by Amy Clipston
COPYRIGHT
ZONDERVAN
Home by Summer
Copyright © 2019 by Amy Clipston
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Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
ISBN: 978-0-310-35434-5 (e-book)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
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Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Printed in the United States of America
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CONTENTS
COPYRIGHT
GLOSSARY
FAMILY TREE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For my wonderful agent, Natasha Kern, with love
GLOSSARY
ach: oh
aenti: aunt
appeditlich: delicious
bedauerlich: sad
boppli: baby
brot: bread
bruder: brother
bruders: brothers
bruderskinner: nieces/nephews
bu: boy
buwe: boys
daadi: grandfather
danki: thank you
dat: dad
dochder: daughter
dochdern: daughters
Dummle!: Hurry!
fraa: wife
freind: friend
freinden: friends
froh: happy
gegisch: silly
gern gschehne: you’re welcome
Gude mariye: Good morning
gut: good
Gut nacht: Good night
haus: house
Ich liebe dich: I love you
kaffi: coffee
kapp: prayer covering or cap
kichli: cookie
kichlin: cookies
kinner: children
krank: ill
kuche: cake
kuchen: cakes
kumm: come
liewe: love, a term of endearment
maed: young women, girls
maedel: young woman
mamm: mom
mammi: grandmother
mei: my
naerfich: nervous
narrisch: crazy
oncle: uncle
schee: pretty
schmaert: smart
schtupp: family room
schweschder: sister
schweschdere: sisters
sohn: son
Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?
Wie geht’s: How do you do? or Good day!
wunderbaar: wonderful
ya: yes
FAMILY TREE
Featuring The Christmas Cat novella characters from the collection An Amish Christmas Love.
Thelma m. Alfred Bender
Mandy
Rhoda
Leona m. Marlin Blank
Darlene m. Uria Swarey
Ephraim
Katie Ann
Emma m. Henry (deceased) Bontrager
Hank the Cat
Darlene m. Uria Swarey
Savannah
Rebekah
Marietta m. Roman Hertzler
Clara
Gertrude m. Elvin King
Wayne
Feenie m. Jeptha Lantz
Arlan
Christian
Saloma m. Floyd Petersheim
Jerry
Biena
CHAPTER 1
Oh no!”
Clara Hertzler dropped another ripe red strawberry into her basket as she looked toward Emma Bontrager’s house. The Beiler sisters were standing by the water spigot near the back porch, staring at it. Clara wiped her hands down her black apron, lifted her full basket, and headed their way.
The hot early June sun beat down on her neck as she caught up to Rosalyn and Ellen.
“Try it again,” Ellen said as she pointed to the faucet.
“I did try it,” Rosalyn snapped. “It doesn’t work.”
“Is the faucet broken?” Clara asked as she set the basket on the edge of the porch.
“Ya, I think so. What are we going to do now? How are we going to water our crops?” Rosalyn gestured toward the half-acre garden their area youth tended so they could raise money for charity in memory of Emma’s late husband, Henry.
“We’ll carry the water cans into the kitchen and fill them there,” Clara said. “We’ll just have to make do until we can get a plumber here.”
“Why do we need a plumber?” Ephraim Blank asked as he approached with his girlfriend, Mandy Bender, in tow.
“The spigot stopped working.” Ellen pointed to it.
“When did that happen?” Ephraim bent down and began to examine it.
“Just a few minutes ago,” Rosalyn said. “I was going to fill my can and start watering the lettuce beds.”
“Have you ever fixed a spigot?” Mandy asked Ephraim. A smile tugged at her lips.
“No.” Ephraim shook his head as he fiddled with the handle. “But it can’t be too difficult, can it?”
“Ya, it can be.” Mandy crossed her arms over her black apron. “You don’t want to make it worse and then cause a big plumbing mess for Emma, do you? Remember, this is Emma’s haus, not yours.”
Clara held back a snort as Ephraim glared at his girlfriend.
“I’m going to go wash these strawberries and get them ready to sell at the stand.” Clara glanced at Mandy. “You might want to ask Wayne if he knows a plumber. His dat seems to have a lot of contacts in the community.”
“That’s a gut idea.” Mandy tapped Ephraim’s shoulder. “Why don’t we find a professional?”
Ephraim heaved a loud sigh. “You have very little faith in me, mei liewe.”
“I do have faith in you, but I think we should find the right person to fix the spigot.” Mandy grinned, her face lighting up.
Clara smiled as she carried the basket up the porch steps. She could see how Ephraim couldn’t resist Mandy, with her gorgeous hair the color of sunshine and her beautiful eyes a striking blue. She wasn’t exactly jealous of Mandy and Ephraim’s relationship, but she often wondered if she’d ever find someone who would love her the way Ephraim obviously loved Mandy.
