Never Far From Home (The Miller Family 2)

BOOK: Never Far From Home (The Miller Family 2)
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N
EVER
   
F
AR
FROM
H
OME
   

 

 

M
ARY
E
LLIS

 

 

 

 

 

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON

Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Cover photos © and design by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEVER FAR FROM HOME
Copyright © 2010 by Mary Ellis
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ellis, Mary
Never far from home / Mary Ellis.
p. cm.—(The Miller Family series ; bk. 2)
ISBN 978-0-7369-2733-8 (pbk.)
1. Amish—Fiction. 2. Holmes County (Ohio)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3626.E36N48 2009
813’.6—dc22

2009019361

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.

Printed in the United States of America

10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 / RDM-SK / 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the love of my life and best friend…
my husband.

 

 

I can’t imagine how dull life would
have been had I not met you.

 

T
ABLE OF
C
ONTENTS

 

Acknowledgments

 

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty

 

Epilogue
About the Author

 

 

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

 

Thanks to Carol Lee and Owen Shevlin, who welcomed me into their home and opened doors for me in the Amish community.

 

Thanks to Dennis Miller and Carl Becker, who answered endless agricultural questions.

 

Thanks to my lovely proofreader, Mrs. Joycelyn Sullivan.

 

A special thank you to Joanna and Kathryn, and Mrs. Miller and her daughter Rosa, members of the Old Order Amish community.

 

Thanks to my wonderful agent, Mary Sue Seymour, who had faith in me from the beginning.

 

Finally, thanks to my editor, Kim Moore, and the wonderful staff at Harvest House Publishers.

 

And thanks be to God—all things in this world are by His hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April

 

H
annah Miller sipped her tea and gazed out the window over the sink, mesmerized by a winter world changing to spring before her eyes. Trees with only fat buds this morning now displayed tiny, tender green leaves. She had spotted a red-tailed hawk on her ride to Julia’s, soaring effortlessly on wind currents warmed by the sun. Tomorrow it might turn rainy and cold again. Even an April snowstorm wasn’t out of the question, but today God was giving them a small taste of good weather to come. Hannah’s spirits lifted, despite having spent six hours on her feet helping with spring-cleaning at her sister’s. With Leah only twelve, and Julia’s hands unable to hold a sponge or wield a broom for very long, Emma had needed her aunt’s help. But Hannah enjoyed the friendly camaraderie of women after a season too long cooped up indoors.

This had been a bad week for Julia’s rheumatoid arthritis. Changeable weather, especially damp cold nights, increased the stiffness and pain in her swollen joints. Though steroid injections and prescription pain relievers had given Julia months of relief, her face revealed that a true cure was nowhere in sight.

Hannah listened to Phoebe humming a lullaby to her doll in the next room. The child was thriving during her first year of school. Such a relief after Hannah’s worry last year that she might never speak again. Now she rattled on in both
Deutsch
and English until Seth raised his hand and admonished, “Rest your tongue, daughter. It must last you a lifetime.”

Refilling her cup from the teapot, Hannah leaned her hip against the counter and savored a few moments of quiet introspection. Supper was reheating in the oven—leftovers because she still cooked too much food for three people. Soon Seth would come home and tell her about his day in the low, husky voice she loved so well. Hannah enjoyed sharing a cup of coffee with him in the late afternoon or sometimes after supper if Phoebe had homework. But right now, Hannah was content to watch two blue jays tugging on the same twig…and then she saw a shiny green truck pulling up their lane.

What on earth?
She knew before the driver’s door opened who was paying them an afternoon call. The
Englischer,
a young sheep farmer who sold his wool to Audrey Dunn in Sugar Creek, stepped down from the pickup and headed toward the back door. Shaking her head, Hannah walked out onto the porch.

“Hello, Mrs. Brown. I hope you remember me, ma’am. James Davis from Charm. We met at A Stitch in Time.” He swept a ball cap from his head.

“Of course, young man. You came here last fall looking for my niece.” She glanced again at his vehicle, oddly clean compared to the mud-spattered trucks and buggies so common this time of year.

A corner of his mouth turned up in a lopsided grin. “Yes, ma’am. Your niece told me to stop by on my way home from Gram’s to see your sheep operation.”

Hannah vaguely recalled Emma suggested that the Davis family be invited to the wedding, which of course she had not done. They were complete strangers. But to the young man waiting patiently she said, “I’d be happy to point you in the direction of my sheep, and you’re welcome to look around at anything you wish. But I’m sorry; my niece isn’t here. Emma lives with her parents on Route 63, just around the corner. The second house you come to on your right. She should be home right now.”

He looked disappointed for a moment until the subject of their conversation rounded the house from the back path. Emma was wearing a fresh pink dress and her skin glowed with youthful vitality. This wasn’t at all how Hannah had seen her earlier, before leaving Julia’s. Emma had cobwebs in her hair, a sweaty face, and a wrinkled and stained apron.

James must have caught Hannah’s surprised expression, because he pivoted on a dime. “Hi, Emma,” he called. “I’d hoped you would be working at your aunt’s today.” His greeting could only be described as enthusiastic.

BOOK: Never Far From Home (The Miller Family 2)
13.72Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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