But something else showed in those gray depths, something she feared she might never see again.
Love. Unconditional love.
His arms rose, and to Rebecca’s surprise, wrapped around her. For one moment he pulled her into an embrace like he had not done since she was a small girl. His lips pressed close to her ear, and his whispered words seeped deeply into her soul.
“Welcome home, my Rebecca.”
She was home, and with her prayers answered in a way she could never have imagined. God had been good to this willful child.
EPILOGUE
Five months later, orange leaves clung to spindly tree branches even as a chilly Kansas wind rustled through limbs. Rebecca left Emma’s house and lifted her skirts so her wedding dress would not drag through the grass when she crossed the yard. Behind her, she knew Emma and Maummi watched from the kitchen window. She made her way to the place where Papa stood, hands clasped behind his back, looking out over a field of golden wheat.
The past few months had been difficult. Papa loved her, and he loved the Lord and his Amish faith. It was not easy to lose both daughters to the Englisch, but he was gradually coming to accept what he could not change.
Her eyes strayed to the field, purchased from Luke and Emma with the reward money she’d received for capturing the outlaws. It was hers and Colin’s land now. She’d paid everyone back all the money they had so generously given for her freedom and still had enough left to start building their home and church.
Papa did not turn when she approached.
“Papa,” she said softly. “It is nearly time.”
His round black hat moved slowly up and down as he nodded. “Of this I am aware.” He gave no sign of moving.
She stood beside him, close but not quite touching. The joy of the day dimmed when she saw the sadness lurking in his eyes. Sadness that had never quite left from the moment she returned from Lawrence.
“Papa, I am sorry. Truly. I know this is not the life that you hoped for me, but our Father knows His plan for us. We cannot set this plan.”
For a moment he said nothing, and when he spoke, he did not look at her. “No. It is not the life I would choose for you.”
Tears threatened, and squeezed her throat painfully. How she hated to hurt him. “It makes me sad to disappoint you.”
He turned his head then, a shadowy smile lurking behind the sorrow. “And yet all my arguments these past months, and Bishop Miller’s, have not changed your heart.” His voice grew soft. “From the cradle you were a willful child, determined to have your way and none other. It is a trait you share with your mother, and one of the many reasons I loved her. How could I not love the same quality in you?” His look became tender. “My Rebecca, the choices you have made are not the ones I hoped for, but you will never be a disappointment.”
She would have thrown her arms around him had she not known how uncomfortable the gesture would make him. The embrace he had given her the day she came home from her rumspringa might never be repeated, but that was Papa’s way. She edged closer to him until her arm touched his and poured her joy into her smile.
A horse and buggy, clearly of Amish design, topped a rise in the road and headed toward them. Rebecca shielded her eyes and strained to see the driver. “Who is that?”
For one breathless moment, she feared it might be Bishop Miller. He had been tireless in his attempts to dissuade her from marriage to an Englischman. He seemed to take it as a personal affront that another Switzer daughter had chosen to leave the community.
The buggy drew closer and rolled to a stop in front of them. Peering inside, she recognized the man who held the reins.
“Amos!”
Gathering the skirts of her wedding dress, she raced toward the buggy as he climbed to the ground. Oh, how glad she was to see him. Missing her friends was one of the saddest things about no longer attending Amish church services.
His close-set eyes narrowed with a smile. “Jonas told me of your marriage, and welcomed us to attend.”
Rebecca’s grin was huge. “I am honored.”
But she spoke to his back, for he had turned away to help someone climb down from the buggy. Children tumbled out amid excited chatter. Amos Beiler’s little ones were growing like weeds.
He reached for another hand, and a woman stepped out. Rebecca glimpsed the traditional black dress and white apron, and a white kapp over tidy blond hair.
When the guest stood on the ground before her, Rebecca looked again. Delicate features, sparkling eyes, and full lips curved into a familiar grin. Delight, mingled with surprise, zipped through her.
