Seasons of an Amish Garden Read online

  ACCLAIM FOR AMY CLIPSTON

  “Seasons of an Amish Garden follows the year through short stories as friends create a memorial garden to celebrate a life. Revealing the underbelly of main characters, a trademark talent of Amy Clipston, makes them relatable and endearing. One story slides into the next, woven together effortlessly with the author’s knowledge of the Amish life. Once started, you can’t put this book down.”

  —SUZANNE WOODS FISHER, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DEVOTED

  “[A Seat by the Hearth] is a moving portrait of a disgraced woman attempting to reenter her childhood community . . . This will please Clipston’s fans and also win over newcomers to Lancaster County.”

  —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

  “This story of profound loss and deep friendship will leave readers with the certain knowledge that hope exists and love grows through faith in our God of second chances.”

  —KELLY IRVIN, AUTHOR OF THE BEEKEEPER’S SON AND UPON A SPRING BREEZE, ON ROOM ON THE PORCH SWING

  “This heartbreaking series continues to take a fearlessly honest look at grief, as hopelessness threatens to steal what happiness Allen has treasured within his marriage and recent fatherhood. Clipston takes these feelings seriously without sugarcoating any aspect of the mourning process, allowing her characters to make their painful but ultimately joyous journey back to love and faith. Readers who have made this tough and ongoing pilgrimage themselves will appreciate the author’s realistic portrayal of coming to terms with loss in order to continue living with hope and happiness.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4 STARS, ON ROOM ON THE PORCH SWING

  “A story of grief as well as new beginnings, this is a lovely Amish tale and the start of a great new series.”

  —PARKERSBURG NEWS AND SENTINEL ON A PLACE AT OUR TABLE

  “Themes of family, forgiveness, love, and strength are woven throughout the story . . . a great choice for all readers of Amish fiction.”

  —CBA MARKET MAGAZINE ON A PLACE AT OUR TABLE

  “This debut title in a new series offers an emotionally charged and engaging read headed by sympathetically drawn and believable protagonists. The meaty issues of trust and faith make this a solid book group choice.”

  —LIBRARY JOURNAL ON A PLACE AT OUR TABLE

  “These sweet, tender novellas from one of the genre’s best make the perfect sampler for new readers curious about Amish romances.”

  —LIBRARY JOURNAL ON AMISH SWEETHEARTS

  “Clipston is as reliable as her character, giving Emily a difficult and intense romance worthy of Emily’s ability to shine the light of Christ into the hearts of those she loves.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4½ STARS, TOP PICK! ON THE CHERISHED QUILT

  “Clipston’s heartfelt writing and engaging characters make her a fan favorite. Her latest Amish tale combines a spiritual message of accepting God’s blessings as they are given with a sweet romance.”

  —LIBRARY JOURNAL ON THE CHERISHED QUILT

  “Clipston delivers another enchanting series starter with a tasty premise, family secrets, and sweet-as-pie romance, offering assurance that true love can happen more than once and second chances are worth fighting for.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4½ STARS, TOP PICK! ON THE FORGOTTEN RECIPE

  “In the first book in her Amish Heirloom series, Clipston takes readers on a roller-coaster ride through grief, guilt, and anxiety.”

  —BOOKLIST ON THE FORGOTTEN RECIPE

  “Clipston is well versed in Amish culture and does a good job creating the world of Lancaster County, Penn. . . . Amish fiction fans will enjoy this story—and want a taste of Veronica’s raspberry pie!”

  —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ON THE FORGOTTEN RECIPE

  “[Clipston] does an excellent job of wrapping up her story while setting the stage for the sequel.”

  —CBA RETAILERS + RESOURCES ON THE FORGOTTEN RECIPE

  “Clipston brings this engaging series to an end with two emotional family reunions, a prodigal son parable, a sweet but hard-won romance, and a happy ending for characters readers have grown to love. Once again, she gives us all we could possibly want from a talented storyteller.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4½ STARS, TOP PICK! ON A SIMPLE PRAYER

  “. . . will leave readers craving more.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4½ STARS, TOP PICK! ON A MOTHER’S SECRET

  “Clipston’s series starter has a compelling drama involving faith, family, and romance . . . [an] absorbing series.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4½ STARS, TOP PICK! ON A HOPEFUL HEART

  “Authentic characters, delectable recipes, and faith abound in Clipston’s second Kauffman Amish Bakery story.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4 STARS ON A PROMISE OF HOPE

  “. . . an entertaining story of Amish life, loss, love and family.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4 STARS ON A PLACE OF PEACE

  “This fifth and final installment in the Kauffman Amish Bakery series is sure to please fans who have waited for Katie’s story.”

