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

by Becca Fisher

  "Two drafts," Lewis said to the Bartender amidst a light happy hour crowd.

  Adam hadn't been to a bar since he'd given up the bottle. It felt like a past life. One he was eager to forget. The last thing Adam needed was a beer. Adam calmed himself. He just needed to keep it together. Keep his temptation in check. Get through the announcement and make a bee line for the exit.

  Lewis however, make it clear the drinks were just pleasantries. He dropped a bomb without forewarning. "Look, there’s no easy way to say this...you’re not getting the promotion."

  Adam was in shock. Had he heard that right? Hank was business as usual. Completely plain-faced. And utterly unsympathetic.

  "Wait. What? I’m not?" Adam said aloud, slack-jawed.

  "Don’t get me wrong. We love the years of service you’ve put in. And the long, long hours--year after year. Not to mention the numbers you’ve been putting up. But, JR’s getting the promotion," Hank explained.

  It was a punch to the gut. Far too many compliments for such a slap in the face. The math didn't add up. Adam needed answers.

  "What about all that great stuff you just said about me?"

  "Look, I wish this was about performance," Hank added, continuing to defy logic.

  "And here I thought it was. I’m--I’m confused then. What it is about?"

  "Money. The almighty dollar. It’s always about them. And the fact is, you’re too expensive to get a promotion. JR meanwhile works for peanuts--"

  "Boss, he doesn’t put up anywhere near the numbers I do," Adam argued.

  "No, but he’s cheap. And in an economy like this, cost is key."

  "But, but--"

  "Look, I’m sorry. Anyway, I gotta get back and give JR the scoop on his new digs. It’s a shame Smith. A complete shame."

  Hank walked away, leaving Adam slack-jawed with two drinks in front of him.

  It was a deadly combination to Adam's sobriety. No promotion mixed with two pints sitting in front of him. Adam stared down the drinks. Just one sip, he thought. One to chase the pain. One to ease his troubles. Just one was all he needed to drown out the despair. Then maybe another sip to face his failure at home. And maybe another to make sense of it all. Yeah, just one sip.

  Uh oh. Adam needed to get out of that bar. Away from those drinks. He had to stave off temptation. How could he go back to his family and tell them hard work didn't pay off? That it wasn't about your performance. That all the long hours had been a waste. That sometimes the reward for your hard work was being managed by a no talent kid half your age.

  *********

  Adam and Eve couldn't have had more opposite of days. Adam was convinced more than ever that Paradiso was the answer. A refuge from the cold, cruel world.

  Eve meanwhile had other plans completely. But first came the bad news.

  "I didn't get the promotion," Adam admitted.

  Eve gave her husband a hug, but knew more comfort was needed. "I'm so sorry honey. But it's going to be ok."

  Adam looked deep into Eve's eyes. Something had changed in her. He just didn't know what it was. "Something is different about you."

  "What can I say? I had quite an amazing day," Eve replied.

  Excitement rushes through Adam's body. "Wait a minute. Did you find a job?"

  "No. But I found an answer to all our problems," Eve said.

  Adam's head started spinning. "Well, what is it?"

  "Moving back to Amish country," Eve insisted.

  Adam was completely perplexed. "What? but, why Amish country? Why not Paradiso?"

  "Because we'd just be running away. And the last time we ran away it took us here and filled our lives with problems. So why would Costa Rica be any different?"

  "But Eve, remember our honeymoon? Remember how happy we were in Paradiso?" Adam argued.

  "We were happy here at first too. And now look at us. You worked yourself to the bone. My work took me to the unemployment line. And we've been on the razors edge of losing our house."

  "Honey, everyone's been hurt by this recession," Adam said.

  "Yes. And we've treated your promotion as our salvation. Would it have been though? Sure you would have gotten more money, but at the expense of time with me and your family. Don't you get it? We are worshipping at the altar of money and forgetting what's really important."

  "And you've seemed to have forgotten how eager you were to leave Amish country before," Adam argued.

  "That's because I didn't realize what mattered most. We try to make things so complicated, but it's our faith and family that complete us. It's the Lord and our love for each other that should be front and center. Just as it is in Amish culture."

  "Eve, I think you're panicking. But after a good nights sleep, maybe your mind will be clearer in the morning."

  "Adam, I'm seeing more clearly now than I have in years. A life of simple life is out there. We just have to choose to live it."

  Adam looked deep into his wife's eyes and saw that she had already made up her mind. But Adam was not quite as convinced.

  Six

  It wasn't often a persons dreams came down to one brief moment. For Lewis, that moment had come. But while Lewis stretched on the track, warming up for his big race, the crowd held mixed emotions.

  To say Adam and Eve had had other things on their mind was an understatement of Biblical proportions. But with Lewis' make or break moment in front of them, their eyes were all on him, even if their minds weren't. Adam wished he could be over the moon. The truth remained that he was as worried for his son as he was excited. If Lewis won the race, it would be a dream come true. But if he lost, it could mean utter devastation for the boys confidence. Back to back busted years of training. A kids idealism could only take so many hits before bursting.

  Adam and Eve weren't the only ones with heavy thoughts though. Julie and Paul were at crossroads too. Trapped between the hope of their pasts, disappointment of the present, and question marks of their future.

  As for Lewis, it was more than just the moment he'd waited all year for. Winning the race was about more than some rinky dink trophy. It was his chance to feel special. In his daily life, he was just some scrawny kid ignored by nearly everyone. But on the track, he could be a star.

