Katie's Journey to Love
Read Katie's Journey to Love Online
Authors: Jerry S. Eicher
Readers of Amish fiction love Jerry Eicher's books!
“As reluctant as I first was reading a Christian fiction/romance novel by a man, I have come to
love
reading Eicher's books! Not your typical Amish Christian fiction, yet this book is an excellent read. I highly recommend any book by this author!”
âShondra
“Mr. Eicher comes from an Amish background, and [his books] are very accurate to the Amish culture and ways.”
âJennifer
“I am a huge Amish fiction fan, and Jerry Eicher is quickly becoming one of my favorite Amish writers. He has the ability to pull me into a story and make me feel as if the characters are people I know.”
âBrenda
“I'm a big fan of Amish fiction, and Jerry's books never disappoint!”
âM. Fields
“Jerry Eicher never lets you down.”
âNancy
“Jerry Eicher remains unique among writers of Amish books in his insider's view of this fascinating culture. But that's not the only reason to enjoy his books. He weaves a story that never fails to please!”
âJan
“I look forward to the next book and series from Mr. Eicher. All of his books are well written and easy to relate to.”
âLynne
“I have read most everything [Jerry Eicher] has written, and he does know how to tell a storyâespecially about the Amish.”
âEdna
“I've been a very loyal fan of Amish fiction for a little over 10 years now. I've read books about Amish life by many different authors; however, Jerry Eicher's novels continue to be some of my very favorites.”
âJJB
“Jerry is very careful to portray the Amish lifestyle accurately. That is important to me when reading Amish fiction.”
âKarla
JERRY S. EICHER
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible, and the Holy Bible, New International Version
®
, NIV
®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, by Biblica, Inc.⢠Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
www.zondervan.com
Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota
Cover photos © Chris Garborg / Bigstock / HappyAlex
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, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
KATIE'S JOURNEY TO LOVE
Copyright © 2013 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.
Katie's journey to love / Jerry S. Eicher.
p. cm.â(Emma Raber's daughter ; bk. 2)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5253-8 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5254-5 (eBook)
1. Young womenâFiction. 2. MennonitesâFiction. 3. Domestic fiction. I. Title.
PS3605.I34K38 2013
813'.6âdc23
2012026067
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherâexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Contents
Katie Raber awoke well before dawn in the stillness of the old Amish farmhouse. Something seemed wrongâ¦unfamiliar. Where was she? The question raced through her mind. The familiar shape of her upstairs bedroom was gone. Where the dresser should have been there was a window, and where the dark outline of the dresser was there used to be a closet door. She sat up in bed, listening as a door banged downstairs. The sound was soon followed by the muffled voices of people stirring below. There was also a soft clatter of dishes being moved and
Mamm
's voice being overlaid with the deeper tones of a man.
Katie lay back in bed and smiled. Of course!
Mamm
had married Jesse Mast last week. The wedding had been held at Bishop Jonas Miller's place, with all the relatives and friends gathered for the great day. In the evening, the community youth had sung old hymns until after nine o'clock.
Today was the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the whole family was together for the first time since the wedding. They had given
Mamm
and Jesse some time alone, including Thanksgiving Day.
The newlyweds hadn't gone off on some honeymoon like an
Englisha
couple would, so they were entitled to extra considerationâwhat with children from both sides of the families joining the new union and with a farm to take care of. Katie had also taken the week off from work at Byler's Store and had spent Thanksgiving Day with her Mennonite friend Margaret.
Mabel, Jesse's oldest daughter, had thrown a royal fit about being bossed around by
Mamm
last night when they'd all arrived after supper. And all
Mamm
had said was “It's time for bed, children.” But thankfully Mabel had eventually calmed down. She'd been a wild card ever since
Mamm
had accepted Jesse's offer of marriage. At first Mabel had refused to even consider
Mamm
as her new
mamm
. It wasn't until
Mamm
was well into her engagement with Jesse before the feelings between
Mamm
and Mabel thawed out even a little. And even then Mabel gave in only after her
daett
brought great pressure to bear on her.
Katie took several deep breaths. The feelings of hope and joy that had been rushing over her at the memory of
Mamm
and Jesse saying their vows were fast disappearing. She really had to stop letting thoughts of Mabel's bad attitude affect her this way. After all, this should be a
wunderbah
new beginning for all of them. For one thing, she would no longer be known as odd widow Emma Raber's daughter, the strange girl with a yet stranger
mamm
. The wedding would surely change all of that.
Certainly Jesse and
Mamm
were persuaded things would turn out well for all of them. The past was behind them. Even
Mamm
's past that had caused her to be thought strange by the Amish communityâall because of that crush she'd once had on Daniel Kauffman, the most popular boy around when she'd been a teenager.
Mamm
had held on to her foolish hope that Daniel would return her affections right up to the moment he said his vows with Miriam Esh.
Mamm
had dashed out of the services
and drove her buggy right past the couple and the astonished eyes of the bishop himself. She'd never lived down that action or gotten over the bitterness of the memory of Daniel.