Brethren (Annie's People Book #3) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Beverly Lewis

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148 pages

English

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Annie Zook, the Amish preacher's daughter, is caught between two worlds. Living with shunned friend Esther, Annie longs to return to her forbidden art and the idyllic days spent with Englisher Ben Martin, before her father ordered her never to see him again. Stunned when family secrets come to light, Ben determines to solve the mystery of his past. Will his future include Annie--or will the Brethren always stand between them?

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 octobre 2006
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441203410
Langue	English

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

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The Brethren
BEVERLY LEWIS The Brethren
The Brethren Copyright 2006 Beverly Lewis
Cover design by Dan Thornberg, Koechel Peterson Associates
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
The Scripture quotation in chapter 29 is from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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.
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 978-0-7642-0107-3 (Paperback) ISBN 978-0-7642-0232-2 (Large Print)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lewis, Beverly.
The brethren / Beverly Lewis.
p. cm. - (Annie s people ; 3)
ISBN 0-7642-0231-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) - ISBN 0-7642-0107-7 (pbk.) - ISBN 0-7642-0232-4 (large-print pbk.)
1. Children of clergy-Fiction. 2. Women artists-Fiction. 3. Amish- Fiction. I. Title.
PS3562.E9383B74 2006
813 .54-dc22
2006019314
Dedication
To Roz Sandra Flower and Tom Elizabeth Quayle and their darling families . . . cousins all.
Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
By Beverly Lewis
S EASONS OF G RACE The Secret The Missing The Telling
A BRAM S D AUGHTERS The Covenant The Betrayal The Sacrifice The Prodigal The Revelation
A NNIE S P EOPLE The Preacher s Daughter The Englisher The Brethren
T HE C OURTSHIP OF N ELLIE F ISHER The Parting The Forbidden The Longing
T HE H ERITAGE OF L ANCASTER COUNTY The Shunning The Confession The Reckoning
The Postcard The Crossroad
The Redemption of Sarah Cain October Song Sanctuary * The Sunroom
The Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbook www.beverlylewis.com
*with David Lewis
BEVERLY LEWIS, born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, is The New York Times bestselling author of more than eighty books. Her stories have been published in nine languages worldwide. A keen interest in her mother s Plain heritage has inspired Beverly to write many Amish-related novels, beginning with The Shunning , which has sold more than one million copies. The Brethren was honored with a 2007 Christy Award.
Beverly lives with her husband, David, in Colorado.
T he gravity of the hour fell heavily on the membership that Lord s Day long ago. One by one the men reached for a black songbook in the center of the table, for the drawing of the lot. In keeping with the sacred rite, only one man was to be found among the elect, Jehovah God s choice. The husband of one wife, of good reputation, hospitable, not given to wine, the father of obedient children, with the ability to teach sound doctrine, according to the Scriptures. A God-fearing man whose name, along with six others, had been whispered to the bishop on this most holy day of Communion.
Seven hymnals, each bound by a rubber band, lined the table, and deep within one, a single slip of paper inscribed with the proverb: The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. The candidates-selected from the church district by the voice of the People-each chose a book, wondering who would be struck by the lot.
The bishop examined each hymnal. Opening the one chosen by the final candidate, he found the lot and uttered the life-altering words: The Lord God and heavenly Father has chosen our brother Daniel Hochstetler.
Prologue
I f Isaac s mamma were still alive and knew her son s bones were being dredged up she would surely be weeping now. It was all I could do to choke back tears, walking past the People s cemetery this morning. Our sacred knoll was blocked off with yellow police ribbon, and Englischers were swarming about like so many ants on a hill.
This must be why Esther hasn t heard a peep from Zeke since he turned himself in a few days ago. Maybe he s not allowed to talk to anyone while he awaits the outcome of what appears to be a mighty serious investigation. But I sure won t be describing the commotion at the graveyard to Essie-I ll spare her that. I just hope the grapevine doesn t spread its tendrils out to little ears, because like their mother, six-year-old Laura and her younger brothers, Zach and John, have been through too much already. It was bad enough when Zeke was causing havoc at home, but this? Seems to me he must ve gone completely berserk to say he killed his four-year-old brother all those years ago. And why? It makes not a whit of sense that Zeke and Isaac should be another Cain and Abel, and the brethren must surely think the same.
