOMAS M OORE
Amish settlement near Riverhaven, Ohio November 1856
R achel Brenneman had always liked to walk by the river at twilight.
There had been a time during the People s early years at Riverhaven when she gave no thought to walking alone, day or night. After she and Eli were married, the two of them liked to stroll along the bank of the Ohio in the evening, discussing their day, planning the workweek, dreaming of the future. After Eli s death, however, Rachel no longer went out alone after dark, although sometimes she and her ten-year-old sister, Fannie, took a picnic lunch in the early afternoon and sat watching the fine big boats and smaller vessels that traveled the great Ohio to unknown places.
Now though, venturing away from the community no longer felt safe, even in the middle of the day. In truth, there was nowhere that felt safe, not after the deadly attack on Phoebe Esch and the other troubles recently visited upon the People. At night, especially, Rachel stayed inside, sitting alone in her bedroom with the window scarcely open in deference to the weather, which had recently turned cold.
November was a lonely month. Rachel still loved to listen to the river from inside her home, but the nighttime sounds-the distant lapping of the water, the blast from a boat s horn, the night creatures in communion with one another-never failed to set off a stirring of remembrance and an ache in her heart. Yet she couldn t resist sitting there night after night, watching and listening, trying not to let her memories struggle to the surface of her thoughts, trying not to let new hope ignite the ashes of her dreams
Trying not to think of Jeremiah.
But how could she not think of him? How did a woman love a man, even if their love was forbidden, and not see his face in her mind or hear his voice in her ear or remember the imprint of his smile upon her thoughts?
Common sense seemed to tell her it should be easy to put the man out of her head. They couldn t be alone with each other. They couldn t even pass the time of day unless they were in the company of others. If they happened to meet by accident, they were expected to separate as quickly as possible.
Yet even with all the rules and restrictions that kept them apart, Jeremiah Gant was still a part of her life. He flowed through her heart and traced the current of her days as surely and completely as the Ohio flowed through the valley, winding its way through the land, coursing through the days and lives of Rachel and the other Plain people.
Lately, there had been talk of leaving. Two years and more of unrest and harassment and threats-even death-had begun to wear on the Riverhaven Amish. It was rumored that talks were taking place among the church leaders, discussions of whether to remain in this once peaceful valley that had become home to the entire community or to consider moving on.
There was no thought of fighting back, of seeking out the unknown adversaries and taking a stand against them. Even if the People could identify their tormenters, they would not confront them. The Amish were a people of nonresistance. They would not fight, not even to protect their own lives. It wasn t their way. To strike out at another individual under any circumstances was strictly against the Ordnung, the unwritten but strict code that guided how they were to live.
The only person Rachel had ever known to defy the rule against fighting, even in self-defense, was Eli, her deceased husband. He d gone against the Amish way when he defended Rachel against those who ambushed them on another November night, now four years gone. He had fought with desperation and all his strength, only to die at the hands of their attackers while allowing Rachel to escape.
She knew it was a grievous sin to have such a thought, but many had been the time she wished she could have died alongside Eli that terrible night rather than live through the grief-hollowed, barren days that followed his death. She had been totally devoted to Eli. Their marriage had been good, for they had been close friends as well as husband and wife. Rachel had thought she could never love another man after losing Eli.
And then Jeremiah Gant had come to Riverhaven, turning her life around, enabling her to love again-only to have that love forbidden. Even though Jeremiah had made it known he would willingly convert to the Amish faith, Bishop Graber refused to grant permission, once again leaving Rachel with a lost love and a broken heart.
Perhaps it would be better if they were to leave Riverhaven leave the fear and the dread and the pain-filled memories behind.
Leave Jeremiah
The thought stabbed her heart. Could she really face never seeing him again? Never again hear him say her name in that soft and special way he had of making it as tender as a touch? Never again see the smile that was meant for her alone?
In truth, it wasn t only Jeremiah she would miss if they were to leave this fertile Ohio valley. She loved the land, the gentle hills, the singing river. She had come here when she was still a child, come from another place that had never truly been home to her. Here in Riverhaven though, she had felt welcome and accepted. At peace. At home.
At least for a time. It was