A Simple Vow (29 page)

“Did somebody say biscuits?” Roman called out as he stepped onto the porch of Noah’s house, next door. Queenie, Noah’s black-and-white border collie, rushed out of the house and into the yard, barking excitedly.

Behind Roman, Noah was smiling, buttoning his black vest over his white shirt. “Hope you’ve got more than one of those sandwiches, Mamm,” he said with a laugh. “The pizza Deborah made for us last night is long gone—and she’s not showing her face until church starts.”

“You poor starving things,” Mattie teased as she started up the walk toward her sons. “Deborah deserves a wedding day away from the stove.”

“Or you could get by on bacon, eggs, and toast like I do,” Preacher Amos teased as he strode across his small yard. He stopped a few feet away from Mattie to take in her new dress—and the plate in her hand—with an appreciative smile. He lowered his voice before Roman and Noah reached them. “Of course, if you married me, Mattie, I wouldn’t be threatened by starvation or depression or any of those other maladies a man alone endures.”

“
Jah,
so you’ve told me,” Mattie teased as she removed the napkin that covered her plate. “Maybe someday I’ll feel sorry enough for you to give up my cozy apartment in the lodge.”

In a flash, the three sandwiches disappeared. Mattie watched Noah eat with a welling-up of love and anticipation. Although he was twenty-one, it seemed like only yesterday when he’d been born. He and Deborah had known each other all their lives, had become sweethearts in school, had gotten engaged—until Deborah broke off their relationship, claiming Noah didn’t communicate with her or have a concrete plan for their future. The nasty incident involving Isaac Chupp had brought Noah out of his shell, awakening his protective feelings for Deborah, and all of them at Promise Lodge had breathed a sigh of relief when the young couple reconciled this past summer.

“I’m proud of you, Noah,” Mattie murmured as she stroked his unruly brown waves. “I wish you all the happiness that marriage and your faith in God can offer.”

Blushing, Noah eased away from her touch. “
Denki,
Mamm. I think Deborah and I have figured out how to stay together now,” he said as he offered his dog the last bite of his biscuit.

Mattie shared a smile with Preacher Amos. “When you’re my age, son, you’ll look back to this day and realize how young and innocent you were,” she murmured.

“And clueless,” Amos added with a laugh. “We fellows like to believe we’ve got everything figured out and under control—until life starts tossing monkey wrenches into our well laid plans. I’m a different kind of man than I imagined I’d be when I was your age.”

“Did folks hitch their rigs to dinosaurs back then?” Roman teased. He, too, fed the last bite of his sandwich to Queenie and then rubbed between her ears.

“Puh! I didn’t have much money when I married,” the preacher reminisced, “but I drove fine-looking retired racehorses. Not that my bride always appreciated my priorities,” he admitted. “I hope you’ll give a thought to Deborah’s needs before you devote the household budget to your own whims, Noah. I had a spendy streak—”

“But all the girls liked what they saw and thought you’d be a fine catch back in the day, Amos,” Mattie cut in with a chuckle.

“Back in the day?” he challenged. The way he held her gaze made Mattie’s cheeks prickle with heat. “Might be a little snow on the roof, but there’s still a fire down below.”

“And with that, I’m going to finish getting dressed,” Roman announced, pointing toward the rigs coming through the camp entrance. “We’ve got guests arriving. I hope you two won’t be gawking at each other all during the service, embarrassing us all.”

Mattie smiled, watching her two sons and the dog enter Noah’s white frame house, knowing Amos was still looking at her. “I’m so glad we came to Promise Lodge,” she murmured. “So glad we risked buying this property so we’re no longer living in Obadiah Chupp’s shadow. If I’d still been shackled to that farmhouse in Coldstream, I couldn’t have given my boys plots of land where they could lead lives of their own.”

“You’re an innovator, for sure and for certain,” Amos agreed. “And the best thing I ever did was sell my place and come to Promise with you and your sisters. I feel like my life and my efforts
matter
now, as we build houses for our new neighbors. The land is like a paradise, and the air smells cleaner—”

“That’s because I showered this morning,” Mattie teased.

She faced Amos, loving the way his laughter eased the lines time had carved into a masculine face weathered by the elements and life experiences. Her life would’ve been entirely different had her
dat
allowed her to marry Amos Troyer when she was young instead of insisting she take up with Marvin Schwartz, who’d come into a farm with a house on it. Amos had been a fledgling carpenter without two nickels to rub together.

At fifty, Amos was five years older than she, but his strong, sturdy body showed no signs of softening with age or health issues. He was a man in his prime, and he’d made no bones about wanting to marry her now that both their spouses had passed. Sometimes Mattie was on the verge of blurting out a
yes
when Amos talked of getting hitched—and then memories of Marvin’s abuse would come rushing back to her.

No, she wasn’t in a hurry to take on another husband, another household. But if she ever did, it would be with Amos.

“I hope you’ll allow me the honor of sitting with you at dinner as we celebrate your son’s big day,” he murmured as he gave her hand a quick squeeze.

Mattie smiled up at him, gripping his fingers before releasing them. His brown silver-shot hair and beard shimmered in the morning light, and he cut a fine figure in his black suit and white shirt. “I’ll be happy to, Amos. God be with you as you find the words for your sermon this morning.”

Amos flashed her a boyish grin. “It’ll be God I’m listening to as I speak,” he said, “but it’ll be you I’m looking at for inspiration, Mattie. I hope today’s celebration turns out to be every bit as wonderful as you are.”

Mattie flushed with pleasure, watching him walk to Noah’s new house to prepare for the service—the home Amos had designed and then built with the help of the other local fellows. Amos’s hands were callused from years of carpentry, but there was no softer, more loving heart on God’s green earth.

Go back to where it all started—
the first of Charlotte Hubbard’s
heartwarming Amish romances,

 

 

 

 

Summer has come to Willow Ridge, but Rachel Lantz is looking forward to a whole new season in her life—marriage to strapping carpenter Micah Brenneman, her childhood sweetheart. When a strange Englisher arrives in the café claiming to be the long-lost sister of Rachel and her twin Rhoda, Rachel feels the sturdy foundation of her future crumbling—including Micah’s steadfast love. As the days heat up and tempers flare, Rachel and Micah will learn that even when God’s plan isn’t clear, it will always lead them back to each other . . .

 

 

Drawing upon her experiences in Jamesport, the largest Old Order Amish community west of the Mississippi, longtime Missourian CHARLOTTE HUBBARD writes of simpler times and a faith-based lifestyle in her new Seasons of the Heart series. Like her heroine, Miriam Lantz, Charlotte considers it her personal mission to feed people—to share hearth and home. Faith and family, farming and food preservation are hallmarks of her lifestyle, and the foundation of her earlier Angels of Mercy series. She’s a deacon, a dedicated church musician, and a choir member, and when she’s not writing, she loves to try new recipes, crochet, and sew. Charlotte now lives in Minnesota with her husband and their border collie.

ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

 

Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018

 

Copyright © 2016 by Charlotte Hubbard

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

 

To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

 

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

 

 

Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3869-6
ISBN-10: 1-4201-3869-3

ISBN: 978-1-4201-3869-6