Breath of Spring

“Your food’ll be here
short
ly,” Annie Mae announced as she set his teapot in front of him. “Naomi’s cookin’ it up just the way ya like it, Short Stack.”

As she flitted away from the table—and that was the only way to describe how Annie Mae swiveled to grab a carafe and refresh Tom and Gabe’s coffee—Adam heard muffled chuckles around him.

“Short Stack, is it?” Matthias teased from across the table.

“Better watch out,” Bram warned. “She and Luke Hooley have been quite the pair—”

“Not to mention that Mennonite guy—Yonnie Stoltzfus—before Luke came to town,” Seth Brenneman pointed out. “I suspect a cartload of fellas’ll be eyeballin’ her now that her
dat
’s out of the picture.”

Short Stack, is it?
While Adam had always been the shortest guy in his class—and plenty of folks still teased him about his height—something about Annie Mae’s nickname made him chuckle. Why would a looker like Hiram Knepp’s daughter flirt with
him?

Summer of Secrets

Autumn Winds

Winter of Wishes

An Amish Country Christmas

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

For Jen Stevenson, Karen Tintori-Katz,
Kris Smith, and Patricia Rosemoor:

Thanks for our productive fun in Chicago . . .
and for the motorcycle that roared into this story!

Thank You, Lord, for bringing me these words as I sat down to write each day. It continues to amaze me how scenes, conflicts, and characters I’m not expecting appear exactly when I need them.

Continued gratitude to you for your enthusiasm, Alicia Condon and Evan Marshall, as we continue this series. Your enthusiasm and belief in my work mean so much, and I’m honored to be working with such respected veterans in the publishing industry.

Many thanks to Jim Smith of Step Back in Time Tours in Jamesport, Missouri—the largest Old Order Amish settlement west of the Mississippi River—for your continued assistance with every little question I have about the Amish and their ways. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to work with you, and I value our friendship more with each passing day!

Much love to you, Neal, for being the Breath of Spring that makes all things new in our lives, even as we celebrate more than thirty-eight years together.

1 Corinthians 13: 12

For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known.

Revelation 21: 4–7

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

“You’ll do just fine, Annie Mae. This bein’ January—the first Monday after we’ve been closed so Ben and I could get hitched—most of our crowd’ll be fellas from around Willow Ridge,” Miriam Hooley assured her. “And if the younger ones give ya any sass about workin’ here, they’ll be dealin’ with
me
. We’re mighty glad to have ya helpin’ us out.”

As Annie Mae Knepp gazed at the tables set up for breakfast in the Sweet Seasons Café, her heart thudded. Never in a million years had she figured on waiting tables to support her family—but then, she’d never believed her
dat,
the town’s former bishop, would scheme up a new Plain settlement under such dubious circumstances and get himself excommunicated, either. And for sure, she’d never dreamed she’d have the nerve to announce that she wouldn’t be going to Higher Ground with him. Defying their father was the scariest thing she and her sister Nellie had ever,
ever
done . . . and now they were looking over their shoulders, waiting for Dat to get back at them.

“It’s you who’s been helping, Miriam,” Annie Mae murmured. “I sure hope Dat won’t cause you and Ben any trouble because you’ve taken Nellie and me in.”

“Puh! We’ve handled your
dat
before, child,” Miriam replied. “We’re real sorry Hiram’s lost his way and his place in our church district, knowin’ how it tore your family apart. But God loves us still, and He’s countin’ on us all to love one another as we deal with life’s trials and tribulations. Let’s look at this cash register, before anybody comes in.”

Ever so patiently, Miriam showed Annie Mae how to enter numbers . . . how to cancel an incorrect entry . . . how to change the paper roll when a pink line appeared down the side. “Shall we try a practice round?” Miriam asked. “Let’s say Bishop Tom gets the breakfast buffet.”

Annie Mae squinted at the menu on the counter and then tapped in $5.95.

“And let’s say Tom also picks up the tab for Preacher Gabe, who ordered a number two breakfast—”

She jabbed the keys for $3.75.

“—along with a side of cheesy hash browns and two sticky buns from the bakery counter to take home.”

Annie Mae willed her fingers to find the right keys for those items. “Twelve dollars and seventy cents?”

“You’re a natural, Annie Mae!” Miriam sang out. “Don’t forget to put all your receipts on the spindle so the money matches up, come the end of the day. You’ll have Rhoda workin’ with ya in the mornings and Rebecca will be here, too,” she added with a warm smile. “And with Naomi and me in the kitchen—and Naomi’s Hannah helpin’ us cook—why, you’ll be servin’ up your orders with a big smile before ya know it. Where there’s a woman, there’s a way!”

Miriam beamed at her with eyes as warm as a mug of cocoa. “We’re all in this together,” she said softly. “Every one of us started workin’ here so’s we could keep our families fed, Annie Mae. And now there’s no stoppin’ us.”

We’re all in this together . . . there’s no stoppin’ us.
Such a comforting thought couldn’t have come at a better time, considering how Annie Mae’s heart was beating so fast. Working at the Sweet Seasons would be a far cry from running the house for her
dat,
tending her little brothers and sister all day until Nellie got home from school. When their precious faces flashed through her mind, she had to blink back tears. What were Joey, Josh, Sara, and Timmy doing these days? Who was caring for them while Dat started up his new colony?

