The Days of Redemption (54 page)

About the book

Letter from the Author

Dear Reader,

Every few weeks, I host a group of women in my living room. We started out studying a workbook provided by our church, but over time, our little group began our own routine. I started making a cake or cookies to eat while we studied. Eventually, we started sharing things that were going on in our lives and praying for each other. Now, we mainly talk and laugh and pray.

Not too long ago, one of the women said she felt God's presence with us. I agreed. And since I was working on this book, I mentioned that they were my rays of light. Their honesty and friendship have meant the world to me.

Other rays of light are the many people in my “writing world.” I doubt I could ever fully describe how much I've grown to depend on my agent for her guidance and support, or for my editors for their ability to make my novels so much better than I ever imagine they can be. It's amazing how one encouraging word from them makes forty hours of writing a week so much easier.

There are so many other folks at HarperCollins who shine on me, too. I'm blessed to work with Joanne, who painstakingly does a thousand things to set up book signings, interviews, and other appearances. Jen and Mary and Shawn and everyone in the marketing department have placed ads in magazines, given away Nooks, and promoted my books in ways that I could only dream about.

But perhaps my favorite rays of light are my readers. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you have taken the time to reach out to me. Whenever I read a kind note, or when I hear that someone loaned one of my books to a friend or family member, my day is brighter.

I hope you are enjoying the Keim family, and will join them in
Eventide
as Lovina and Aaron journey to Pennsylvania to finally confront all the secrets of their pasts, as Peter works to heal both his family and Marie, and as sweet Elsie finally has her chance at romance and love.

With blessings and my sincere thanks,

Shelley Shepard Gray

 

Shelley Shepard Gray
10663 Loveland, Madeira Rd. #167,
Loveland, OH 45140

 

Questions for Discussion

1. Roman Keim has spent much of his life trying to stand apart from his family—even going on vacation while his father is away. Ironically, going away enabled him to become closer to them all. Have you ever felt the need to “step away”?

2. Amanda struggles to move on after her husband's death. Do you think there's an appropriate timeline for grief? What has helped you during the grieving process? How does one know when it's time to move on?

3. New Order Amish are allowed to have a phone line in their home. Do you think this makes their lives much different from the Old Order Amish?

4. Little by little, Aaron reveals more about how his first marriage ended. What do you think was harder for Lovina to hear—that he never told her about his brother-in-law's letters, or that he was, in fact, driving Laura Beth and Ben in their buggy?

5. Viola's first impression of Belize is different from what she expected. She's deeply embarrassed about her behavior and worries about disappointing Ed. Have you ever gotten off on the wrong foot in a new town or with a new group of people? How did you make amends?

6. How does Regina grow and change during the novel? Is it surprising that she has an easier time adjusting to life with the Keim family than Amanda does?

7. Amanda is Roman's Ray of Light. Who is yours? Why?

8. What do you think will happen when Lovina and Aaron go back to Pennsylvania to visit?

9. I used the following Scripture verse to guide me while I wrote this book. What does this verse mean to you?
Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right.
—Psalm 97:11

Read on

A Sneak Peek of Shelley Shepard Gray's Next Book,
Eventide

An exciting preview of
Eventide
, the final book in Shelley Shepard Gray's The Days of Redemption Series

 

T
HERE WERE NOW
three machines attached to her mother. Each one made a different noise, and in the silence of the intensive care room, they clattered and wheezed and rang in a type of discordant melody.

Elsie was almost used to it now.

Six days earlier, her mother had collapsed when she'd gone to pick up her father from the bus station. When her father had seen how ill she was, he quickly hired an
Englischer
to take them to the hospital. The doctors at the hospital discovered she had a severe case of pneumonia, a terribly high fever, and several other complications.

Well, that was what Elsie had heard.

Now, her mother seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness with sluggish ease, much to the physician's dismay. It seemed most people responded to the medication and were much better after a day or so. That wasn't the case for Marie Keim, however. No matter how much any of them begged or prayed, she didn't seem in any hurry to return to them. So they'd all had to make do with holding her hand and hoping for a miracle.

Elsie was okay with doing that, though she'd privately given up on waiting for miracles years ago. Now that she was twenty-two, she had quite a bit of experience with the Lord's will. If He wanted something to happen, no amount of prayer or wishing could change His plans.

