An Amish Winter (Love Inspired)

by Vannetta Chapman

  Amanda ran around the cart and peered out the window. “Daed is going to be disappointed. He was hoping for a hardware store.”

  “If they carry breakfast biscuits and sandwiches, and have a microwave to warm them, they’ll steal some of our morning customers.” Mary slumped against the door. The news sliced another piece from her heart, like Seth when he dumped her on the eve of their wedding. “By the time I get the money to expand, our customers will be across the street and gone.”

  “Nein, not true, Mary. Everyone knows you’re a fantastic baker. Your customers will stick by you. Besides they can go to the deli one day, and your shop the next.”

  “Even that will cut my revenue. I have to win that baking contest next month, or Sweet Delights will die an embarrassing death. That gives me six weeks to practice.”

  Amanda wandered back to the cart and finished unloading the pastries. “Don’t worry. The bakery has loyal customers.”

  When the door opened again, Amanda tossed Mary an encouraging smile then pushed her cart to the kitchen.

  A stream of morning customers rushed in and out, many making excited remarks to Mary about the new grocery. When the bakery was empty again, she stepped to the door and stole another look across the street. Old Bishop Ropp sauntered up and entered as Mary held the door open.

  “Gut Morgen, Mary. Looks like some big excitement in town.”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  The bishop stopped short and faced her. “Nonsense. Your baking is wunderbaar. Don’t be afraid of a little competition. Now if you would serve me a slice of that apple pie that Sarah’s vater used to make, my day would be perfect. I would drive my buggy five miles in the rain for a piece of that pie.”

  “Sorry, I have a country apple, but it’s my recipe. I’ll have to ask Mamm about the one her vater made.”

  “Then I’ll take an apple fritter and coffee.” His smile stretched ear to ear.

  Around midmorning, a young girl sailed toward the counter wearing jeans and a T-shirt and holding a five-dollar bill firmly in her fist.

  “Hallo,” Mary greeted her, “and what can I get you today?”

  The little girl walked back and forth in front of the display case, smiling. “I don’t know what to pick. It all looks good.”

  Mary nodded. “Jah, they are all wunderbaar. Take your time. I’m Mary, what’s your name? I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before.”

  “I’m Emily Miller. I’m eight years old. Most people ask since I’m small for my age.” She pointed to the second shelf. “What kind of cupcake is the one with the pink frosting?”

  “Strawberry, and I’ll let you in on a secret. The inside has a strawberry surprise.”

  Emily’s eyes scanned the pastries but a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, then spread across her cheeks. “Okay, I’ll have the pink one and a glass of milk.”

  “You can sit, and I’ll bring it to the table.” Mary pulled the treat from the case with her tongs and poured a cup of milk. She set them both in front of Emily and sat across from her. “Did you just move to town?”

  “Uh-huh, my brother, Noah, moved my sister Jenny and me here from Iowa City. He’s looking for a relative.”

  An Englisch person could just drive his car if he wanted to see a relative. He didn’t have to move to do that. But Emily probably misunderstood what her brother said. “Did your mamm and daed move, too?”

  “No, they died a year ago in a car accident.” Emily’s voice quaked. “It’s just my brother, Noah, Jenny and me.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that about your parents.”

  “You talk funny.” Emily laughed, then took a bite of cupcake. “Mmm, this is delicious.” She took another bite, followed by a sip of milk.

  The bakery door opened and a six-foot-tall man eyed Emily and her cupcake and gave a nod to Mary. “That looks good. I’ll have the same as my sister if you please?”

  “Good choice.” Mary scooted back to the display case, her heart nearly buckling as she watched the cute man stroll through her shop. She tore her gaze away. After Seth canceled their wedding a year ago, she wasn’t ready for another relationship. Not yet. And certainly not with an Englischer.

  The tall stranger glanced at the chalkboard with the daily specials and then glanced at the bulletin board and the fall festival flyer, where he skimmed his finger down the listing of events. He turned and scanned the display case as he sauntered over to the table, pulled out a chair and sat next to Emily.

