Seeing Your Face Again
Read Seeing Your Face Again Online
Authors: Jerry S. Eicher
Be sure to read Jerry Eicher's charming first book in
The Beiler Sisters series
D
ebbie Watson
, a young
Englisha
girl, grew up admiring her Amish friends, the Beiler sisters. As she graduates from college and finds a job, Debbie's fascination with the Amish life and faith grows. When she asks Bishop Beiler and his wife if they would consider letting her live with them as a boarder, she's thrilled when they say yes.
Moving into the Amish community, Debbie becomes involved in Amish activities and soon attracts the attention of Paul Wagler, a successful and sought-after bachelor in the community. But she's drawn to Alvin Knepp, the youngest son of a poor Amish farmer. Would an Amish man consider courting a woman not brought up in the faith? And would the community allow it?
When Verna Beiler's boyfriend is accused of stealing, will Debbie's
Englisha
background be a help or hindrance? As the truth comes out, it turns out one of Debbie's suitors is also involvedâ¦
If you're one of the myriad Jerry Eicher fans, you'll love this new series set in Snyder County, Pennsylvania.
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover photos © Chris Garborg; Anastasjia Popova, Peter Wollinga / Bigstock
Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SEEING YOUR FACE AGAIN
Copyright © 2014 by Jerry S. Eicher
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eicher, Jerry S.
Seeing your face again / Jerry S. Eicher.
pages cm (The Beiler sisters ; book 2)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5513-3 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5514-0 (eBook)
1. AmishâPennsylvaniaâFiction. 2. Manâwoman relationshipsâFiction. I. Title.
PS3605.I34S44 2014
813'.6âdc23
2013043548
All rights reserved.
No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherâwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author's and publisher's rights is strictly prohibited.
Contents
I
t was almost dark as Debbie Watson drove her car down the icy road toward Verna's house. This visit was overdue, and her friend would be thrilled to see her. Of that, Debbie was sure. At last Sunday's meeting, Verna had said, “You haven't been over to the house in a while. Why don't you stop by sometime?”
“With the weather the way it's been, I'm just glad if I can get to work and back home in one piece. But I'll try,” Debbie had said.
Now that Friday had arrived and the weather had cleared, Debbie decided to keep her word, even though the roads were still slippery. It would be good to see Verna again other than on Sundays. Before Verna had married Joe Weaver this past wedding season, Debbie had seen Verna every day at home. Debbie had moved in with the Beilers as a boarder last year. Now Bishop Beiler's house echoed with women's voicesâthe two Beiler girls still at home, Ida and Lois, mingled in with those of their mother, Saloma, and now Debbie. But Verna was happy, so Debbie wouldn't wish her back home again. Verna and Joe were deeply in love. Debbie could see that every time she saw the couple together. They still had kind
looks for each other, undimmed by the passing months. It was a love she hoped to experience with Alvin Knepp someday.
Debbie gripped the steering wheel tighter as she thought of Alvin. He still didn't pay her much attention, other than an occasional timid smile. But she shouldn't complain. Especially after the nice talk she had with him at Verna's wedding.
Yah
, Alvin was insecure, but beyond that, he was everything Debbie wanted in a husband.
Debbie's thoughts drifted back to Verna and Joe. If she didn't miss her guess, Verna was already expecting her first child. Such things weren't spoken of in the community, but still there were whispers. And then there was Verna's dreamy look at the Sunday services.
The car slipped a bit to the right on the ice, and Debbie corrected easily, looking ahead for the turn into Verna's lane. Joe and Verna had a tough time of it only a year ago, but now they had much to be thankful for. During the previous season, their wedding had been called off because Joe had been under a terrible cloud of suspicion. His
Englisha
girlfriend from his
rumspringa
days had brought a false accusation against Joe. The girlfriend claimed Joe was involved with her in a burglary ring. Joe had been charged by the police, and a trial date had been set. Only the intervention of a mysterious, last-minute witness had prevented a miscarriage of justice. Debbie was one of the few who knew that the hand of Henry Yoder, a man the Amish ministry had excommunicated for breaking the
Ordnung
, had helped Joe in the matter. He'd joined a liberal church after leaving the Amish community. A man in that church knew the truth, and Henry had brought it to Debbie's attention. This man's testimony exposed the lies of the ex-girlfriend and her accomplice.
So the last wedding season, Verna and Joe had finally married. Verna had been so faithful during that dark time, never wavering in her devotion to Joe in his time of trial. Debbie wondered if she would have done the same. Would she have stood by her man and seen the goodness in him when many others didn't? She hadn't been raised Amish, so the trait didn't come natural to her. It was one of
the things that attracted her to these people. She was trying to practice with Alvin the wisdom she'd learned from Verna. Mostly it was the lesson of patience as Alvin continued to work through his fears. At least she hoped that was what was going on with him. He certainly had no misdeeds in his past like Joe Weaver had. The Knepp family was the model of perfection when it came to obedience to the
Ordnung
. Alvin's problem was his timidity around Paul Wagler, the man who was still determined to win Debbie's hand. Alvin couldn't seem to get past his family's low reputation among the community and Paul's well-respected family.