The Haven (29 page)

Authors: Suzanne Woods Fisher

Tags: #FIC042040, #FIC027020, #Amish—Fiction

Take Jimmy and his brother, Paul. They might share a passing resemblance—both blond, with their father’s strong nose and high forehead—but no two brothers could be more different. Paul was thirty now, still unmarried, still at home under his mother’s very large thumb. It wasn’t that Paul didn’t want to marry and start a family of his own; he just couldn’t quite decide on a wife. He was always juggling a few girls, attracted to each one but not in love with any of them.

Jimmy had no trouble making decisions, or falling in love. He fell in love, he fell out of love—but at least it was love! He had passion, and emotion, and wasn’t afraid to make a commitment like Paul was. Or, at least, he wouldn’t be afraid to when he fell in love for the last time. He planned to marry within two years. It was all planned out. And he had just found his missus. Done! Checked off.

The auctioneer took a loud slurp of coffee and tossed the paper cup on the ground. “Her name is Emily Esh. Father is Emanuel Esh. They live near Bart. Father’s a darn good horse trader.” He handed Jimmy a card:
Domenico Guiseppe Rizzo, purveyor of fine horses.
“This is the guy you need to see if you want to get into pony racing.”

Jimmy peered at the card. “Wait. Is that Domino Joe?” He knew Domino Joe. Knew him well. “What makes you think I have an interest in pony racing?”

The auctioneer glanced at his watch and strolled back to the auction block. Over his shoulder, he tossed, “If you’re already acquainted with Domino Joe, then why would I think you don’t?”

Jimmy frowned and stuffed the card in his pocket. Emily Esh. What a beautiful name. It had a musical sound . . . what was it M.K. called that kind of thing? Allit, alliter, alliteration. That was it!

Now . . . how to meet Emily Esh? He remembered that M.K. had talked Ruthie into going to a youth gathering in Bart this summer, hoping to meet a more intelligent crop of boys, she had said. “I’ve known these Stoney Ridge boys forever,” she said airily to Jimmy. “And most of them have no idea how to carry on an intelligent conversation. They just want to talk about the latest prank they pulled or about what the best hunting sports are or all about their dogs.”

At the time, Jimmy took offense. M.K. was always showing off her big brain, as if it wasn’t obvious to everyone that she had a different way of thinking. He had a hunch that she could go to the ends of the earth and she still wouldn’t find what she was looking for, because that fellow didn’t exist. But now, the Bart youth gathering sounded very intriguing to Jimmy.

He just needed M.K.’s help. He wanted to meet Emily Esh, his future missus.

****

Suzanne Woods Fisher
is the author of
The Choice
,
The Waiting
, and
The Search
—the bestselling Lancaster County Secrets series.
The Waiting
was a finalist for the 2011 Christy Award. Suzanne’s grandfather was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Her interest in living a simple, faith-filled life began with her Dunkard cousins. Suzanne is also the author of the bestselling
Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World
and
Amish Proverbs: Words of Wisdom from the Simple Life
, both finalists for the ECPA Book of the Year award, and
Amish Values for Your Family.
She is the host of
Amish Wisdom
, a weekly radio program on toginet.com. She lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area.