Hopefully ever after, p.1
Hopefully Ever After, page 1
Dedication
To my street team, Wiseman’s Warriors. You gals rock!
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Discussion Questions
Acknowledgments
Glossary
About the Author
Acclaim for Beth Wiseman
Other Books by Beth Wiseman
Copyright
Prologue
Yvonne sat beside her husband on the couch with their dog, Blue, curled up by their feet and snoring softly. Abraham rubbed his beard, something he did when he was thinking. Eight months into their marriage, Yvonne was still getting used to his facial hair. She would never see his clean-shaven face again, since once Amish men were married, they never trimmed their beards.
She waited as Abraham reprocessed the information Yvonne had shared with him just now, a repeat from what she’d told him a month ago.
Yvonne had reservations about bringing a troubled teenager into their home, even if the girl was a distant cousin, but Abraham had assured her it would be all right. Selfishly, she had hesitated when asked to welcome the sixteen-year-old guest into their home for four weeks. Yvonne and Abraham were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, but it was a huge favor to her aunt, who had raised Yvonne.
“It’s only for a month.” Her husband shrugged as he glanced her way. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Like I told you before, Aunt Emma said Eden’s mother went to prison, she never knew her father, and she’s had a few minor scrapes with the law. Shoplifting, I think.”
“Tell me again how she’s related to you?” Abraham looped his thumbs beneath his suspenders as he leaned into the couch cushions and eased his bare feet onto the coffee table. A muscle clenched along his jaw, and Yvonne wondered if he was having second thoughts.
“As I explained before . . .” Yvonne took a deep breath. It was too late to cancel the commitment they’d already made to act as guardians to Eden. “When Aunt Emma went to California for Christmas, she reconnected with some relatives she hadn’t seen in a long time. Eden is Aunt Emma’s first cousin’s child, making her Aunt Emma and my mother’s second cousin. And she’s my third cousin, I think, since Aunt Emma is my mother’s sister.”
“So, Eden’s mother is in prison for how long?” Abraham turned toward her as he lifted an eyebrow.
“Her name is Jill, and I’m not sure.” Yvonne lowered her eyes to her lap as she reached for the string on her prayer covering, wrapping it around her finger. Without looking up, she said, “I feel like you don’t want to do this, but it would crush Aunt Emma if she couldn’t go with her friends on this trip to Europe that’s been planned for so long.” Sighing, she kept her eyes down. “I don’t know why she agreed to keep Eden when she knew she had this trip planned. And we haven’t been married that long, and I probably shouldn’t have agreed to—”
“Look at me,” Abraham said as he cupped her chin and brought her eyes to his. “It’s going to be fine.”
She tried to smile. “That’s the second time you’ve said that.”
“Because it will be.” Abraham kissed her softly. “We are two worldly people compared to the rest of our Amish community. I’m sure we can handle one sixteen-year-old girl for a month.”
Yvonne smiled, genuinely this time. Her husband had been born into an Amish family, chosen to become a cop, then returned to his roots. And somewhere in all of that they’d fallen in love, and Yvonne had followed him into the Plain life with no regrets. “You’re right. We’re not like the others here. We’ve lived in the outside world.” She winked at her husband. “We’ve got this.”
“Ya, we do.” He kissed her again, and Yvonne relished the heady sensation she still got in the arms of her husband. “So, we better take advantage of these last few days of privacy. And the fact that we both have a day off in the middle of the week.” He stood up and held out his hand, which she was happy to accept as he escorted her to their bedroom.
Abraham had worked a double shift the day before, taking inventory at the hardware store, so his boss had given him the day off. Yvonne hadn’t taken time off from her job in months, so her friend and owner of the bookstore, Jake, hadn’t batted an eye about her request and said tending the store would give him a break from farming out in the heat.
It had been great sleeping in. And now a nap. Maybe today would be the day they conceived. They’d been trying to have a baby since they’d been married.
