Never Far from Home

Mary Ellis

Description

Mary Ellis follows her captivating Widow's Hope with a new story from the heart of Holmes County, Ohio. In Never Far From Home, fifteen-year-old Emma Miller finishes school, starts her own wool business, and is longing for someone to court. When the object of her affection is a handsome English sheep farmer, with a fast truck and modern methods, her deacon father, Simon, knows he has more than the farm alliance to worry about.Emma isn't the only one with longings in Holmes County. Her aunt Hannah wants a baby and her uncle Seth hopes he'll reap financial rewards when he takes a risk with his harvest. But are these the dreams God has for this Amish family? With engaging interactions and thoughtful characters, Ellis weaves a story about waiting for God's timing and discovering that the dreams planted close to home can grow a lasting harvest of hope and love.

Sujets

• Romance

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736936965
• Langue: English

Extrait

N EVER F AR FROM H OME
M ARY E LLIS
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS EUGENE, OREGON
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.
Cover photos and design by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota
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, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.





NEVER FAR FROM HOME Copyright 2010 by Mary Ellis Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ellis, Mary
Never far from home / Mary Ellis.
p. cm.-(The Miller Family series ; bk. 2)
ISBN 978-0-7369-2733-8 (pbk.)
1. Amish-Fiction. 2. Holmes County (Ohio)-Fiction. I. Title.
PS3626.E36N48 2009
813 .6-dc22
2009019361
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.
Printed in the United States of America
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 / RDM-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the love of my life and best friend my husband.

I can t imagine how dull life would have been had I not met you.
T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
Acknowledgments

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty

Epilogue
About the Author
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Carol Lee and Owen Shevlin, who welcomed me into their home and opened doors for me in the Amish community.

Thanks to Dennis Miller and Carl Becker, who answered endless agricultural questions.

Thanks to my lovely proofreader, Mrs. Joycelyn Sullivan.

A special thank you to Joanna and Kathryn, and Mrs. Miller and her daughter Rosa, members of the Old Order Amish community.

Thanks to my wonderful agent, Mary Sue Seymour, who had faith in me from the beginning.

Finally, thanks to my editor, Kim Moore, and the wonderful staff at Harvest House Publishers.