“Sassy!”
Her friend stepped forward and, disregarding Amish tradition, gathered her in a fierce embrace, her laughter ringing in Rebecca’s ears.
“It’s Sarah now. Whoever heard of an Amish girl named Sassy?”
An Amish girl? Rebecca couldn’t stop a giggle at the thought of the talk Sassy would cause among the women of Apple Grove. She would keep the district on its toes, that much was sure.
Rebecca shook her head. “When did you get here? How?”
“Amos fetched me two weeks ago.” A blush colored her rosy cheeks. “He’s been writing letters to me, hundreds of’em, and I’m telling you, this fellow can compose some mighty pretty poems.”
Amos flushed scarlet.
The thought of Amos Beiler writing love poems was almost impossible to accept.
“But what of New York City and becoming an actress?”
Sassy, or Sarah—it would take some time to become accustomed to her friend’s new name—cocked her head toward Amos and gave a saucy wink. “I found me something a whole lot better.”
Then Amos extended his hand again to help a second woman from the buggy. Another wedding guest! This was turning out to be a real community wedding after all. Rebecca caught sight of the woman.
“Katie! Katie Miller!” She rushed forward to grab her hand.
“I’ve been staying with Katie,” Sarah said, “and she’s been teaching me all about being Amish. I want to be a proper wife when the time comes.” She cut her eyes toward Amos, whose blush deepened.
Katie pressed Rebecca’s hand. “A beautiful day God has given you for your wedding.”
A lingering sadness lurked among the smiles that wreathed her face. How hard, to celebrate another’s wedding without her dear Samuel.
“Having you here makes the day even brighter,” Rebecca assured her.
Sarah caught sight of something behind Rebecca. “Oh, my. Sheriff Maddox cleans up real nice, don’t he?”
Rebecca turned. Love swelled in her chest at the sight of Colin striding across the grass toward them. His gaze held hers as he closed the distance between them, as intimate as if there were no one else in the world but the two of them. Pausing in front of her, he grinned.
“Are you ready to become my bride, Miss Switzer? For the rest of our lives?”
“For eternity,” she said. “And that won’t be near long enough, Colin Maddox.”
The wedding party stood in the open field, inside a rope stretched between four posts. Though the church they would build together had no walls yet, theirs would be the first wedding performed there. A short distance away lay a pile of freshly cut lumber, delivered from Hays City only yesterday. Within the week they would begin, and before winter set in, the white church of their dreams would become a reality. And then the Lord would send them children to love. Orphans—and maybe a boy or girl of their own as well. Papa and Maummi would be living not so far away, but far enough that she would miss their smiles, their caring, and most of all their wisdom.
Rebecca glanced at the small group gathered with them inside the rope. Beaming, Emma held two-month-old Rachel in her arms. Beside her, Luke kept a firm grip on Lucas’s hand. Maummi’s slightly scandalized gaze kept straying toward Sarah, her eyebrows high enough to be buried in her hairline. This was quite a unique community forming. Different beliefs, varying customs, but all acknowledged
a higher source. One had only to look at the brilliant blue sky to see evidence of His presence. White clouds floated so high they looked like individual fields of cotton.
Papa stood beside Amos, a private warmth for her in his placid countenance. She caught Jesse’s eye and smiled. These past months had worked wonders in his life. His face wasn’t so hollow these days. No whiskey and lots of Emma’s good cooking had worked wonders for him.
She turned to Colin, who stood tall and proud beside her, love shining in his eyes. How had she ever thought her heart could belong to anyone else? Maummi once said, “Thank the good Lord for unanswered prayer.” Today Rebecca finally understood her meaning. She had prayed long and hard that Jesse would be her one true love, but the Lord had other plans.
The parson, who had come from Hays City to perform the ceremony, cleared his throat.
“Are we ready to begin?”
Colin’s hand reached for hers. “We’re ready.”
