A Welcome at Our Door

  Dedication

  With love and appreciation for my wonderful Amish friend. Thank you for your precious friendship. You are a blessing in my life!

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Glossary

  Amish Homestead Series Family Trees

  Note to the Reader

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  The Amish Homestead Series

  Acclaim for Amy Clipston

  Other Books by Amy Clipston

  Copyright

  Glossary

  ach: oh

  aenti: aunt

  appeditlich: delicious

  Ausbund: Amish hymnal

  bedauerlich: sad

  boppli: baby

  bopplin: babies

  brot: bread

  bruder: brother

  bruderskind: niece/nephew

  bruderskinner: nieces/nephews

  bu: boy

  buwe: boys

  daadi: granddad

  daed: father

  danki: thank you

  dat: dad

  Dietsch: Pennsylvania Dutch, the Amish language (a German dialect)

  dochder: daughter

  dochdern: daughters

  Dummle!: Hurry!

  Englisher: a non-Amish person

  faul: lazy

  faulenzer: lazy person

  fraa: wife

  freind: friend

  freinden: friends

  froh: happy

  gegisch: silly

  gern gschehne: you’re welcome

  grossdaadi: grandfather

  grossdochder: granddaughter

  grossdochdern: granddaughters

  grossmammi: grandmother

  gross-sohn: grandson

  Gude mariye: Good morning

  gut: good

  Gut nacht: Good night

  haus: house

  Hoi!: Get back here!

  Ich liebe dich: I love you

  kaffi: coffee

  kapp: prayer covering or cap

  kichli: cookie

  kichlin: cookies

  kind: child

  kinner: children

  krank: sick

  kuche: cake

  kumm: come

  liewe: love, a term of endearment

  maed: young women, girls

  maedel: young woman

  mamm: mom

  mammi: grandma

  mei: my

  Meiding: shunning

  mutter: mother

  naerfich: nervous

  narrisch: crazy

  onkel: uncle

  Ordnung: the oral tradition of practices required and forbidden in the Amish faith

  schee: pretty

  schmaert: smart

  schtupp: family room

  schweschder: sister

  schweschdere: sisters

  sohn: son

  Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?

  Wie geht’s: How do you do? or Good day!

  wunderbaar: wonderful

  ya: yes

  zwillingbopplin: twins

  Amish Homestead Series Family Trees

  Note to the Reader

  While this novel is set against the real backdrop of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the characters are fictional. There is no intended resemblance between the characters in this book and any real members of the Amish and Mennonite communities. As with any work of fiction, I’ve taken license in some areas of research as a means of creating the necessary circumstances for my characters. My research was thorough; however, it would be impossible to be completely accurate in details and description, since each and every community differs. Therefore, any inaccuracies in the Amish and Mennonite lifestyles portrayed in this book are completely due to fictional license.

  one

  Cindy Riehl hummed as she hung a pair of her father’s trousers on the clothesline, and then she swept a lock of golden-brown hair escaping her prayer covering away from her eyes. She squinted in the bright June sunlight before pushing the line forward to make room for another pair of Dat’s trousers.

  As she lifted them from her wicker basket, she glanced toward the fenced cow pasture just as one of the cows pushed open the gate, trotted down their short driveway, and started down the street toward the neighbor’s farm.

  “Ach, no,” she groaned as she dropped the trousers into the basket.

  “Jamie! Roy!” Cindy yelled for her brothers as she scurried down the porch steps. “Cucumber got out again!”

  She ran toward the dairy barn, calling her brothers’ names again and again. Where were they? When neither brother stepped out of the barn, she turned to the street.

  Cindy raced after the cow, shouting, “Cucumber! Hoi! Hoi!”

  On several occasions she and her siblings had retrieved wandering cows with the help of a neighbor’s dog, and this afternoon she longed for both human and canine help. Corralling a cow wasn’t easy as a one-person job.

  Cindy dodged puddles from last night’s rain as she again yelled, “Cucumber! Hoi! Hoi!”

  The cow jogged down the street and turned into their neighbor’s driveway.

  Cindy followed the cow, shouting to her as she made her way over the rocks and past Gertrude and Ervin Lapp’s farmhouse.

  She stopped running when she saw the cow following a golden retriever toward the Lapps’ barn. She cupped her hand to her forehead and groaned. Did Cucumber think she was a dog? The cow and dog sniffed each other, and then the cow trailed the dog as it walked in circles in front of the barn.

  “Cucumber! Hoi! Hoi!” she called, at the same time trying to catch her breath. “Come on, Cucumber. I need to get you home.”

  The cow ignored her.

  “Cucumber!” She stamped her foot. “I need to finish hanging out the laundry. Please come. Hoi! Hoi! Kumm! Dummle!”

  When she heard someone laugh, she turned toward the little one-story house across from the barn. A tall Englisher stood on the porch, watching her. She tented her hand over her eyes to get a better look at him in the bright sunlight as he strolled down the porch steps and started toward her.

  He looked to be in his mid- to late twenties, and his light-brown hair was short on the sides but long and messy on top, as if he’d just raked his hand through it. His chiseled cheekbones and strong jaw were covered in a few days’ light-brown stubble. And he was smiling.

