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Authors: Ruth Reid

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Brush of Angel's Wings

BOOK: Brush of Angel's Wings
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Acclaim for
The Promise of an Angel

“First-time novelist Reid taps into two fan bases—Amish fiction and angel tales—in this lovely story that seamlessly blends both worlds. Reid has written a fine novel that provides, as its series title claims, a bit of ‘heaven on earth.'”

—P
UBLISHERS
W
EEKLY


The Promise of an Angel
is a fantastic read! This page-turner kept me up late at night as this unique and refreshing story unfolded. Fast-paced and with an ending that brought a happy tear to my eye, fans of Amish fiction are going to love this first novel in the Heaven on Earth series by debut author Ruth Reid.”

—B
ETH
W
ISEMAN, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF
S
EEK
M
E WITH
A
LL
Y
OUR
H
EART
AND
P
LAIN
P
ROPOSAL

“Ruth Reid's
The Promise of an Angel
is a beautiful story of faith, hope, and second chances. It will captivate fans of Amish fiction and readers who love an endearing romance.”

—A
MY
C
LIPSTON, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
OF THE
K
AUFFMAN
A
MISH
B
AKERY
S
ERIES

“Ruth Reid captivates with a powerful new voice and vision.”

—K
ELLY
L
ONG, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF
S
ARAH'S
G
ARDEN
AND
L
ILLY'S
W
EDDING
Q
UILT

Brush of
Angel's Wings

Brush of
Angel's Wings

A Heaven on Earth Novel

Ruth Reid

© 2012 by Ruth Reid

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations are taken from T
HE
N
EW
K
ING
J
AMES
V
ERSION
. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

Publisher's Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reid, Ruth, 1963-
   Brush of angel's wings / Ruth Reid.
     p. cm. -- (A heaven on Earth novel; 2)

   ISBN 978-1-59554-789-7 (trade paper)

1. Amish--Fiction. 2. Michigan--Fiction. I. Title.
   PS3618.E5475B78 2012
   813'.6--dc23

2011051932

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 17 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my husband, Dan, and our three children, Lexie,
Danny, and Sarah. I'm blessed to be surrounded by
your love and support.

Contents

Pennsylvania Dutch Glossary

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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Acknowledgments

Reading Group Guide

About the Author

Pennsylvania Dutch Glossary

ach
: oh

aemen
: amen

aenti
: aunt

againish
: stubborn, strong-willed

Ausbund
: Amish hymnal used in worship services

babrag boi
: rhubarb crisp

bauch shmartzlich
: stomach pain

blabbermauls
: blabbermouths

boppli
: baby

bruder
: brother

bu
: boy

Budget
: Amish newspaper

daed
: dad

denki
: thank you

dokta
: doctor

doplich
: awkward

Englisch
or
Englisher
: a non-Amish person

fraa
: wife

geh
: go

grossdaadi haus
: grandfather's house

gut mariye
: good morning

guder nacht
: good night

gut
: good

haus
: house

hinkle
: chicken

hohchmoot
: pride

jah
: yes

kaffi
: coffee

kapp
: a prayer covering worn by the women

kumm
: come/came

leddich
: unmarried

lieb
: love

Loblied
: praise song

mamm
: mom

mammi
: grandmother

mariye
: morning

maydel
: girl

mei
: my

meiya
: tomorrow

nacht
: night

narrisch
: crazy

nau
: now

nay
: no

nett
: not

onkel
: uncle

Ordnung
: the written and unwritten rules of the Amish

Pennsylvania Deitsch
: the language most commonly used by the Amish

redd-up
: clean up

rumschpringe
: running-around period that begins when an Amish youth turns seventeen years old and ends when the young person is baptized into the Amish faith

schnitzboi
: split moon apple pie

schul
: school

sohn
: son

vass iss gut
: what is good

wundebaar
: wonderful

yummasetti
: traditional Amish dish using hamburger, egg noodles, and cheese as the main ingredients

Chapter One

R
achel Hartzler wove through the wedding crowd, then dashed toward the line of parked buggies. Now that her sister Iva's wedding ceremony had ended, Rachel needed to rush home and help with the meal preparations. It wouldn't be long before the throng of wedding guests migrated from her
aenti's
house to her parents' home to continue celebrating.

She hitched her horse in haste, hoping to avoid the guests and their comments. Several had already mentioned that she would be the next Hartzler married. The
last
Hartzler, she'd inwardly corrected. She wasn't holding her breath. Marriage wasn't around the corner for her. At age twenty, well past the prime time to court, she had yet to be offered a ride home after one of the youth singings. Lately she'd been praying about becoming a teacher. A good job for a
maydel
.

Rachel climbed into the buggy and fastened the canvas leg covering over her lap. Despite the clear sky and sun overhead, Michigan's early spring wind produced a teeth-chattering chill.


Geh
on, Ginger.” She tapped the reins. The horse obeyed and the buggy lurched forward. Once on the main road, she gave the horse a free head. The mare, feeling her morning oats, picked up the pace. A retired harness racer, Ginger ran faster than any of the other horses in her father's stock.

As a steady clopping of hooves from behind them grew louder, Ginger must have sensed competition approaching and her pace automatically increased. Rachel dismissed the fleeting notion to rein in the mare. After all, the icy winter had kept them both off the roads. With only a thin layer of slush on the pavement, it wouldn't hurt to let the horse burn her energy.

She glanced out the window opening at an approaching buggy. Shaded inside, the male driver's identity wasn't visible. His sorrel gelding came alongside her, nostrils flaring from the quick pace. The horse didn't have the zest to pass, despite his driver's calls to go faster.

It had been a long time since her last race. A flash of pride spurted through her veins. Ginger could win without an ounce more energy. But strategy was important.

Rachel caught a glimpse of how close the other buggy's wheel was to hers. Too close. Any connection would tangle them both into a heap. A good excuse to move faster. She clucked her tongue and Ginger happily obeyed. Her heart rate increased to match the faster clopping of Ginger's hooves. The brisk air burned Rachel's cheeks and a chill traveled down the back of her neck. She'd never gone so fast.

The stiff breeze caught her winter bonnet and slipped it off her head, saved from blowing away only by the loosely tied strings around her neck. Her flimsy prayer
kapp
flapped as a few of the pins holding the head covering in place loosened. She shifted the reins to one hand and used her free hand to grasp the strings of her
kapp
.

A few of her
aentis
had skipped the ceremony to prepare the meal, so she certainly didn't want to arrive home with her hair askew and her covering in disarray. Buggy racing was only something that happened between the boys, and even then the elders did not always overlook their boyish pranks.

The last buggy race she'd won caused some undesirable attention. She shouldn't want to risk spoiling her sister's wedding festivities just to prove she could handle a fast horse. Still, the excitement surging inside spurred her on. She would pull back on Ginger and drop her speed when they reached the bend on Northland Drive where the dirt road leading to the farm came into view. Continuing the race around the corner wouldn't be wise.

“Get over, there's a—” The man's muffled yell was swallowed by a blaring horn.

Rachel stuck her head out the side opening. A semitruck driver laid on the horn again as he sped past. The truck's draft pushed Ginger off the road and onto the dirt shoulder. The shuddering buggy wheel dipped into a large hole. Rachel slid across the seat and slammed hard against the door. Another jolt lifted her off the bench and hurled her toward the window. Something solid thudded against the side of her buggy and kept her from catapulting out.

BOOK: Brush of Angel's Wings
7.89Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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