A Precious Gift

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  Praise for New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray’s Walnut Creek series

  THE

  PATIENT ONE

  “Gray tells a beautiful story of friendship, love, and truth born out of pain and grief. This story reminds us to hold those we love close.”

  —Rachel Hauck, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress

  “A pleasing story about recovering from grief and a solid beginning for a new series.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Gray has created an endearing cast of characters … that both delights and surprises—and kept me thinking about the story long after I turned the last page. Bravo!”

  —Leslie Gould, #1 bestselling and Christy Award–winning author of more than thirty novels

  “Like sunshine breaking through clouds … Readers who love Amish stories and/or Christian fiction are sure to take pleasure in following the saga of this wonderful group of friends [who] learn to support each other and follow their hearts as they attempt to discern God’s will in their lives.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “This is a four-star book that everyone should read.”

  —Cover to Cover Café

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  For Lynne, who agreed with me that Kyle and Gabby had a story that needed to be told.

  Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from Him.

  —Psalm 127:3

  When God sends us a stony path, He provides us with strong shoes.

  —Proverb

  ONE

  It was always difficult to meet new people, especially friends of friends of the woman he intended to marry one day. So, when one of them asked Kyle Lambright about himself, he reckoned the best way to do that was to share a story about him and his brother. Leaning forward in his chair, he began.

  “You see, from the time I was four or five, my favorite thing to do was follow my big brother Harley around.”

  With a feeling of dread, Gabby sat down on the side of the bathtub and reluctantly picked up the plastic stick she’d just dropped on the linoleum floor. Her heart was pounding and her hand was shaking. And her eyes? Well, her vision was already blurred from the tears she was fighting back.

  But no matter how much her body was attempting to ignore the information right in front of her eyes, she knew it was no use.

  No matter how much the rest of her body wanted to reject the clear blue digital line on the plastic stick in her hand, it wasn’t about to go away.

  No, the truth was right there in front of her eyes, clear as day. She was pregnant.

  She braced a hand against the cold tile and attempted to take another breath. What was she going to do? How was she going to tell Kyle? Or her friends? Or Kyle’s parents? Or her mother?

  Her stomach clenched. How was she ever going to tell her mother? Just thinking about her mother’s reaction made her feel nauseated.

  “Gabby?” The door shook with her mother’s impatient raps. “Gabrielle, are you in there still?”

  Still staring at that stick, she nodded. Then forced herself to speak. “Yes.”

  The door handle jiggled. “The door’s locked.”

  She was eighteen years old and in the bathroom. Of course it was locked. “I know.”

  “Well, unlock it and come on out.”

  Gabby’s eyes darted to the open pregnancy test kit on the floor. To her phone on the counter. To the can of Sprite that she’d picked up because it was the only thing that sounded remotely appealing. Each looked like evidence of her pregnancy. Each was sure to be an unwanted sign that would only ask for trouble in this house.

  “Gabby?”

  “Hold on, Mom. I’ll be out in five.”

  She could practically see her mother tapping her shoe in irritation. “I don’t have five minutes to wait for you. I have to get to work in twenty minutes.” She jiggled the handle again. “Come on out. What are you doing in there anyway?”

  “Uh, going to the bathroom?”

  “For all this time?” Worry entered her tone. “How come? Are you sick?”

  “No.”

  “Well, then come on. I’m sure your hair looks fine.”

  Getting to her feet, Gabby scrambled around the small space, stuffing the test, the box it came in, and her phone in her purse, then zipped it shut for good measure. Then she washed her hands yet again before pulling open the door.

  “Sorry.”

  As she expected, her mother was still standing in the doorway, looking irritated and stressed. “Honestly, you would think by now you would be more respectful of other people in this house.” She rushed by Gabby and slammed the door in her face. “We have one bathroom for you, me, and your brother, Lane. Plus you know, you know that I always go to work at eleven on Saturdays.”

  “I said I was sorry.” Gabby rolled her eyes and forced herself to stay in the hallway even though it was incredibly tempting to simply walk away.

  She heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on. “Don’t forget that Lane needs to be picked up from wrestling practice at five.”

  “I haven’t forgotten.” And honestly, Lane was almost seventeen. He’d have no problem reminding Gabby himself—or catching a ride with a friend if she wasn’t around.

  “I left you a grocery list on the counter and fifty dollars. Don’t forget to go to the store.”

  “I won’t.” Hadn’t she done the majority of the grocery shopping and cooking for the last two years?

  “I’m going out after work, too. Will you two be all right?”

  Gabby knew this was a rhetorical question. An answer wasn’t expected. Well, not an honest one, anyway. “Lane and I will be fine, Mom.”

  The door opened. Her mother had on another thick layer of mascara and a fresh coat of pink lipstick. As usual, she looked pretty and put together. Far younger than forty years old.

  “So, what are you going to do today?” her mother asked, sounding much more like herself. “Do you have plans?”