  His smile widened as he nodded toward the cow. “Did I hear you call that cow Cucumber?”

  “Yes.” She fingered her black apron as she looked up into his ice-blue eyes. He was at least six inches taller than she was. She guessed he was even taller than her older brothers, who stood close to six feet. “My nephew named her. He’s four and a half, and he thought it was a great name.”

  “It is a great name.” He whistled, and the golden retriever bounded over to him, tongue hanging out and tail wagging. “I
guess Bruce and Cucumber are friends, huh?” He leaned down and rubbed the dog’s ear.

  “Yes, I guess so. Cucumber learned how to open the gate, just like her mother, Sassy, used to do. I’ve asked my brother to fix it so she can’t get out, numerous times, but you can see how well that’s worked.” She turned toward the cow, which had started munching on a tuft of grass. “Cucumber!” she snapped. “Hoi! Hoi!”

  When Cucumber continued to ignore her, she harrumphed and then turned toward the man. His lips twitched as he scratched the dog’s ear and looked at her.

  “This is a typical Monday on your farm?” he asked, sounding . . . what? Entertained?

  “No, not really.” Humiliation and a little bit of anger heated her cheeks. Did he think this was funny? She needed his help, not his amusement.

  “Do you happen to have a carrot?” she asked.

  “A carrot?” He stood up straight.

  “Yes.” She pointed toward the cow. “To entice her to follow me back to our dairy farm.”

  “Oh. Right.” He scratched his chin. “I might. If not, then I’ll ask Gertrude for one. I’ll go check.” He looped back to the small house and disappeared inside.

  “Cindy!” a voice shouted behind her.

  She craned her neck to look over her shoulder. Her brother Jamie was jogging up the driveway. “It’s about time,” she muttered, and then pressed her lips together.

  “Did Cucumber get out again?” Jamie lifted his straw hat and pushed his dark-brown hair off his forehead.

  “Why else would I be over here?” She slammed her hands on her hips. “When are you going to fix that gate so she can’t open it?”

  He gave her two palms up. “I did fix it.”

  “Not well enough.” She gestured toward the cow. “I asked Gertrude and Ervin’s farmhand to get me a carrot.”

  “Ervin finally hired a new farmhand?” Jamie asked.

  “Ya, I guess so.” She pointed toward the porch where she’d first seen the Englisher. “He came from their farmhand’s haus.” When something that felt like wet sandpaper brushed her hand, she jumped and looked down. The golden retriever gazed up at her and panted. “Hello there, Bruce.”

  His tail wagged, and she scratched his ear.

  “He likes you.” The man had come back, and when he grinned, for some reason her cheeks heated again. He faced her brother. “Hi. I’m Drew Collins.” He held out his hand, and Jamie shook it.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Jamie Riehl.” Jamie gestured toward Cindy. “I guess you’ve already met my sister Cindy.”

  “Not formally.” He turned his smile on her again. “Nice to meet you, Cindy.”

  She nodded and cleared her throat, feeling self-conscious. Why? She didn’t even know the man!

  Drew held up a carrot. “I found one.”

  “Great!” Jamie took it. “Thank you.” Then he turned to the cow. “Come on, Cucumber. Let’s go home.”

  Drew snickered. “That’s such a fantastic name.”

  “My son came up with it.” Jamie shook his head. “He’s creative.”

  “It sounds like it.” Drew crossed his arms over his middle and then nodded toward Bruce. “He really does like you, Cindy.”

  She looked down at the dog as he pawed the skirt of her blue dress. “I guess so.” She scratched his ear again.

  “Let’s go, Cucumber.” Jamie held out the carrot and started walking. As the cow followed him down the driveway, Jamie looked over his shoulder at Drew. “I’m sorry for the trouble.”

  “Yes, I am too,” Cindy said. “Thank you for the carrot.” She turned to follow Jamie and the cow.

  “You’re welcome, and it was no trouble.” Drew fell into step with Cindy as they walked down the driveway. Bruce jogged beside them. What was this man doing? Didn’t he have work to do?

  “Do you need help with your gate, Jamie?” Drew asked.

  “That’s not necessary,” Jamie said as he turned and walked backward, “but thanks. I’ll just try again.”

  “I don’t mind.” Drew gave Cindy a sideways glance, making her uncomfortable again. “Maybe I can help you figure out a different fix to keep Cucumber from opening it.”

  Jamie paused for a moment before responding. “I have to admit I’m not sure what else to do,” he said. “Help from someone who might have a different idea sounds great. Thank you. Are you Ervin’s new farmhand?”

  “Yeah.” Drew jammed his thumb toward the farm behind him. “I just started last week. Their former farmhand took another job last year, and Ervin recently decided to hire a replacement.”

  “That’s what I heard.” Jamie smiled. “Welcome to Beechdale Road.”

  “Thanks.” As they came to the end of the driveway and turned down the street, their farm immediately came into view. Drew said, “This is your dairy farm next door?”