“Ahh, Mamm,” she said. “When are you going to get better? We need your help at home. Things are a real mess, and they don't look like they are going to get calmer anytime soon.”

Though she didn't really expect an answer, Elsie stared at her mother, hoping against hope that she would suddenly open her eyes and tell her what to do.

But of course, the only sound she heard was the steady beeping of the machines.

“How's she doing today, Elsie?” Dr. Fisher said from the doorway. He was a pulmonary specialist, and he headed up the team of doctors who checked on her mother. Dr. Fisher's hospital rounds always seemed to coincide with Elsie's visits.

She was glad of that. She liked the man from Alabama. He had a chatty, kind way about him, and she trusted him. Far more than the rest of the family did.

Perhaps it was because she was used to doctors poking at her head and staring into her eyes, or asking her to lie down in fancy MRI machines.

Looking back at her mother, Elsie said, “I'm afraid things seem about the same, Dr. Fisher. Every once in a while, she opens her eyes, but closes them fast again.” She pointed to the little computer that all the doctors and nurses used now. “What do you think?”

“About the same thing.” Pulling up a metal chair, he sat down next to her. “I'm sorry, Elsie. I thought she would have recovered by now.”

“Me, too,” she said softly. “Mamm is always okay. It feels strange to go home and not have her bustling around the kitchen.”

“I bet.” He stared solemnly at the machines, paying close attention to one of the screens that showed little lines rising and falling. “How are you doing?”

“Me? I'm fine.”

“Your sister told me that you've been in the hospital before for tests.”

“Only for my eyes.” Lifting her chin, she peered at him through thick lenses. “I'm slowly going blind, you see. I have keratoconus.” As she heard her voice, sounding so prickly and combative, she inwardly winced. She had quite a chip on her shoulder about her disease, and it didn't seem to be going anywhere, either.

But instead of being taken aback, she saw his lips curve upward. “Your sister also told me that you had more spunk than your demure nature suggested.”

“That might be true.”

He chuckled. “Well, if you need something, be sure and let me know, Elsie. Either for your mother, or for your eyes. I happen to know a couple of good specialists.”

“
Danke
, but I have Dr. Palmer. He's at the Cleveland Clinic.” Inwardly, she winced. There was that spunk she couldn't quite seem to turn off.

“You are in good hands. Even I have heard of Dr. Palmer. He is a good doc.” Standing up, he said, “I'll be back this evening, Elsie.” Playfully, he wagged a finger at her. “But you had better not be here.”

She smiled. “I won't. My visiting time is almost up. There's so many of us, we have to take turns.”

When he left, Elsie leaned back again and watched her mother sleep, hoping that before long, Mamm would soon be wide awake and bossing them all around.

Closing her eyes, Elsie prayed that would be the case. And as the machines beeped and rang around her, she gave herself over to the rhythm and prayed some more.

“Hey, Elsie?” her father said from the doorway, “the driver has arrived. Viola's going to take her turn now, so we need to head on home.”

“All right.” After kissing her mother's paperlike cheek, she followed her
daed
out to the waiting room, pausing only briefly to glance her twin's way.

Then they walked outside into the bright sunlight, where the van was waiting.

The sudden change in light stung her eyes something awful. If she'd been alone, she would have stopped and pressed her palms to her eyes in a puny effort to shield her vision.

But her father was there, and he already had so many worries, she was afraid if she added one more burden, he might not be able to handle it. So she squinted and walked across the small, covered portico.

Pretended she felt no pain.

And tried not to show how upset she was that the light of day was making her ache for the dark of night. It didn't seem fair that she was longing for the darkness when soon that would be all she had.

It was going to be time to call Dr. Palmer again, and soon. He'd warned of this.

But she wasn't going to call, not quite yet.

 

Visit
www.AuthorTracker.com
for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

 

P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.

 

RAY OF LIGHT
. Copyright © 2013 by Shelley Shepard Gray. Excerpt from
Eventide
© 2013 by Shelley Shepard Gray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

 

FIRST EDITION

 

ISBN 978-0-06-220442-4

 

EPub Edition May 2013 ISBN 9780062204431

 

13  14  15  16  17    
OV
/
RRD
    10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1