And thanks be to God-all things in this world are by His hand.
O NE



April

H annah Miller sipped her tea and gazed out the window over the sink, mesmerized by a winter world changing to spring before her eyes. Trees with only fat buds this morning now displayed tiny, tender green leaves. She had spotted a red-tailed hawk on her ride to Julia s, soaring effortlessly on wind currents warmed by the sun. Tomorrow it might turn rainy and cold again. Even an April snowstorm wasn t out of the question, but today God was giving them a small taste of good weather to come. Hannah s spirits lifted, despite having spent six hours on her feet helping with spring-cleaning at her sister s. With Leah only twelve, and Julia s hands unable to hold a sponge or wield a broom for very long, Emma had needed her aunt s help. But Hannah enjoyed the friendly camaraderie of women after a season too long cooped up indoors.
This had been a bad week for Julia s rheumatoid arthritis. Changeable weather, especially damp cold nights, increased the stiffness and pain in her swollen joints. Though steroid injections and prescription pain relievers had given Julia months of relief, her face revealed that a true cure was nowhere in sight.
Hannah listened to Phoebe humming a lullaby to her doll in the next room. The child was thriving during her first year of school. Such a relief after Hannah s worry last year that she might never speak again. Now she rattled on in both Deutsch and English until Seth raised his hand and admonished, Rest your tongue, daughter. It must last you a lifetime.
Refilling her cup from the teapot, Hannah leaned her hip against the counter and savored a few moments of quiet introspection. Supper was reheating in the oven-leftovers because she still cooked too much food for three people. Soon Seth would come home and tell her about his day in the low, husky voice she loved so well. Hannah enjoyed sharing a cup of coffee with him in the late afternoon or sometimes after supper if Phoebe had homework. But right now, Hannah was content to watch two blue jays tugging on the same twig and then she saw a shiny green truck pulling up their lane.
What on earth? She knew before the driver s door opened who was paying them an afternoon call. The Englischer, a young sheep farmer who sold his wool to Audrey Dunn in Sugar Creek, stepped down from the pickup and headed toward the back door. Shaking her head, Hannah walked out onto the porch.
Hello, Mrs. Brown. I hope you remember me, ma am. James Davis from Charm. We met at A Stitch in Time. He swept a ball cap from his head.
Of course, young man. You came here last fall looking for my niece. She glanced again at his vehicle, oddly clean compared to the mud-spattered trucks and buggies so common this time of year.
A corner of his mouth turned up in a lopsided grin. Yes, ma am. Your niece told me to stop by on my way home from Gram s to see your sheep operation.
Hannah vaguely recalled Emma suggested that the Davis family be invited to the wedding, which of course she had not done. They were complete strangers. But to the young man waiting patiently she said, I d be happy to point you in the direction of my sheep, and you re welcome to look around at anything you wish. But I m sorry; my niece isn t here. Emma lives with her parents on Route 63, just around the corner. The second house you come to on your right. She should be home right now.
He looked disappointed for a moment until the subject of their conversation rounded the house from the back path. Emma was wearing a fresh pink dress and her skin glowed with youthful vitality. This wasn t at all how Hannah had seen her earlier, before leaving Julia s. Emma had cobwebs in her hair, a sweaty face, and a wrinkled and stained apron.
James must have caught Hannah s surprised expression, because he pivoted on a dime. Hi, Emma, he called. I d hoped you would be working at your aunt s today. His greeting could only be described as enthusiastic.
Emma smiled demurely and offered a little wave as she approached. Hannah noticed she was walking rather daintily. Usually, Emma scurried wherever she went, only to be outpaced by Phoebe.
Not one to miss anything, Phoebe walked out of the house, letting the screen door bang behind her. She looked uneasily at the stranger before spotting her cousin. Hi, Emma, she called and then ran to meet her.
Hello, Phoebe, Emma greeted, enveloping the little girl with a hug. To the young man Emma said, Hi, James. Welcome to Wines-burg. I m so glad you found us.
No problem at all. Your directions were perfect. He stuffed his cap into the back pocket of his jeans.
Perfect directions? Hannah was thoroughly confused. Had Emma explained where they lived during their quick cup of cocoa in Sugar Creek last fall? That was a long time ago to remember an obscure township road on the other side of the county.
Do you remember my aunt, Mrs. Miller? Emma asked, glancing from James to Hannah.
Oh, that s right, he said, his smile growing ever larger. Miz Dunn mentioned coming to your wedding a while back, he said. Congratulations. She said it was real nice. Great eats.
Thank you, James, Hannah said, remembering to use only English. To her niece she murmured, I didn t think we would see you again so soon.
Emma flushed. I got a notion to walk over and check on my I mean, your new lambs. There was still a bit of time before supper.
Hannah didn t comment on her quick bath and fresh change of clothing.
Is it all right if James takes a look at our sheep, Aunt Hannah? I told him I m going into business with you, and that I m saving money for my own spinning wheel and loom. Sunlight reflected on her pretty face as she grinned with pride.
Hannah hadn t seen her quite so joyous in a while.
Our Cheviots look pretty much like other Cheviots, same with our Dorsets and Suffolks. But if you d like to show them off, I don t see any harm in it. I, myself, need to finish supper. She slanted her niece a curious look and then said to James, Nice seeing you again. Please give my regards to Mrs. Dunn if you get to Sugar Creek before I do.
Will do, ma am. Nice seeing you again. He bobbed his head before putting his ball cap back on.
Neither teenager paid Hannah another smidgen of attention. They were watching each other with abject fascination.
Phoebe glanced curiously from one to the other until Hannah took her by the hand and they headed inside. An unsettled feeling was growing in the pit of her stomach.
I ve come to see your sheep, indeed .

Emma waited until her aunt shut the kitchen door behind her before looking up at James. Are you ready? she asked.
I ve been ready for this all day, James answered. I couldn t wait till I finished chores at my grandparents house.
She tried to hide her pleasure with his comment. My aunt brought mostly Cheviots and Dorset crossbreeds from Pennsylvania when she moved here, but my uncle added Suffolks to the flock. The sheep pasture is on the other side of the barn. Uncle Seth keeps the sheep separated from his cattle.
That s smart, Emma, he said, especially if you have a bull in with your cows. He could trample young lambs when he gets in a bad mood. James stuck his hands in his pockets and seemed to relax the farther they walked from the house.
Our bull turns surly on a regular basis. She was anxious to keep the conversation going, although finding things to say hadn t been difficult in the past.
Your aunt seems nice. So you re partnering up with her instead of your folks? He pulled up some weeds and stuck the l