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The Amish Christmas Matchmaker
Vannetta Chapman
She'll find him a wife for Christmas…Which of these Indiana Amish Brides is next? With her wedding business thriving, Annie Kauffman could never leave her beloved Amish community. So when handsome Amish cowboy Levi Lapp tries to convince her father to move the family to Texas, she must put a stop to it. If Annie finds Levi a wife, he might forget his dream of moving…but can she keep from falling for him herself?
She’ll find him a wife for Christmas...
Which of these Indiana Amish Brides is next?
With her wedding business thriving, Annie Kauffmann could never leave her beloved Amish community. So when handsome Amish cowboy Levi Lapp tries to convince her father to move the family to Texas, she must put a stop to it. If Annie finds Levi a wife, he might forget his dream of moving...but can she keep from falling for him herself?
VANNETTA CHAPMAN has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving over two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her first novel, A Simple Amish Christmas, quickly became a bestseller. Chapman lives in the Texas Hill Country with her husband.
Also By Vannetta Chapman (#u2fe8c5c2-ef56-5ce4-8c52-e4235d894fbe)
Indiana Amish Brides
A Widow’s Hope
Amish Christmas Memories
A Perfect Amish Match
The Amish Christmas Matchmaker
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
The Amish Christmas Matchmaker
Vannetta Chapman
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-09750-5
THE AMISH CHRISTMAS MATCHMAKER
© 2019 Vannetta Chapman
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Note to Readers (#u2fe8c5c2-ef56-5ce4-8c52-e4235d894fbe)
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Who wants an Amish cowboy?
Annie liked a challenge. She thrived in tough situations. Tossing her kapp strings behind her shoulders, she plastered on what she hoped was her prettiest smile. “All right. You agree to date a couple of my friends...not at the same time, mind you.”
“Of course not,” Levi agreed.
“And in return, I won’t try and stop you from talking to my family about moving to Texas.”
“So now you’re a matchmaker?”
“Think of me as a concerned bystander.”
“All right. It’s a deal.” He held out his hand. “But you have to shake on it.”
But, just possibly, she’d found a way to keep her life firmly rooted in Goshen, because she had the perfect woman in mind for Levi Lapp and this person would never consider moving away.
All Annie had to do was see to it that the two of them fell in love. It would mean she’d have to live around Levi the rest of her life...but at least she wouldn’t have to do so in Texas.
Dear Reader (#u2fe8c5c2-ef56-5ce4-8c52-e4235d894fbe),
Have you ever cherished a dream in your heart—something that was so important to you that you viewed everything else through the lens of what you hoped would happen? A dream can be a wonderful thing. But what about when our dreams blind us to the path in front of us? What happens when the things we are convinced should happen, don’t?
Annie Kauffmann believes she is happy helping other people’s dreams come true. She’s a nurturer, a hard worker and a kind person. She’s settled for a far different dream than she once had—when she believed that she would find true love, marry a kind man and raise a family. Now she’s convinced that while God grants those things for other people, for her, life has taken a different path. She focuses on her work, on making others happy, on finding financial security.
Levi Lapp is pursuing the dream that he has held close since he was a young child when life was simple and good, before he learned that not everyone could be trusted. Before he had his heart broken not by romantic love but by those adults who were supposed to guide him into adulthood. He longs to find his way back to a time when he still held hope and optimism about the future, and he’s convinced the way to do that is to go back to the physical place where he experienced the happiest years of his youth.
Annie and Levi are so busy pursuing what they are sure will make them happy, that they almost miss the blessings God has laid out for them.
I hope you enjoyed reading this book. I welcome comments and letters at vannettachapman@gmail.com.
May we continue to always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20).
Blessings,
Vannetta
Delight thyself also in the Lord:
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
—Psalm 37:4
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
There is none other commandment greater.
—Mark 12:31
This book is dedicated to Bob, my very own cowboy.
Contents
Cover (#u6cfb8f37-c716-5e00-a30f-f342914be082)
Back Cover Text (#uf8671537-8291-521b-95e3-5b16bdfebcd4)
About the Author (#u1501d039-a8eb-5030-8861-ef6fc6391726)
Booklist (#u3484a0e2-274d-5a1a-9864-e454e49bec5f)
Title Page (#u50ff882b-984d-5f23-b966-f4fb3d32fc84)
Copyright (#u4782147d-004e-5d30-b821-ac424d0a96b1)
Note to Readers
Introduction (#u73e41e17-c78a-5510-9ff2-c2bf9a6e67c6)
Dear Reader (#uc942fcda-38cd-54c7-af04-42bd238f6131)
Bible Verse (#u7d33b432-5058-5b7f-b1af-2527683650b3)
Dedication (#ude9893c8-47de-5d1b-ab11-c93fc63f676b)
Chapter One (#u0a388920-ca71-5bcb-a8f8-c8b8231fd279)
Chapter Two (#u79243791-e23a-5a68-bc51-282134e19a03)
Chapter Three (#u1a63a8ca-2674-59e1-98bb-4bfc15af8741)
Chapter Four (#u258c1399-cb08-575e-90d4-75771808e9f0)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u2fe8c5c2-ef56-5ce4-8c52-e4235d894fbe)
Annie Kauffmann thought she’d just experienced a perfect day—business had gone well, the fall weather was exquisite and each member of her family was happy and healthy. She leaned her bicycle against the tree in the front yard and ran up the porch steps. Her mother was sitting in a rocker, knitting a baby blanket for her next grandchild. She had twelve and counting. If her mother was sitting, she was knitting—blankets, sweaters, caps and mittens.
“Gut day?” she asked.
“Ya.” Annie sank into a rocker, smoothing her apron over her dress and sinking back with a sigh. “I confirmed two more weddings.”
“Your catering business is growing.”
“It is. The gut thing about these is one is for December...”
“Not many winter weddings, so you must be speaking of Widow Schwartz.”
“The same. The other is for later this month.”
“You had an opening this month?”
“Ya, since you know... Jesse’s was cancelled.”
“Real shame that Emma changed her mind. I believe she’ll regret that.”
“Maybe not though, Mamm. Maybe not.”
Annie was suddenly aware of voices in the house—her father and another man. She peeked out over the porch railing, wondering whose buggy she had missed, but there wasn’t one there.
