An Amish Homecoming Read online

  OTHER NOVELS BY THE AUTHORS

  AMY CLIPSTON

  THE AMISH HOMESTEAD SERIES

  A Place at Our Table

  Room on the Porch Swing

  A Seat by the Hearth (available November 2018)

  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

  BETH WISEMAN

  AN AMISH JOURNEY NOVEL

  Hearts in Harmony (available March 2019)

  THE AMISH SECRETS NOVELS

  Her Brother’s Keeper

  Love Bears All Things

  Home All Along

  THE DAUGHTERS OF THE PROMISE NOVELS

  Plain Perfect

  Plain Pursuit

  Plain Promise

  Plain Paradise

  Plain Proposal

  Plain Peace

  THE LAND OF CANAAN NOVELS

  Seek Me with All Your Heart

  The Wonder of Your Love

  His Love Endures Forever

  OTHER NOVELS

  Need You Now

  The House that Love Built

  The Promise

  NOVELLAS

  A Choice to Forgive included in An Amish Christmas

  A Change of Heart included in An Amish Gathering

  Healing Hearts included in An Amish Love

  A Perfect Plan included in An Amish Wedding

  A Recipe for Hope included in An Amish Kitchen

  Always Beautiful included in An Amish Miracle

  Rooted in Love included in An Amish Garden

  When Christmas Comes included in

  An Amish Second Christmas

  In His Father’s Arms included in An Amish Cradle

  A Love for Irma Rose included in An Amish Year

  Patchwork Perfect included in An Amish Year

  A Cup Half Full included in An Amish Home

  The Cedar Chest included in An Amish Heirloom

  The Gift of Sisters included in Amish Celebrations

  A New Beginning included in Amish Celebrations

  A Christmas Miracle included in Amish Celebrations

  SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY

  LONE STAR HERO LOVE STORIES

  The Loyal Heart

  An Uncommon Protector

  Love Held Captive

  CHICAGO WORLD’S FAIR MYSTERY SERIES

  Secrets of Sloane House

  Deception on Sable Hill

  Whispers in the Reading Room

  NOVELLAS

  Reunion in Pinecraft included in An Amish Summer

  KATHLEEN FULLER

  THE AMISH LETTERS NOVELS

  Written in Love

  The Promise of a Letter

  Words from the Heart

  THE AMISH OF BIRCH CREEK NOVELS

  A Reluctant Bride

  An Unbroken Heart

  A Love Made New

  THE MIDDLEFIELD AMISH NOVELS

  A Faith of Her Own

  THE MIDDLEFIELD FAMILY NOVELS

  Treasuring Emma

  Faithful to Laura

  Letters to Katie

  THE HEARTS OF MIDDLEFIELD NOVELS

  A Man of His Word

  An Honest Love

  A Hand to Hold

  NOVELLAS

  A Miracle for Miriam included in An Amish Christmas

  A Place of His Own included in An Amish Gathering

  What the Heart Sees included in An Amish Love

  A Perfect Match included in An Amish Wedding

  Flowers for Rachael included in An Amish Garden

  A Gift for Anne Marie included in An Amish Second Christmas

  A Heart Full of Love included in An Amish Cradle

  A Bid for Love included in An Amish Market

  A Quiet Love included in An Amish Harvest

  Building Faith included in An Amish Home

  Building Trust included in An Amish Family

  Surprised by Love included in An Amish Family

  ZONDERVAN

  An Amish Homecoming

  No Place Like Home Copyright © 2018 Amy Clipston

  When Love Returns Copyright © 2018 Elizabeth Wiseman Mackey

  The Courage to Love Copyright © 2018 Shelley Sabga

  What Love Built Copyright © 2018 Kathleen Fuller

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

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

  Epub Edition August 2018 9780785218173

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Clipston, Amy. No place like home. | Wiseman, Beth, 1962- When love returns. | Gray, Shelley Shepard. The courage to love. | Fuller, Kathleen. What love built.

  Title: An Amish homecoming : four Amish stories / Amy Clipston, Beth Wiseman,

  Shelley Shepard Gray, Kathleen Fuller.

  Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : Zondervan, 2018.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018020493 | ISBN 9780785218487 (paperback)

  Subjects: LCSH: Amish--Fiction. | Christian fiction, American.

