The Cherished Quilt Read online

  PRAISE FOR AMY CLIPSTON

  “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 HEIRLOOM SERIES

  The Forgotten Recipe

  The Courtship Basket

  The Cherished Quilt

  The Beloved Hope Chest (available May 2017)

  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

  YOUNG ADULT

  Roadside Assistance

  Reckless Heart

  Destination Unknown

  Miles from Nowhere

  NOVELLAS

  A Plain and Simple Christmas

  Naomi’s Gift included in

  An Amish Christmas Gift

  A Spoonful of Love included in An Amish Kitchen

  A Son for Always included in An Amish Cradle

  Love Birds included in

  An Amish Market

  Love and Buggy Rides included in An Amish Harvest

  Home Sweet Home included in An Amish Home (available February 2017)

  NONFICTION

  A Gift of Love

  ZONDERVAN

  The Cherished Quilt

  Copyright © 2016 by Amy Clipston

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

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

  ePub Edition © October 2016: ISBN 978-0-3103-4276-2

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Clipston, Amy, author.

  Title: The cherished quilt / Amy Clipston.

  Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, [2016] | Series: An Amish heirloom novel; 3

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016031028 | ISBN 9780310341963 (paperback)

  Subjects: LCSH: Amish--Fiction. | GSAFD: Love stories. | Christian fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3603.L58 C48 2016 | DDC 813/.6--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016031028

  Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

  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.

  Interior Design: James Phinney

  16 17 18 19 20 RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  For my mother, Lola Goebelbecker, with love and appreciation

  CONTENTS

  GLOSSARY

  NOTE TO THE READER

  PROLOGUE

  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

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  GLOSSARY

  ach: oh

  aenti: aunt

  appeditlich: delicious

  Ausbund: Amish hymnal

  bedauerlich: sad

  boppli: baby

  brot: bread

  bruder: brother

  bruderskind: niece/nephew

  bruderskinner: nieces/nephews

  bu: boy

  buwe: boys

  daadi: granddad

  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: friendr />
  freinden: friends

  froh: happy

  gegisch: silly

  Gern gschehne: You’re welcome

  grossdaadi: grandfather

  grossdochder: granddaughter

  grossdochdern: granddaughters

  grossmammi: grandmother

  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

  kind: child

  kinner: children

  kumm: come

  liewe: love, a term of endearment

  maed: young women, girls

  maedel: young woman

  mamm: mom

  mammi: grandma

  mei: my

  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

  Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?

  Willkumm: Welcome

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

  wunderbaar: wonderful

  ya: yes

  AMISH HEIRLOOM 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.

  PROLOGUE

  CHRISTOPHER HOCHSTETLER SHIVERED DESPITE THE HOT June sun beating down on his black church hat. The scent of moist earth assaulted his senses, and calluses stung his palms as he stared at the fresh pile of dirt he had helped shovel over the coffin with his seventeen-year-old brother’s body inside. The minister recited a prayer, but it played as background noise to Chris’s anguish.

  Only a few days ago, Chris and Gabriel had been working side by side in the pasture, helping their father train horses. Now Chris stood next to his older brother, Paul, surrounded by hundreds of community members who’d come to pay their last respects. He was stuck in a dream. No, he was stuck in a nightmare. It was as if he were floating above the crowd, watching the chilling scene play out in front of him.

  His mother’s keening broke through his thoughts and hurled him back to reality. He turned his head to his right. Mamm was holding on to Dat for support, and grief grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him.

  Gabriel was gone forever.

  When the minister’s prayer ended, a murmur of conversations spread throughout the crowd. Paul spoke quietly to a friend as some of the community members slowly made their way back to their buggies that lined the long street. To Chris’s right, Dat spoke softly into Mamm’s ear. The sight of his parents consoling each other tore at his heart. Chris raised a trembling hand and wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

  “Chris.”

  He turned to where Sallie Zook suddenly stood beside him, wringing her hands. Her dark eyes were red-rimmed and her pink cheeks were tearstained.

  A pang of sorrow ripped through him as he recalled the days Gabriel talked about Sallie nonstop. Gabriel had liked her since they were in school together, but he had never shared his feelings with her. Now he never would.

  “I’m so sorry, Chris. I can’t believe he’s—” A sob escaped from her throat. She took a deep breath and swiped at the tears trickling from her eyes. “I just spoke to Gabriel at church last Sunday. I’ll never have the chance to talk to him again.”

  Unable to speak past the lump swelling in his throat, Chris looked at the knot of mourners behind Sallie to avoid her grief-stricken eyes. Salina Chupp was weaving through the crowd. As she hurried toward him, his shoulders tensed. Salina met his gaze, and Chris’s stomach twisted with apprehension. He turned to his right, intent on walking away, but he was trapped by people surrounding his parents. If only he could get away and avoid talking to Salina. She was the last person he wanted to see today.

