The Amish Suitor

A Family Comes Courting…

The Amish Spinster Club series begins!

With his orphaned nephew depending on him, Amish carpenter Eli Troyer moves to Harmony Creek Hollow to start over. And when schoolteacher Miriam Hartz offers to teach Eli, who is hard of hearing, how to read lips, he can’t refuse. Spending time with Miriam forges a bond between them. Can two wounded hearts overcome their pasts to make a family together?

JO ANN BROWN has always loved stories with happily-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 travels with her husband of more than thirty years to places where she can snap pictures. They have three children and live in Florida. Drop her a note at joannbrownbooks.com.

Also By Jo Ann Brown

Love Inspired

Amish Spinster Club

The Amish Suitor

Amish Hearts

Amish Homecoming

An Amish Match

His Amish Sweetheart

An Amish Reunion

A Ready-Made Amish Family

An Amish Proposal

An Amish Arrangement

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

The Amish Suitor

Jo Ann Brown

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08427-7

THE AMISH SUITOR

© 2018 Jo Ann Ferguson

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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“The more we work together, the quicker you will learn.

Kyle must learn to face you and enunciate when he speaks.”

“Enough what when he speaks?”

“E-nun-ci-ate. To say something clearly.”

Eli nodded, flustered he’d misunderstood Miriam.

She touched his face. Startled, he froze.

“Eli, do not be embarrassed. Even people with perfect hearing miss words.”

Was his pain emblazoned there? The last thing he wanted was her pity.

He realized how he’d misread her when she said, “Your hearing loss is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I know.”

“You say that. But you do not act that way. It will get easier.” She smiled as if he were one of her scholars.

Was that how she saw him? That was what he was, but when she touched him on his arm to get his attention, he couldn’t think of her as anything other than a charming woman.

She was his teacher—and his neighbor. Nothing else. He was being a fool. He wasn’t going to invite more pain into his life. Not when he’d come to Harmony Creek to start over.

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

—Deuteronomy 31:6

Dear Reader,

Have you ever met a person who was completely happy with his/her appearance or some aspect of their personality? We’re all a work in process. Some of us have visible challenges, as Eli does with his hearing aids. Others have invisible ones—for example, Miriam with her lack of self-esteem. Eli and Miriam needed to believe God put these roadblocks in their paths for a reason. They—and we—must accept that by meeting such challenges with perseverance and prayer, each of us becomes stronger in our faith.

Visit me at www.joannbrownbooks.com. Look for my next story coming soon from Harlequin Love Inspired, the next in my series set in Harmony Creek Hollow.

Wishing you many blessings,

Jo Ann Brown

For Gary Rubin the “younger man” A dear friend for longer than either of us wants to admit! Do you still remember the parade in Hop Bottom with one marching band and nineteen fire engines?