A Home for Lydia (The Pebble Creek Amish Series) Read online

  HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

  EUGENE, OREGON

  Scriptures 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

  Cover by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

  Cover photos © Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc.; Arsty / Dreamstime.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  A HOME FOR LYDIA

  Copyright © 2013 by Vannetta Chapman

  Published by Harvest House Publishers

  Eugene, Oregon 97402

  www.harvesthousepublishers.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Chapman, Vannetta.

  A home for lydia / Vannetta Chapman.

  p. cm. – (The Pebble Creek Amish series ; bk. 2)

  ISBN 978-0-7369-4614-8 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-0-7369-4615-5 (eBook)

  1. Amish–Fiction. 2. Wisconsin–Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3603.H3744H66 2013

  813’.6–dc23

  2012027223

  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, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  For my mother-in-law,

  Barbara Elizabeth Chapman

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  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

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Glossary

  A Wedding for Julia: Sample Chapter – Prologue

  A Wedding for Julia: Sample Chapter – Chapter One

  About the Publisher

  Acknowledgments

  This book is dedicated to my mother-in-law, Barbara Elizabeth Chapman. We have enjoyed many evenings together, and I count it as joy that she accepted me into her family. She has been such an inspiration to me—a real-life example of a woman who lives with grace, compassion, and a sense of humor.

  Although Pebble Creek doesn’t actually exist, the village of Cashton does, and I would like to thank several folks in the Driftless region, including Anita Reeck (Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast), Kathy Kuderer (Down a Country Road), and Pete and Nora Knapik (Inn at Lonesome Hollow). Richard Lee Dawley (author of Amish in Wisconsin) was also kind enough to answer questions while I was conducting research.

  Many of the items described in Aaron’s Plain Shop can be purchased at www.downacountryroad.com, which is in the Cashton area and supplies items made by local Amish artisans.

  Thanks to Suzanne Woods Fisher and the Budget for their endless supply of Amish proverbs.

  My editor, Kim Moore, is a dream to work with, and the excellent staff at Harvest House have been superb. I’m also indebted to my agent, Mary Sue Seymour. Donna, Kristy, and Dorsey, I need you every book. Bobby, Mom, and Pam—thank you. Kids, every single day I thank God for you.

  I’ve always been drawn to rivers and cabins. There have been many places, such as the cabins along Pebble Creek, where I have found a respite from the world. I am extremely grateful they exist.

  And finally…always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20).

  Prologue

  Wisconsin

  May

  Lydia Fisher pulled her sweater around her shoulders and sank down on the top step of the last cabin as the sun set along Pebble Creek. The waters had begun to recede from last week’s rains, but the creek still pushed at its banks—running swiftly past the Plain Cabins and not pausing to consider her worries.

  Debris from the flooding reached to the bottom step of cabin twelve. She could have reached out and nudged it with the toe of her shoe. Fortunately, the water hadn’t made it into the small cottages.

  Almost, though.

  Only two days ago she’d stood at the office window and watched as the waters had crept closer to the picturesque buildings nestled along the creek—watched and prayed.

  Now the sun was dropping, and she knew she should harness Tin Star to the buggy and head home. Her mother would be putting dinner on the table. Her brother and sisters would be needing help with schoolwork. Her father would be waiting.

  Standing up with a weariness that was unnatural for her twenty-two years, Lydia trudged back toward the front of the property, checking each cabin as she went.

  All were locked and secure.

  All were vacant.

  Perhaps this weekend the Englisch tourists would return and provide some income for the owner, Elizabeth Troyer. Guests would also ensure that Lydia kept her job. If the cabins were to close and she were to lose her employment, she wouldn’t be able to convince her brother to stay in school. Their last conversation on the matter had turned into an argument—one she’d nearly lost.

  Pulling their old black gelding from the barn, she tied Tin Star’s lead rope to the hitching post, and then she began to work the collar up and over his ears.

  “You’re a gut boy. Are you ready to go home? Ready for some oats? I imagine you are.”

  He’d been their buggy horse since she was a child, and Lydia knew his days were numbered. What would her family do when he gave out on them? As she straightened his mane and made sure the collar pad protected his shoulders and neck, she paused to rest her cheek against his side. The horse’s sure steady breathing brought her a measure of comfort.

  Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, she brought out a handful of raisins. Tin Star’s lips on her hand were soft and wet. Lydia rubbed his neck as she glanced back once more at the cluster of buildings which had become like a small community to her—a community she was responsible for maintaining.

  Squaring her shoulders, she climbed into the buggy and turned toward home.