  Salina sidled up to Sallie and placed her hand on her slight shoulder while keeping her eyes focused on Chris. She shook her head as her dark eyes misted over. “Oh, Chris. I can’t believe it. I don’t even know what to say.” A tear slid down her cheek. “It’s a terrible tragedy.”

  Chris swallowed and pressed his lips together, fighting against the memory of—

  “How could you let this happen, Christopher?”

  He flinched at the harsh words and then turned to face his glaring father. “What do you mean?”

  “This is your fault.” Dat pointed toward the freshly covered grave. “If you hadn’t been so irresponsible, your bruder would still be alive.”

  Chris heard both Salina and Sallie gasp.

  Chris’s eyes widened as he took in the fury in his father’s hazel eyes. Dat blamed him. Even more than he’d been blaming himself?

  “You think this is all my fault?” Chris jammed his finger into his own chest. When Dat merely stared, he added, “I didn’t kill Gabriel.”

  “Ya, you did.” Dat nearly spat the words at him. “You’re the older bruder, and you knew better. Once again, you ignored my instructions, and you failed Gabriel. In fact, you failed this family. I should’ve known better than to leave you in charge. You can’t handle it.” He glared at Salina and back at Chris again. “You’re too easily distracted, and you don’t think about anyone but yourself.”

  Chris’s breath came out in a whoosh, and he winced as if his father had struck him. “How can you blame me like this? I never meant to—”

  “You didn’t mean to, but there’s nothing you can do to fix this.” Dat was seething. “Gabriel is gone now. He’s dead, Christopher, and we can never bring him back.”

  Tears stung Chris’s eyes. Turning back toward the grave, he could almost feel his father’s furious stare boring into him. His younger brother was gone, and as Dat said, there was nothing he could do to fix this.

  Chris closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in an effort to stop his body from trembling. A tear trickled down one cheek. How could he go on without Gabriel? And with the guilt? Dat was cruel to place all the blame on him for Gabriel’s death, but he was also right.

  Gabriel would be alive if it weren’t for him.

  CHAPTER 1

  EMILY FISHER HUMMED TO HERSELF AS SHE WALKED DOWN the rock path leading from her parents’ large farmhouse to the harness shop her father co-owned with their next-door neighbor. The warm September breeze whipped the skirt of her blue dress against her legs and hinted that cool weather was not in a hurry to visit Lancaster County.

  The sign for the Bird-in-Hand Harness Shop came into view as she approached the one-story, white clapboard building. The three parking spaces in front of the store were empty, as was the hitching post that welcomed horses and buggies. Her father and his best friend, Hank, were no doubt busy back in the shop’s work area while waiting for the day’s first customers.

  As she stepped into the shop, a bell over the door announced her entrance. As always, she took in the familiar aroma of leather. The showroom in the one-room building was filled with displays of leather harnesses, leashes and collars for pets, saddles, doorknob hangers with bells, rope, pouches, bags, and various other horse accessories such as saddle blankets. The sales counter sat in the center of the pa
cked showroom with small, round displays peppered with leather key chains in shapes varying from cats to horses.

  Beyond the showroom was where her father and Hank were busy creating items to sell. Emily worked her way between displays to their work area.

  “Gude mariye,” Emily sang.

  “Hi, Emily.” Dat gave her a wide smile. Although he was in his early fifties, his light brown hair and matching beard were threaded with gray. His deep brown eyes were bright with question. “Are you done helping your mamm in the haus already?”

  “Mamm said I should help you with the books this morning and then help her cook for the Englishers tonight.” Emily fingered the hem of her black apron. “It’s going to be a big group, so we have a lot to do.”

  “You’re hosting a supper on a Wednesday?” Hank raised his eyebrows. Although he and Dat were about the same age, Hank’s brown beard had a hint of gray. “Don’t you normally have Englishers come on Fridays?”

  “Ya, that’s true.” Emily nodded and the ties to her prayer kapp bounced in agreement. “They asked if they could come tonight. They have activities booked through the rest of the week, so Mamm agreed to it. We don’t want to turn them down and then lose their business.”

  “You can work on the books another day,” Dat said. “I know how hard you and Mamm work to prepare for the meals.”

  “It’s fine. I can take a look at them and then go back to help Mamm. It’s too early to start cooking, and I cleaned the haus nearly all day yesterday. I have plenty of time to get ready for the meal.” She paused. “Is Christopher still starting at the shop today?”

  “Ya,” Hank said. “He should be here shortly. I told him to take his time coming in this morning.”

  “Oh, gut.” She smiled. “I can’t wait to meet him. I’ll send him back to you when he arrives.”

  “Danki,” Hank said.

  Emily moved behind the counter by the cash register and pulled out the accounting book from the bottom drawer. She was engrossed in calculating the month’s sales when the bell above the door chimed to greet a customer.

  “Gude mariye.” Emily looked up from the ledger to see a tall young man watching her from just inside the front door. She smiled. “You must be Christopher.”

  He gave her a slight nod but no return smile. In fact, his expression was so passive he was nearly frowning.