The Ultimate Amish Romance Boxed Set Collection (1-8)

by Becca Fisher

  "JR. Thanks again for the box seats," Hank said, poking his head out of his corner office. Hank was a man of many retirement plans. A guy whose pension couldn't come soon enough. There was only one decision left on his platter--who he'd choose to replace him.

  Hank looked at his watch, then at Adam.

  "Someone sleep through their alarm clock?" Hank asked, not quite as laid back as his Hawaiian shirt would dictate.

  Adam tried to explain himself, but was superceded by Hank's corner office putting green.

  "Well boys, time to work on the old short game."

  Hank then pushed the door to his office closed with his putter and began whistling to himself.

  ********

  Adam couldn't compete with box seat ticket bribes. Not with three kids at home and a mortgage. Adam would have to lock up that promotion the old fashioned way--by actually being better at his job. And he had just the pep talk to do it.

  "I know it’s tough times out there," Adam explained to his cubicle crew. "But it's tough in here too. These charities need donations more than ever. And, unlike what the experts say, it’s not the big screen tv’s and hot tubs that take the first hit from people’s budgets. It’s the charitable donations. That’s why I need you to work those phones like your jobs depend on it. Because even more depends on it."

  With his team sufficiently roused, Adam was ready to send them on their way.

  But JR was always around the corner with another insult. "Kicked to the curb, Fossil."

  And like that, Adam knew it was going to be a long day.

  Two

  For most people, spending eight hours at the DMV was hell on Earth. For Julie Smith, it was just another day at the office. But when you were listless, you didn't even know how lost you truly were. The DMV however, wasn't a place to find yourself. Julie's co-workers were all lifers. People who'd given up on their dreams. And who lived a life where the customers were a constant nightmare.

  "I'm going to have wrinkles by the time I get to the front of this line," Brynn Paulson yelled, from the middle of a registration scrum.

  Bad customers were just the norm working at the DMV. But Brynn wasn't just your average priss with a four hundred dollar purse. She was the girl you couldn't graduate from high school fast enough to get away from. A brat. The worst kind of only child. The type of person who had never heard 'no' in her entire life. And who managed to say yes to a deep pocketed investment banker on bended knee.

  The only thing worse than running into Brynn's bling on the street was having to serve her in line. Julie prayed she'd find her way to another clerk. Any other clerk. Brynn would do right to end up with Monique and her volcano temper.

  But instead the worst happened. "Q35," the electronic voice said over the intercom. "Will the next customer go to Q35?"

  And there it was. The unholy reunion Julie had dreaded. "This is the worst service I've ever seen," Brynn complained. "And I thought the post office was bad."

  "Can I help you?" Julie deadpanned.

  "That depends. Can you give me the last hour of my life back?" Brynn cracked.

  But Julie was not amused. She just wanted to get on to the next disgruntled customer. It was not Julie's lucky day though.

  "Wait a minute. Julie? Julie Smith?" Brynn asked.

  Uh oh. "Guilty as charged," Julie admitted.

  "Holy moly. Who'd you piss off to end up at this dump?"

  "What can I do for you Brynn?" Julie asked, trying to cut the reminiscing short.

  "I can't believe you actually work here. It's like walking into a horror movie. I'd lose my mind if I worked in a place like this."

  Julie tried to get on with business. "Are you here for license or registration renewal?"

  But Brynn put the dagger in Julie's back. "And to think you used to talk our ears off about being a big time veterinarian. Guess your dog really ate your homework on that one."

  It was a bloodbath. A punch in the gut. Or, your average day in high school. Only Julie thought she'd never have to relive that kind of abuse. But when Brynn was finally gone, Julie vowed to escape her hall of horrors.

  *********

  While Julie loathed every minute at her job, Eve thought she was lucky just to have one. Working at an employment agency, Eve knew what shambles the job market was in. But there were a lot of people that loathed their nine to five. Longer hours, no chance for promotion, piled work loads. But for every person that hated their job, there were just as many unemployed that would kill for a job to hate.

