A Husband For Mari

Back to Amish Country

Struggling single mother Mari Troyer decides to move—temporarily—to the Amish community of Seven Poplars. With a place to stay and a good job, Mari soon fits right in with the warm, welcoming Delaware residents. But when her son asks a matchmaker to find Mari a husband, Mari worries that the handsome builder who’s become the boy’s father figure can never be her intended. James Hostetler requires a wife as committed to the Amish life as he is. Need brought Mari to Seven Poplars, but maybe love and renewed faith will make her stay forever.

“Are you going to the birthday supper celebration tomorrow?” James asked.

Mari nodded. “Sure am.”

“We’d be glad to have you and Zachary ride with us.”

“Are you certain we’ll all fit in your buggy?” she asked.

He grinned. “The more the merrier. Besides, if you come along, I won’t have to drive with one of my sister’s twins in my lap. You can hold him.”

She laughed with him. “I’d be glad to come with you.” And then she just stood there for a moment looking at him.

I think he’s the best friend I’ve ever had, she thought. Better than any man I’ve ever known. I trust him to do what he says he’ll do. And he’s been such a help with Zachary.

“Good,” James said. He met her gaze and then held it.

It was a strange moment, standing there, her looking at him, him looking at her. As if there was something else to be said, but she couldn’t think what it could be.

“See you tomorrow, James,” she finally said, making herself walk away.

“See you tomorrow, Mari.”

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 Husband for Mari

Emma Miller

www.millsandboon.co.uk

A friend loves at all times…

—Proverbs 17:17

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Wisconsin

Mari rolled up her grandmother Maryann’s red-rooster salt-and-pepper shakers in a stained dish towel and stuffed them into a canvas gym bag. “What time is your boyfriend picking you up?” she asked her soon-to-be-ex roommate.

Darlene pulled her head out of the dark refrigerator, a carton of milk in her hand. There wasn’t anything left but condiments, two eggs and the quart of chocolate milk. With the electricity shut off for the past forty-eight hours, Mari wouldn’t have touched the milk. Darlene took the cap off and sniffed it. “Twenty minutes.” She wrinkled her nose and took a swig. “You want the eggs?”

Mari shook her head. “You take them. I can hardly carry them to Delaware, can I?”

Darlene, thin as a rake handle, features embellished by enough dollar-store makeup for all the participants in a toddlers’ beauty pageant, tucked the egg carton into a cardboard box. “Suit yourself.” She picked up a green rubber band that had once secured celery and gathered her dyed midnight-black tresses into a ponytail. “I’m gonna run next door and use the bathroom before Cassie goes to work.”

Mari nodded; they’d been using their neighbor’s bathroom since the electric was disconnected. Darlene went out the front door, inviting an arctic blast in, and Mari shivered.

She sure hoped it would be warmer in Delaware. Wisconsin winters were brutal. If it wasn’t for the kerosene heater, they couldn’t have stayed there the past two days. She rewrapped the wool scarf she wore and gazed around. There wasn’t anything about the old single-wide trailer with its ratty carpet and water-stained walls that she was going to miss. She had very little to show for eighteen months in Friendly’s Mobile Home Park: few belongings and no real friends. She and Darlene had become housemates only because they worked on the same assembly line at the local plant and were both single mothers. They weren’t really friends, though. They were just too different.

Feeling the need to do something besides stand there and feel sorry for herself, Mari grabbed a broom and began to sweep the kitchen. She couldn’t wash out the refrigerator or wipe down the cabinets, but she could sweep at least. That didn’t take water or money, which was a good thing, because she didn’t have either. She almost laughed out loud at the thought.

Money had been short since the plant closed and her unemployment ran out. Even shorter than it had been before. Jobs were scarce in the county. Mari had picked and sorted apples, cleaned houses and even tried to sell magazines over the phone. She read the want ads every day, but employment for a woman with an eighth-grade education and few skills was nearly impossible to find.