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A Love For Leah
Emma Miller
The Widow’s Second ChanceWidow Leah Yoder married for love once. Now that she’s come home to Seven Poplars, she wants a marriage of convenience that will provide a longed-for family, without dishonouring the memory of her late husband.A steady, serious older man would be ideal—someone completely unlike handsome, fun-loving Thomas Stutzman. She and the aspiring organic farmer agree to court to prove that this time, the matchmaker has made a mistake! But as their friendship deepens, will Leah settle for what she thought she needed, or put fear aside for a second chance at happiness?
The Widow’s Second Chance
Widow Leah Yoder married for love once. Now that she’s come home to Seven Poplars, she wants a marriage of convenience that will provide a longed-for family without dishonoring the memory of her late husband. A steady, serious older man would be ideal—someone completely unlike handsome, fun-loving Thomas Stutzman. She and the aspiring organic farmer agree to court to prove that this time, the matchmaker has made a mistake! But as their friendship deepens, will Leah settle for what she thought she needed, or put fear aside for a second chance at happiness?
“I’m sure we set them all atwitter.”
She was surprised at how much she was enjoying the day. She’d expected having Thomas walk her home from church would be awkward, but she found him easy to talk to. He had an easy laugh, and it was nice having him beside her.
“My grandfather saw us and nodded his approval.” He made a reluctant sound. “I feel a little bad about deceiving him, letting him think that we’re walking out together.”
“But we are, aren’t we? We did promise Sara a six-week trial.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Thomas said. “It isn’t really a ruse. Not if we do date like we promised. Even if we both know that this isn’t going to work out.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “You know, honestly, I can’t see why you haven’t found someone. There’s nothing wrong with you that I can see.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
His tone seemed a little stilted. “Don’t take it personally, Thomas. And who knows? Maybe Sara will prove us wrong. Maybe we’ll fall madly in love.”
He chuckled. “Right.”
Dear Reader (#ulink_5d4d45a9-5a4d-5123-9a51-ba404477fd5b),
A first love is always a special life experience, but sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we expect. In A Love for Leah we see what happens when matchmaker Sara Yoder tries to arrange a second chance at love for a young widow who many of our readers may remember fondly, Hannah’s daughter Leah. Seeking to heal from the tragic loss of her young family while on mission in the Amazon rainforest, she believes she can find peace and a new start in the traditional Amish community of Seven Poplars.
Leah wants desperately to have another child, so she asks Sara to arrange a marriage of convenience with an older man. Leah believes she will be content with a quiet partnership built on faith and respect. She never expects to become reacquainted with handsome, vivacious Thomas, or to fall head over heels in love with him. And when she does, her heart is torn. Will marrying Thomas for love rather than convenience be a betrayal to her first husband? Will this be a match that Sara can’t manage?
I hope that you’ll enjoy Leah’s journey in search of happiness. I’m always glad to welcome readers old and new to stories of love and life among the Amish.
Wishing you peace and joy,
Emma Miller
EMMA MILLER lives quietly in her old farmhouse in rural Delaware. Fortunate enough to be born into a family of strong faith, she grew up on a dairy farm, surrounded by loving parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Emma was educated in local schools and once taught in an Amish schoolhouse. When she’s not caring for her large family, reading and writing are her favorite pastimes.
A Love for Leah
Emma Miller
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Delight yourself also in the Lord and
He shall give you the desires of your heart.