  Classification: LCC PS648.A45 A424 2018 | DDC 813/.01083823--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018020493

  Scripture quotations 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. Scripture quotations in The Courage to Love are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

  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

  18 19 20 21 22 / LSC / 5 4 3 2 1

&n
bsp; CONTENTS

  Other Novels by the Authors

  Glossary

  NO PLACE LIKE HOME by Amy Clipston Featured Amish Homestead Series Char Acters

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  WHEN LOVE RETURNS by Beth Wiseman Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  THE COURAGE TO LOVE by Shelley Shepard Gray Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  WHAT LOVE BUILT by Kathleen Fuller Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Acknowledgments

  About the Authors

  GLOSSARY

  ach (also ack): oh

  aenti: aunt

  appeditlich: delicious

  bedauerlich: sad

  boppli: baby

  brot: bread

  bruder, bruders: brother, brothers

  bruderskinner: nieces and nephews

  bu, buwe: boy, boys

  Budget, The: a weekly newspaper serving Amish and Mennonite communities everywhere

  daadi: grandfather

  daadihaus (also daadi haus, dawdi haus): grandparents’ house, usually a smaller dwelling on the same property

  danki: thank you

  daed (also dat): dad

  Die Botschaft: a weekly correspondent newspaper that includes reports from scribes in many Amish settlements across the nation

  dochder: daughter

  English, Englisher (also Englisch, Englischer): non-Amish

  familye, familyes: family, families

  fraa (also frau): wife

  freind, freinden: friend, friends

  froh: happy

  gegisch: silly

  geh: go

  gern gschehne: you’re welcome

  Gott: God

  grossmutter: grandmother

  Gude mariye: Good morning

  gut: good

  Gut nacht (also Gute nacht): Good night

  haus: house

  Ich liebe dich: I love you

  jah: yes

  kaffi (also kaffee): coffee

  kapp: prayer covering or cap

  kichli, kichlin: cookie, cookies

  kind, kinner: child, children

  lieb: love

  liewe: love, a term of endearment

  maedel, maed: young woman or girl, young women or girls

  mamm: mom

  mammi: grandmother

  mann: husband or man

  mei: my

  mudder: mother

  naut: night

  nee: no

  nix: nothing

  nohma: name

  onkel: uncle

  Ordnung: the written and unwritten rules of the Amish; the understood behavior by which the Amish are expected to live, passed down from generation to generation. Most Amish know the rules by heart.

  Pennsylvania Deutsch: the language most commonly used by the Amish. Although widely known as Pennsylvania Dutch, the language is actually a form of German (Deutsch).

  Plain: the Amish way of life

  rumschpringe (also rumspringa): running-around period when a teenager turns sixteen years old

  schee: pretty

  schmaert: smart

  schtupp: family room

  schwester: sister

  sohn: son

  vatter: father

  Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?

  wunderbaar: wonderful

  ya: yes

  yer, yerself: your, yourself

  NO PLACE LIKE HOME

  AMY CLIPSTON

  For my amazing, handsome, supercool

  sons, Zac and Matt, with love

  FEATURED AMISH HOMESTEAD SERIES CHARACTERS

  Mary m. Harvey Bender

  Eva Bender Dienner

  Marilyn m. Willie Dienner Simeon (deceased)

  Kayla Dienner Riehl

  Nathan

  Eva m. Simeon (deceased) Dienner

  Simeon Jr. (“Junior”)

  Miriam Faye m. Joel Stoltzfoos

  Hannah

  Kayla m. James (“Jamie”) Riehl

  CHAPTER 1

  Eva Dienner sniffed as she stared at the letter in her trembling hands. Grief, hot and unexpected, poured from her eyes in the form of tears as she studied her mother’s beautiful handwriting. She missed her parents as memories of them pricked her heart.

  She glanced around the small apartment she once shared with her beloved husband. Six years ago, she left her parents in Western Pennsylvania to marry Simeon Dienner and live with him and his family here in Ronks, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, nearly a five-hour bus ride away. Then Simeon died while on duty as a volunteer firefighter more than four years ago, leaving her and their unborn child behind. Heaviness settled in the center of her chest. Oh, how she missed him.