  The Jobz Warehouse was a haven for hope though. Just ask Wally. Six months on the unemployment skid hadn't stopped him from popping in with a resume in tow. Unfortunately, he couldn't have picked a worse time.

  Eve pulled herself away from packing up her desk to meet Wally's cheerful smile.

  "Hi, I'm Wally Smith. I'm looking for a paralegal job," he said, oblivious to the walls barren of inspirational posters.

  Eve hated to be the bearer of bad news. But she had her own problems. "I wish I could help you."

  Wally revised his expectations. "I’ll settle for mail clerk though. I have a great resume. My mom even says so."

  "I’m sorry. I really do wish I could help."

  Wally was floored. "Wait. This is an employment agency, isn’t it?"

  "For one more day, at least."

  It turned out the middle of a recession was the worst time to be running a business based on finding other people jobs. And so Eve found herself in the position of looking for a new line of work for herself.

  Wally meanwhile proved attention to detail was not among his marketable skills. "What kind of employment agency can’t find a guy a job?"

  "Maybe that explains why we’re going out of business."

  "Out of business?" Wally asked, gulping.

  "Yup. I can’t even find myself a job, no less you."

  "Whoa, bummer."

  And suddenly Eve found herself asking a question she'd thought she'd have to. "Hey, you think any of the other employment agencies are hiring?"

  *********

  Eve's thoughts were known to drift. It was her wandering mind that took her away from Lancaster County in the first place. She was eager to discover a world beyond the Amish. And she had found it, for better or worse.

  Lately Eve was thinking it was for worse. That maybe home was where he heart should have been. Things were simpler in Eve's Amish days. And she certainly had no affinity for complexity. But gathering her thoughts as well as her belongings in the employment agency, it was undeniable how complicated life had become.

  "Sorry, I can't find you a job," Eve groaned, packing up the rest of her desk as someone entered.

  "Don't worry. One lousy job is enough for me," Adam remarked.

  Eve wiped her eyes and looked at Adam with a forced smile.

  "Eve, have you been crying?" Adam asked.

  Eve tried to hold back the waterworks. "I’m such a failure."

  Adam held Eve and pulled her close. "Babe, it’s going to be ok."

  Eve looked at Adam's panic stricken face. "You don’t even sound like you’ve convinced yourself anymore."

  "Hey, I’m inching closer to that promotion," Adam countered. "And you’ll land on your feet."

  "Adam, I’m a failure. I couldn’t keep an employment agency in business."

  Adam pulled Eve tighter.

  *********

  "Everything is falling apart."

  Adam was usually the quiet one at the meetings. The silent one that hugged the background while listening to other people's problems and thanking them for their shares. After all, he was the veteran of the program. He'd spent years in that church basement.

  But when you were on the wagon, you had moments when you felt like you were only sober for twenty minutes instead of twenty years. Times when you went to a meeting on an off night. Times when you needed to surround yourself with people that knew your struggle.

  "I’m beginning to wonder how I’m going to make it through
an entire day without a drink, no less every day for the rest of my life," Adam continued, surrounded by sympathetic eyes. "I keep thinking I’m strong enough to have just one sip. What would be the harm in just one? Just to get the taste again. Then I’d stop. Except, I know I wouldn’t."

  It was times like that when Adam was glad the only thing on the menu was off brand coffee and day old donuts. A place where Jesus was everywhere you looked. A place where temptation was the devil. Where prayers went to be answered.

  Adam took a deep breath and composed himself. "I just thought after twenty years, the urges would go away. But they never do. And I guess...they never will. Still I can hope though, right?"

  Adam looked around the circle. It felt good to let it all out. To share his struggle. To know he wasn't alone. They said God never gave you more than you can handle. But sometimes you needed a reminder.

  *********

  The sunsets in the Coachella Valley were like paintings. Brush strokes from heaven. A slice of paradise. A reminder that the Big Guy was watching out for Adam.

  But while his faith in his sobriety was renewed, Adam's finances were a different story.

  He looked at a photo key chain featuring the entire Smith clan in their happier days. Back when the phrase staycation had no meaning. But there was no time to reminisce. After all, Hank was waiting.

