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Overview
Thirty-one-year-old Carolyn Lapp has never been married—but she’s been a mother for fifteen years. In a community with strict standards and a long memory, Carolyn knows she might never find a man who will have her and her son, Benjamin.
Carolyn’s family tries to marry her off to a widower with a daughter who needs a mother. A marriage of convenience doesn’t sound so bad, yet despite her loneliness, Carolyn knows what she really wants: a traditional Amish family and a marriage for love.
When Benjamin gets into trouble at an auction, he finds himself beholden to a handsome horse breeder named Joshua Glick. Joshua and Carolyn feel an instant attraction, and soon a romance is budding between them. The trouble is Joshua believes Benjamin is Carolyn’s nephew, not her son.
After years of shame and loneliness, Carolyn suddenly has two men vying for her attention. Can either man give her the family—and the unconditional love—she longs for? Or will her past once again sabotage the future she wants?
“. . . will leave readers craving more.” —RT Book Reviews, TOP PICK!, 4 1/2-star review
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780310350729 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Zondervan |
| Publication date: | 07/11/2017 |
| Series: | Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel , #2 |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Sales rank: | 185,977 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
A Mother's Secret
By Amy Clipston
ZONDERVAN
Copyright © 2014 Amy ClipstonAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-33581-8
CHAPTER 1
Joshua Glick held the reins and guided his horse through the crowd at the auction. Both Amish and English spectators lined the path he followed while riding behind other horseback riders. If Joshua were prideful, he would be tempted to brag that Buck, the massive draft horse he rode, was the cream of the crop—not just from his horse farm, Glick's Belgian and Dutch Harness Horses back home in Paradise, Pennsylvania, but at the auction as well.
Joshua hoped to sell at least five horses today, which would bring a nice profit.
Business had been booming ever since he bought out the other half of the farm from his former sister-in-law, Hannah, when she left the community last year. He was even beginning to suspect he needed to hire more helpers. The volume of business was becoming too much for him and his assistant, Daniel King, to handle alone.
He suppressed a smile as he thought of his farm. Joshua had promised himself he'd keep the business going as a way to provide a living for his brother's widow and their three children. Then when Hannah remarried and she and two of her children left, Joshua became the sole owner and it was no longer a source of income for Gideon's family. But now, seven years after Gideon's death, the business was becoming everything Gideon dreamed of when the brothers established it nearly a decade ago, and it was a way to keep Gideon's dreams alive. It was Joshua's connection to his only sibling, and he was going to do his best to make it the best farm it could be for Gideon. If only his brother were alive to see it now ...
Above the noise of all the people, Joshua heard someone heckling the parade of horses. He scanned the crowd and spotted a group of three Amish boys standing with the crowd. They looked to be in their mid-teens.
"Look at that fat old mare," one of the boys said in Pennsylvania Dutch while pointing to a horse in front of Joshua's. "She couldn't pull a buggy if her life depended on it!"
One of the other two boys laughed.
Joshua turned toward the horse in front of him and returned his thoughts to his business and hopes for sales that would make the trip to the auction cost-effective.
He was deep in thought when Buck suddenly reared, kicking his massive legs and sending Joshua's stomach up to his throat as he swayed and nearly slipped off the horse. The surrounding crowd of spectators broke into a chorus of gasps and shouts. Joshua held on to the reins and climbed off the horse. He found Buck's eyes wide with fear.
"It's okay," Joshua cooed, calming the horse by rubbing his neck. "It's fine, bu. Calm down. Calm down, bu."
Daniel ran over, appearing from behind Buck. "Is he all right?" At nineteen, Daniel was muscular from working on the farm and stood close to Joshua's height of five-foot-eleven. "Oh no! He's bleeding! Look at that cut on his rump." Daniel pulled a rag out of his pocket and placed it on the large gash. "I'll try to stop the bleeding."
Joshua examined the wound. "He's going to need stitches. We'll have to call the vet when we get home." Joshua moved to Buck's head and rubbed his neck again while studying the horse's eyes. "He's calming down." He turned toward Daniel. "Did you see what happened?"