It seemed as if love was in the air. Her close friend Katie Ann, Ephraim’s younger sister, had met and fallen in love with Chris Lantz in the spring.
Pretty soon I’ll be the only maedel in my baptism class who isn’t engaged or married.
Clara stepped into the kitchen and made her way to the sink. God w
ould reveal his plan for her soon enough. In the meantime, she would enjoy these days of fun and friendship.
“Look at those schee strawberries!” Emma clapped her hands as she appeared beside Clara. Her warm brown eyes sparkled as she picked up a bright-red strawberry and examined it. Although she was in her late sixties, Clara and Katie Ann frequently marveled that Emma looked much younger with her youthful face and the dark hair that revealed only a hint of gray. “We’ve been blessed with such a wunderbaar crop this summer.”
“I know.” Clara nodded as she began to wash the strawberries. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble selling these at the roadside stand. After subtracting our expenses, we’ve already raised more than six hundred dollars to give to the Bird-in-Hand Shelter. I’m so thankful the garden has been such a success.”
“I am too.” Emma pulled out the drainboard. “Let me help you. We can put these in the plastic containers and then take some of them down to the stand right away.”
“Danki.” Clara’s thoughts turned to the outside spigot. “The faucet outside isn’t working. We need a plumber.”
“Really?” Emma turned toward her.
“Ya. Rosalyn and Ellen were trying to fill their watering cans, but there was no water pressure.” When Emma’s forehead pinched, Clara added, “The garden committee will take care of the cost.”
“Oh, I’m not concerned about that.” Emma waved off the comment. “I just hate the inconvenience.”
“We’ll manage. We can just bring our watering cans in here to fill them.” As Clara washed another strawberry, she felt something soft rub against her leg, and she looked down at Emma’s fat, orange tabby cat and grinned. “Hi, Hank.”
Hank invited himself to move in with Emma on Christmas Eve during a snowstorm, and despite her efforts to shoo him away, Hank had stayed, becoming the widow’s sweet and constant companion.
“I’m surprised Hank isn’t outside helping with the weeding,” Clara said.
“He was outside earlier, but he came in for a snack. Sometimes I wonder if he likes to come inside to check on me.” Emma smiled down at the cat before she began drying the strawberries and setting them in the clear plastic containers they used to sell them.
“I’m sure he does check on you.” Clara opened her mouth to make another comment about the cat, but then the loud put-put-puttering sound of an engine blasted through the kitchen windows. “What on earth is that?”
Clara moved to the far window and peeked out as an older-looking, mint-green pickup truck stopped at the top of the driveway. The engine died with a loud sputter before the driver’s side door opened, and a tall man with sandy-blond hair, mirrored sunglasses, tan cargo shorts, and a blue T-shirt emerged from the truck’s cab.
“Emma,” Clara said, tossing the words over her shoulder, “do you know an Englisher who drives a mint-green pickup truck?”
“No, I don’t think I do.” Emma sidled next to her. “He doesn’t look familiar.”
Wayne King, Ephraim, and Mandy all walked over to the truck, and the men shook the driver’s hand. Clara stared at the mysterious guest. He looked familiar to her, but she wasn’t sure why.
When Biena Petersheim came around from the other side of the truck and stepped toward Mandy, Clara gasped in recognition. “Oh, my goodness! It’s Jerry Petersheim!”
“Jerry Petersheim?” Emma asked. “You mean Saloma and Floyd’s sohn?”
“Ya. He looks so different from when we went to school and youth group together. I know he isn’t Amish anymore, but it still feels strange to see him dressed like an Englisher.” She leaned forward on the windowsill as she took in Jerry’s appearance. He was taller—much taller. He used to match Clara’s five feet seven, but now he stood just under Ephraim’s six feet. And he seemed more muscular as he leaned against his truck and crossed his arms over his wide chest.
Although Clara saw Jerry’s parents and younger sister in church every other week, she hadn’t seen him there in five years. When she had occasionally spotted him around town dressed like an Englisher, she’d longed to understand what had caused him to leave the faith and abandon the culture into which they had both been born and raised.
She marveled once again at how English he looked. Jerry wasn’t dressed like Ephraim and Wayne, with their broadfall trousers, plain button-down shirts, and suspenders. And while Ephraim and Wayne both wore their hair in a traditional bowl cut, Jerry sported a fancier Englisher hairstyle, long on top and short on the sides and in the back.
New confusion washed over Clara as she studied her old friend. Why had Jerry left their faith? He’d seemed happy enough when they were in school, but when his younger sister joined the church two years ago, he wasn’t even there. Why would Jerry choose to be English? His parents and Biena never said.
