Amish Romance

by Ruth Hartzler

  Cuddles ignored her, his attention taken by the family of ducks on the pond. He barked at them. When he finished barking, Miriam called out, “Ava? Mrs. Douglas? It’s Miriam. I’ve hurt myself!”

  There was no response. Miriam called out five times, but there was still no response. She decided to walk the short distance to the road, but her wrist hurt with every step, and now her shoulder was hurting, too. The little dog followed her.

  Miriam knew that her horse would head for home, and someone would come looking for her, so she leaned against a tree for support. Finally, she heard a horse coming her way fast. Miriam breathed a long sigh of relief. She was even more relieved to see it was Jonas’s buggy.

  Jonas jumped from his buggy and ran over to her. “Miriam, are you hurt?”

  “Jah. Is my horse all right?”

  Jonas nodded. “He was in a terrible lather of sweat, and Ethan is washing him down. What happened?”

  Miriam pointed with her good hand to the little dog sitting behind her. “Cuddles scared him. Well, he was already scared by a plover and tried to bolt, so I stopped him. He was still trembling, so I got out of the buggy to talk to him to calm him down. He was only just calm when Cuddles appeared from nowhere and ran between his legs, startling him again. He knocked me back into the pond.”

  “Miriam, are you hurt?” Jonas asked again urgently.

  Miriam could hardly speak. She felt as though she was about to cry, now that she was safe, and that Jonas had come to rescue her. “I’m sore, and my shoulder hurts, but I’m afraid I’ve broken my wrist.” With that, she burst into a flood of tears, much to her embarrassment.

  Jonas put his arm around her and helped her into his buggy. He put a blanket around her shoulders, and another blanket across her knees. He scooped up Cuddles and put him in the buggy, too, and then set off in the direction of town.

  “Where are we going?” Miriam asked.

  “To the doktor,” Jonas said.

  Miriam made to protest, but she was worried that her wrist was broken. “Denki, Jonas.” She looked over at Jonas, and noticed for the first time that he was as white as a sheet. “Jonas, are you ill?”

  Jonas shot her a look. “What do you mean?”

  “Your face has gone pale.”

  Jonas looked straight ahead. “You gave me the most terrible fright, Miriam,” he said in a small voice. “All these terrible images went through my head when I saw your horse galloping up to Eden and no sign of you. Why, I imagined…” His voice trailed away. “Miriam, I’d like to swap buggy horses with you for a while until your horse is more experienced,” he said in a stronger voice.

  “Denki, Jonas, and denki for rescuing me.”

  Jonas turned to her. “I’ll always rescue you, Miriam.”

  Chapter 17

  The doctor told Miriam that her wrist was not broken, but was sprained. He warned her that sprains can sometimes be more painful than simple breaks.

  After Miriam took the painkillers given to her by the doctor, her wrist was hurting considerably less, but her shoulder still hurt. The doctor had told her she would be sore for around a week, and to take it easy. Of course, it was impossible for Miriam to take things easy as she had a Bed and Breakfast to run. Still, she considered she would feel much better after she took a long, hot bath. She would then apply arnica liniment to all her bruises.

  Jonas had called Eden from the doctor’s office to tell Tiffany what had happened to Miriam, and to tell Ava not to worry about her dog as he had Cuddles with him.

  Jonas had barely spoken to Miriam on the whole trip back to Eden from the doctor’s office, and she wondered why.

  When she arrived at Eden, both Tiffany and Ava Douglas were waiting for her. Ava flung her arms around Miriam’s neck and burst into tears. “It’s all my fault,” she wailed. “You could have been killed. It’s all my fault.”

  Tiffany managed to remove Ava’s arms from Miriam’s neck. “Come on, I’ll make you a nice cup of hot meadow tea,” she said to Ava. “I’m sure Miriam needs to get into some dry clothes.”

  “Yes, I do,” Miriam said over her shoulder as she headed straight for her bathroom. Miriam smiled to herself about the way in which Tiffany had taken over the situation. She was certainly proving to be a good helper.

