Naomi's Hope (Journey to Pleasant Prairie Book #3) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Drexler Jan

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184 pages

English

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Despite growing pains in her 1846 Amish community in Indiana, Naomi Schrock has settled into a comfortable life in her parents' home with her adopted son, Davey. Surrounded by family and friends, she tries not to think about the fact that she's not at the top of any man's list of potential wives. Yet when Cap Stoltzfus moves into the area and befriends Davey, Naomi finds herself caught between the plans she has made for her future and the tantalizing thought that Cap might be part of a life she never dared to hope for.When a couple shows up claiming to be Davey's true family, Naomi and Cap must unite to make the decision that will determine the boy's future as well as their own. How can she relinquish him to these unknown relatives? And can God somehow bring wholeness to her heart?

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	06 juin 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493407217
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 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.

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Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2017 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 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 978-1-4934-0721-7
Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled ESV 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.
The author is represented by WordServe Literary Group.
Endorsements
Praise for Hannah’s Choice
“The story will leave fans wanting more. Drexler weaves a beautiful storyline, and her research makes it shine.”
— RT Book Reviews
“Set in mid-1800s, Drexler’s historical fiction, based on her ancestors’ family lines, has intriguing plots of romance, love, grief, forgiveness, and restoration.”
— CBA Retailers + Resources
“With a tender hand, Jan Drexler teases out the threads of a romance that will captivate readers in this brand-new Amish historical series.”
— Family Fiction
“Once again author Jan Drexler has written a heartfelt romance that will leave her avid readers looking forward to the next titles in her new Journey to Pleasant Prairie Amish historical series.”
— Midwest Book Review
Praise for Mattie’s Pledge
“Fans of Amish fiction will enjoy Drexler’s tale of striking out in the wild unknown.”
— Publishers Weekly
“A great historical Amish novel with characters who are willing to uproot their family for a better life and more opportunities.”
— RT Book Reviews
“Those who love stories about the Amish, a good historical novel, or a sweet romance will enjoy Mattie’s Pledge .”
— Read-Write-Life blog
Dedication
To my children: Jacob, Carrie, Benjamin, and Michael. Through you, I learned what it means to be a mother.
Soli Deo Gloria
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
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
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Jan Drexler
Back Ads
Back Cover
Epigraph
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:6–9 ESV
1