  Mary pulled another strawberry cupcake from the case and poured a glass of milk. “Emily and I were just getting acquainted. I’m Mary Brenneman, and you must be Noah.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Mary.”

  His amber eyes caught her gaze and held it for a second before she jerked away. It sent a twinge straight to her heart. Jah, he was handsome, that was for sure and certain. His short, dark brown hair was the same color as his beard. It wasn’t a long beard like that of Amish men but short and trimmed close, like what the Englisch called a five o’clock shadow. But it looked nice on him.

  Emily held up what was left of her cupcake. “This was wow-wee, Noah,” she mumbled, a couple of crumbs dropping from her chin.

  Amanda hurried in from the kitchen and shoved a tray of sugar cookies into the display case. “Don’t forget to introduce me,” she said to Mary.

  “Jah, Amanda Stutzman is my assistant and right hand. This is Noah and Emily Miller. They are new in town.”

  “Nice to meet you, Amanda,” Noah said.

  “And nice to meet you both.” Amanda smiled and headed back to the kitchen.

  Mary set Noah’s order in front of him, trying to steady her hand. “Enjoy. They are on the haus, my way of saying willkommen to town. And tell Jenny to stop by for her cupcake. Emily said you moved here from Iowa City.”

  “Thanks, I will. It looks like I got here just in time, before Emily spilled the family secrets. Or did I?” He gave Emily an inquisitive look, but in a fun way.

  “Nein,” Mary protested, “I just asked where you moved from.”

  “I told Mary you’re looking for a relative,” Emily said.

  Noah cut his glance from Emily to Mary. “Our parents’ families were Amish, and I want to try and find our grandparents.”

  “What are their names? My stiefmutter has lived here all her life, she might know them. If she does, I’ll introduce you.”

  “My father’s name was Jeremiah Miller, and my mother was Naomi Knepp.”

  Mary’s face heated, and her hands flew to her hips. “You’re a relative of Seth Knepp?” The words snapped out a littler harsher than she’d intended.

  Noah finished his cupcake, took Emily’s hand and guided her to the door. “Apparently, you and he aren’t good friends. But I don’t know if he’s a relative or not. He could be. Thanks for the cupcakes.”

  Her heart nearly stuttered to a stop. Had Seth sent them to get to know her and maybe to try and make peace between him and her? A likely story that Noah didn’t know where his relatives lived. She might be on the verge of losing business to competition and now a possible relative of Seth visited her shop. Why? Was it just a friendly visit?

  * * *

  As the sting of guilt shimmied up his back, Noah pressed a hand on Emily’s shoulder and hurried her across the street to his Farm-fresh Grocery, Delicatessen and Bakery. Mary hadn’t mentioned his store, so apparently she hadn’t realized who he really was, but she would soon enough.

  He liked Mary, but the town was too small to support two bakeries. The pit of his stomach roiled at the thought of what was probably going to happen to her bakery. His store in Iowa City was very successful, and he had every reason to believe it would be equally so here in Kalona.

  While he locked the door of his store behind them, Emily took off running toward the office. “I’m going to play games on the c
omputer.”

  “Okay, but only for an hour, then you can sweep the floor.” At the sound of shuffling feet and moving cartons, he turned and found Jenny stocking shelves. He scanned her handiwork. “Looks good.”

  Jenny finished placing serrated knives on a display stand. “I’m still wondering if this was the right move. This town is so small. What did the baker say when you went to get Emily?”

  “I didn’t tell her we owned the new store.”

  “Noah, you coward. You should have been honest.”

  He took a step back from the impact of her words. “She gave Emily and me a free cupcake and said for you to stop in for yours. I didn’t have the heart to tell her right then. You can tell her.”

  “Thanks a lot.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Since you’re going to attend nursing school in the fall, you won’t be here if there’s fussing.”