“Clara?” Emma touched her arm. “Are you okay?”
“Ya.” Clara forced a smile as she looked at Emma. “I’m just surprised to see Jerry here. I’ve spotted him in town a few times, but we were never close enough to speak.”
The storm door opened and clicked shut before Biena stepped into the kitchen. “Clara!” She rushed over and hugged her. “How are you? I told you at church that I’d come today.” At nineteen, Biena was four years younger than Clara, and the sandy-blond hair that peeked out from her prayer covering reminded Clara of Jerry’s. But her eyes weren’t as bright blue as Clara remembered his eyes were.
“Ya, you did. I’m so glad you could make it.”
“How are you, Emma?” Biena turned to the older woman and hugged her too.
“It’s nice to see you,” Emma said. “Are you here to help with the garden?”
“Ya, I am.” Biena’s smile widened. “I heard a few other members of my youth group talking about it, and I wanted to come out.” She pointed toward the back door. “Mandy said I might be able to help you with the strawberries. She said we can package them up and then take them out to the stand.”
“That’s a great idea.” Clara motioned for Biena to join them at the sink. “We’ll have this done in no time at all.” As she washed more strawberries, Biena and Emma dried them and put them in the containers. Her mind spun with questions about Jerry. “I’m so surprised to see your bruder here.”
“Ya. He agreed to drop me off.” Biena closed a full container of strawberries. “When he saw Ephraim and Wayne were here, he decided to visit with them.”
“What’s he doing these days?” Clara washed the last strawberry.
“He started working for our onkel Saul’s plumbing business about four years ago.”
“He’s a plumber?” Clara spun toward her. “He’s here just in time, then.”
Biena shrugged. “Why?”
“I wonder if he can fix the outside spigot.” Clara pointed toward the window. “It stopped working.”
“Oh.” Biena nodded. “You should go ask him before he leaves. I’ll carry these down to the stand for you.”
“Danki.”
Once outside, Clara saw Jerry was still leaning against his truck and talking to Ephraim and Wayne. He had his head bent back as he laughed at something someone said, and Clara felt transported back in time, to when they were in school. Jerry’s laughter still seemed larger than life. A smile tugged at her lips as she approached him. When his gaze met hers, his own smile widened.
“Clara.” Jerry stood up straight. “How long has it been?”
“Too long.” Clara smiled. “Biena mentioned you’re a plumber.”
“I am.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Are you looking for one?”
“Ya, we are.” She pointed toward the house. “Our outside spigot stopped working. Would you please look at it?”
“Sure.” Jerry climbed up into the bed of his truck, opened a large toolbox, and pulled out a tool bag.
Ephraim turned to Clara. “I’m glad you thought to ask him. We were too busy reminiscing.”
Jerry hopped down from the truck and walked over to her. “So where exactly is this sp
igot?”
“I’ll show you.” As they walked together, Clara admired how grown up Jerry looked. His hair was thicker and his jawline stronger, making him seem more mature. He wasn’t a skinny teenager anymore.
“The garden is incredible.” He gestured toward the rows of crops, where several groups of young people were weeding or harvesting the early fruits and vegetables. “Ephraim and Wayne were telling me how this project came about. It’s really amazing.”
“Ya, I’m thankful to be a part of it.” She looked up at him. “It was nice of you to bring Biena by.”
He nodded, and she longed to read his mind. Why had he turned away from their church?
When they reached the back porch, she pointed to the spigot. “There it is.”
“All right.” He leaned over and began to fiddle with it. After a few moments, he had it off and turned it over in his hands. “Looks like it needs to be replaced.”
“Can you do that?”
“It’s not difficult. All I need to do is—” An electronic ring sounded, and he reached into his shorts pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “Hello?” He nodded while listening. “Yeah, I’ll be there. I just need about an hour or so to help a friend. All right. Bye.” He disconnected the call and slipped the phone back into his pants pocket.
Clara shook her head as she stared up at him. “What happened to you?” The question slipped from her lips without any forethought.
Jerry’s lips flattened into a thin line for a fraction of a second, and then his smile returned. “I need to run to the hardware store for supplies, but I’ll be right back. It won’t take me long to fix this.”
“Wait.” She reached for his arm but then pulled back her hand. “Do you need money?”
“No. It won’t cost much at all.” With a quick nod, he walked away.
Clara stared after him, her mind still spinning with questions.
“Clara!” Biena called from the porch, balancing six containers of strawberries in her arms. “Would you please help me carry these strawberries out to the stand? We have a lot more than I thought.”
“Ya.” Clara hurried up the steps and took three of the containers from Biena’s arms.
“Danki,” Biena said as they started down the steps together. “Did Jerry look at the spigot?”