  *********

  As a father, there was no preparing you for hormones. So seeing little Lewis' hormones rage while he was supposed to be practicing his 100 meter hurdles was more of an eyeful than Adam could handle.

  To Lewis though, love had come to the Palm Desert Sports Complex. At least a ten year olds definition of love. Her name was Stacey. She was confident, pretty, and ran like the wind. She also had her eyes set on a particular boy.

  "Hi Stacey," Lewis said, sporting the best grin he could manage.

  But Stacey played it cooler than an Arctic winter.

  "Oh, hi Lewis," she replied, with her eyes already fixed on Colin.

  Colin got all the girls attention. He was the one the girls wanted to be with and the guys wanted to be like. And he provided just the heartbreak Adam didn't need.

  Adam tried to call Lewis before Stacey had a chance to steamroll his heart.

  "Come on Lewis, time to go."

  But judging by the deflated look on Lewis' face, the damage had already been done.

  You'd think having an enlarged heart would be a good thing. That it meant you had an increased capacity to care. Instead it was a lingering side effect to a cracked rib. But despite what the lab coats and wallet gouging medication said, Adam was convinced his enlarged heart meant he cared too much. Which made seeing his sons heartbreak all the more wrenching.

  Three

  The gardens of Eden were starting to look like a crabgrass paradise. Then again Eden wasn't nearly as elegant as it used to be. Still, some things never changed.

  "You want some apple juice, mister?" little Timmy said, sitting at a makeshift juice stand. "It's only a buck."

  "Can we get some?" Lewis asked, bursting with enthusiasm.

  But Adam had other responses on his mind. "What ever happened to lemonade stands?"

  "We ran out. Soda too. Apple juice is all we have left," little Timmy replied.

  Nothing like the desert heat to fill up a little boys pocket. But whereas the apple juice was all the cupboards had left to spare, the next surprise defied conventional explanation.

  "Hey daddy, what is that?" Hank asked, while pointing at the grass.

  Adam squinted at first, but then the sight became mind-bendingly clear.

  *********

  "A snake is loose in our development?" Eve gasped, serving up her homemade casserole, much to the families delight.

  "Was loose. And it wasn't just any snake. It was a boa constrictor," Adam explained.

  "Cool," Paul mumbled under his breath.

  "You would think that's cool," Julie jumped in, exasperated.

  "It was so scary," Hank said, still taken aback.

  "How did a boa constrictor get into Eden?" Eve asked.

  "Apparently it was a pet of one of our foreclosed neighbors. And when the notice came from the bank, the family left it. It must have slithered out the doggie door," Adam explained.

  "So what's going to happen to it now?" Eve asked.

  "Animal control has it. Guess they're going to try and find it a home," Adam continued.

  "Yeah, right. Who's going to adopt a snake?" Julie joked.

  "Dude, I so want it," Paul remarked, full of misplaced enthusiasm.

  "Are you crazy?" Adam responded.

  "Besides, snakes are a total menace," Julie added.

  "Snakes are a vital part of the food chain," Paul cut in, like a serpent connoisseur. "They keep mice and rat populations in check. It's no wonder you couldn't cut it as a veterinarian."

  "I don't care what they do. They're not doing it in my house," Adam said.

  "Oh come on, they're totally awesome," Paul argued.

  Eve saw the conversation quickly getting out of control and swooped in to change the subject. "So, how do you all like the casserole?"

  *********

  Why couldn't the future come with GPS? Instead Adam and Eve were left like Magellan circumnavigating life with a blind cartographer. At least worry got it's sleep though, right?

  Not for Eve. She couldn't get the past out of her mind. As a child, leaving her Amish community behind was a no brainer. But in adulthood, Eve was feeling like she must have been brain dead to have made that decision. Amish life seemed too simple. Too plain. Just faith and family. Yet Eve suddenly found her adult life not simple enough. Filled with complications. With her faith and family taking a backseat to work and worry. And Eve couldn't help but wonder if she had made a terrible mistake.