The People are all a-buzz about Zeke s arrest, but I can t allow myself to stew, cause I need all my strength and courage to help dear Essie and her children, who are floundering so. Even though Essie is holding fast to her newfound faith, she also seems to be holding her breath about Zeke. We all are, really, because what one person may be found guilty of affects us all.
I am presently holding my breath, too, counting the days till my six-month promise ends. Then I can pick up where I left off with easel and paintbrush, even though my first responsibility is being a mother s helper to my dear friend. So, for now, I keep myself busy redding up for Essie, along with the filthy chore of slopping Zeke s hogs. It s survival of the fittest most days, with the biggest pigs lining up first around the trough, the smallest ones constantly blocked by the fattest ones. A lesson in the demise of the confident, for it is the fattest that get slaughtered first.
In addition to that, I manage to put in two days each week at my Ranck cousins , who have clearly upped their fervor for witnessing since Essie s shunning from the People, and since I left home to stay with her. Irvin and Julia see me as another lost soul ripe for the picking, as does Essie. No doubt about that.
As for Ben Martin, someone came along and snatched up the job at the harness shop, freeing Ben to leave for his home in Kentucky, according to Julia. She says her husband, Irvin, plans to keep in touch with him.
Despite Ben s departure, my life has not returned to normal. Truth be known, thoughts about Ben often keep me awake at night. Daydreams distract me, too. Images I tend to will into existence by my forbidden yearnings, intermixed as they are with my sadness at having sent Ben away. Still, I try to remember what the Good Book says, Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. . . .
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God s elect?
It is God that justifieth.
- R OMANS 8:33
Chapter 1
A meditative haze parted and soon began to dissipate as a May sunrise spilled onto dogwood blossoms-white, pale, and deep pinks. An early morning rain had dimpled the dirt on the shoulder of Frogtown Road, populated now with pecking wrens and robins.
At the reins in the Hochstetler buggy, Annie Zook breathed in the tranquility, aware of plentiful insects and thick green grass, fresh paint on fences and a new martin birdhouse at Lapps dairy farm. Clicking her tongue to speed the pace, she leaned forward in the seat, grateful for Zeke s fast horse, as it was a good long walk between Essie s house and Daed s.
Only four days had come and gone since she had impulsively packed up her belongings and gone to Esther Hochstetler s, so Annie was surprised to experience a sudden twinge as she made the turn toward her father s house. Am I homesick already?
She wondered if Yonie, her nineteen-year-old brother, would be at home when she arrived. I miss the rascal, she thought.
Taking in the vibrant springtime colors, she longed more than ever to immerse herself in art once again. I want to paint my beau . But Ben was no longer that, and their breakup was all her own doing. Hers . . . and Daed s.
I never should ve written that good-bye letter, she thought. Yet she had done so to obey her father.
Her separation from Ben was cause for ongoing sorrow. Thankfully, Esther wasn t one to ask questions, even when tears sprang unexpectedly to Annie s eyes. She had come awful close to blurting out her beloved s name upon awakening one morning, only to grit her teeth, forcing down the aching lump in her throat. Speaking his name, even in the private space of her room away from home, would not have hurt a thing. But she never knew what little ones might be roaming the hallway, and she didn t trust herself to even breathe his name lest she be overtaken with grief. Or was it pure foolishness?
There had been plenty of times in the last few days when she had tried to think of some way to return to the lovely, secret world she and Ben had so happily shared-till Daed had caught her riding in Ben s car, wearing her hair down. Exactly which of those transgressions was worse, according to God and the brethren, she didn t know. She had almost asked Cousin Julia for Ben s mailing address on more than one occasion. And even more shameless, she had been tempted to get on a bus, show up at his doorstep, and beg his forgiveness.
I d be out of my mind to do such a thing. . . .
Yet she was beside herself at the thought of living without him.
Annie saw a horse and buggy