But even as Abraham pulled her closer, Yvonne couldn’t shed the worry that had built up about Eden coming to stay with them. Things would be very different here in Montgomery, Indiana, than in California, where Eden was coming from . . . this Saturday.
Chapter 1
Eden checked her text messages as she slumped into the back seat of the cab, hoping Emma had given her enough cash to pay for this long ride to her new home for a month. She’d already been in the car over an hour, but her cousin certainly couldn’t have picked her up at the airport in a horse and buggy.
She felt an air of excitement about visiting a new place, although as the scenery became more and more rural, she wondered what teenagers did for fun here. Farms lined the two-lane road they now drove on, and she hadn’t seen a Walmart in at least forty miles.
“Sir, can you tell me how much farther?” She straightened, leaning closer to the front seat.
“Only about five minutes.” The older taxi driver cocked his head to one side. “Maybe a little longer. It’s been a good while since I’ve been out this way, but the GPS seems to think it’s only five minutes.”
Eden took a deep breath as she glanced at the butterfly tattoo on her left hand. It was significant and meant something to her, but she suspected her cousin wouldn’t approve. She’d removed her nose ring at Emma’s insistence. And she’d changed out of shorts and a tank top—also at her cousin’s recommendation—before she’d left. Now she wore jeans, a short-sleeved red shirt, and flip-flops. It was July. Too hot for jeans, but apparently the Amish were conservative, and Emma wanted her to make a good impression.
She would only be here for a month. Did it really matter what these people thought of her?
Somehow it did, she decided, even if only a little. Eden wondered how much Emma had told Yvonne and her husband about her mother and about Eden’s own problems with the law. She’d probably told her everything.
Eden sighed. How cool it would be to go somewhere where no one knew anything about her, a place where her background didn’t shadow her like a bad dream she couldn’t wake up from.
Her pulse picked up when the driver pulled onto a gravel driveway that led to a farmhouse. She could tell it was old—the way the front porch wrapped around it, the shutters on the windows, the general look of it, like old farms she’d seen in movies. It was beautiful. Sunlight reflected off the plush green grass in the yard, and the flowerbeds were filled with colorful blooms. When she stepped out of the cab, the smell of freshly cut grass wafted up her nose and took her back to a time in her life when she’d been a little girl. And happy.
There were no neighbors that she could see. A big red barn stood off to one side of the white house with shutters the same color as the barn. Eden had never ridden a horse, but she could see a tail swishing back and forth inside the red structure. Two buggies sat parked close to the white picket fence. This might as well have been another planet in comparison to where she was from.
Her cousin and her husband came out of the house wearing the kind of clothes Eden had looked up on the internet—a big, baggy dress for Yvonne with a bonnet on her head and a funky haircut with cropped bangs, along with suspenders, for her husband. Their attire didn’t surprise her. But Yvonne’s overall appearance did. Even at a distance, and without any makeup, her cousin was pretty for someone older, in her thirties.
Eden paid the driver and tried to ignore his scowl. The ride had been more than Emma had estimated, which left only enough for a two-dollar tip. The guy spun his wheels a little as he backed out of the driveway, sending a whirlwind of dust everywhere. Eden waved her hand in front of her face, picked up her bulky red suitcase, and headed across the yard.
“I’ve got that.” Abraham met her in the yard and eased the luggage from her hand. Eden had been worried more about him than Yvonne, but his blue eyes brimmed with kindness. At least that was Eden’s initial impression. Maybe he’d be okay. She believed you could tell a lot by a person’s eyes. Max’s eyes always blazed with icy contempt when he was angry, which was a lot. His glare grew more brazen when he was in a bad mood. Eden’s insides braided into knots each time, just before he smacked her across the face—for back talking, as he called it.