Her heart in her throat, Rebecca nodded. “I am ready to marry my one true love.”
The parson’s voice rang out over the Kansas plain. “Dearly beloved…”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. When the book opens, Rebecca is dissatisfied with her Plain life on her papa’s farm. What is the reason for her discontent? How does that reflect the upbringing she has received in her Amish family and community?
2. Rebellion seems to strike the youth of every generation and every lifestyle. How is Rebecca’s rebellion similar to today’s youth? How is it different?
3. Colin’s deep desire is to start an orphanage. Discuss the elements of his past that have fed this dream.
4. As Rebecca sets out on her rumspringa, she embraces every new experience with enthusiasm and awe. Name some of those new encounters, and discuss how a sheltered Amish girl would react to those in today’s society.
5. How does Colin’s past help form his goals for the future?
6. Did the town’s perception of Colin contribute to his actions in regard to arresting and imprisoning Rebecca?
7. Sassy is introduced as a scandalous character. How did your perception of her change throughout the story?
8. What is Amos’s goal? How is that goal met during the course of the story?
9. After she left Apple Grove, Rebecca longed for the wise council of Maummi and Emma. Where did she find replacements for advice and emotional outlets?
10. Rebecca thought Papa had rejected her, but Amos told her that Jonas had not forgotten his daughter. How did Rebecca react? How important is a father’s approval to a young woman today, as opposed to 1885?
11. Did the women of Lawrence let Rebecca down when they failed to meet her bail? Why or why not?
12. Which character in A Plain and Simple Heart do you most identify with? Discuss why.
13. Throughout the book Rebecca longed for a reunion with Jesse, yet when that reunion occurred, she was disappointed. Were her expectations for a romantic reunion unrealistic?
14. Though this book was entirely fictional, threads of reality were portrayed in the temperance movement of that time period. How has that temperance movement impacted our society today?
15. What did the act of destroying the still symbolize for Colin? For Rebecca?
AUTHORS’ NOTE
We hope you enjoyed A Plain and Simple Heart, Book 2 in the Amish of Apple Grove series. Whenever an author undertakes to write a sequel, it’s with a touch of apprehension. We wanted to tell Rebecca’s story in a way that would delight the many readers who wrote to tell us how much they loved Emma’s story in The Heart’s Frontier. We shouldn’t have worried. Rebecca marched onto page 1 and took control, and we quickly fell in love with her. It is our hope that you had as much fun reading this book as much as we did writing it.
Though the story is entirely fictional, the setting is real. Lawrence, Kansas, is a town with a rich Western history. The Kansas Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was established near Lawrence in 1878. The members of KWCTU joined a national women’s movement to outlaw the sale of alcohol and to promote women’s rights. In 1881, Kansas became the first state to outlaw alcohol. Saloon owners by and large ignored the law and continued to run their businesses openly. Lawmen at that time were responsible for protecting the town’s citizens and keeping peace but not for enforcing prohibition laws.
Most of the characters in A Plain and Simple Heart are fictional as well, though we pulled a few from the pages of history. The real Annie LePort Diggs moved to Lawrence in 1873 and married Alvin not long after. The couple published a newspaper called the Kansas Liberal, and Annie was recognized as a powerful writer and a moving speaker. In the 1890s she toured the nation to promote women’s voting rights and other issues about which she was passionate.
We have taken liberties with our fictional portrayal of Annie Diggs and given her a few characteristics of another well-known Kansas spokeswoman, Carrie Nation. Mrs. Nation gained notoriety when she embarked upon a series of protests in which she entered saloons armed with a hatchet and smashed the liquor bottles. She was jailed many times for destroying establishments that sold liquor. The timing of Mrs. Nation’s Hatchetations, as they were known, didn’t quite work with Rebecca’s story as they began a few years later. So we attributed some of Mrs. Nation’s more energetic personality traits to Mrs. Diggs. We got a huge kick out of having Carrie Nation put in a cameo appearance during the ladies’ protest march, and of having her witness Sassy’s destruction of the liquor bottles in the Lucky Dollar Saloon.