—Psalms 37:4
Contents
Cover (#ud961f23c-e26c-57e7-b742-bdc660b6fc39)
Back Cover Text (#u08259916-3c68-54bb-b62c-dfe0f6d6f537)
Introduction (#uff797f37-3cdd-56c3-8dd6-8e2c25bbd0cd)
Dear Reader (#ulink_578a37ec-7857-508b-b3d6-a00661f5f2d5)
About the Author (#u20e402c8-4b7d-50c4-8fe0-177f132044f8)
Title Page (#ub60c6205-a151-5fd1-9c67-8fafd21c8be8)
Bible Verse (#u465a76a4-27bd-5db9-9f93-ec7f9975fdda)
Chapter One (#ulink_05756982-c610-5070-8194-d594d60b520c)
Chapter Two (#ulink_b1a9113c-1e37-51bf-bbc9-551cb6b5abb5)
Chapter Three (#ulink_7bdb8311-6e71-53b8-92aa-dd69248a77e5)
Chapter Four (#ulink_7a6648a5-dc99-5b77-a2f2-a3a83e0efb65)
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)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ulink_c55b6fc4-c56a-58b7-b3d9-4a4662047e88)
Kent County, Delaware
Spring
“What do you mean you won’t marry me?” Thomas’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the young woman beside him. “Don’t we go together like ham and cabbage? Bacon and eggs? Hasn’t everyone been waiting for us to announce the wedding date?”
Ellie grimaced. “I’m sorry, Thomas. Truly I am.” She sounded contrite.
He set her books onto the trunk of a fallen apple tree and they tumbled onto the grass. “You should be sorry,” he said. “It’s not easy for a fellow to propose to a girl. And when I do, you turn me down? It’s humiliating.”
It was late afternoon and the dirt path that ran from the Seven Poplars schoolhouse where Ellie taught, to Sara Yoder’s place, where she lived, was deserted except for the two of them. The path crossed several Amish farms and this section wound through an apple orchard. The trees were bursting with new leaves and just beginning to bud from the branches on either side of the rutted lane. The only sounds, other than the thud of Thomas’s accelerated heartbeat, were the buzzing of bees and the scolding song of a wren.
He scowled down at Ellie. “Why don’t you want to marry me?”
“I should have never let it get this far.” She looked up at him, her hands clasped together. “I knew we weren’t meant to wed. But I like you and you’re so much fun.”
“I think you are, too. Isn’t that enough? That we genuinely like each other and always have a good laugh?”
She shook her head sadly. “Ne, Thomas, it isn’t enough for me.”
In frustration, he yanked off his broad-brimmed hat and threw it on top of the scattered books. “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted to be my wife.”
“I never said that, Thomas.”
He scowled.
She picked up his hat, brushed the leaves off it and handed it back to him. “I care for you, Thomas, but I don’t want to have your babies, and I can’t see us growing old together. We talked about this months ago. Remember?” Her blue eyes clouded with emotion.
“Ya, but I thought...” What did he think? She’d told him last fall that he needed to start walking out with other girls, but he hadn’t, and the next thing he knew he and Ellie were running around together again.
“We’re not a good match, Thomas. And if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll agree. I think what we have is...” Her brow furrowed as she seemed to search for the right word. “A convenient friendship.”
“Convenient?” Needing to look her in the eye, he caught her around the waist and lifted her so that her small feet, clad in black leather lace-up sneakers, balanced on the fallen tree trunk. Ellie was a little person, and when she stood beside him, the top of her snowy-white prayer kapp barely reached the middle of his chest. After their first meeting he’d never thought of her as small, or different than any of the other girls he had walked out with. Ellie cast a big shadow.
Ellie’s eyes registered a sharp warning. Putting his hands on her in such a familiar way was inappropriate, and they both knew it. At the moment, he was too upset to care.
A knot tightened in his throat. “Ellie, I don’t understand,” he said. “A convenient relationship? What’s that supposed to mean?”
His face must have shown how hurt he was because her features softened. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said convenient,” she answered. “But you know exactly what I’m talking about. You and I run around together because it’s easy. It’s comfortable. But we’re not in love with each other and you know it.” With a sigh, she fixed him with a penetrating look. “Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and hear what I’m saying. It’s for the best for both of us.” She waited a moment, then added, “You know I’m right.”
He glanced away, not ready to concede, no matter how right she was. He looked back at her and she offered a faint smile.
“Who told you to propose to me?” she asked him.
Flushing, Thomas felt a rush of guilt. She knew him so well. “My mother.”
“Exactly.” Ellie’s eyes narrowed, making him feel as if he was one of her students who’d been caught staring out the schoolroom window instead of attending to his math.