  As Lewis got set in the starting block, he actually felt a bit relieved. After the year of practice, the sleepless nights, the constant dreaming, his moment had finally come. To go home a winner, or with his head in his hands. To have his dream come true, or a nightmare of a reality. And like that, the anxiety crept in while the official ordered everyone on their marks.

  Lewis then looked out the corner of his eye at Drake just as the official ordered the hurdlers to get set. And finally, Lewis looked straight ahead at the finish line and the hurdles ahead. Then, a moment of quiet.

  Crack. The starting pistol went off and Lewis tore out of the starting gate. Four hundred meters to immortality.

  Adam, Eve, and the rest of the family cheered at Lewis' quick first step. As the runners soared gracefully over their first hurdle, it became clear that it was going to be a two man race. Drake was a formidable foe, quickening the pace, and pushing Lewis to his limit.

  The two jostled for position, neck and neck after the second hurdle, before Lewis took a narrow lead.

  The enthusiasm that Adam had tempered before turned into unbridled joy. His son was winning. He was actually winning, even if just by a hair. Lewis could actually win the race. Adam got caught up, beaming with pride.

  And coming up on the final hurdle, victory was actually in sight. If Lewis could just hold it together for 100 more meters, he'd finally know what victory felt like.

  Just one hurdle to go. One last jump. Seeing the race slip away, Drake switched into overdrive.

  Maybe it was realizing Drake was right on his heels, or maybe it was just a cruel twist of fate. But going over the last hurdle, Lewis broke form ever so briefly. And it cost him.

  Lewis' foot caught on the hurdle on the way down from his leap. He lost he
r balance. And the unthinkable happened. Lewis tumbled to the ground.

  Drake left Lewis in the dust. Lewis tried to get up in a hurry, but instead winced in pain. He was hurt.

  Suddenly, the victory fluttered away, replaced with throbbing pain.

  Adam and Eve went into panic mode in the bleachers. The race was instantly unimportant. Adam and Eve just wanted to make sure their boy was all right. They darted down to the track like champion sprinters while Lewis laid on the track, his ego just as bruised as his knee.

  While Adam and Eve reached the track, Lewis managed to get up, however gimpy. Lewis looked over to his mom and dad, eager to come to his aid.

  But Lewis had other plans. He'd trained too hard, too long to give up. He looked at the finish line a mere few feet away. It didn't matter that he had already lost. He knew what he had to do. It wasn't about winning anymore. It was about finishing.

  So Lewis waved Adam and Eve off with determination in his eyes. Pain be damned, Lewis was going to hobble across that finish line if he had to.

  Eve wasn't about to have any of it.

  "No no. We have to stop him. He's really hurt," Eve insisted.

  But Adam held her back.

  "Adam, what are you doing?" Eve asked, surprised to be held back.

  A smile crept across Adam's face as he watched Lewis' indomitable spirit. "Sometimes it's just about finishing."

  There was something about a soul that refused to give up. No matter the heart break. No matter the obstacles. Lewis was taking Adam's advice to heart. The advice Adam himself had ignored.

  And as Adam, Eve, Paul, and Julie watched Lewis hobble his way across the finish line, something bigger was at play than just the 400 meter hurdles. They'd all been trying to escape. Whether it be a failed employment agency, a foreclosed Eden, deferred veterinarian dreams, or the pain of a lost love--there was no escape. You couldn't just run away, fly off to Paradiso. Sometimes you just had to finish what you started and make your own paradise.

  Adam, Eve, Julie, and Paul looked on with glimmers in their eyes. They were renewed. And unlikely as it was, in defeat, their hope had been restored.

  Epilogue

  After a spiritual speed bump, Paul realized the best way to honor his first love wasn't to withdraw from the world and get lost in hemp hallucinations. So he started sharing his sketches with the world in comic form. "Adventures In The After Life," his comic was called. Mary was his muse. And as a fitting tribute, the comic took off to rousing success.

  Julie meanwhile realized her dreams didn't begin and end with her ability to become a vet. She picked up more hours volunteering at the shelter. And soon found it paid off. The shelter offered her a job, finding permanent homes for it's animals.

  Lewis meanwhile may not have won the race, but won a lot more. One of the spectators had recorded the race and was so inspired that he uploaded the footage onto the internet. The video went viral. And Hank got his wish. He wasn't just a nobody anymore. He became an inspiration to never give up. And though the attention eventually died down, his message didn't.

  Adam and Eve meanwhile found themselves back in familiar territory, calling Lancaster County their home again for the first time in almost thirty years. But despite all the time away from the Amish way of life, they picked up like they had never left. It turned out the unplugged life suited them just fine. No more distractions. No more drama.

  At first Adam and Eve worried that they'd miss the rat race. The hustle and bustle. But living an Amish life allowed one to live simply and plainly, focusing on what truly mattered. So often faith and family had come in second to bills and bosses in the real world. But back within the confines of Lancaster County, Adam and Eve didn't have to work late to try and get ahead. They only needed to turn their attention to the Lord. And God responded in kind.

  But the biggest blessing of all was Adam and Eve's ability to reconnect. They spent their days together once again, rekindling their smoldering desire. Rediscovering why they fell in love in the first place. And honoring their union. It was like an endless second honeymoon. So sure they'd skipped out on Paradiso. But in the end, Adam and Eve found a paradise within each other.

  The End.

  Table of Contents

  Heavenly Blessing

  Heavenly Temptation

  Heaven Sent

  Heavenly Desire

  I'll Be Waiting In Heaven

  Heavenly Dreams

  Heavenly Purpose

  Born Again Amish

  Epilogue