Showing results by author "Brenda Maxfield" in All Categories

Mary Hartzler runs her shop, Bits & Bites, making just enough profit to take care of herself and her elderly aenti and onkel. When newcomer Mark Bontrager opens a bakery across the street, he unwittingly takes many of her customers, and Mary wonders how she’s going to survive. Mark Bontrager has been shunned, but he yearns for his Amish roots. When he meets Mary, his heart is stirred in a powerful way. But he’s no longer Amish, and he’s quite certain Mary has a beau. But he can’t ignore his growing feelings for this gentle Amish woman.

At the tender age of 16, Hagar King falls in love. She is certain all will go perfectly with her 15-year-old beau, Enoch Yoder. But she is wrong—very wrong. Hagar falls pregnant and is shipped off in shame to give birth to a beautiful baby girl. Under protest, her child is snatched away. Enoch’s family leaves the state, and Hagar does not hear from him again. In the present day, Hagar lives with an empty gap in her heart and life—one that can never be filled. But everything turns upside down when Enoch returns to town. He never stopped loving Hagar.

Elaine Jutzi has a God-given gift—she knows just what to say to someone who is hurting. So surely, she can help her sister, who recently suffered a stillbirth. But things don’t go well. Christina yearns to join her boppli in heaven, and Elaine can’t seem to reach her. And then Elaine’s longtime beau decides to call it quits, thrusting Elaine into her own world of sadness.

Ellen Kauffman’s younger sister Nancy is walking a dangerous path. Smitten with the divorced father of one of her nursery school students, Nancy has become deaf to Ellen’s warnings. Ellen will do anything to save her sister from being shunned. So, when Mark Otto, the man Ellen secretly loves, declares his interest in Nancy, Ellen sets aside her feelings and does all she can to help him.

Katie Smucker didn’t set out to break the rules. The first time she saw her shunned sister and spoke to her, she nearly buckled with guilt. But every time after that, it got easier and easier. Both Katie’s sisters have left their Amish roots. Katie’s heart breaks every time she thinks about her mother never seeing her two grandchildren. Is there any way Katie can intervene? But how, without taking even more risks…

Chloe Smucker and her blind sister, Rachel, are to manage their late aenti’s raspberry farm. They will need help, and help they get—though in an unexpected way. Asher Ropp can no longer tolerate how his father makes his money. If he stays, isn’t he a party to it? He leaves home abruptly, taking refuge in what he thinks is an empty raspberry farm, planning to offer his help to maintain the place.

Julia Bontrager’s world collapses when her husband is killed in a freak accident. Suddenly a single mother with three children to raise and a farm to work, she flounders to survive. Her in-laws pressure her to return to Illinois, but Julia won’t give up her late husband’s dream; nor can she imagine living with her difficult and dominating mother-in-law. In desperation, she hires a young Amish man to take over the bulk of the farm work.

How could Shelah Studer’s fiancé have done such a thing? It was unthinkable. But there was no denying it, and now all Shelah wants to do is run away—far away. She decides to move in with her brother and his family in Indiana. After all, her sister-in-law is about to give birth to their fifth, so she can use Shelah’s help.

Melita Otto wants more than anything to get away. She’s not fond of the beau her aunt and uncle are pushing on her, nor is she fond of her routine life. But she has no idea what she’s getting into when she takes the job as housekeeper for three brothers who run an Amish horse farm.

Tamara Zehr struggles to keep her late husband’s Amish furniture business going while tending to her four young children. She depends heavily on her husband’s two employees, but it quickly becomes impossible to keep up—especially during the Christmas season. Isaac Hochstetler is more than happy to help in any way he can, but Tamara suspects he wants more than friendship from her.

Single and Amish, Grace Wittmer cares for three elderly Englisch ladies in her home. At first, it was to make enough money to survive. But now, she loves them as if they were kin. Thaddeus, Grace’s hired hand, takes care of the animals and the land. He’s a mysterious sort, silent and reserved, yet Grace relies on his steady and solid character.