Daniel nodded toward the crowd. "I think one of those kinner threw a rock. He had gut aim because he hit Buck right in the rear."
Irritation rose within Joshua as he looked toward where Daniel indicated he'd seen the children, probably the same boys Joshua had noticed. "Those buwe need to learn to respect the animals. Someone could've been hurt, and now I'm going to have a huge veterinarian bill to pay." He gestured toward the horse. "I'm going to go talk to the buwe. You take care of Buck. Make sure you clean and cover the wound well. Like I said, we'll have Cameron Wood treat him when we get home."
"I'll take care of it." Daniel took the reins. "I'll take him back to the barn and find the first aid kit."
Joshua headed toward the boys, who were standing by a fenced-in area surrounding a herd of ponies. The boys looked over at Joshua, and their eyes widened before they took off running.
Joshua quickened his steps. As the boys rounded the corner of the pen, the shortest one stumbled and fell, landing on his knees and grimacing.
Joshua caught up with the boy and gritted his teeth while he stood over him. "Did you throw that rock, bu?"
The boy shook his head and pointed in the direction the other two boys had gone. "I didn't do it. One of them did."
Joshua studied the boy while wondering if he was lying. Was he guilty and only blaming it on one of the others to escape punishment? Glancing around, Joshua found that a crowd had gathered and eyed Joshua and the boy with curiosity.
"Stand up. We're going to go have a talk." After the boy stood, Joshua took his arm and pulled him along.
"But I didn't do it!" the boy protested as Joshua steered him toward a large barn. "It was Robert! He and David ran off. Go find them!"
The smell of hay and animals permeated Joshua's senses as they entered the structure. He moved to the middle of the barn and stopped, facing the boy. Annoyance nipped at him. "So then why did you try to run away? That makes you look guilty."
"I didn't ... I don't ..." The boy looked around as if searching for something or someone. Was he searching for an excuse?
"What's your name?" Joshua crossed his arms over his chest.
"Benjamin Lapp." The boy's voice was small and unsure, matching his slight frame.
"Where's your family?"
Benjamin looked behind him, where a group of inquisitive Amish folks were gathering and watching them from the open barn door. "I don't know. They were somewhere around here."
"Do you realize how dangerous it was to throw that rock at my horse?" Joshua gestured with emphasis as agitation surged through him. "Your rock cut him when it hit him. Now he needs stitches. Do you have any idea how much that's going to cost me? Not only that, but he could have been injured much worse, especially since he reared up like that. Or he could have landed on someone. Someone could've been seriously hurt, and it would've been your fault. Do you understand?"
"I told you, I didn't—"
"Ya ya, you say you weren't the one who threw the rock, but you certainly took off running when you saw me." He studied the boy's young face. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"Fifteen?" Joshua shook his head. "You look about twelve. If you're truly fifteen, then you should know better, bu. Do you live on a farm?"
Benjamin nodded. "A dairy farm." His voice seemed to lack strength, similar to his physical appearance.
"Then you definitely should know better than to scare a horse. You know how powerful those animals are. They could easily break a person's foot if they stepped on it. I knew a man whose cousin was killed when he was kicked in the head by a horse. He was knocked down, he hit his head again, and he died the next day. They can be gentle animals, but when they're startled, they can also become lethal."
Benjamin hung his head. "Yes."
"You really could've hurt someone." Joshua was on a roll and couldn't stop himself from lecturing the young man. "If I hadn't calmed down my horse, it could've been much worse. I could've been dragged if I'd fallen off and he'd started running. That wouldn't have been good for the crowd to see. I'm here to sell my horses, not entertain the crowd. This isn't the circus, you know. And now I have a vet bill to pay."
A woman made her way through the crowd at the door and came into the barn, glancing back and forth between Joshua and Benjamin. She looked to be in her early thirties and stood several inches shorter than Joshua. She had the same blonde hair and deep brown eyes as Benjamin.
"Was iss letz?" Her voice was all business.
Joshua pointed toward Benjamin. "This boy threw a rock at my horse and hit it on the rump and cut him badly. The horse is going to need stitches, and I'm stuck with a vet bill that I didn't need right now. He reared and kicked, but thankfully no one was hurt."