  Miriam intended to lie in the bath for ages, but she wasn’t one to be idle. Also, her wrist was tightly bandaged, and given that she didn’t want to get the bandages wet, she wasn’t as comfortable as she had expected to be in the bath.

  She dried herself and managed to dress herself, then hurried down to the kitchen, thinking she too could do with a nice hot cup of meadow tea. She took her seat at the kitchen table and Tiffany placed the meadow tea in front of her. She shot her a grateful look, but was dismayed to see that Ava was still crying.

  “It wasn’t Cuddles’ fault,” Miriam said, trying to reassure the woman. “My horse was already upset by a plover, so Cuddles’ appearance was the last straw.”

  “I know it wasn’t Cuddles’ fault,” Ava wailed. “It was my fault! If I hadn’t done any of this, Cuddles wouldn’t have been with me down by the pond. Why, what if you had been killed? I just can’t bear to think about it. It’s all my fault,” she said again for the umpteenth time.

  Jonas stuck his head around the door. “How are you feeling now, Miriam?”

  Miriam gestured to the chair opposite her with her un-bandaged arm. “I feel much better now, Jonas, denki. Please join us for some meadow tea.”

  Jonas looked hesitant, but took a seat, nevertheless. Tiffany poured him a cup of meadow tea, and then cut a large wet-bottom shoo fly pie into pieces. Miriam accepted the plate of pie from Tiffany, and tucked into it, savoring the molasses and brown sugar. Being knocked into a pond by a horse and spraining her wrist had certainly made her hungry.

  Ava ate a piece of pie, but only moments later, burst into a fresh flood of tears. “I did it!” she said. “I’m going to jail, but I have to tell you the truth. It’s all my fault.”

  Miriam frowned. “Of course you’re not going to jail, Ava. It was an accident.”

  Ava shook her head. “You don’t understand. Cuddles could have gotten you killed, and he was only by the pond because I was by the pond.”

  “It’s not a crime to be down by the pond,” Jonas said in bewilderment. “It was just an accident.”

  Ava shook her head. “I’m the jewelry thief,” she suddenly blurted out.

  Everyone gasped. Miriam looked at her in disbelief.

  “I stole the diamond necklace from the jewelry store. I had it hidden in a bag down by the pond, and I was going to return it the night before I left Eden.”

  Miriam wondered if the painkillers were affecting her mind. Surely Ava hadn’t said what she thought she had said? It seemed altogether too strange.

  “Let me get this straight,” Jonas said. “You’re the one who stole the diamond necklace?”

  Ava nodded vigorously. “Yes, that’s right. I did it.”

  “And your conscience got the better of you, so you planned to return it?” Jonas asked.

  Ava shook her head. “Yes and no. I mean, yes, I was going to return it, but no, not because of my conscience. I always intended to return it. I stole it with the intention of returning it.”

  Miriam leaned forward and put her head in her hands. She’d had a trying day, and Ava’s explanation wasn’t making it any easier.

  “Maybe you should explain it to us right from the beginning,” Jonas said helpfully. Miriam shot him a grateful glance.

  Ava sighed and wrung her hands. “I was lying about needing a hip replacement,” she said with a shamefaced expression. “I’m sorry about that. I was the one who climbed up the drainpipe.”

  Miriam nodded. Finally, something made sense. “But why did you steal it with the intention of giving it back?” she asked Ava.

  Ava spread her fingers out over the table and sighed again. “It’s the fifth anniversary of my dear husband’s death. I wanted to do someth
ing to celebrate his memory. Oh, I should explain, he was a famous international jewel thief. That was back in his youth, of course. And I suppose some would say he was infamous, rather than famous.” She waved her hands expansively. “He used to tell me all his exploits, and it sounded so much fun. I always wondered if I could do it. I’m a yoga instructor, so I have the agility, and I was a champion gymnast when I was young. I pretended I’d need a hip replacement as a cover story.”

