ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Forever Home
Series: Amish Dreams on Prince Edward Island #1
Author: Amy Grochowski
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: June 9, 2020
Genre: Inspirational Amish Romance
A Canadian Amish farmer
A Lancaster Amish businesswoman
A Prince Edward Island foster child
Providence brings together a mismatched family, giving all three a second chance for love. Only love may never have had such a tough job.
Lydia Miller is an anomaly among her Amish people-a single woman in her 30s, running her own store, determined to forge a life on her own. But when Joel Yoder comes into town to sell his property, Lydia suddenly finds all of her hopes and dreams crumbling around her and a new opportunity placed in her lap.
Joel has his own problems. Recently jilted by his fiancée, Joel has seen his own dreams of moving to a newly established Amish community begin to falter. The new community welcomes married couples only. With his dreams quickly slipping from his fingers, Joel suddenly sees the only option he thinks he has--a marriage of convenience for both of them.
As the new couple begins life in a new settlement, they are even more surprised when a foster child in need of a home finds her way to them. Yet what will happen when the English world and the Amish world collide?
PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads |
Amazon |
Barnes & Noble |
Book Depository |
Christianbook
EXCERPT
Chapter
One
Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania
A sensible Amish woman aspired to
marry, as Lydia Miller was reminded daily.
She also knew any wise Amish woman
ought to bypass schemes destined to failure. Yet here she stood, determined to
avoid the first and ready to plunge headlong into the second.
Lydia sucked in a breath and slid into
a seat on the second-to-last row of chairs under the auction tent. She may not
win the bid for the farmhouse at today’s estate sale, but at least she’d know
she tried everything to keep her business.
The air smelled of autumn—the cooling
rest of the earth after yielding her summer labor. Under the heavy canvas of
the tent, the two-mile stretch of Amish farmland known as Millers Creek was
hidden from Lydia’s view.
A wet trickle of perspiration trailed
from underneath her prayer kapp, then
down the back of Lydia’s neck. She almost allowed Ben to bid for her; but her
brother wasn’t familiar with her finances, nor was his future on the bidding
block.
Nay, the task was up to her alone.
The wooden seat beside Lydia creaked
under the heft of her neighbor, Miriam Stoltzfus, who emitted a groan of her
own as she sat.
“Have you lost all of your good sense?”
Ever since Lydia’s mamm died, Miriam had taken the mother role upon herself. Lydia was
used to the older woman’s more-often-than-not good intentions, which were more
than Lydia needed at the moment.
“I still have all my wits about me.”
The click of Miriam’s tongue against
her teeth issued her contradiction. Lydia’s vision settled onto the handle
attached to her bidder card. The rounded edge of the re-purposed tongue
depressor pressed into her palm. Lydia prayed a silent prayer of forgiveness
for the unkind urge to use it on the other woman.
“Gott’s
will couldn’t be plainer if Moses himself carved it on a stone tablet for you
to read.” Miriam’s prayer kapp bobbed
up and down with the surety of her conviction.
The Almighty’s will? Or Miriam’s? Lydia
had to wonder.
Lydia shoved the tongue depressor
between her knees for safe-keeping and pressed her lips tight to keep from
disrespecting her elder, who continued in a not-so-quiet whisper. “The sale of
this property—including your Amish Shoppe—is a clear sign the time has come for
you to quit this spinster nonsense and settle down with a goot Amish husband.”
“And marry whom?” Not your cousin,
Hiram Glick. Miriam knew full well Lydia couldn’t accept Hiram. “I could own a
business, not just rent the building.” Lydia turned to face her neighbor. “You
know why this is important to me.” She
didn’t dare say the reason aloud. Miriam was one of the few who knew the reason
for her determination to support herself.
“Ya,
I know. Even so, I tell you, Lydia, this is a mistake. The Lord has a bigger
plan for you. He is not bound by the past. Remember, with Gott all things are possible.”
“Well then, it’s still possible I might
buy this house and save my shop today.”
Miriam sank with a deflated plop
against the back of her seat.
Lydia had the last word, but
satisfaction didn’t follow. Miriam’s words nagged at her conscience. Not the
part about signs and plans. Lydia didn’t believe she deserved such consideration.
Rather, she was struck by the existence of a Power great enough to overcome the
past. If only the past had not bound her.
But she was Lydia Miller, humble
mortal.
Lydia shifted in her seat. She’d
attended many auctions, but never bid for anything. She bit her lower lip. Did
she know what she was doing with such a large sum and stakes so high? All the
money she’d earned from five years of teaching in the Amish school had been
poured into renovating the farmhouse into a shop. Now, she had only her
business savings to try and outbid the fancy men here today.
Ouch. Lydia jumped from a sharp jab in
the ribs.