The young woman looked surprised as she turned to the boy. "Did you do that, Benjamin?"
"No." The boy threw his hands up in exasperation. "Robert did it, but he doesn't believe me. It's just like always. Robert and David make trouble, and I take the blame for it. No one ever believes me."
"I believe you." She studied him. "Ben doesn't normally lie," she said without looking at Joshua.
"I'm not lying." Benjamin's eyes seemed to plead with the woman.
"He says he's not lying, but he and the other buwe ran away when they saw me walking toward them. They all looked awfully guilty too." Joshua pointed toward the boy as she turned her attention back to Joshua. "He needs to learn respect for horses. I could've been hurt or killed when my horse kicked. Or worse, Buck could've hurt someone in the crowd. We parade the horses through the crowd to show the people how gentle the horses are. Throwing a rock at a horse doesn't exactly convey that message. Instead of showing what a gentle horse Buck is, I scared the crowd."
The blonde looked unconvinced as a frown pinched at the corners of her lips. "Well, if Ben says he didn't throw the rock, then he didn't throw it. I believe him. I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt. You didn't see it happen, did you?"
Joshua grimaced, surprised by how outspoken the young Amish woman was. He'd never known an Amish woman to be quite so confident, especially in front of a stranger. "No, I didn't actually see him throw the rock, but I know what I saw after the incident. He looked guilty. Besides, the bu was standing there before the rock was thrown."
"What's all the commotion over here?" An older man with thinning gray hair, a long, gray beard, and a potbelly came in.
"This man says Benjamin threw a rock at his horse. Now the horse needs stitches." The blonde gestured between the boy and Joshua. "Ben says Robert did it, and then Robert and David left him to take the blame."
"Joshua," Joshua said.
"What?" The woman looked at him.
"Joshua," he repeated. "My name is Joshua Glick."
"Joshua." The older man held out his hand. "I'm Titus Lapp." He gestured toward the blonde. "This is mei dochder, Carolyn."
Carolyn nodded at him.
"Where are you from?" Titus asked Joshua.
"Paradise." He crossed his arms over his chest again.
"We're from Gordonville." Titus fingered his beard. "Are you related to Eli and Barbie Glick?"
"Ya. They're my parents."
"Ach, ya," Titus said. "I went to school with Eli."
"Oh." Joshua nodded. "You grew up in Paradise?"
"I did." Titus hooked his thumbs on his suspenders. "I moved out to Gordonville after I met my lovely fraa."
"Dat, this isn't a social visit. This man dragged Ben in here and started yelling at him." Carolyn looked annoyed as if her father prattled off topic all the time. "We were talking about Benjamin."
" Oh, ya. That's right." Titus fingered his suspenders. "We were talking about Benjamin. So Ben threw a rock at Joshua's horse?"
Benjamin shook his head. "No, Robert did it. As usual, I was the one left to take the blame while they ran off. They do this to me all the time."
"Let's ask my other grandsons about this." Titus turned toward a group of boys standing at the other end of the large barn and realized his two grandsons were among them.
"Robert! David! Kumm!"
Two young men, who shared similar hair and eye color to Benjamin's and looked to be about seventeen, trotted over. Their expressions were tentative.
"Joshua Glick tells me that one of you three young men threw a rock and hit his horse. Which of you did it?" Titus asked the boys.
The two older boys looked at each other and then faced Titus.
"Ben did it, Daadi," the slightly taller boy said.
"Ya." The other boy nodded. "Ben did it."
Joshua looked at Benjamin and found his mouth forming a thin line. He glanced at Carolyn, who gritted her teeth as her cheeks flushed.
"Danki, buwe." Titus looked at Benjamin as the other two boys hurried off. "Did you lie, Benjamin?"
The boy, who by now Josh gathered was a brother to the other two boys, looked at the toes of his shoes.
Carolyn opened her mouth to speak, and Titus held up his hand. "Carolyn, we've been through this before. You need to drop it now, and we'll discuss it in private later. There's no need to make a scene. People don't need to hear our family issues." He turned to Joshua. "I'm sorry he threw a rock at your horse. We'll discuss this with him further when we get home tonight."