  Before she picked up Lane, went to the store, and cooked dinner, she had something she had to do. “I’m going to see Kyle.”

  The muscles around her mother’s mouth tightened before she nodded. Which was kind of a step forward. Mom didn’t like her boyfriend, not because of who he was—a nice boy nine months older than Gabby—but because he was Amish. Her mother had a real problem with anyone who was Amish. However, from practically the moment Gabby had first met Kyle, she’d felt drawn to him. Their differences had never mattered to her. Only the fact that she liked him so very much.

  “I don’t want the two of you hanging out here by yourselves,” her mother said. For about the hundredth time.

  “We won’t be,” Gabby replied, telling her mother the same thing she always said. Though, she realized with a flutter of nerves, it was also too late for that warning now.

  “What will you do?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  Her mother opened her mouth, then shut it quickly. No doubt Mom was already mentally preparing her latest speech that highlighted all kinds of warnings about the dangers of teenage hormones and the harm they could do to the best laid plans.

  It was a conversation they’d had many, many times. And one Gabby really, really didn’t want to talk about, since well, it was now evident that her moth
er had been right.

  “Mom, don’t you have to go to work?”

  “What?” She glanced at her watch then winced. “Oh my gosh. Erin’s going to kill me if I walk in late again. Bye.”

  “Bye,” Gabby whispered as she watched her mother hurry down their narrow hallway, pick up an oversize tote from the kitchen counter, and rush out the front door.

  Leaning against the wall, another fresh bout of tears threatened to fall.

  What in the world was she going to do? She was eighteen, a product of a single mom, practically responsible for her younger brother, and was now pregnant because she and her boyfriend had taken things too far.

  It was everything her mother had warned her could happen.

  It was also everything she’d promised her mother never would.

  TWO

  “My brother Harley had a large group of best friends, which everyone called the Eight. They’d first met when they were really young and had remained close for over a decade. It never seemed to matter to any of them that some were English, some were Mennonite, and some were Amish like us.”

  “Careful now, Kyle,” Jimmy called out. “That bag of feed is heavy.”

  “I got it.” Picking up the forty-pound bag, Kyle hoisted it on his shoulder to carry it into the barn. It was times like these when he felt he deserved a medal for biting his tongue. He was almost nineteen and strong as an ox. He’d also been working next to his two older brothers and father all his life. That meant he’d carried his fair share of feed bags, and then some.

  But no matter how many times he did a man’s work, one of those three men felt the need to call out a warning like he was still a boy. He’d learned to simply do his part without making a fuss. Keeping the bag solidly balanced on one shoulder, Kyle strode into the barn.

  The inside was at least twenty degrees warmer than the frosty temperature outside. Added to the welcome warmth was a hint of moisture from the filled water troughs in each stall. The change in climate felt good.

  But what really lifted his spirits were the four heads that poked out from each stall. Four beautiful, sturdy horses with alert eyes, long eyelashes, and powdery soft noses. “Hiya, girls.”

  Lightning whickered a hello.

  After tossing the bag on the top of the pile, he walked over to her, casually brushing a hand along the mare’s forelock as he did so. All four of the horses were beauties and good workers, but Lightning owned his heart.

  “How’s my girl?” He rubbed her brown neck, liking how her thick winter coat felt in between his fingers. When she pawed at the ground and leaned her head closer, he chuckled. “I know. You’re ready to go for a run, but you won’t be thinking that thirty minutes in. It’s cold out. Mighty cold.”

  Lightning blew out a whiff of air, making Kyle imagine she was annoyed with him. He laughed as he gave her one last affectionate pat before heading back outside.

  Jimmy was standing by the pile of feed and glaring at him. “What took you so long?”

  “I wasn’t long, brother.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Were you playing with those horses again?”

  This time he didn’t bother to hide his exasperation. “All I was doing was telling Lightning hello. I wasn’t playing.”

  “You treat those workhorses like pets.”

  “Nee, I treat them like horses, Jimmy.” Wondering what was going on with his usually even-keeled brother, he said, “You’re awfully grumpy. What’s gotten into you?”

  “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  Jimmy’s words sounded like machine-gun fire, they were so harsh and clipped. Kyle raised his eyebrows. “You sure about that?”

  “Jah,” Jimmy bit out before shaking his head. “Sorry. I know I don’t sound like myself. I just have a need to get these chores done so I can go see Sarah.”

  His brother and Sarah had been a couple for years and had been engaged for more than a year. Everyone in the family thought they would have been married by now, but they still hadn’t set a date, which nobody else seemed to understand. In contrast, Harley and Katie had gone from mere friends to husband and wife in less than ten months.

  “Is everything okay with Sarah?” Kyle asked tentatively.

  Suddenly looking exhausted, Jimmy shrugged. “I don’t know. Lately, everything I do seems to annoy her. I think she’s frustrated with me.”

  He was dying to ask what, exactly, Sarah was frustrated about, but he didn’t want to pry too much. After all, this was more than Jimmy usually confided.

