Karen Hopkins - Forever

All I want is my happily-ever-after.

That’s all I’ve wanted since meeting Noah Miller.

From the day we met, the world has tried to keep Noah and me from being together, but now that I’m carrying his child, no one will be able to tear us apart. Or so I hope. But Noah and I have made some mistakes along the way, and the consequences are impacting the people we love. Worse, there’s a storm on the horizon, and it’s sure to cause serious devastation.

If we can get through this, we’ll finally be Rose and Noah—a family, forever.

But first we have to survive the road ahead. And happily-ever-after is a long way off.

He’s Amish.

Rose held out her hand, and I grasped it. She avoided my gaze, leading me to her barn. I followed along, very nervous about what she had to say.

When I was seated on a hay bale in the loft, I watched her pace back and forth in uncomfortable silence for a minute or so before curiosity overcame the worry, and I blurted out, “Rose, come sit down and talk to me. Please.”

She’s not.

She stopped and looked at me with her own fear clearly showing. The loft felt very different in the brightness of late morning than it did in the dark of night when we’d met before. Somehow the light beams shining through the gaps in the wood made the moment feel more real…and frightening.

With reluctant steps, she approached, stopping in front of me. I spread my legs and pulled her forward into a hug. Breathing in the lovely lavender scent, I tried to relax. Rose needed my strength now.

She whispered against my cheek, “I’m pregnant.”

But everything’s about to change.

Forever

Karen Ann Hopkins

www.miraink.co.uk

This book is dedicated to my close friend Opal Dickerson, who has been lucky enough to call both the Amish and English worlds her home.

Your strength and kindness inspire me.

Acknowledgments

As Rose and Noah’s story comes to an end, I want to express much appreciation to my awesome agent, Christina Hogrebe of the Jane Rotrosen Agency, for being on this literary journey with me from day one; my exceptional editor, TS Ferguson, for his wisdom and patience in the process; to my fabulous publicist, Lisa Wray, for all the little things; to the cover art department for the dazzling cover on this book; and the rest of the Harlequin TEEN team for their professionalism, friendliness and guidance along the way.

I could never have succeeded in this crazy endeavor without the love and support of my family. Kisses and hugs to my five children, Luke, Cole, Lily, Owen and Cora. Many thanks go out to my mom, Marilyn; my dad, Anthony; my brother, Tony; and my nephew, Jamey, for everything. I love you all.

With gratitude to Jay, Carey, Devin, Marian, Kelsey, Kendra, Jackie, Eric and the Mast family. The last few years have had ups and downs, and each one of you has helped out in some special way. Thank you!

“There can be no assumption that today’s majority is ‘right’ and the Amish and others like them are ‘wrong.’ A way of life that is odd or even erratic but interferes with no rights or interests of others is not to be condemned because it is different.”

—Warren E. Burger, Supreme Court Justice

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

1

Noah

It was dark except for the light slicing through the gaps in the barn boards. The silence made my skin crawl, and I shook the feeling away. I took a deep breath. Leaning back against the stall, I closed my eyes, and a picture of Rose immediately appeared.

She sat alone on her bed. Her head was bowed and her shoulders jerked with rocking movements. When she lifted her face, her cheeks were wet. The same moon that sprayed soft light into her bedroom was the one that lit the barnyard beyond the door. I wanted to go to her, gather her up in my arms and tell her that everything was all right. The pain of knowing that I couldn’t hold her stabbed my chest.

Was it just my imagination that she was crying this night? I had no way of knowing; we were still being kept apart. Would it ever end? Was a time of peace and acceptance in our lives possible? Rose needed me. I could feel it in my bones, but I couldn’t be with her—at least not yet.

Elijah Schwartz’s voice hissed into the quiet air, snapping my eyes wide open.

“This is unacceptable, Amos. I only allowed my eldest daughter, Constance, to become betrothed to your son, because of your promise that his association with the English girl was over. Now, you’re telling me that he wants to break off the engagement, only weeks before the joining? You can’t be serious.”

To Father’s credit, his voice came out restrained and sure. As my head turned to him, he said, “Things have changed. I feel terrible that Constance will be hurt by the breakup, but the consequences if Noah went through with the wedding would be a greater travesty. He is in love with another girl.”

The three long strides that Elijah took toward me brought me off the hay bale and into a standing position right quick. The older man looked at me with a tight frown.

His gray eyes glittered dangerously when he raised his finger to my face and said, “You are making a mistake, boy. Not only will your life with an outsider be filled with pain, lies and deceit, you have created a rift with me and my kin. Mark my words there will be no peace in your life with this decision.”

Elijah stormed to the doorway. His eldest sons, Paul and Micah, were fast on his heels. Paul made a huffing noise and ignored me as he followed his father, but Micah took the time to meet my gaze. He frowned and shook his head sadly, and I quickly searched my memories for the reason for his distress.

I suddenly understood. The numerous times that I’d spotted Sarah lingering in the kitchen or barnyard while Micah was a few feet away finally made sense. But confusion peppered the realization. I thought Sarah had been moving in the direction of courting Edwin. It showed how out of the loop I’d become that I had no idea what was going on with my own sister.

As Elijah was pushing the door open, Bishop Abram caught his arm in a loose grip.

“Those are harsh words, Elijah. It’s not with malicious intent that Noah has done this. Rose’s family manipulated the younger boy to write a letter convincing the Millers that she was leaving on her own accord, but that wasn’t the truth of it.”

“Do you think that matters to me? My daughter will be humiliated. Our family will be made a laughingstock before the community.” Elijah stood up straighter before passing his gaze between Bishop Abram and Father. “The acts of this boy—” he paused and pointed at me “—will not be ignored by our people.”

When Elijah disappeared into the night with his sons in tow, the barn became quiet once again. With a groan, I dropped to the hay bale and rubbed my face vigorously.

“What a mess of things I’ve made,” I mumbled into my hands.