Carolyn heaved a deep sigh, and Joshua wondered why she was so disgruntled.
"The bu needs to learn to respect animals," Titus continued. "Benjamin needs to pay for the vet bill, and he must apologize."
Benjamin muttered an apology while kicking a stone with his shoe.
Joshua rubbed his chin while an idea brewed in his mind. "I could use some help at my horse farm. He could work it off cleaning the stables."
Titus raised his bushy white eyebrows. "Ya? We might be able to work something out." He glanced at the boy. "You should go work on Joshua's horse farm for a while to repay your debt."
The boy continued to study his shoe.
"Dat, I don't think—" Carolyn began.
"Carolyn, I will handle this." Titus's words were kind but direct. He turned toward Joshua. "I think it would be a gut idea for Benjamin to work on your farm. He needs to learn responsibility for his actions, and I think your farm would be a gut place to start. As you said, it can be a repayment for your vet bill."
"Wunderbaar!" Joshua shook the older man's hand. "How about Monday?"
"Ya," Titus agreed. "Since Ben is nearly sixteen, he can drive a horse and buggy now. He can get over to your place, no problem. I'll draw him a map."
While Titus and Joshua worked out the details, Carolyn put her hand on Benjamin's shoulder and directed him toward the barn exit. By now, the crowd had dispersed. Joshua watched her slender frame move outside, and he wondered why she was so against the idea of Benjamin working for him and so protective of the boy. He needed to learn a lesson in responsibility. But there seemed to be a family dynamic he was missing. Maybe she was a big sister just looking out for her youngest brother, or maybe she was his aunt. There seemed to be something else going on, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
He knew it wasn't any of his business, but he was intrigued.
CHAPTER 2Carolyn climbed into the van behind Benjamin. "Go all the way to the back," she whispered to him.
They moved past David and Robert, who shot Benjamin identical smug smiles, confirming her thoughts from earlier—they both lied to get Benjamin in trouble yet again. She knew her seventeen-year-old fraternal twin nephews were menaces, but she couldn't get her father to listen to her. He was too influenced by her older brother, Amos, who was the boys' father. And since they all lived on Amos's dairy farm, Amos ruled the roost like a territorial rooster. He was very proud of his sons and refused to see their bullying ways.
Carolyn settled into a seat at the back of the van next to Benjamin. She hugged her cloak to her body and shivered. Her mother and father climbed into the van and sat up front near her nephews.
Benjamin removed his hat and pushed his blond hair back from his face. "Do I really have to work at that horse farm?" His voice was quiet, and she assumed it was to keep their conversation private. "I don't even know that man. He doesn't seem very nice. He's just going to make me do all the dirty jobs, just like Onkel Amos does."
Carolyn nodded. "I'm sorry, but ya, you do have to work for Joshua Glick. Your daadi said you have to, and you know you have to obey him."
Benjamin sighed and glanced toward the window.
She leaned over and touched his arm. "I know you told the truth. I was trying to get your daadi to listen to you. You know that, right? You know I always support you, no matter what Onkel Amos and your cousins say about you."
"Ya, I do." He looked back at her. "You always believe me, but Daadi always takes their side." He nodded toward Robert and David, who were speaking in low voices and laughing a few rows ahead of them.
"I know." Carolyn glanced toward the front of the van where her brother, Amos, and his wife, Sarah Ann, were settling into seats. "I think your daadi means well, but he's in a different position since Amos runs the farm where we live."
"They always get me in trouble," Benjamin grumbled, slumping in the seat. "Last week I was blamed for tracking mud in Aenti Sarah Ann's kitchen, and I didn't even do it. I had taken my boots off before I went into the haus, and they didn't. Yet I got blamed for it. It's not fair."
"I know, mei liewe." She touched his cheek. She wished she could protect her son from all the heartache in the world, but she knew that wasn't possible for any mother.
"I don't think Joshua Glick even likes me." Benjamin fingered his pants leg while he spoke. "He was very angry when he dragged me into that barn."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Mother's Secret by Amy Clipston. Copyright © 2014 Amy Clipston. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN.
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