  She tossed him a disgusted look.

  He took a step closer to Jenny. “Why don’t you go over there and say hi? Her name is Mary. Since the Amish shunned our parents, we need to make friends in the Plain community before they find out who we are.”

  Jenny huffed as she set a few baking timers on the shelf. “We don’t know that our parents were shunned. We know nothing about what happened after they left their Order. The only thing that’s clear is that they left during their rumspringa, had a civil wedding and never went back to the faith. They said they didn’t want to live by the Ordnung and the church rules. They wanted to live like the Englisch.”

  Naoh shrugged. “But you know as well as I do that we didn’t live like the Englisch. Mom homeschooled us, and we weren’t allowed to play or associate with Englisch kids at the park. We couldn’t go to the movies or hang out with the neighbor kids our age. Our parents might not have wanted to be Amish, but our upbringing was strict and definitely not Englisch. And if our parents didn’t join the Amish church, they weren’t shunned.”

  Jenny set the last timer on the shelf. “If the community did shun them, maybe we shouldn’t have opened a store here.” She took a step closer. “And what makes you think that our relatives want to meet us?” She raised a brow, turned and headed toward the office.

  He heaved a long sigh. Sisters. Jenny would thank him later when she had a grandma to wrap her in a hug and attend her wedding someday... But Jenny was right. He needed to visit them and put the question of what had happened to rest.

  Emily slipped out the office door and sprinted to Noah. “I want to help stock shelves.”

  “Did Jenny chase you off the computer and tell you to help me?” He didn’t have time to show an eight-year-old a task and then clean up the mess she made.

  Emily tugged at a box and tried to get it open. “Can you help me?”

  “Right now we’re just unpacking a few things we brought from the other store. The trucks will be here tomorrow with our fresh vegetables. When I get it unpacked, you can help stock the shelves and bins.” Noah could see the disappointment in her eyes. He pulled a stack of flyers from behind the counter and handed them to Emily. “Why don’t you tape one of these on the shelf by the item they advertise? Then post some of the others around the store so the shoppers can see them.”

  “I’ll do a great job.”

  He watched Emily hang one on the wall by the entrance. She walked to the first aisle and posted another by the fruit table.

  When Noah finished stocking shelves, he checked on Emily and every aisle that had a sale item had a flyer over the correct area. “Good job, Emily.”

  He headed to the deli area as his mind wandered back to what Jenny said about the Amish. If this was such a strong, Amish-supporting town, it might not be the Amish Sweet Delights driven out of business, but his store.

  He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out an entry form. The fall festival had scheduled a baking contest with a $10,000 prize. What better advertisement for his bakery than winning a baking contest? His cupcakes were every bit as good as Mary’s, if not better.

  Mary would probably enter the competition. But if either one of them won, they could capture a lot of the town and tourist business. As a result, it could possibly drive the other out of business. And if that happened, he’d never see those cornflower-blue eyes or her silky blond hair again. He liked her, and he would truly hate never seeing her again.

  Copyright © 2020 by Marie Elizabeth Bast

  Love Harlequin romance?

  DISCOVER.

  Be the first to find out about promotions, news and exclusive content!

  Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

  Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks

  Instagram.com/HarlequinBooks

  Pinterest.com/HarlequinBooks

  ReaderService.com

  EXPLORE.

  Sign up for the Harlequin e-newsletter and download a free book from any series at

  TryHarlequin.com

  CONNECT.

  Join our Harlequin community to share your thoughts and connect with other romance readers!

  Facebook.com/groups/HarlequinConnection

  ISBN-13: 9781488070839

  An Amish Winter

  Copyright © 2020 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  Stranded in the Snow

  Copyright © 2020 by Vannetta Chapman

  Caring for the Amish Baby

  Copyright © 2020 by Carrie Lighte

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at CustomerService@Harlequin.com.

  Love Inspired

  22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor

  Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada

  www.Harlequin.com