“And what did your mam say?” Ellie demanded as she folded her arms. “Exactly.”
He exhaled. “That it was time I had a family of my own.” He ground the toe of his work boot into the soft grass. “That you were a sensible young woman who would keep me in line, and I was foolish if I didn’t pop the question before someone else did.”
“Do those seem like good reasons?”
He gripped his hat so hard that the brim crushed between his fingers. He was devastated...sort of. “But we get along so well,” he hedged. “And everyone says—”
“That because we have fun together, we should spend the rest of our lives as husband and wife?” She shook her head. “Not good enough. Not for me. Not for you.” She was quiet for a moment and then went on. “And the truth is, Thomas, you’re relieved. I can see it in your face. You weren’t all that eager to tie the knot with me, no matter what your mother or anyone else said. Were you?” she pressed.
He wanted to protest, but Ellie was right. He was more surprised and embarrassed than brokenhearted. And he did feel a sense of faint but unmistakable relief. “No chance you’ll reconsider?” he asked lamely.
She shook her head, took hold of his hand and jumped down onto the lane. “I’m not the special one for you, Thomas. If I was, you’d know it.”
“You think?” He sank down on the log. “I’m not so sure. I’ve dated practically every unmarried Amish girl in the county and a lot of girls from other places. My buddies all found someone they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with, but not me...” He looked at her. “Maybe there’s something wrong with me. Maybe I’m not meant to be married and have a family.”
“Nonsense.” Ellie picked up her books and brushed off the bits of grass that clung to the covers. “Your mother’s right about one thing. It is time you married. Past time. I think your problem is that you don’t know how to find the right woman. You’re looking for the wrong things. You’re looking at the wrong things, mostly pretty faces. Married life isn’t just about fun and sweet smiles, Thomas.”
“Now you definitely sound like my mother.” He dropped his hat onto his lap, leaned forward and buried his fingers in his hair. The way Ellie put it, it made him sound shallow. And maybe there was some truth to the accusation. He’d been attracted to Ellie because of her cute figure, her pretty face and her sparkling personality. He liked pretty girls. And he liked to have fun. Was that so wrong?
“I sound like your mother because she’s right. I’m right,” Ellie insisted. “You want a wife and a family, don’t you? You want to father children and live our faith?”
“Of course. I just don’t—” He sighed. “I guess I don’t know how to find that.”
“Exactly. So what I’m thinking is that you need some help.” She poked him with her finger. “You need someone to make a good match for you. You can’t just look for a pretty face. You have to look deeper than that and find what’s important in a partner. You need the matchmaker’s help. You need Sara Yoder.”
“You think I need a matchmaker?” he scoffed, meeting her gaze.
“Why not?” Ellie shrugged. “She’s very good at it and it’s not as though you’re a hopeless case. You have a lot to offer a woman. You have a trade—two trades, if you count blacksmithing.”
He frowned. “I’m a terrible blacksmith.”
“Okay, but you’re a decent rough carpenter. And you know something about farming. You have that promise of land from your grandfather, and you own a horse and buggy.” She studied him carefully. “And you have a good heart and a strong back,” she allowed. “You’ve never been afraid of hard work.”
He flashed her a grin, recovering some of his equilibrium. “Not to mention that girls think I’m handsome.”
“Humph.” She puckered her lips. “Prideful, the bishop would say. And a show-off.”
“I am not,” he protested, rising to his feet.
“Red and blue blinking lights on your buggy?” She shook her head and sighed. “Thomas, I’m serious. You need to talk to Sara.”
He thought for a minute. It had never occurred to him to hire the services of the local matchmaker. He’d always thought matchmakers were for people who couldn’t get a date. That certainly didn’t apply to him. He’d walked out with more girls in the last ten years than he could count. But Ellie was a sensible woman. Probably the most sensible he’d ever known. He knew he’d do well to take her advice. “Do you really think Sara could help me find a wife?”
“Absolutely. But pray on it. With your history, even Sara Yoder will need all the help she can get.”
* * *