  Chapter 1

  Downtown Cashton

  Thursday afternoon, two weeks later

  Aaron Troyer stepped off the bus, careful to avoid a large puddle of rainwater. Because no one else was exiting at Cashton, he didn’t have to wait long for the driver to remove his single piece of luggage from the storage compartment. He’d thanked the man and shouldered the duffel bag whe
n the buggy coming in the opposite direction hit an even bigger puddle, soaking him.

  The bus driver had managed to jump out of the way at the last second. “Good luck to you, son.”

  With a nod the man was back on the bus, heading farther west. A part of Aaron wished he were riding with him. Another part longed to take the next bus back east, back where he’d come from, back to Indiana.

  Neither was going to happen, so he repositioned his damp duffel bag and surveyed his surroundings.

  Not much to Cashton.

  According to his uncle and his dad, the town was about the same size as Monroe, but Aaron couldn’t tell it. He supposed new places never did measure up to expectations, especially when a fellow would rather not be there.

  The ride had been interesting enough. They had crossed the northern part of Indiana, skirted the southern tip of Lake Michigan, traveled through Chicago and Rockford, and finally entered Wisconsin in the south central portion of the state. Aaron had seen more cities in the last twenty-four hours than he’d visited in his entire life. Those had been oddities to him. Something he would tell his family about once he was home, but nothing he would ever care to see again. But passing through the Hidden Valley region of southwestern Wisconsin—now that had caused him to sit up straighter and gaze out of the bus’s window.

  There had been an older Englisch couple sitting behind him. They’d had tourist brochures that they read aloud to each other. He’d caught the highlights as he tried to sleep.

  He heard them use the word “driftless.” The term apparently indicated a lack of glacial drift. His dat would laugh at that one. Not that he discounted all aspects of science, but he had his doubts regarding what was and wasn’t proven as far as the Ice Age.

  According to the couple’s brochure, Wildcat Mountain to the east of Cashton was teeming with wildlife and good hiking. Any other time he might be interested in that piece of information, but he wasn’t staying, so it didn’t matter much to him.

  He also learned that small towns in the Driftless Area were at risk of major flooding every fifty to one hundred years.

  Staring down at his damp pants, he wondered how much rain they’d had. How much rain were they expecting? He hoped he wouldn’t be here long enough to find out.

  Aaron glanced up and down the street. He saw a town hall, a tavern, a café, a general store, and a feed store. A larger building, probably three stories high, rose in the distance, but he had no desire to walk that far because it could be in the wrong direction. Already the sun was heading west, and he’d rather be at the cabins before dark.

  Several streets branched off the main one, but they didn’t look any more promising. Pushing his hat down more firmly on his head, he cinched up the duffel bag and walked resolutely toward the feed store.

  Instead of heading toward the front door, he moved down the side of the building to the loading docks, where two pickup trucks and a buggy were parked.

  Fortunately, it wasn’t the buggy that had sprayed him with rainwater and mud. He would rather not ask information of that person, though in all likelihood the driver had no idea what he’d done. Folks seldom slowed down enough to look outside their own buggy window—even Amish folk. It appeared some things were the same whether you were in Wisconsin or Indiana.

  He approached the loading docks, intending to find the owner of the parked buggy.

  “That duffel looks heavy…and wet.”

  Turning in surprise, he saw a man leaning against the driver’s side of the buggy. Aaron could tell he was tall, even though he was half sitting, tall and thin. Somber brown eyes studied him, and a full dark beard indicated the man was married. Which was no surprise, because a basket with a baby in it sat on the buggy’s floor. The baby couldn’t have been more than a few months old, based on the size of the basket. He couldn’t see much except for a blanket and two small fists waving in the air.

  “Duffel wouldn’t be wet if someone hadn’t been determined to break the speed limit with a sorrel mare.”

  The man smiled, reached down, and slipped a pacifier into the baby’s mouth. “That would probably have been one of the Eicher boys. I’m sure he meant no harm, but both of them tend to drive on the far side of fast.”

  He placed the walnut bowl he’d been sanding with a piece of fine wool on the seat, dusted his hands on his trousers, and then he stepped forward. “Name’s Gabe Miller.”

  “Aaron Troyer.”

  “Guess you’re new in town.”

  “Ya. Just off the bus.”

  “Explains the duffel.”

  Aaron glanced again at the sun, headed west. Why did it seem to speed up once it was setting? “I was looking for the Plain Cabins on Pebble Creek. Have you heard of them?”

  “If you’re needing a room for the night, we can either find you a place or take you to our bishop. No need for you to rent a cabin.”