L A G RANGE C OUNTY , I NDIANA A PRIL 1846
“Davey!”
Only the echoing chop of a felling ax answered Naomi Schrock’s call. The new neighbor to their north must be working. Daed had said someone had bought the last quarter section still remaining between their land at the edge of the Haw Patch and the marshes surrounding the Little Elkhart River.
Naomi shaded her eyes against the setting sun. The late afternoon light was bright, a last burning gasp before night fell. Where was that boy?
“Davey!”
He must be out of hearing distance again, but which direction had he gone this time? The regular chop-chop of the ax drew her attention, just as it would have drawn Davey’s curious mind. Gathering her skirts in her hands, Naomi plunged into the forest at the north edge of the clearing. The path was easy enough to follow. Davey liked to stick to the narrow deer trails through the underbrush.
In the three years since her family had arrived in the Haw Patch in northern Indiana, Daed had made some progress in clearing the trees around their house and barnyard. The log home he had built that first summer was comfortable, although Mamm still missed the white frame house in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, that they had left behind when they made this move.
But most important, Daed’s dream of being part of a new Amish settlement had been realized. More than thirty families had bought land in the northern Indiana forests, and additional settlers still appeared each spring and summer.
Like this unknown owner of the felling ax. The faint trail Naomi followed was leading directly toward the sound. She could only hope that Davey wasn’t making a pest of himself with their new neighbor.
Naomi emerged from the forest into a small clearing. Fifty feet away, on the opposite side, was the wood chopper. His back was toward her, his legs braced for the shock of each blow of his ax as it took decisive chunks out of the trunk of a tall maple tree. Standing on a stump to the side was seven-year-old Davey, his hands covering his ears. The edges of his blond hair swung over his ears as he flinched with each ringing chop of the ax.
A wagon to Naomi’s right was the man’s home. A cooking fire ringed with stones had been built nearby, and a dozen tree stumps filled the clearing floor. The felled trees lay stacked in the center, stripped of their branches. A pile of brush rose at the edge of the space, and a stack of firewood lined the woods near the wagon, testifying to the new neighbor’s skill with a saw as well as the felling ax. There was no sign of a family, though, just as Daed had said. He must have come ahead to build a cabin before bringing the rest of the family along.
Just then a loud crack boomed through the evening air, and the tree swayed, twisted, and tilted—right in the direction of the stump where Davey was standing. Naomi’s feet started moving toward her son with no thought beyond snatching him out of the path of the tree that rushed downward with increasing speed. But the stranger was faster and grabbed the boy off the stump, out of the path of disaster.
Man and boy rolled to a halt at Naomi’s feet, Davey’s gleeful laugh showing that he had never realized the danger he had been in. The panic drained from her body, leaving her sore and irritated.
“Davey.” Naomi balled her fists on her hips for emphasis. “Didn’t you hear me calling? You know you’re not to wander off in the woods without telling someone.”
Her voice startled both of them, and two pairs of eyes looked at her. Davey’s blue gaze met hers briefly, then lowered as he blushed, embarrassed that he had been caught misbehaving again. But the man’s brown eyes changed from a startled flash to a crinkling smile. He rose from the ground, setting Davey on his feet. He retrieved his hat from where it had rolled and brushed it off with a practiced sweep of his hand.
“You must be Davey’s mamm.” As he settled his hat on his head, he shifted his gaze from her cast eye to her good one, and she felt her cheeks heat. “I’m Cap Stoltzfus, just arrived from Holmes County.”
Naomi grasped Davey’s hand and pulled him close. “I’m Naomi. I’m thankful you snatched my boy from the path of the falling tree.”
She glanced at Cap again. His eyes weren’t only brown. Reddish-brown flecks in the golden irises gave them an intriguing depth. She looked away. His beard touched his chest, indicating his married status, and her face burned to think she had been looking at him so closely.
“I met your husband yesterday. He came by to welcome me, since we’re close neighbors.”
Naomi’s face heated again. “You met my father, Eli Schrock. He told us about you at supper last night.”
“Then I look forward to meeting more of your family tomorrow. Your daed told me where the Sabbath meeting is to be held.” He reached out to brush some leaves and twigs from the back of Davey’s shirt.
“Will we meet your family soon?” Naomi asked.
Cap took a step back, his face as closed as if he had slammed a shutter tight. “My family is . . . is lost.”
Lost. Gone. He was alone. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t meet her eyes, and Naomi was suddenly aware of the shadowed twilight under the surrounding trees. She hugged her elbows as the cooling air reminded her it was still early spring.
“Davey and I must be getting home. No one knows where we are.”
“ Ja , for sure.” He took another step back, half turning from her.
Davey pulled his hand out of Naomi’s grasp and tugged at Cap’s sleeve. “Will we see you at meeting?”
He squatted on the ground, his face level with the boy’s. “I’ll be there.”
Davey grinned and threw his arms around the man, giving him one of his impetuous hugs. Before Cap could respond, Davey was off, running toward the deer trail and home.
The man hadn’t moved, even when Naomi looked back as she followed Davey into the woods. He still knelt on the ground, his head bowed.

The damp seeped through the knees of Cap’s trousers, bringing him back to the present. The clearing full of stumps. His wagon home. His new life . . . without reminders of Martha at every turn.
He retrieved the felling ax from where he had dropped it when he had heard the sickening, twisting crack of the maple tree and realized Davey was in its path. His knees still trembled at the thought of how close disaster lurked on every side of this life in the wilderness.
Cap found a rag in his toolbox and wiped the head of the ax until it was clean and dry. Winding his way between the stumps, he spanned the short distance a