“I wasn’t talking about Hiram, if
that’s what you’re thinking.” Miriam aimed the offending finger toward an Amish
man whom Lydia had never seen.
Tall with powerful strong shoulders, he
stood alone on the far side of the tent, tapping his straw hat against his leg.
The Amish stranger’s face was tanned and his hair the blackest she’d ever seen.
His dark eyes, set deep under thick brows, met her own. Lydia ducked her head,
but not before she noticed his square, unshaven chin. Unmarried.
“What in the world?” Lydia leaned into
Miriam to keep her voice low. “Now you’d try to match me with a man we don’t
even know?”
“He’s Canadian Amish. Beulah Yoder’s grandson.”
“Oh…so, you’d have me marry the man
responsible for this…” Lydia’s throat tightened. If she attempted to describe
what this horrible day really meant to her, she’d be in tears. She couldn’t
afford the distraction. As far as Lydia was concerned, the man should have
stayed in Canada where he belonged. He hadn’t been around these parts even when
his grandmother was alive. All was fine and dandy if he wanted to sell his
inheritance, but a little more notice would have been appreciated.
“Maybe he’s a bit responsible, but…”
The auctioneer interrupted Miriam by
calling for the first bid. Lydia jumped to join with the rest of the bidders.
Was her eagerness too obvious? She wished her datt were still alive to give her advice.
The rumble of the first bids began like
the intermittent thunder of a faraway storm. As the bidders increased, the
fervor pitched faster. Lydia sat on the edge of her chair as though lightning
might strike her. All of the sudden, the bidding slowed. Several bidders had
thinned to a few, and Lydia was amazed to find herself still alive among them.
She had better free her mind of
distractions—the smell of the straw beneath her feet, the flap of the canvas
roof above her… Focus, focus. Wasn’t that what Datt used to say? Focus on the task at hand.
She concentrated on the auctioneer and
an Englischer in the corner of her
periphery. She’d met many non-Amish neighbors and businessmen since opening her
shop, but she didn’t recognize this one. Unlike the Amish stranger who watched
with his jaw squared in concern, this man was relaxed as he upped the price
time and again. He was confident about something, for sure. Was the auction a
game to him?
Her pulse buzzed in her ears. This was
her life, not an amusing way to pass the time.
The auctioneer looked at her. The
third-to-last bidder must have bailed. Lydia lifted her card to an amount that
squeezed every penny from her account. She had no collateral or credit for a
loan. The bid had to be her last.
The man countered and waited. So smug.
She had rented the large farmhouse,
remodeled it with her savings from five years as a teacher in the Amish school,
and then turned it into a profitable business. Yet this man waltzed into her
community to buy it right out from under her.
Lydia raised her number.
His expression remained unchanged. He
bid again.
She’d go until she saw him sweat. Her
card sailed into the air over and over again.
The Amish men began to murmur. The
handsome Amish stranger was staring at her. With concern or admiration? She
couldn’t take time to wonder. She looked back at her opponent.
The Englisch
bidder no longer slouched against the tent pole. He upped the price. And Lydia
countered. The auctioneer’s cadence carried across a room full of people gone
silent.
Miriam grabbed Lydia’s hand and
squeezed hard enough to break every one of her fingers. If the man didn’t bid,
Lydia was in worse trouble than she’d thought possible from this day.
One last bid. Lydia held her breath.
The cotton fabric of her apron pressed into her palms as she dried them. What
would she do if he didn’t go for it?
The man wiped perspiration from his
forehead and raised his card.
“Going, going…gone.”
The gavel dropped with a thud, and the
echo of splintered dreams reverberated through Lydia’s heart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Grochowski's deep appreciation for the Amish faith and way of life stems from six years of living and working with a Beachy Amish family, as well as her own Anabaptist roots. Her debut novel, Forever Home, was a pre-published winner of Romance Writers of America's Maggie Award and a semi-finalist in ACFW's Genesis Contest. She is a member of ACFW and Word Weavers Int'l.
Amy spent her childhood in Melbourne, Australia, where her parents worked as church planters. After returning to the States, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia became home. Her real-life romance began on a travel nursing assignment to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she met her husband, David.
After a nursing career of more than twenty years, Amy is now fulfilling her long-awaited dream career as an author of inspirational romance. She is also a full-time homeschool mom for her two boys, one of whom has Autism Spectrum Disorder, and lives with her family in the bustling foothills of North Carolina.
CONNECT WITH AMY: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will receive a signed author copy of Forever Home, a classic 200 recipe Mennonite Family Cookbook, a Magic Amish cloth (it really does clean like magic with no chemicals), and a $25 Amazon gift card!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight June 22, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on June 29, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found
here.
*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.
About the Book:
Title: Let Them Be Kids