Two other real people make an appearance in this book. Francis Willard and Anna Howard Shaw were both leaders of the temperance movement at a national level.
And now we’re on to the next project. As we write this note, we’re working on A Cowboy at Heart, Book 3 in the Amish of Apple Grove series. You’ll encounter some familiar characters and meet some new ones, and you might even learn a thing or two about another facet of the American West in the 1880s. Stay tuned!
We’d love to hear what you thought of A Plain and Simple Heart. You can contact us through our website, www.LoriCopelandandVirginiaSmith.com.
Lori and Virginia
Don’t miss the Switzer family’s continuing story in BOOK 3 of the AMISH OF APPLE GROVE SERIES by bestselling authors Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith
A COWBOY AT HEART
Chapter One
Apple Grove, Kansas
May, 1886
The first fingers of sunlight danced across the tips of tender wheat plants that had poked through the rich Kansas soil only two weeks before. Jonas Switzer stood on the western border of the field, his face to the rising sun, and marveled once again at this evidence of the Almighty’s provision. Last fall he had sown this wheat into ground prepared to accept it, and throughout the long winter months it laid dormant with no visible sign of the planting. But now it rose from its earthy bed to bask in the warmth of the sun.
Jonas knelt to inspect a single plant barely taller than his finger. Though he was not normally given to poetic comparisons, something about the crisp morning air and the smell of the soil turned his thoughts toward symbolic expression. His own life was much like the single grain of wheat from which this plant had sprung. How many times had he felt dried and shriveled, a tiny kernel buried in a barren field? When his beloved wife passed eighteen years ago, something died inside him. If not for the blessing of his daughters, he would have sunk into the earth and disappeared forever, his life smothered by a grief he thought he might never throw off. But as they grew, the joy they gave him showered his parched world. He learned to trust that somewhere above the trench in which he was buried, sunshine warmed the earth and rains fell to water it.
Then they left the Amish. Jonas closed his eyes against a wave of sorrow. First his Emma and then his Rebecca had chosen to build their lives outside the faith in which they were raised.
It is their right. Their choice.
That he knew, but still his heart grieved that the children he loved had not
found the same contentment in the Plain ways he clung to. That his grandchildren were being raised in a lifestyle foreign to his.
“Pride it is that makes you think yours is the only way. At least they are Christian. Gott sei Dank!”
His mother’s voice rang in his head, and a smile tugged at his lips. Her attitude toward the Plain way of life had been forever skewed by the few years she had spent with her Englisch husband. And yet Jonas did thank Gott his children and their husbands professed a Christian faith, though Bishop Miller would argue that their way was not enough because they did not separate themselves completely from a sinful world.
With a sigh, he stood. All he knew was that his daughters were happy, and they lived their Englisch lives in service to the Almighty and to their families. They had showered his life once again with blessings, with fine, strong sons-in-law and happy, smiling grandchildren. With a full heart he formed a silent prayer of thanks for Emma’s two, Lucas and Rachel, and for the newest baby, Rebecca’s little Isaac.
His gaze swept over the sun-bathed field. A breeze rustled the fledgling plants, creating waves that swept from one end of the field to another. He was but one small plant, but at least he had broken free of the soil and could feel the warmth of sunlight once again.
A movement in the distance caught his attention. Beyond the wheat field he spied a pair of horses standing on the slight rise that separated this field from the wide creek that watered his small herd of cattle and sheep. Wild horses, perhaps? Squinting, he sharpened his gaze. Were those saddle pommels on their backs? Not wild, then. But where were their riders? With a glance toward the house in the opposite direction, where Mader no doubt waited for him with a hearty breakfast, he headed toward the horses.
A Plain and Simple Heart (The Amish of Apple Grove) Page 24