  That was not 3 a.m. conversation. Besides, Adam had plenty of problems to deal with in the present, no less revisiting those in the past. So Eve sat in bed and asked the most pressing question.

  "Are we going to make it?" Eve asked.

  It turned out worrying was an all night affair. But Adam tried to be a calming influence. "We are ok," he insisted.

  "Adam, a little kid with an apple juice stand is making more money than me, our son wants to adopt a snake, and the bank is trying to kick us out of Eden. That's not my idea of ok."

  "We’ll bounce back. We always do," Adam insisted.

  "I can’t get to sleep anymore--even with my pill," Eve maligned.

  Adam started to massage Eve’s shoulders.

  "We’ve made it this far."

  "Yeah, but even cats only have nine lives."

  "It’s a good thing we’re dog people then," Adam joked.

  Eve needed more than jokes though. She needed comfort. She needed security.

  "As long as we love each other, we can make it through anything," Adam insisted.

  "Guess it's a good thing I love you more than ever," Eve replied.

  Adam gave Eve a deep kiss. "If we pray hard enough, the Lord will give us an answer."

  Eve turned her thoughts over to God. She gave herself over to the Lord's healing powers. She filled herself with faith. But Lancaster County just kept popping into her head.

  ********

  Morning wasn't as kind to Eve's optimism. Adam had other concerns as he entered the kitchen clutching his chest.

  "I think the springs busted on our bed again," Adam winced. "My rib is killing me."

  "Breakfast is on the stove. Eat it while it’s hot," Eve said, more focused on job listings than Adam's lingering pain.

  Adam took the top off a pan on the stove and took a whiff. "Mmm, you are a culinary Goddess."

  "Too bad that’s the only thing I’m the Goddess of," Eve bemoaned.

  "Do I even want to know how the job search is going?"

  "I think we just burned our ninth life."

  Adam tore himself away from Eve's delicious food. "Honey, it’s time we seriously talk about Costa Rica."

  Eve
ry time Adam brought up Costa Rica, Eve felt like countering with Amish country. But it was one thing to dream about an escape. About living a simpler life. It was another to actually do it. Everything looked good in a dream. There weren't consequences to your actions in dreams. There was just a red colored tint to everything. And when things turned sour in a dream, you could always wake up. Reality was much different. Reality was about staying afloat.

  "No. We need to seriously talk about having your mother move in. I just don’t see another way to keep the house," Eve argued.

  Adam's lingering pain flared up even more. "No. My mother is not moving in here."

  "It would only be until you got the promotion...or I got a job."

  "Eve, I found a place. Paradiso. Paradise. A real tropical paradise. If we sell the house, we can live like kings down there. Just think. This could be our chance to escape."

  "Escape what? Our family? Our friends? Our lives?"

  "But you loved Costa Rica."

  "Yeah, on our honeymoon. Even Siberia would look good on a honeymoon. Now we’re in a serious financial bind here, but if your mother moves in, and I can find a job--"

  "Eve, we are hemorrhaging money."

  Adam pointed to an unfinished expansion room off of the kitchen. "Our handyman special over there torpedoed our savings. If we don’t sell the house, we could lose it."

  Eve pulled out a Hail Mary pass. "We could dip into our 401k’s."

  "We’ve worked thirty years building those accounts for retirement. Dip into them and we won’t ever be able to retire."

  "That’s why we should move my mother in. It’ll save the house--"

  "And take my sanity. Besides, if you haven’t noticed, we have enough people living here already. The fact is, Costa Rica makes the most sense".

  "How does moving 6000 miles away make any sense? We have no friends there. No jobs. We don’t even speak the language. Now I’m going to find work eventually. We just need you to get that promotion."

  *********

  Despite Eve's plea, desperation wasn't going to get Adam his promotion. His solid numbers might though. But Adam tried to pull out a little insurance policy.

  "Saints tickets," Lewis remarked, looking at the air Adam had dropped on his desk. They weren't the best seats. But they were all Adam could spare. Besides, Adam was hoping it was the thought that counted.