  He decided to say something safe. “That doesn’t sound like her.”

  “It isn’t.” After another pause, Jimmy added, “We’re getting a lot of questions about why we haven’t gotten married yet. It’s starting to chafe both of our nerves. But that ain’t my fault, you know?”

  Kyle was taken aback by his brother’s statement. “I’m surprised that’s bothering you. You’ve never worried about other people’s opinions.”

  “You’re right. I never have. But Sarah ain’t cut from the same cloth. She worries about everyone and everything.” Lowering his voice, he said, “I noticed her glaring at Katie at church the other day. I think she feels that Harley and she should’ve waited for us to marry.”

  Worrying about such a thing seemed like a waste of time. “Mamm and Daed wouldn’t have cared if you and Harley had gotten married on the same day.”

  “I know that, but deep down, I think Sarah believes I’m the reason we haven’t married yet.”

  Kyle was stunned. Sarah’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer a year ago. He’d assumed the delay had something to do with that. “Is she right?”

  “Kind of.” Looking pained, he said, “Kyle, I’m just not sure she’s the one.”

  “Wow.” Jimmy and Sarah had seemed like a perfect match. Both were Amish, both came from families who were close-knit and prosperous. They also had the same temperament and wanted the same things in life.

  Sarah also had the benefit of having their father’s approval, which wasn’t an easy thing to achieve. In short, the pair was everything that he and Gabby were not.

  Still stepping carefully, he said, “I don’t know what to say.”

  “That’s because there ain’t nothing for you to say,” Jimmy said lightly. “I mean, it ain’t like you have any experience in love.”

  Kyle’s temper flared. Here he was, weighing each word carefully, and Jimmy was talking down to him. Again. “You know I have a girlfriend.”

  “Gabby ain’t a real girlfriend, Kyle.”

  He could feel his face heating up. Gabby and he had been as close as a couple could get. He loved her. And while he wasn’t exactly proud of himself for getting carried away with her two months ago, he didn’t regret what had happened. She was everything to him.

  But because of her mother’s disdain for the Amish and his parents’ insistence that being married to someone of their “own kind” was the best way to go, they’d hid just how serious things had gotten.

  “She is to me.”

  “But—”

  “It’s true, Jimmy. Both Gabby and I take our relationship seriously.”

  “All right … but let me ask you this. Where can this relationship with her actually go?”

  “Go?”

  “Jah. I mean, it ain’t like you two can have a future together.”

  Though Gabby was English and he was Amish, he’d thought of nothing but having a future with her. He’d even realized that he would have to jump the fence to make that happen. “We might.”

  Jimmy smirked. “Yeah, right. Like she would become Amish.”

  “That’s not the only option, Jimmy.”

  “Come on.” Jimmy smiled. However, it slowly vanished as it became apparent that he realized Kyle wasn’t joking around. Not even a little bit. Sounding a lot more serious, he said, “Kyle, you need to get your head out of the clouds and think about what you’re saying.”

  “My head ain’t in the clouds.” His feet were firmly on the ground. So much
so, that he had even entertained the thought of talking with their parents about his options. That conversation wouldn’t be easy, but he was starting to realize that nothing worth having was.

  “All right then, how about you stop thinking about Gabby’s charms?”

  Her charms? Barely holding his temper in check, Kyle said, “I think you’d better stop. Don’t speak about Gabby like that.”

  “Like what? That she’s gorgeous and has a body—”

  “Don’t.”

  “I’m not trying to be disrespectful—”

  “But you are.” Kyle was seething. He could only imagine how Jimmy would react if he said anything like that about Sarah. “You need to shut up.”

  “Nee, it’s you who is needing to grow up.”

  “I’m man enough to haul feed bags and do my part on this farm.”

  “You know that don’t mean a thing. You have responsibilities to the family.”

  Responsibilities that he’d never shirked. Afraid to say something he would later regret, Kyle bit his lip. Hefting another bag of feed onto his shoulder, he turned toward the barn.

  “Hey, don’t run away! We should talk—”

  “Nee.”

  “Kyle!”

  “What is going on?” Harley called out from his bicycle as he rode up the drive. “Jimmy, I could hear you the moment I pulled off the road.”

  “You’re going to have to ask our little brother about that,” Jimmy said.

  “Kyle?” Harley prodded.

  Great. Now he was going to have to defend himself and his relationship to two brothers. “Don’t worry about it,” he said as he quickly grabbed another bag of feed and started walking.

  Behind him, he could hear Harley murmur something to Jimmy, then pick up a bag and follow him.

  “You okay?”

  “Oh, I’m great. Wunderbaar,” he added sarcastically.

  Harley tossed the bag on the pile so easily, it might as well have been a bag of feathers. “Jimmy said you two were talking about Gabby.”

  Looking out the open door of the barn, Kyle could see Jimmy standing there, watching the two of them. “We were, though the whole conversation started because of Sarah.”