A Daughter's Dream (20 page)

A Few
Charming
Facts from Shelley Shepard Gray

  1.
   
Charm is located in the heart of Holmes County, Ohio, home to the largest Amish and Mennonite population in the world.

  2.
   
The actual population of Charm is only 110 people.

  3.
   
One of the public schools in Charm is actually called “Charm School.”

  4.
   
Charm was founded in 1886. It was once called Stevenson, in honor of a local Amish man, Stephan Yoder and his son.

  5.
   
Charm also has a nickname that some locals still use. The name is “Putschtown,” which is derived from the word
putschka
, meaning “small clump.”

  6.
   
The annual “Charm Days” festival is held in the fall every year. The highlight of the festival is the “Wooly Worm Derby.”

  7.
   
The largest business in Charm is Keim Lumber Company. Located on State Route 557, it has a large retail showroom and website and is open to the public.

A Sneak Peek from the Next Book in the Charmed Amish Life Series,
A Sister's Wish

Coming September 2016 from Avon Inspire

Thursday, October 1

“Princess,
nee
!” Amelia shouted as she scrambled down the front steps. “Stop!”

But Princess didn't listen. Actually, that probably wasn't true. Princess no doubt listened just fine. She simply didn't care to pay much attention to what Amelia wanted her to do.

Instead, the six-month-old pygmy goat continued to nonchalantly chew Oscar's leash.

From what Amelia could tell, the goat had been munching on it for some time. A good section of it was missing.

Thank heavens her sister Rebecca's bulldog puppy was unaware that he was free. Instead of running off as most dogs were wont to do, he was plopped on his side, enjoying the unexpected warmth of the October sun.

After picking up the pup—who at thirty pounds was now really too big to carry—and depositing him inside the screen door of the house, Amelia braced herself. It was time to convince Princess that she really, really needed to listen.

Her pet had a silky white coat, long eyelashes, and beady black eyes. Princess was pretty, smart, and could climb almost anything. She was also as ornery as one might expect of a young doe.

Everyone had warned Amelia about this. Her siblings had begged her to return Princess to the farm where she'd bought her, saying that none of them had time to properly train the animal.

But Amelia had steadfastly ignored both
the warnings and the entreaties. She'd wanted this goat. Actually, she had wanted something to call her own, and a goat would do.

It seemed she was as stubborn as her pet.

“You silly girl,” Amelia said. “Rope ain't
gut
for you. You must learn to leave it alone.”

Princess bleated in reply.

Unable to help herself, she laughed. “
Jah
, that is what I thought you might say.” After carefully pulling the last bit of rope out of Princess's mouth, Amelia wrapped an arm around the pesky animal's neck and guided her to the barn. “Lucky for you I just put some fresh alfalfa in your stall. You can get your fill of that while I do my chores.”

Just as she was about to step inside her cozy stall, however, Princess balked. With a grunt and a bleat, she pulled away.

“Princess, I ain't got time for this. It's already two in the afternoon. I need to work on supper.” And the garden. And sweep the floors. All the chores that were up to her to complete since she was the lone member of her household working at home.

Really wishing that she'd put a harness or collar on her little goat, Amelia grabbed Princess around the middle and pulled her forward.

But the doe froze, looked panicked, and bleated loudly.

Frustrated beyond measure, Amelia pulled harder. “Come now. I know you are stubborn, but you must start listening to me!”

Princess curled her lips, revealing lots of sharp, shiny white teeth.

Amelia glared right back. “What has gotten into you?” Stepping into the stall, she yanked on Princess again.

“Bleat!”

Princess protested frantically, and then kicked out her back legs, just like a donkey.

One tiny, surprisingly sharp hoof made contact with Amelia's shin.

More surprised than anything, Amelia threw her hands up in the air as she fell to the floor of the stall. And when she flung out her hand
to catch herself, she discovered why Princess had not wanted to be anywhere near her home.

Because Amelia's left hand landed on a snake.

It didn't take kindly to the interruption. It slithered, hissed, and bit her hand.

Amelia cried out.

Princess scrambled farther away.

Fighting pain in both her palm and leg, Amelia gathered her wits, hobbled out of the stall, and at last leaned back against the wooden enclosure. Then she promptly did exactly what she'd hoped she'd never do . . .

She burst into tears. Terrible, loud, unapologetic tears. She was alone, she was in pain, and suddenly, she'd had enough. More than enough.

Amelia Kinsinger cried for her mother, who'd died when Amelia was only seven. She cried for her father who'd perished in a fire in her family's lumber mill. She cried for her brother Levi who had left to find out more about himself, though none of them had any idea about what he'd hoped to discover.

In short, she cried for everything she'd ever lost and everything she still had.

But most of all, she cried because there was currently no one around to care.

Simon Hochstetler knew Lukas didn't want him calling on his little sister. For most of his life he'd honored his best friend's wishes. But about four months ago, Simon had decided he was tired of waiting.

He was twenty-eight years old, a manager at Kinsinger Lumber and had more than thirty men reporting to him. More important, he'd been in love with Amelia Kinsinger for years. He'd kept his distance out of respect for both her age and the fact that she was his best friend's little sister. But when he had begun to suspect that Amelia returned his feelings, Simon knew something had to change.

And because he'd rarely been the type of man to wait when he wanted something badly enough, Simon had found a way to see Amelia.

He visited her when no one else was around.

He wasn't proud of this. If Amelia's parents had been alive, he would have done whatever it took to persuade them to accept him as a prospective suitor.