Miriam gently rubbed Annie Mae’s shoulders. “I know this is a big change for ya,” she murmured. “But you’re stronger—and smarter—than ya know, Annie Mae. God’ll see that the right things come out of this situation for you and Nellie, and for all of your family, as well.”

Annie Mae swallowed hard. “
Jah,
that’s what we have to believe.”

“You’re a
gut
girl. And I hear our other cooks comin’ in the back door.”

As Miriam strode into the kitchen to greet her partner, Naomi Brenneman, and Naomi’s teenage daughter Hannah—who had worked in the café only a few weeks—Annie Mae decided to quit sniffling and get busy. She pushed the button on the big coffeemaker and set napkin-wrapped silverware bundles on each of the tables the way Miriam had showed her. Soon the aromas of sausage, sweet rolls, and fried apples filled the café, and when Rhoda and Rebecca came in to begin their day, Annie Mae felt a lot better about the new job she was taking on. After all, these sisters had each caused her own stir in Willow Ridge: Rhoda had fallen in love with a divorced Englishman, and Rebecca had returned to the Lantz family after being raised by an English couple who’d rescued her from floodwater when she’d been a toddler. If these girls could win the acceptance of everyone in Willow Ridge, then surely folks would come to understand how she and Nellie still needed to fit in here, as well.

“Annie Mae, we’re really glad you’re here,” Rebecca said as she tucked an order pad into the back pocket of her jeans. “Mamma’s been getting lots of new customers who’ve seen the Sweet Seasons website, and what with Rachel staying home to start her family—”

“And me lookin’ after Andy’s
mamm
and kids in the afternoons,” Rhoda chimed in, “we were mighty shorthanded in December. But it’s a new year, and we’ve all got a whole new outlook. Especially Mamma, now that she’s hitched to Ben,” she added in a conspiratorial whisper.

“She’s like a first-time bride again,” Rebecca agreed as they all glanced at Miriam through the serving window of the kitchen. “Don’t tell her I said so, but I’m betting those two lovebirds’ll be feathering their nest soon, just like Rachel and Micah are.”

As Rhoda and Rebecca giggled at this thought, Annie Mae was once again amazed at how similar these sisters were even though they’d been raised apart . . . even though Rhoda had long ago joined the church and Rebecca, with her collar-length hair and plaid shirt, had no intention of giving up her computer business to become Amish.

“Don’t say that too loud,” Rhoda murmured. “Mamma has told us she can’t have any more babies—”

The jingling of the bell above the door ended their conversation. As though the café’s regulars had all agreed to arrive at the stroke of six, here came Seth and Aaron Brenneman—Naomi’s boys—and Miriam’s nephews, Nate and Bram Kanagy. Tom Hostetler and Miriam’s Ben were holding the door for Preacher Gabe, who seemed more hunched over than usual this morning.

“
Gut
mornin’ to ya, fellas!” Miriam called out as she bustled toward the steam table with a big pan of sausage gravy. Hannah was behind her, bearing a basket of biscuits, and Naomi followed with fried apples that swam in buttery sauce and cinnamon. “We’ll be gettin’ the rest of the buffet out in two shakes of a tail. The girls’ll take
gut
care of ya—and Bishop Tom, your meal’s on me today, in honor of your new callin’ amongst us.”

“Hear, hear!” Ben called out and everyone applauded. Chairs scraped against the floor as the men draped their winter coats over the backs of them.

Tom Hostetler looked flustered as he pulled out a chair for Preacher Gabe. “You’ve got no call to treat me special, Miriam,” he protested. “I planned to spring for Ben’s meal this morning, on account of you two bein’ the new mister and missus amongst us.”

“
Jah,
it’s a busy new year in Willow Ridge,” Ben replied as he sat down with the two church elders. “And if January’s already been this eventful, just think what the comin’ months might bring.”

Annie Mae approached their table, praying she didn’t pour scalding coffee on Preacher Gabe’s hand as he scooted his mug toward her. “And looky who’s here this morning,” he said as a smile deepened his wrinkles. “It’s
gut
to see you’ve landed in a safe haven, Annie Mae, after all the fuss your
dat
has kicked up.”

“And I was pleased to see you and Nellie sittin’ tight when he interrupted Ben and Miriam’s wedding,” Bishop Tom joined in. “I suspect your
dat
’s not finished with us, though. Count on me if ya need any sort of help—”

“Oh, Preacher Tom—I mean,
Bishop
—” Annie Mae’s face burned with embarrassment. It was all she could do to hang on to the coffee carafe as gratitude welled up inside her.

“Don’t fret over it. It’ll take
me
some time to get used to that new name, too,” Tom assured her gently. “Let’s remember that we’re all God’s children—even your
dat,
despite the shenanigans he’s pulled. But Jesus stood up for the weak and the oppressed while He chastised those who took undue advantage of them.”