After a slight shiver, she pushed the thought aside, opting to believe that Abraham was a nice guy. Aren’t all Amish good peo
“Thanks,” she said to Abraham as they walked across the yard toward the steps to the porch, where Yvonne stood waiting. “Thank you for having me,” she added almost inaudibly to the stranger by her side, and Abraham smiled, nodding. She wasn’t shy, but her voice had abandoned her, and she was more nervous than she’d thought she would be, realizing she really did want to make a good impression—more than a little. Maybe this trip could be practice to become the kind of person she wanted people to see. Plus, she didn’t need Emma on her case when she got back. They’d had a few run-ins since she’d come to stay with her, mostly because Eden didn’t always get home when she was supposed to, and once for sneaking out in Emma’s car. But it had been for an important reason the day she did that.
It probably wouldn’t be an issue here. There likely wasn’t anywhere to go or anything to do. Except maybe ride a horse. That interested her. Maybe she could even go for a drive in one of those buggies.
She extended her hand to Yvonne, but her cousin pulled her into a hug instead, which was nice, kind of like a real hug. Emma tended to barely hug, mostly a light embrace with a pat on the back. But Yvonne squeezed her, almost too much.
“Welcome to our home, Eden. We’re thrilled to have you staying with us.”
If Yvonne didn’t mean it, Eden would never be able to tell. Her cousin’s smile looked as real as her hug felt, and she was even prettier up close, with straight white teeth and a flawless complexion. She had a few of those feathery lines by her eyes, but Eden thought that must be because she smiled so broadly. Eden knew from experience that pretty people on the outside didn’t mean they were always pretty on the inside. But until Yvonne did something to prove otherwise, she was going to take the same stance as she had with Abraham—nice people. It was part of her “new me” attitude that she’d brought with her for this trip.
I am not my mother. I am not my mother. I am not my mother. She would continue to say it in her mind, and out loud when she could, until she fully believed that she was different.
“Thank you for having me,” she said to Yvonne after her cousin released her from the mega bear hug. She felt sweat already pooling at her temples from the short walk across the yard.
“Come in, come in.” Yvonne pushed open a screen door, and Eden waited for a burst of cool air to hit her. Then she remembered.
No air conditioning. Or electricity. Or television. Or internet.
She glanced at the phone in her hand. Only one bar of service. But even as she dripped with sweat, an amazing aroma greeted her, causing her to momentarily forget she stood in a furnace. Something smelled awesome, like cookies or bread baking, and maybe something stewing on a burner. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until now.
Inside, a black dog with patches of white lay on a rug in front of the fireplace. Eden loved dogs and squatted down to scratch the animal behind his ears.
“Ach, wait!” Yvonne stiffened. “He’s not always friendly to strangers.”
“I think he’s great.” Eden continued to love on the dog, who had his paws crossed in front of him. He casually rolled onto his back for some petting on his tummy.
“Wow. His name is Blue, and he sure seems to like you.” Yvonne grinned as she rested her hands on her hips. “They say dogs have a sixth sense about people.”
“I don’t know about that, but he sure likes his tummy rubbed.”
Yvonne chuckled. “Indeed, he does. Oh, and I asked Aunt Emma if there was anything you didn’t eat, and she said there wasn’t.” Yvonne chuckled. “So, hopefully she wasn’t holding back. We’ve got a feast in the kitchen to welcome you.” She pointed to the hallway. “But first, if you want to get situated, Abraham can carry your suitcase to your bedroom.”
“Sure, okay.” Eden was starving, but she was eager to see where she’d be staying for the next month as she followed Abraham around the corner.
“It’s nothing fancy, and I promise it will cool down in the evening,” Abraham said as he set her suitcase down on the wood floor just inside the bedroom door. He pointed over his shoulder. “The bathroom is at the end of the hall, and let us know if you need anything.” Then he nodded to a small fan on the bedside table. “That works using batteries, but it puts out a gut burst of air.” It was blowing at what appeared to be full speed. There was also a lantern on the nightstand.