But they had both gone up to Heaven and there was no way he was going to beg and plead his case to his childhood friend or Amelia's sister, Rebecca. Amelia was twenty-two and fully able to tell him if she didn't want him around. So far, she'd been delighted by his visits.

So he'd continued to see her on the sly. He'd told himself it was because she needed the company. But the truth was that Simon simply needed her. Amelia was sweet, kind, and honest. She was beautiful, too. She was
actually everything he'd ever wanted. More than he'd ever dared to yearn for.

Being in her company made him forget the mistakes he'd made. Her smiles gave him hope, and her acceptance made him feel clean and worthy. There was no way he was ever going to give that up without a fight.

So even though he didn't mind doing whatever it took to see her, Simon knew that wasn't fair to Amelia. It was time to bring their relationship out into the open.

He was practicing different ways to try to convince Lukas of this when he arrived at the Kinsingers' front walkway. Then just as he was about to walk up the front steps, he realized that something wasn't quite right. It was too quiet, unnaturally still.

It was unexpected, too. They'd had plans. Just yesterday he'd asked if she would be willing for him to spend an hour with her. She'd smiled and nodded.

Every other time, she would be outside on the front porch with two Mason jars of iced tea or lemonade, waiting for him.

But Amelia was nowhere in sight. In addition, the front door was open. Only their ratty-looking screen door was preventing Oscar from getting out.

Rebecca's normally lazy pup was staring at him in a pitiful way when he walked up the brick walkway in the front of the house. He whined and pawed at the screen. “Hey, boy,” he murmured. “What's going on here?”

Oscar gazed up at him with sad eyes and whined some more.

Simon was growing more concerned by the minute.

“Amelia?” he called out as he trotted up the steps.

She didn't answer.

Opening the screen door, he let Oscar waddle through, then followed him down the steps.

Immediately Oscar did his business. Then, with a little grunt, he trotted toward the barn as quickly as his stocky legs could take him.

His heart in his throat, Simon followed on his heels.

“Amelia?” he called out again.

At last, he heard a gasp, followed by a small cry.

He picked up his pace, dust flying up around his thick work boots. “Amelia, where are ya?”

“I'm . . . I'm in the barn.”

Her voice didn't sound right. Running now, he followed the pup inside, then froze at the sight before him.

Amelia was sitting on the dirt floor of the barn crying. Her light pink dress was wrinkled and dusty. Her usually carefully pressed white
kapp
was smudged with dirt.

Even in the dim light he could see that her cheeks were deathly pale, her nose and eyes were red from crying, and she was holding one hand awkwardly in the other.

After crossing the small space in two strong strides, he knelt by her side. “Amelia, what happened?” He didn't even bother with asking if she was all right. She so obviously wasn't.

She hiccuped. “There was a snake in Princess's stall.” She waved her hand. “It . . . it bit my hand.”

Simon was barely able to push aside his panic as he reached for her hand. Only the experiences of his past allowed him to control the panic that he was feeling. “Are you sure? Was it a rattler? How long ago did this happen?”

“An hour ago. Maybe a little longer? I'm not sure,” she said, answering his last question first. Gazing at her hand that was now firmly held in his own, she visibly gathered herself together. “It was a rat snake, I think. Nothing poisonous, at least, I'm fairly sure about that. But, Simon, it still hurts terribly.”

Feeling marginally better, Simon forced his body to relax. If a copperhead or rattler had bitten her, she would likely be much worse off.

But that didn't mean he didn't feel for her. Snake bites, venomous or not, were scary experiences. “I reckon it does.” Turning her hand, he searched for the puncture wounds. They were located at the bottom of her palm, less than an inch from her wrist. The affected area was slightly swollen and red. Most of the skin around it looked angry. Even if the snake hadn't been poisonous, he knew the bite should probably be checked out.

“Let's get you on the porch. Once you get settled, I'll hitch up Stormy to the buggy. We'll run over to the emergency clinic.”

When she looked up at him with a fierce expression, he braced himself for an argument. Amy was proud, and she hated for people to coddle her. Furthermore, she seemed to be under the misconception that she didn't do enough to garner any concessions.

Ever since her father's death in the fire at the mill and Lukas had taken over the day-
to-day operations, she'd seemed intent to do everything at home without complaint or help.

Even though Lukas's new wife, Darla, helped and so did Rebecca, a few hours every now and then didn't make up for the fact that it was Amelia alone who tended the animals, cared for the garden, cleaned the house, did the laundry, and cooked supper every single day.

But to his surprise, instead of arguing, Amelia nodded.

Unable to help himself, he brushed her cheek with the side of his thumb. “I'm glad you understand,” he said gently. “Now, give me your hand and I'll help you up.”

But when she tried to move, she winced, then cried out.

He froze. “What's wrong?”

Averting her face, she started crying again. Quiet, thick tears that cascaded down her cheeks and broke his heart.

Concerned, he crouched by her side. And promptly forgot all his intentions of treating her in a calm, friendly way. Sidling closer, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Amy, honey? Talk to me,
jah
?”

After taking a fortifying breath, she nodded. “Something else happened, Simon. Princess got scared of the snake and she kicked my shin. It hurts something awful. E-even worse than my hand. I don't know if I can put any weight on it.”

With effort, he refrained from reacting. The last thing she needed was for him to either get upset about her injuries or say what was at the center of his mind—that he'd known it hadn't been safe for her to be alone on the farm for hours at a time, day after day.