  “Yes.” Jamie pointed toward the large two-story, white clapboard farmhouse where Cindy and her brothers and sister had been born and raised. “That’s our dad’s house.” Then he pointed to the smaller house on the other side of the pasture, also two stories and white clapboard. “That’s my house.”

  “Oh.” Drew nodded. “They’re nice homes.”

  “Thanks.” Jamie led the cow up the rock driveway and toward the dairy barn. “Let’s get Cucumber situated, and then I’ll grab my toolbox.”

  As Jamie and Drew headed for the barn, Cindy turned toward the back porch and her waiting laundry. She felt something brush her leg and looked down to see Bruce.

  “Are you trying to kidnap my dog?”

  Cindy looked behind her, where Drew stood grinning, his arms folded over his wide chest.

  “No.” She glanced down at the eager golden retriever and shook her finger at him. “I think you need to go with your dad.” Then she met Drew’s amused gaze. “Call him.”

  “I think he’d rather be with you.” He laughed.

  “Does he like to hang out laundry?”

  Drew shrugged. “I’ve never asked him, but you can.”

  Cindy chuckled. “All right.” She looked down at Bruce again. “Would you like to help me hang out the laundry?”

  The dog barked, crouched, and barked again.

  She turned her gaze back to Drew. “I think that means yes.”

  He smiled. “I do too. But I’ll call him if he’s bothering you.”

  She shook her head. “I think he’ll be a great helper.”

  “All right.” He gave her a little wave as he turned to go. “I’ll call him after I finish helping Jamie.”

  Cindy started up the steps and then whistled for Bruce to follow. “Maybe you can hand me clothespins.”

  Bruce bounded up the steps and then sat beside her as she returned to the task of hanging damp clothes on the line. Bruce looked up at her, his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging.

  “You’re a handsome guy.” She scratched his ear once more and then turned back to the basket of clothes.

  As she hung a pair of her stepbrother Roy’s trousers on the line, her gaze moved to the gate where Jamie and Drew worked. Drew laughed when Jamie said something before digging through his toolbox. It seemed her brother was getting acquainted with their new neighbor.

  “What was all the yelling earlier?”

  Cindy turned to see Florence, her stepmother, coming onto the porch from inside the house. She was holding the screen door open for her daughter, Sarah Jane.

  “And who is this?” Sarah Jane asked as she came outside and gestured toward their canine guest.

  “Cucumber opened the gate and took off down the lane, and I was yelling for Jamie or Roy to help me.” Cindy nodded toward the dog. “She went to visit Bruce.”

  “Hi, Bruce.” Sarah Jane leaned down to rub the dog’s neck.

  “Where does Bruce live?” Florence asked as she let the screen door shut.

  “He belongs to Gertrude and Ervin Lapp’s new farmhand.” Cindy pointed toward the pasture. “His name is Drew, and he’s helping Jamie fix the gate so Cuc
umber won’t get out again.”

  “Isn’t that nice of him?” Florence walked to the edge of the porch and looked out toward the fence. After a few moments, she turned back to Cindy. “You should invite Drew to stay for supper.”

  “Oh?” Cindy studied her stepmother.

  “Ya. As a thank-you for helping Jamie.” Florence looked at Sarah Jane. “Don’t you think that’s a gut idea?”

  “Ya.” Sarah Jane picked up another pair of Roy’s trousers and handed them to Cindy. “I think it’s a nice way to thank him.”

  “It’s settled, then.” Florence turned to Cindy. “Would you please go ask Drew to stay? I’ve already invited Jamie’s family, and Kayla knows it will be ready in about an hour. I have two pans of broccoli, rice, cheese, and chicken casserole. That should be more than enough for everyone.”

  Cindy looked over at Drew and hesitated. Would inviting him to supper seem too forward?

  “Go on,” Sarah Jane said. “I’ll finish hanging the laundry.”

  “All right.” Cindy smoothed her hands down her black apron as she descended the porch steps and squared her shoulders.

  Drew glanced over his shoulder and smiled as she approached the pasture fence. “Is Bruce proving to be a good help with the laundry?”

  “Yes, he is.” She looked back toward the porch, where Bruce supervised her stepsister as she hung an apron on the line. Then she met Drew’s gaze again. If only she could stop blushing in front of this man!

  “My stepmother would like you to stay for supper as a thank-you for your help today.”

  “Oh.” Drew’s brow pinched as if he were puzzled by the request. “That’s very nice of her.”

  “Jamie’s family is coming too. Florence said the meal will be ready in about an hour. Will you join us?”

  “Yes, join us, Drew,” Jamie said. “You’ve helped me come up with a solution that should hold this time, and we should be done soon.”

  “I’d like to stay.” Drew nodded. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Cindy said. As she headed back to the house, questions about Drew filled her mind. Maybe she’d learn more about him during supper.

  * * *

  After their silent prayer, Cindy scooped some casserole onto her plate as conversations broke out around the long table in their kitchen. She peeked across the table at Drew and found him plucking a roll from the basket. His gaze met hers, and he nodded with a smile before dropping his eyes to cut the roll in half.