  Tiffany nodded. “Aha! A cover story.”

  “So you robbed the jewelry store to see if you could do what your husband did?” Miriam asked in disbelief.

  Ava leaned across and patted Miriam’s hand. “That’s right, dear. It’s rather annoying how most people treat elderly people. Why, only a month or two ago, I was thinking of selling my house and buying another house, and all the realtor could talk about was how it would be a good asset for me to leave to my children. Would he say that to someone who was younger? No, he wouldn’t! I wanted to prove I could do something, all by myself, even at my age.”

  Ava kept talking, while Miriam tried to process the information. She hadn’t suspected Ava, not at all. Miriam looked up when Jonas spoke. “And you said you weren’t going to keep the necklace?”

  Ava looked affronted. “Of course not! I’m not a thief. I was only borrowing it, to prove to myself I could do it. That’s why I only took one item, and not a valuable item at that. I just didn’t realize all the trouble it would cause. I’m so sorry,” she said to Miriam, patting her hand once more. “I didn’t think it through. It was so silly of me. I didn’t realize that other people here would be under suspicion, and then because I was down at the pond, my little dog nearly got you killed.”

  “I’m fine, Ava,” Miriam said, looking at Jonas. She raised her eyebrows in a silent question. What should they do about Ava? Should they tell the sheriff?

  “Now I’m going to go to jail,” Ava wailed. “Who will look after Cuddles?”

  The little dog looked at Miriam.

  Jonas abruptly stood to his feet. “I need to speak privately to Miriam. Ava and Tiffany, would you mind if we left, please?”

  Chapter 18

  “Miriam,” he repeated, and her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her name. “I need to say this before there are any more interruptions.”

  “I know what you’re going to say,” Miriam said, looking at the pond where Jonas had taken her.

  Jonas raised one eyebrow. “You do?”

  “Jah.”

  “And you don’t mind?”

  Miriam shook her head. “Nee, it’s not up to me to judge. De Herr is the only judge.”

  Jonas frowned. He even looked handsome when he was stern, Miriam thought.

  “I don’t understand what you mean,” he said.

  Miriam smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile, but a resigned smile. “Ava, of course. You’re going to say that you don’t want to tell the sheriff that she stole the diamond necklace.”

  Jonas’s face fell. “That’s not what I was going to say, but I will take the diamond necklace back to the sheriff and ask him to go easy on Ava. I’ll explain the whole story.”

  Miriam thought that was very kind of Jonas. “You don’t think she will go to jail, do you?” she said.

  “I’m sure the sheriff will be understanding, given the circumstances.” He walked over to Miriam and took her un-bandaged hand. The feel of his large, rough paw around her small hand made her blush. “Miriam, I said I need to say this before there’s yet another interruption, and I meant it. I’ve decided just to come straight out and say it, and if you don’t like what I have to say, then I hope we can still be friends.” A blush crept over his face.

  Miriam frowned. “But we’ll always be friends, Jonas.”

  Whatever could he say that would be so bad? An uneasy feeling lodged itself in the pit of her stomach, and not even her hand pressing against the nape of her neck brought relief.

  “Miriam,” said Jonas, “I’m in love with you.” Miriam gasped, but Jonas continued. “I know you always say we’re friends, and you probably don’t want to ruin our friendship, but I’ve been in love with you since the first time I saw you. I’ve wanted to tell you lately, but I was afraid how you would react.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  Jonas took a sharp breath in, and then he said, “Say you will be my wife.”

  The air was knocked from Miriam. She took a step back and almost landed in the pond, but Jonas was there to steady her footing.

  “What if I say yes?” she answered more to herself than to Jonas.

  “Then I would truly be blessed.”

  “Oh, Jonas,” she whispered, “I am the one who is blessed. Yes. Yes. My answer is yes.”

  “Do you really mean that?”

  “Yes.”