  “Mamm?” Simeon Jr. entered the apartment from the main house where her in-laws and brother-in-law lived. “Are you crying?”

  “I’m fine.” She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

  “Don’t cry.” He crawled up on the sofa beside her and took her hand in his. At almost four years old, he resembled his handsome father with his shock of blond hair and cornflower-blue eyes. “I’m here.”

  “Danki.” She smiled down at him. He also had his father’s kind heart.

  “Why are you bedauerlich?”

  “I was just thinking about mei mamm and dat.” She held up the letter, the first she’d received from her mother in nearly four months. “Mei mamm wrote a letter and told me my best freind, Miriam Faye, stopped by the other day and asked about me.” She sniffed again as memories of her old friends tumbled through her mind.

  “Your mamm?” He tilted his head.

  “Right. She’s your other mammi.”

  He pointed toward the door leading to her mother-in-law’s kitchen. “I have another mammi?”

  “Ya.” Eva cleared her throat. “You have another mammi and daadi who live in New Wilmington, where I grew up.”

  “Can we go there so I can meet them?” His eyes sparkled.

  Stunned by the question, she swallowed.

  “Please?” he begged.

  “I-I don’t know.” Her heart raced at the thought of seeing her parents again. Would they even want to see her? Her mother’s letters always seemed so . . . reserved.

  He folded his hands as if praying. “Pleeease?”

  How could she say no?

  “Let me write mei mamm and ask her.”

  “I’m going to tell Mammi and Daadi we’re going on a trip!” As Junior jumped off the sofa and ran to the door, Eva wondered if her parents would be as excited to meet him.

  A barrage of new memories nearly overcame Eva as she prepared to get off the bus two weeks later. She wiped at the wetness forming under her eyes and worked to control her emotions. Before she left six years ago, she’d had a terri
ble argument with her mother. Was coming back now a mistake, even though her mother had readily agreed to this visit? Could she and her mother ever recover from the rift between them?

  Apprehension chewed on her stomach as she swung her purse over one shoulder and took Junior’s hand in hers.

  “Mamm, your hand is wet.”

  “Just go.” She nodded toward the bus exit.

  They climbed off the bus, and she retrieved their duffel bag from the luggage compartment. After hefting it onto her other shoulder, they made their way through the knot of people in the terminal.

  A familiar face emerged.

  “Ian. Hi.” Eva’s throat tightened as she looked up at Ian Miller—a man she’d known for half her life. She hadn’t expected to see him, at least not here.

  “It’s nice to see you again.” Ian’s smile was warm as his brown eyes flickered to Junior. “You must be Simeon. I’m Ian. It’s wunderbaar to meet you.” He held out his hand for a shake.

  “Hi.” Junior grinned as he shook Ian’s hand. “I’m Junior.”

  “Junior.” Ian reached for the strap of the heavy duffel bag digging into Eva’s shoulder. “Let me take that for you.”

  “Danki.” Eva swiveled slightly, allowing Ian to take the bag as she searched the crowd behind him. “Are my parents outside?”

  “No.” Ian hefted the bag onto his broad shoulder and then pulled on the brim of the straw hat sitting atop his dark hair. “They should be home by the time we get there.”

  “I thought they’d meet us at the bus station.” She felt her brow furrow as she met his gaze. “They’ve known we were arriving this afternoon for over a week.”

  “They had an appointment.” He nodded toward the exit. “The van is waiting. We should get on the road.” He started toward the door.

  Anxiety twisted a tight knot in her stomach. “Wait.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him back. She felt a fluttering in her chest at the touch of his warm skin against hers. She swallowed a gasp. Where had that come from . . . after all these years?

  He raised his eyebrows. “Did you forget something?”

  “No.” She cleared her throat as her cheeks heated with embarrassment. “What kind of appointment did my parents have?”

  “Your dat had a doctor’s appointment that’s been scheduled for a month.”

  Alarm filled Eva as she swallowed another gasp. “Is he okay?”

  Ian nodded. “Ya. He’s fine.”

  Eva studied his face. Was he telling her the truth? She took a trembling breath as various illnesses came to her mind. Did her father have cancer? Or maybe heart trouble? Why didn’t she know he was ill? Her mother never mentioned it in her letters. Did Mamm assume she wouldn’t care?