Annie's Truth (Touch of Grace)
Read Annie's Truth (Touch of Grace) Online
Authors: Beth Shriver
Tags: #Romance, #Adoption, #Amish, #Christian, #Fiction
Beautifully researched,
Annie’s Truth
delivers a unique glimpse into the Amish community and into the true meaning of friendship and love.
—T
AMMY
B
ARLEY
A
WARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF
T
HE
S
IERRA
C
HRONICLES
Annie’s Truth
has a premise I found fascinating. The way the characters dealt with the premise kept me turning pages. Definitely a very good read.
—L
ENA
N
ELSON
D
OOLEY
A
UTHOR OF
M
AGGIE’S
J
OURNEY
,
M
ARY’S
B
LESSING
,
AND
THE
W
ILL
R
OGERS
M
EDALLION
A
WARD WINNER
L
OVE
F
INDS
Y
OU IN
G
OLDEN
, N
EW
M
EXICO
Beth Shriver creates a gentle love story of Annie, an Amish girl abandoned as a newborn, who goes looking for her birth family and discovers the real meaning of community and the glue that holds it together. Shriver’s attention to sense and the rhythm of words make
Annie’s Truth
an uplifting hymn.
—L
ISA
L
ICKEL
A
UTHOR OF
T
HE
M
AP
Q
UILT
Shriver leads you on an intricate journey of the heart where all that is known is left behind, all that lies ahead is uncertain, and all that is within remains divided.
Annie’s Truth
is a novel that will delight readers of Amish fiction.
—J
ILLIAN
K
ENT
A
UTHOR OF
S
ECRETS OF THE
H
EART
AND
C
HAMELEON
Annie’s Truth
is filled with vivid characters, tender moments, and a theme that is sure to resound with those searching for their place in life. This is a wonderful and touching story, and one that fans of Amish fiction will not be able to put down. Highly recommended!
—L
AURA
V. H
ILTON
A
UTHOR OF
T
HE
A
MISH OF
S
EYMOUR SERIES
(
P
ATCHWORK
D
REAMS
, A H
ARVEST OF
H
EARTS
, P
ROMISED
TO
A
NOTHER
)
Most C
HARISMA
H
OUSE
B
OOK
G
ROUP
products are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchase for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, and educational needs. For details, write Charisma House Book Group, 600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, or telephone (407) 333-0600.
A
NNIE’S
T
RUTH
by Beth Shriver
Published by Realms
Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group
600 Rinehart Road
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
www.charismahouse.com
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible and from Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission.
Although this story is depicted from the town of Staunton and the surrounding area, the characters created are fictitious. The traditions are similar to the Amish ways, but because all groups are different with dialogue, rules, and culture, they may vary from what your conception may be.
Copyright © 2012 by Beth Shriver
All rights reserved
Cover design by Bill Johnson
Visit the author’s website at
www.BethShriverWriter.com
.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Shriver, Beth.
Annie’s truth / Beth Shriver. – 1st ed.
p. cm. – (Touch of grace; bk. 1)
ISBN 978-1-61638-607-8 (trade paper) – ISBN 978-1-61638-864-5 (ebook) 1. Amish–Fiction. 2. Adoption–Fiction. I. Title.
PS3619.H7746A84 2012
813’.6–dc23
2012002334
First edition
12 13 14 15 16 — 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
To Shelley Shepherd Gray, my sister in Christ and my
inspiration to write those first words
Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in
the light.
—Amish Proverb
Table of Contents
T
HE BRIGHT MOON
illuminated the velvet sky. Shafts of corn swayed in the soft, warm breeze as if alive, dancing a waltz in the huge ten-acre field. The cries from a pack of coyotes erupted through the nearby hills surrounding the Shenandoah Valley.
Amos Beiler made his way through the rows of ripe corn as the pups howled an off-kilter tune along with the group. Amos followed a different cry—that of a human babe, the sobs weak and intermittent, nearly drowned out by the louder yelp of the coyotes.
He used his shotgun to slash his way through the six-foot stalks in a maze of never-ending rows until a small whimper close by made him stop. He turned to his right and looked down a stretch of dirt that led to his farmhouse a good mile away. He’d come to protect his livestock from the coyotes, but finding their prey was his new goal.