  Now it was Jonas who took a step back and nearly fell in the pond. After Miriam helped to steady his footing, they stood together and listened to the lapping water. To think, Miriam had thought she would never have the love of a good man again for the rest of her life, and now, among the ducks and the whispering reeds, and she had become engaged to a man she dearly loved instead.

  Connect with Ruth Hartzler

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  Other Books by Ruth Hartzler

  Ruth’s books have happy endings, and no animals or children are harmed.

  They are all feel-good books.

  All are clean and wholesome.

  All are available in paperback and Large Print paperback, and some are available in audio. Ruth’s books published by Harlequin Love Inspired are available in bookstores across the US.

  You can find where to buy Ruth’s books on her website.

  Cozy Mysteries

  An Amish Cupcake Cozy Mystery series, by Ruth Hartzler.

  Full length novels.

  USA Today Bestselling series

  True Confections (Book 1)

  Middle age was never so much fun - if you don't count the murders.

  When her husband of thirty years runs off with a college student named Cherri, Jane Delight returns to Pennsylvania to work in her Amish sister's cupcake store. Having lost everything in the divorce, Jane now finds herself sharing an apartment with two feisty octogenarians and their quirky cat. Mr. Crumbles.

  But there is no time to despair. A man is murdered in the cupcake store, and now Jane is the prime suspect. Enter brooding detective Damon McCloud, a Scot with a tragic past and a desire for justice.

  Can Jane solve the murder, wrangle her new roommates, and stop herself from falling for the detective?

  Or will she never get her new life on track?

  The first 3 books are available in a box set: An Amish Cupcake Cozy Mystery Three Book Box Set

  Top 7 (paid) Book Amazon US 2020

  USA Today Best-selling Book 2020

  Relic Hunters Taskforce

  USA Today Best-selling Series

  Clean and wholesome archaeological adventure

  1. Scroll

  2. Papyrus

  3. Codex

  4. Sigil - coming!

  More coming.

  * * *

  Box Set available: Relic Hunters Taskforce 4 Book Box Set: Prequel + Books 1, 2, & 3.

  Scroll

  Dr. Abigail Spencer is an ancient languages scholar. So why do covert agents want her dead?

  When Special Agent Jack Riley asks college professor Dr. Abigail Spencer to translate an ancient copper scroll, she has no idea it will lead to the lost treasure of Croesus hidden for centuries.

  When they arrive in Ephesus, their contact is dead; the scroll is gone, and mercenaries sent by a covert organization are determined to kill them.

  It's a race against time for Abigail. Can she reach the treasure before the killers, and manage to stay alive?

  Clean and Wholesome Romantic Suspense

  #1 Best-selling Safe Hearts series
of 3 novellas.

  * * *

  Off the Grid (Book 1)

  Kate Briggs is a U.S. Marshal who works in WITSEC, the Federal witness protection program. After an attempt on her life, her boss sends her to live in a small Amish community until the mole in the agency is found. Will Kate, who is used to the ways of the world, be convincing as a sweet Amish woman?

  When a murder is committed in the community, how will Kate assist the handsome police officer heading up the case without revealing her true identity?

  And will Kate be able to leave behind her non-Amish ways as she finds herself off the grid in more ways than one?

  All Three novellas are available in Box Set:

  Safe House: Three Book Box Set

  Top 50 Book (Paid) on Amazon US 2017

  Top 100 Book (Paid) on Amazon US 2020

  Ruth also writes Amish Romance

  #1 Best-selling and multiple All-Star Award Winning Amish Romance series, The Amish Millers Get Married, is a series of happy, feel-good Amish Romance full length novels.

  The first book in the series is The Way Home.

  The four Miller sisters are injured when their buggy is hit by a car driven by Noah Hostetler who is on rumspringa.

  The oldest sister, Hannah, is the first to recover physically, but is left with a fear of buggies and worse still, unforgiveness in her heart for Noah.

  Can Hannah recapture the love she once felt for Noah?