“Hiram Knepp will always be your
dat,
” Ben added quietly. “But we’ll all look out for you and Nellie if he retaliates for your not goin’ to Higher Ground with him, like obedient daughters.”

“Amen to that,” Naomi stated.

“Ya said a mouthful, fellas,” Miriam affirmed. “The Knepp kids are our special blessing now. We look after our own.”

Annie Mae swallowed so hard she wondered if everyone heard the click of her dry, tight throat. The dining room rang with a silence that somehow felt sacred, and as Rhoda and Rebecca and the rest of them gazed at her with such love in their eyes, how could she not feel lifted up?
The Knepp kids are our special blessing . . .

“
Denki
ever so much,” she murmured. “Nellie and I will do our best to deserve your—”

Once again the bell above the door jangled, and the Wagler brothers stepped in out of the cold. “Well, your day can officially start now, ladies,” Matthias teased as he shrugged out of his coat.

“And a Happy New Year to all of you, as well,” Adam, the younger one, chimed in. “Here’s hoping everyone gets the year off to a fine fresh start.”

“And speakin’ of fresh starts, this seems like a
gut
time to let you all know about mine.” Bishop Tom looked around the dining room like a kid about to burst with a big secret. “Now that my ex-wife, Lettie, has passed on, I’m courtin’ Nazareth Hooley with the intention of marryin’ her real soon.”

“Oh my stars, Tom! That’s wonderful-
gut
news,” Miriam gushed. “I’ve always thought you and Naz were made for each other.”

“Congratulations to both of ya!” Ben crowed as he headed toward the buffet table. “That’s cause for celebration—although I’m not surprised. Aunt Naz has been twinklin’ like a star lately.”

“Glad to hear it, Tom. Life’s a lot better with a
gut
woman by your side,” Preacher Gabe remarked. Then he glanced up at Annie Mae. “How about you bring me one of Naomi’s omelets with lots of ham and cheese and onions? Side of hash browns. And a couple of Miriam’s sticky buns in a go box.”

“We’ll get right on it,” Annie Mae murmured as she scribbled the items on her pad. This was her very first order, and writing it down tickled her more than she’d anticipated.

“I’m in no hurry. No place else to go today,” the old preacher remarked as he nodded toward someone behind her. “But those Wagler boys, I bet they’ve got jobs lined up. Adam looks ready to order off the menu rather than go to the buffet.”

When she turned, Adam was indeed seated at his table rather than joining the other fellows, who were ladling sausage gravy over biscuits while Rhoda and Rebecca filled more pans at the steam table. The Wagler place was just down the hill from where she lived—or
had
lived—so she’d known those fellows all her life. Their parents had passed on, their two older sisters had married and moved away, and Matthias had been widowed a couple years ago, so the two brothers lived there as bachelors. Matthias ran a harness shop in front of their house, while Adam’s home remodeling business kept him busy in all the nearby towns.

“Annie Mae! Wow, but it’s
gut
to see you!” Adam stood up, a smile lighting his face as she approached his table. “I was hoping you hadn’t gotten sucked into going along with—I mean—”

Annie Mae gripped her order pad, not sure what to think. Adam was a few years older and a few inches shorter than she was, and he’d always been the more outgoing of the two Wagler brothers. Was he really so glad to see her, or was he just eager for a hot breakfast like he wouldn’t get at home?

“I think I’ve just stepped in it and then put my foot in my mouth,” Adam lamented. “I’m sorry about all that business with your
dat,
and I’m glad to see you here, still amongst us. I was worried about you—and Nellie, too, of course,” he added quickly.

Could this morning get any more surprising? Never had she anticipated such an outpouring of support from everyone who entered the Sweet Seasons. “I got real lucky,” she murmured. “At least Nellie and I have a place to stay while we figure out what comes next. Can I bring ya something off the menu? Pour ya some coffee?”

Adam kept gazing at her. “How about a number four, with a pot of
gut
strong tea—two bags in it, please.”

Annie grabbed the menu on the table behind her so she wouldn’t have to reach around Adam. The laminated page looked smudged and she wished the print were a whole lot bigger. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she stared at it. “Might take me a day or two to learn what-all food goes with which numbers—”

She sucked in her breath. Adam had taken something out of his shirt pocket . . . was slipping a lightweight pair of glasses onto her nose. He positioned the sides over her ears carefully, so he wouldn’t mess up the hair that was pulled into a snug bun beneath her
kapp.

“I carry several pairs of these in my wagon for my remodeling jobs,” he explained quietly. “They bring the details into focus.”

Annie Mae felt even taller and skinnier and uglier than usual. Her cheeks surely must be cherry red and her heart felt as though it was trying to pound its way out of her chest. But when she looked at the menu again, the words jumped right out at her. “Short stack of pancakes,” she rasped.

“Eggs over easy and ham with that, please,” Adam added. “Keep the specs, okay? I’ve got more.”

“
Jah,
I—I’ll be right back with your tea.” Annie Mae scurried into the kitchen, scribbling Adam’s order on her pad. What in the world had just happened? Of all the nerve, for Adam to put
glasses
on her, as though he could tell she was as blind as a bat—and wanted the rest of the world to know it, too.