A
CCLAIM FOR
K
ATHLEEN
F
ULLER
“Fuller understands what readers look for in her novels, and she more than meets all
expectations.”
—
R
OMANTIC
T
IMES
4-
STAR
REVIEW OF
F
AITHFUL TO
L
AURA
“
Treasuring Emma
is a charming, emotionally layered story of the value of friendship in love and discovering
the truth of the heart. A true treasure of a read!”
—K
ELLY
L
ONG, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
OF THE
P
ATCH OF
H
EAVEN SERIES
“Well-drawn characters and a homespun feel will make this Amish romance a sure bet
for fans of Beverly Lewis and Jerry S. Eicher.”
—
L
IBRARY
J
OURNAL
REVIEW
OF
T
REASURING
E
MMA
“A fresh and captivating voice in the Amish genre, Kathleen Fuller weaves a richly
patterned story [in
A Man of His Word
] that explores not only the depths of the Amish faith but also the most intimate
struggles of the heart.”
—T
AMERA
A
LEXANDER, BEST-SELLING
AUTHOR OF
T
HE
I
NHERITANCE
, B
EYOND
T
HIS
M
OMENT
,
AND
F
ROM A
D
ISTANCE
“
An Honest Love
held my interest from the first page—a double dose of romance as two couples struggle
to put the past behind them and move forward. Fans of Amish fiction will appreciate
the descriptive details as they revisit the Old Order Amish community of Middlefield.
Kathleen’s given us another heart-gripping tale.”
—B
ETH
W
ISEMAN, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
OF
S
EEK
M
E
W
ITH
A
LL
Y
OUR
H
EART
“
A Man of His Word
by Kathleen Fuller is a heartwarming story of how faith and commitment can overcome
betrayal. Highly recommended!”
—C
OLLEEN
C
OBLE, BEST-SELLING
AUTHOR OF
T
HE
L
IGHTKEEPER’S
B
ALL
“Terrific! I was totally engaged in the characters and the families in this lovely
story. With Gabriel as the hero, the title is certainly well chosen. His faith, along
with Moriah’s, represents a steady, underlying conviction and peacefulness despite
the very real struggles they face within the pages. [
A Man of His Word
] is a story—and characters—I didn’t want to leave.”
—M
AUREEN
L
ANG, AUTHOR
OF
M
Y
S
ISTER
D
ILLY
“Kathleen Fuller has done it again. [
An Honest Love
is a] wonderful tale of love, friendship, and loss that kept me up late just to see
how it would end.”
—J
ENNY
B. J
ONES, AUTHOR
OF
S
AVE THE
D
ATE
Letters to Katie
A
LSO
BY
K
ATHLEEN
F
ULLER
The Middlefield Family series
Treasuring Emma
Faithful to Laura
The Hearts of Middlefield series
A Man of His Word
An Honest Love
A Hand to Hold
Novellas included in
An Amish Christmas
An Amish Gathering
An Amish Love
An Amish Wedding
The Mysteries of Middlefield series for young readers
A Summer Secret
The Secrets Beneath
Hide and Secret
© 2013 by Kathleen Fuller
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.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising,
or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
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 Control Number: 2013932913
ISBN 978-1-59554-777-4
Printed in the United States of America
13 14 15 16 17 18 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
For everyone seeking God’s will
C
ONTENTS
ab im kopp
: addled in the head
aenti
: aunt
appeditlich
: delicious
boppli
: baby
bruder(s)
: brother(s)
bu
: boy
buwe
: boys
daag
: day
daed
: dad, father
danki
: thank you
dawdi haus
: grandparents’ house
Dietsch
: Pennsylvania Dutch, the language spoken by the Amish
dochder
: daughter
dumm
: dumb
dummkopf
: dummy
Dutch Blitz
: Amish card game
Englisch
: English, i.e., non-Amish
familye
: family
frau
: wife, woman
freind
: friend
geh
: go
grosskinskind
: great-grandchild
grossmammi/grossmudder
: grandmother
gross-sohn
: grandson
grossvadder
: grandfather
gude mariye
: good morning
gut
: good
guten nacht
: good night
hallo
: hello
haus
: house
Herr
: Mr.
hochmut
: pride
hungerich
: hungry
kaffee
: coffee
kapp
: prayer covering worn by women
kinn
: child
kinner
: children
kumme
: come
lieb
: love, sweetheart
maed
: girls
maedel
: girl
mamm, mammi
: mother, mom
mann
: man
mariye-esse
: breakfast
mei
: my
meidung
: shunning
menner
: men
mudder
: mother
nee
: no
nix
: nothing
onkel
: uncle
Ordnung
: the Amish rule of life (unwritten)
rumspringa
: literally, “running around”; the period of time (around age sixteen) when Amish
youth defy conventions and experience life in the “Yankee world” before making the
decision to be baptized and commit to the Amish life.
schee
: pretty, handsome
schweschder
: sister
schwoger
: brother-in-law
seltsam
: strange, unnatural
sohn
: son
vadder
: father
wie gehts
: how are you?
willkum
: welcome
ya
: yes
yung
: young