  Easing the duffel bag off his shoulder and onto the ground, Aaron rested his hands on top of it. “Actually I need to go to the cabins for personal reasons. Could you tell me where they are?”

  “Ya. I’d be happy to give you directions, but it’s a fair piece from here if you’re planning on walking.”

  Aaron pulled off his hat and ran his hand over his hair. Slowly he replaced it as he considered his options. He’d boarded the bus ten hours earlier. He was used to long days and hard work. Though he was only twenty-three, he’d been working in the fields for nine years—since he’d left the schoolhouse after eighth grade. It was work he enjoyed. What he didn’t like was ten hours on a bus, moving farther away from his home, on a trip that seemed to him like a fool’s mission.

  “Sooner I start, sooner I’ll arrive.”

  “Plain Cabins are on what we call the west side of Pebble Creek.”

  “You mean the west side of Cashton?”

  “Well, Cashton is the name of the town, but Plain folks mostly refer to Pebble Creek, the river.”

  “The same river going through town?”

  “Yes. There are two Plain communities here—one to the east side of town, and one to the west. I live on the east side. The cabins you’re looking for are on the west. The town’s sort of in the middle. You can walk to them from here, but as I said, it’s a good ways. Maybe five miles, and there are quite a few hills in between, not to mention that bag you’re carrying…”

  Instead of answering, Aaron hoisted the duffel to his shoulder.

  Throughout the conversation, Gabe’s expression had been pleasant but serious. At the sound of voices, he glanced up and across the street, toward the general store. When he did, Aaron noticed a subtle change in the man, like light shifting across a room. Some of the seriousness left his eyes and contentment spread across his face.

  Following his gaze, Aaron saw the reason why—a woman. She was beautiful and had the darkest hair he’d ever seen on an Amish woman. A small amount peeked out from the edges of her prayer kapp. She was holding the hand of a young girl, who was the spitting image of the man before him. Both the woman and the child were carrying shopping bags.

  “I was waiting on my family. Looks like they’re done. We’d be happy to take you by the cabins.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” Aaron mumbled.

  Gabe smiled, and now the seriousness was completely gone, as if having his family draw close had vanquished it. As if having his family close had eased all of the places in his heart.

  Aaron wondered what that felt like. He wanted to be back with his own parents, brothers, and sisters in Indiana, but even there he felt an itching, a restlessness no amount of work could satisfy.

  From what he’d seen of Wisconsin so far, he could tell he wasn’t going to be any happier here. He’d arrived less than thirty minutes ago, and he couldn’t wait to get back home.

  Gabe was already moving toward his wife, waving away his protest.

  “If it were a bother, I wouldn’t have offered.”

  Chapter 2

  Miriam held Grace’s hand as they cros
sed the street.

  She wasn’t actually worried about Rachel. Gabe’s smile assured her the baby was fine. Her anxiousness was more of a natural thing, as if a string stretched between her and the infant. When she was separated from her for more than a few minutes, the string began to grow tauter until she had trouble resisting the pull.

  “Who is that man with dat?” Grace asked, clutching her package of drawing supplies close to her chest.

  “I’m not sure, but I imagine we’re about to find out.”

  “He looks a little dirty.”

  “Could be the mud.”

  “Ya. Suppose so. Hunter is awfully dirty sometimes, but he’s still a gut dog.”

  Miriam smiled down at Grace as they rounded the corner of the buggy.

  “Miriam, meet Aaron Troyer. He’s new to Pebble Creek. Aaron, this is my fraa, Miriam, and my dochder, Grace. Our youngest, Rachel, is in the basket.”

  “Hello.” Aaron nodded and shuffled his feet.

  Miriam noticed he seemed impatient to move on. “Nice to meet you.”

  “I’m nine,” Grace proclaimed.

  “Nine. That’s a good age to be.” Aaron looked uncertain how to continue.

  “We came straight to town after school to pick up more feed and buy drawing supplies.” Grace closed her mouth suddenly and stepped closer to her father.

  Miriam had noticed she was doing that more lately since the baby was born. She’d have a rainfall of language before clamming up as if she was afraid that perhaps she’d said too much.

  Gabe smiled at her, and Grace relaxed.

  The small interchange brought back memories of Grace’s silent time, memories of all that had brought them together.

  Miriam handed Gabe her package from the general store and reached for Rachel as the baby began to fuss. “What brings you to the Cashton area, Aaron?”

  “Actually, I was asking your husband directions to the Plain Cabins. He offered to give me a lift, but I don’t mind walking.”

  “Oh, we’d be happy to drive you. We know exactly where they are. The cabins are near my bruder’s home.”

  Aaron shrugged, apparently too tired to argue further.