Ruth Schwartz never planned on falling in love with an Englischer. But then she meets Jack Wilson—handsome, intriguing, kind. She even finds herself willing to give up her Amish roots for him. When her parents find out, they promptly ship her off to Hollybrook to stay with her cousin. Ruth despairs of going, but she writes Jack so he can come and take her away. But something goes awry. Not only does Jack not come to rescue her, he doesn’t write her back. Certain something horrible has happened, Ruth makes plans to sneak back to her hometown.

Josh Lambright needs to get away—everything reminds him of the loss of his beautiful wife, Sara. His two young children, too, are suffering. Seeking a new beginning, Josh moves the three of them to Indiana to live with his widowed mother. Upon arrival, Josh discovers his mother is much more feeble than he remembers. He pursues household help. Lucy Oyer cannot abide her father any longer. Living with him has soured her on any hope of a romance of her own. She dreams of escape and is overjoyed when she hears of the position at the Lambright farm.

Fern Weaver doesn’t set out to become a liar, but it happens. When her dear sister Joyce is shunned, Fern can’t abide the separation. What would it hurt to sneak off to see her? But one time turns into two, and into three, and into four...When her sister’s Englisch brother-in-law shows interest in her, Fern is caught off-guard and fears she’s made a terrible mistake. Fern’s lies also threaten her fledgling romance with Reuben Swarey. She can’t go on like this; she must decide.

Caleb Ebersole listens to his dying grandfather’s words in utter shock. The buggy shop is to be left to his brother Ephraim? Caleb is the one who has given his heart and all his energy to the shop. Caleb is the one who helped his grandfather run the store for years. His brother couldn’t care less about the shop. And to make matters worse, Caleb’s grandfather asks him to school his brother in the running of the business.

Becky Kauffman loves her nanny job. Little Tommy Bookman is a charmer, with his toothy grin and mischievous eyes. His father, Englischer Travis Bookman, is also a charmer - something Becky tries her best to ignore. However, it is hard to ignore her handsome boss, who seems to appreciate her for more than the excellent care of his son. But there is Daniel Flaud, her Amish friend, who is intent on courting her. When things come to a head during a Sunday preaching service, Becky discovers where her love truly lies. But has she burned bridges beyond repair?

All her life, Jolene Weiger has taken care of her developmentally delayed brother, Bennie. Now grown, Jolene is engaged to marry, but her beau doesn’t want to start married life with Bennie in tow. Jolene calls off her engagement, secretly wishing she were engaged to Amos Zook, her best friend from childhood. Jolene’s mother announces she’s marrying an Englischer and leaving the Amish church. Getting no help from her married sisters, Jolene is on her own with Bennie. As Amos watches her struggle, the truth of his feelings snaps into place.

In his youth, Josiah Schwartz suffered a disastrous courtship, effectively ending his romantic life. But now, his loneliness cannot be ignored. He promises himself he’ll try one more time to find a woman to court. He settles on Nancy Mast - a nice local widow, kind and steady. Josiah follows his plan and begins courting her, with a promising outcome. But Josiah doesn’t reckon on running into newcomer Sharon Bontrager - literally. Her ankle is badly injured when she’s spooked by his mare, and she is unable to care for her aenti’s farm.

Marlene Jantzi flees Rock Point, Ohio, to escape her shame. She will do anything to give her son a good start in life - even if it means she has to lie. It works, too, until she begins to have feelings for the mysterious Daniel Studer. She sees the pain in his eyes and wonders whether he’s been hurt, too.

Anna Mast has accepted Daniel Studer’s proposal of marriage. She is giddy with excitement, and her mind spins with wedding plans. When Daniel stops by the next day, refusing to come inside, instant dread courses through her. And Anna is right to worry. Daniel has been caught by Deacon Elias using technology, and he is to come before the church for discipline.