  —LIBRARY JOURNAL ON A SEASON OF LOVE

  “[The Kauffman Amish Bakery] series’ wide popularity is sure to attract readers to this novella, and they won’t be disappointed by the excellent writing and the story’s wholesome goodness.”

  —LIBRARY JOURNAL ON A PLAIN AND SIMPLE CHRISTMAS

  “[A Plain and Simple Christmas] is inspiring and a perfect fit for the holiday season.”

  —RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4 STARS

  OTHER BOOKS BY AMY CLIPSTON

  THE AMISH HOMESTEAD SERIES

  A Place at Our Table

  Room on the Porch Swing

  A Seat by the Hearth

  A Welcome at Our Door (available May 2019)

  THE AMISH HEIRLOOM SERIES

  The Forgotten Recipe

  The Courtship Basket

  The Cherished Quilt

  The Beloved Hope Chest

  THE HEARTS OF THE LANCASTER GRAND HOTEL SERIES

  A Hopeful Heart

  A Mother’s Secret

  A Dream of Home

  A Simple Prayer

  THE KAUFFMAN AMISH BAKERY SERIES

  A Gift of Grace

  A Promise of Hope

  A Place of Peace

  A Life of Joy

  A Season of Love

  NOVELLA COLLECTIONS

  Amish Sweethearts

  NOVELLAS

  A Plain and Simple Christmas

  Naomi’s Gift included in An Amish Christmas Gift

  A Spoonful of Love included in An Amish Kitchen

  Love Birds included in An Amish Market

  Love and Buggy Rides included in An Amish Harvest

  Summer Storms included in An Amish Summer

  The Christmas Cat included in An Amish Christmas Love

  Home Sweet Home included in An Amish Winter

  A Son for Always included in An Amish Spring

  A Legacy of Love included in An Amish Heirloom

  No Place Like Home included in An Amish Homecoming

  NONFICTION

  A Gift of Love

  ZONDERVAN

  Seasons of an Amish Garden

  Copyright © 2019 by Amy Clipston

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

  Epub Edition November 2018 9780310354321

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Clipston, Amy, author.

  Title: Seasons of an Amish garden : four stories / Amy Clipston.

  Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : Zondervan, 2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018035603 (print) | LCCN 2018038633 (ebook) | ISBN 9780310354321 (epub) | ISBN 9780310354307 (paperba
ck)

  Classification: LCC PS3603.L58 (ebook) | LCC PS3603.L58 A6 2019 (print) | DDC 813/.6--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018035603

  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

  Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America

  19 20 21 22 23 / LSC / 5 4 3 2 1

  CONTENTS

  SPRING IS IN THE AIR GLOSSARY

  FAMILY TREE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  HOME BY SUMMER GLOSSARY

  FAMILY TREE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  THE FRUITS OF FALL GLOSSARY

  FAMILY TREE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  WINTER BLESSINGS GLOSSARY

  FAMILY TREE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  SPRING IS IN THE AIR

  For my amazing editor Jocelyn Bailey, with love

  GLOSSARY

  ach: oh

  aenti: aunt

  appeditlich: delicious

  bedauerlich: sad

  boppli: baby

  brot: bread

  bruder: brother

  bruders: brothers

  bruderskinner: nieces/nephews

  bu: boy

  buwe: boys

  daadi: grandfather

  danki: thank you

  dat: dad

  dochder: daughter

  dochdern: daughters

  Dummle!: Hurry!

  fraa: wife

  freind: friend

  freinden: friends

  froh: happy

  gegisch: silly

  gern gschehne: you’re welcome

  Gude mariye: Good morning

  gut: good

  Gut nacht: Good night

  haus: house

  Ich liebe dich: I love you

  kaffi: coffee

  kapp: prayer covering or cap

  kichli: cookie

  kichlin: cookies

  kinner: children

  krank: ill

  kuche: cake

  kuchen: cakes

  kumm: come

  liewe: love, a term of endearment

  maed: young women, girls

  maedel: young woman

  mamm: mom

  mammi: grandmother

  mei: my

  naerfich: nervous

  narrisch: crazy

  onkel: uncle

  schee: pretty

  schmaert: smart

  schweschder: sister

  schweschdere: sisters

  sohn: son

  schtupp: family room

  Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?

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

  wunderbaar: wonderful

  ya: yes

  FAMILY TREE

  Featuring The Christmas Cat novella characters from the collection An Amish Christmas Love.