“That’s a pretty quilt on the bed.” Eden ran her hand along the pastel colors within the diamond shapes.
Abraham smiled. “Ya, glad you like it. Mei mammi made it.” He ran a hand through cropped bangs that stood almost straight up after he did so—from sweat, she supposed. “Get settled, and we’ll see you shortly for dinner.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Dinner? It was only one thirty. Then she recalled the little bit of research she’d done about the Plain people. The Amish referred to lunch as dinner, and the evening meal was called supper. No matter the term, the flavorful smells had followed her to her bedroom, and she couldn’t wait to dig in.
After Abraham left, she made a further inspection of her bedroom. Her stomach growled as she eyed the colorful bed covering again. From Abraham’s wording, Eden wasn’t sure if his mother or grandmother had made the quilt. At Emma’s encouragement, she’d tried to familiarize herself with some of the dialect the Amish spoke, but her cousin had also said they spoke fluent English, so Eden hadn’t bothered with learning much Pennsylvania Dutch.
There was a plain wooden desk with one drawer against the far wall, along with a small, inornate chair. She gingerly ran her hand along the top of the desk before easing open the drawer. Inside sat a spiral notebook, two pencils, a pen, and a few envelopes. There was even a book of stamps. Eden couldn’t think of anyone she wanted to correspond with. Emma had said she would send postcards, but Eden knew how long international mail could take. She’d had a pen pal in Switzerland when she was around ten. It didn’t last. Most of Eden’s relationships, even domestically, didn’t. Her mother either moved them from apartment to apartment, forcing Eden to change schools, or she was cast out among her peers as a mini mold of her mother and not considered good friendship material by their parents.
She’d been placed in foster care when her mother went to jail, before Emma had taken her in. Surprisingly, she’d managed to make a few semi-friends but was yanked from that environment after two months. She had liked her foster parents—they were nice to her—but Emma was family, and it was decided she should live with her, which was mostly okay.
Eden had a few girls she ran around with in the neighborhood where she’d lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, Max. But they had stopped returning her calls a long time ago. She was sure word had spread quickly about her mother being sentenced to three years in prison. Max only got six months, which seemed unfair since he was the one who’d gotten her mother involved in their nonlucrative drug business. Eden was sure most of their profit was injected into their arms.
Maybe she would write her mother a letter. Or maybe not. In the beginning, all her mother had done was try to call her collect, knowing Eden didn’t have the money to pay for the calls. She took the first few, but when she got a seventy-five-dollar bill, she quit answering. Besides, all her mother did was cry, which caused Eden to cry.
Over the months since she’d been living with Emma, the hurt she’d felt about her situation had morphed into anger. Emma was good to her, but she was old, and they didn’t have much in common. Eden didn’t even try to make friends at school these days. What was the point? They’d eventually find out her mother was in prison—a fact that seemed to define Eden, whether it was fair or not.
She sat on the queen bed and bounced up and down. It was comfy enough. There was a Bible in the drawer of the nightstand, which Eden had already read, but no novels or other reading material. Eden had learned to bury herself in books a long time ago. She’d been excited when she learned that Yvonne worked at a bookstore. Maybe she could use the little bit of spending money she had to purchase some novels.
She turned the fan toward her until it blew right into her face, and hoped that Abraham was right that it would cool down in the evening.
Her thoughts jumbled as she considered her options. She’d had a month to think about this trip. Emma had been kind when she explained about her planned trip to Europe, and Eden didn’t feel like she was being dumped somewhere. Her cousin, Yvonne, and her husband seemed nice based on the brief introduction. They were younger than Emma but old enough that they probably couldn’t relate to a sixteen-year-old, and they didn’t have any children. Eden doubted they would become close. She would only be here a month, and she wasn’t sure how much of her past she was willing to share—things that Emma probably suspected but that Eden had never confirmed. She still shivered when she thought about the way Max always tried to touch her when her mother wasn’t around.
