Amish Family Ties
Hannah Lambright becomes an instant mother when her estranged father abandons his toddler daughter on her doorstep. The pretty beekeeper knows all about honeyâand nothing about tending to a kinder, especially one with special needs. Sheâs grateful to Daniel Stoltzfus for offering to help care for her sister in exchange for Hannahâs beekeeping skills on a hive at his workplace. But the handsome carpenter broke her heart years ago and sheâs afraid itâs never quite mended. Yet spending time with the boppli whisperer and the sweet little girl has love-shy Hannah hoping the family theyâre forming will last forever.
âHow am I going to take care of Shelby when she hates me?â Hannah murmured.
Daniel smiled. âShe doesnât hate you. Sheâs scared, and sheâs known me longer.â
âTwo minutes longer because youâre the one who found her on my doorstep!â Hannah said. âThat doesnât make sense.â
âJust as it doesnât make sense she doesnât like you. Who knows what goes on in the heads of bopplin?â He shampooed little Shelbyâs hair, taking care not to get suds in her eyes. âIâll make you a deal, Hannah.â He began to rinse Shelbyâs fine hair. âYou help me by moving the bees at the bridge, and Iâll help you learn how to take care of Shelby. In addition, Iâll do all I can to find your daed.â
Hannah nodded, but didnât speak.
Knowing he shouldnât push her further, he lifted the kind out and wrapped her in a towel before her wiggling sent water all over the bathroom. He watched Hannahâs face, knowing she wished heâd walked away as he had before.
But she needed his help. And he needed hers.
Dear Reader,
Itâs easy to get caught up in obligations and forget that there are others who are willing to help us. For those with a volunteerâs heart, the ones who always are there to help, itâs sometimes difficult to accept assistance from others. Learning that itâs important to let others relish the joy of helping you can be a hard lesson. I know it was for Hannah...and for me. But once I discovered that givers must learn to receive as well, I found my friendships were deepened and I got more satisfaction from helping because I came to understand what it meant to be helped. Both Hannah and Daniel do as well, and their lives are enriched with love.
Stop in and visit me at www.joannbrownbooks.com. Look for my next story in the Amish Hearts series coming soon.
Wishing you many blessings,
Jo Ann Brown
JO ANN BROWN has always loved stories with happy-ever-after endings. A former military officer, she is thrilled to have the chance to write stories about people falling in love. She is also a photographer, and she travels with her husband of more than thirty years to places where she can snap pictures. They live in Nevada with three children and a spoiled cat. Drop her a note at joannbrownbooks.com.
Then said He unto me, âFear not, Daniel:
for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.â
âDaniel 10:12
For Janet Jones Bann
Thanks for all you do for all of us, especially being my friend
Chapter One
Paradise Springs
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
The knock came at the worst possible moment.
Hannah Lambright had her grossmammi partway to her bed where she could look out, through the cold rain, at the covered bridge over Hunterâs Mill Creek until she fell asleep for her afternoon nap. Grossmammi Ella depended on Hannah to help her. She refused to use a cane, not wanting to be considered old, though sheâd recently celebrated her 90th birthday.
Smoothing the blanket over her grossmammi, whoâd already closed her eyes, Hannah hurried from the room. She wiped her hands on her black apron and pushed loose strands of hair under her white kapp. The impatient rapping continued. She opened the door. Words fled from her mouth and her brain as she stared at a handsome face sheâd never expected to see at her door. She couldnât be mistaken about the identity of the man with sleek black hair beneath his dripping straw hat and deep blue eyes set below assertive brows. Her momentary hope that she was looking at his twin brother vanished when she noticed the cleft in his chin.
âDaniel Stoltzfus, why are you here?â she asked.
âIs she yours?â
Only then did she realize Daniel held a wicker container about the size of a laundry basket. A little girl, her golden hair in uneven braids sticking out like a bugâs antennae, was curled, half-asleep in the basket. Chocolate crumbs freckled her cheeks. The kind wore an Englisch-style pink overall and a shirt with puffy sleeves. She couldnât have been more than eighteen months old.