  Thelma m. Alfred Bender

  Mandy

  Rhoda

  Leona m. Marlin Blank

  Darlene m. Uria Swarey

  Ephraim

  Katie Ann

  Emma m. Henry (deceased) Bontrager

  Hank the Cat

  Darlene m. Uria Swarey

  Savannah

  Rebekah

  Marietta m. Roman Hertzler

  Clara

  Gertrude m. Elvin King

  Wayne

  Feenie m. Jeptha Lantz

  Arlan

  Christian

  Saloma m. Floyd Petersheim

  Jerry

  Biena

  CHAPTER 1

  Katie Ann Blank’s stomach tightened as she marched up the steps leading to Emma Bontrager’s back porch. When she reached the door, she squared her shoulders and swallowed a deep breath. The brisk April breeze sent the ties of her prayer covering fluttering over her shoulders, and the crisp air seeped through her black sweater, black apron, and blue dress.

  Today was an exciting day, and the thoughtlessness of her older brother, Ephraim, wouldn’t tarnish it.

  Or would it?

  Shoving the thought away, she knocked on the storm door and then did her best to force her lips into a smile. The door opened, and Emma stood before her.

  “Katie Ann!” Emma pushed the door open wider. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to join us.” Her warm brown eyes sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight as she stepped out onto the porch. Although Emma was in her late sixties, Katie Ann had always thought she looked a decade younger because of her smooth skin and the dark hair that revealed only a hint of gray.

  “I was delayed, but I’m here now.” Katie Ann held up the plate of peanut butter cookies she’d baked yesterday. “I brought kichlin.”

  “Danki.” Emma pointed toward the inside the house. “I have barbecue meat loaf in the oven.”

  “My favorite.” Katie Ann smiled. “Did the meeting start?”

  When Emma nodded, Katie Ann felt her shoulders deflate.

  “But you haven’t missed much,” Emma added quickly as she beckoned her to enter the house. “Kumm.”

  Katie Ann followed Emma into the house and set the plate of cookies on the mudroom bench before removing her sweater and hanging it on a peg. The aroma of the meat loaf filled her senses, and her stomach growled its approval.

  As voices filtered in from the kitchen, renewed disappointed buzzed through her veins. How could her own brother have forgotten to pick her up for the meeting? After church, Ephraim had taken his girlfriend, Mandy, home to visit with her family. But before going to the Benders’, he’d promised to pick up Katie Ann on his way to Emma’s house. Katie Ann had waited and waited for Ephraim’s horse and buggy to appear in the driveway. When he was more than thirty minutes late, the truth hit her like a thousand bales of hay falling from the loft in her father’s largest barn—Ephraim had forgotten her. And the oversight cut her to the bone. Her brother had never left her behind before.

  Surely he’d apologize as soon as he saw her, and then everything would be okay—more like it was four months ago, before he began dating her best friend and everything changed.

  Mandy’s voi
ce sounded from the kitchen. “Now we need to make a list of what we want to plant in the community garden.”

  Katie Ann followed Emma to where Ephraim and Mandy sat at one end of the table. Mandy was writing on a notepad while their friends Wayne King and Clara Hertzler looked on. Another young man, someone she didn’t think she’d ever seen, sat beside Wayne.

  “Katie Ann!” Clara waved her over and pointed to the empty chair between her and the young man Katie Ann didn’t know. “I was wondering where you were, but Ephraim thought you’d be here soon.”

  “Did he?” She shot her brother a glare, and he shifted in his seat as his golden-blond eyebrows lifted, a question in the honey-brown eyes they’d both inherited from their mother. At twenty-three, he might be two years older than Katie Ann and much taller than her at six feet, but he had to know when his little sister wasn’t happy with him—even when he didn’t seem to know why.

  “Katie Ann.” Mandy’s bright-blue eyes sparkled as she smiled. “I’m so glad you made it.”

  “Ya, I am too.” Katie Ann divided a look between her brother and her best friend. Surely Ephraim had told Mandy he was supposed to pick her up.

  Katie Ann set her plate of cookies on the counter, and then she walked around the table and sank onto the empty chair. She set her tote bag on the floor and began to dig through it for her notepad and pen. When something soft and furry rubbed against her leg, she looked down at Emma’s fat, orange tabby cat and grinned. Hank the cat had invited himself to move in with Emma on Christmas Eve during a snowstorm, and despite her efforts to shoo the cat away, Hank had stayed, becoming the widow’s sweet companion. Emma had named Hank after her late husband, Henry, using the nickname Henry’s friend Urie sometimes called him.

  “Hi, Hank.” Katie Ann rubbed the cat under his velvety-soft chin.

  He responded by closing his eyes as he purred. Then he tilted his head to the side so she could rub his cheek.

  “He likes you.”

  Katie Ann looked up, and her gaze collided with the mysterious young man’s dark eyes. His handsome face lit up in a kind smile, and an adorable dimple appeared on his left cheek. She was speechless for a moment, stunned by his friendliness. His thick dark hair complemented his eyes. Who was he? And how had he found out about their meeting today to plan the special garden they were going to plant in Henry’s memory?