Lenora Worth - Their Amish Reunion

Return to Lancaster County

Love blooms in the Amish Seasons series

Widowed single mother Ava Jane Graber can’t believe her eyes. Her first love is back in Lancaster County. Years ago, Jeremiah did the unthinkable: left the Amish—and her—for the Navy SEALs. Now the prodigal hero wants redemption from his community, his family and from the woman he never forgot. For the ex-soldier, becoming Ava’s husband is his ultimate mission.

With over seventy books published and millions in print, LENORA WORTH writes award-winning romance and romantic suspense. Three of her books finaled in the ACFW Carol Awards, and her Love Inspired Suspense novel Body of Evidence became a New York Times bestseller. Her novella in Mistletoe Kisses made her a USA TODAY bestselling author. Lenora goes on adventures with her retired husband, Don, and enjoys reading, baking and shopping...especially shoe shopping.

Also By Lenora Worth

Men of Millbrook Lake

Lakeside Hero

Lakeside Sweetheart

Her Lakeside Family

Texas Hearts

A Certain Hope

A Perfect Love

A Leap of Faith

Sunset Island

The Carpenter’s Wife

Heart of Stone

A Tender Touch

Men of Millbrook Lake

Her Holiday Protector

Lakeside Peril

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Their Amish Reunion

Lenora Worth

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08245-7

THEIR AMISH REUNION

© 2018 Lenora H. Nazworth

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

“Why were you hiding from me?”

She thought of that day at his farm. “I didn’t want to see you,” she said.

His eyes darkened with regret. “And now?”

She took a breath, so many emotions converging inside her head like a river stream flowing straight to her heart. “Now I’ve accepted that you’re back.”

“But you still don’t want me here.”

“You can tell that just from being around me?”

“I can see it in your eyes.”

“No matter how I feel, Jeremiah, my duty is to accept you, not judge you.”

He stared at her with eyes that held so many secrets but also a connection that couldn’t be denied. “I want you to forgive me, Ava Jane.”

How should she respond to that gentle plea? “I’m trying.”

“Gut, because I’m not going anywhere, ever again.”

She knew that.

“Are you afraid of me, Ava Jane?”

“Should I be?” she questioned him. But from the way her heart was pumping, she already knew the answer.

Dear Reader,

I did not set out to write an Amish story, but this idea came to me when I’d tried other ideas that didn’t seem to be coming together. My husband took me for a walk on the beach and I saw it in my head. I saw Jeremiah in my head, walking toward home.

When I told the idea to my husband, he asked, “Is that a thing?”

And I said, “It could be a thing. It could be a story.”

And so that is how a retired Navy SEAL returned to the community he’d left behind and found redemption and forgiveness with the people who took him back and gave him shelter. It was not an easy journey for Jeremiah and this was not an easy journey for me. But in the end, this story healed both of us.

I hope you enjoyed Jeremiah’s story and I hope that it helped you in some way on your own faith journey. I plan to write more about Campton Creek and the Amish community that has become a part of my heart. God allowed me to stumble my way into the world of the Amish and I will do my best to honor that.

Until next time, may the angels watch over you. Always.

Lenora Worth

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

—Jeremiah 29:13

To Marta Perry, a mentor and friend

and incredible writer.

Thank you, Marta,

for your encouragement and support.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

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

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

He thought of Ava Jane.

The memory of her sweet smile had held him together for so long, Jeremiah wondered if he’d ever be able to face her again. The real her. The one he’d left behind. Remembering her pretty smile was one thing. Coming face-to-face with her and seeing the hurt and condemnation in her eyes would be another.

Something he’d dreaded during the long bus trip across the country from California to Pennsylvania.

But he wasn’t here today to meet with the bishop about Ava Jane. He’d lost her and he’d accepted that long ago. He didn’t deserve her anymore. Twelve years was a long time. She’d made a good life with a good man. Or so he’d heard.

She had not waited for Jeremiah to come home because all indications had shown he never would come home again. At times, he’d thought that same thing. Thought he was surely going to die a world away from the one he’d left. At those times, he’d think of her rich strawberry blonde curls and her light-as-air blue eyes. And her wide, glowing smile. And he’d wish he’d never left her.

But he was here now, waiting inside the bishop’s home to speak to him. Here and needing to find some solace. He came back to help his family, whether they wanted him to or not. His younger sister, Beth, had tried to keep in touch, but her last letter had been full of fear and grief.