An Old Order Mennonite couple's vows and beliefs are challenged in this stirring contemporary novel for fans of Cindy Woodsmall or Shelley Shepherd Gray. Anthony and Marty Hirschler are part of an Old Order Mennonite community in Pine Hill, Indiana. The couple has grown apart since a doctor confirmed they would never have children. Marty longs to escape the tight-knit area where large families are valued, and the opportunity to do so arises when her childhood friend, Brooke Spalding, resurfaces with the wild idea of rebuilding a ghost town into a resort community. Brooke hires Anthony to help with the construction, drawing the Hirschlers away from Indiana and into her plan, and then finds herself diagnosed with cancer. Moral complications with Brooke's vision for a casino as part of the resort and the discovery of a runaway teenager hiding on the property open up a world neither the Hirschlers nor Brooke had considered before. Will they be able to overcome their challenges and differences to help the ones among them hurting the most?
Readers rabid for the sweet historical romances of Tracie Peterson and Tamara Alexander will flock to best-selling author Kim Vogel Sawyer's prairie-set heartwarmer of high society cast-off and the western town that welcomes her. Abigail Brantley grew up in affluence and knows exactly how to behave in high society. But when she is cast from the social registers due to her father's illegal dealings, she finds herself forced into a role she never imagined: tutoring rough Kansas ranchers in the subjects of manners and morals so they can "marry up" with their mail-order brides. Mack Cleveland, whose father was swindled by a mail-order bride, wants no part of the scheme to bring Eastern women to Spiveyville, Kansas, and he's put off by the snooty airs and fastidious behavior of the "little city gal" in their midst. But as time goes by, his heart goes out to the teacher who tries so diligently to smooth the rough edges from the down-to-earth men. How can he teach her that perfection won't bring happiness?
The author of more than a million books sold brings a gripping saga of the little girl who goes missing in 1943 and the sister who remains, forced to live with the consequences of the event for the next seventy years of her life. When cold case agent Meghan DeFord is forced to take a six-week leave-of-absence after a traffic accident, she chooses to spend the time with her grandmother, whose eightieth birthday is approaching. Meghan has wonderful memories of childhood summers with her Grandma Hazel and anticipates a time of relaxation and filling a scrapbook with pictures of their time together. Meghan's mother, Diane, arrives unexpectedly and brings her long resentment towards Hazel for her overprotectiveness and near paranoia. During their time together Hazel confesses her long-held secret: when she was a child, her little sister disappeared and no one ever found out what happened to her. That loss skewed Hazel's view of the world and affected every relationship. Meghan determines to discover not only what happened to Maggie, but to heal the rift between the two women she loves most in the world.
Mistaken identity leads to romance, laughter, and second chances in this inspirational historical romance. The Kansas community of Fairland anticipates the arrival of their new minister. Over the past several months, late in 1882, postmistress Grace Cristler has communicated with Reverend Dille via letters, answering his questions about the little town and its members, and developing an affection for the man who pens thoughtful missives. Theophil Garrison grew up under the loving influence of his saintly grandmother, but when Theo's older cousins make plans to rob a train and involve him in the heist, he flees the scene. While the cousins are on the run and out to avenge Theo's duplicity, he comes across a fatally ill traveler-a minister. Seeing a way to evade his troubles, Theo trades identities with the man, dons his fine black suit, carries a Bible, and prays that he'll be accepted as Rufus Dille. In a short time "ministering" in Fairland, Theo finds himself falling for Grace, stumbling through sermons, but becoming enmeshed in the triumphs and trials of the people in the community. When Theo's true identity is uncovered, what will be left of the wonderful world he has built for himself, Grace, and those in the town who have come to love and accept him?
Romance and historical inspirational readers love Kim Vogel Sawyer's gentle stories of hope, and this sweet Kentucky tale is certain to entertain and encourage. Twenty-one-year-old Rebecca Hardin is determined to help provide for her family, living a hardscrabble life in 1910, in the southern Kentucky hills. Her brother Andy died when he became lost in a cave five years earlier, and Rebecca feels responsible for his death because she'd told him to "go, get lost." The best wages at Mammoth Cave are earned by the guides, who receive a salary plus tips from the guests. But only men are allowed to be guides, so Rebecca cuts her hair, dons some of Andy's clothes, and introduces herself as "Reb" to the estate manager. She's put under the tutelage of Tolly Branford, a long-time, trusted employee. Both Tolly and fellow guide Devlin Bale discover Rebecca's secret. Tolly wants to help the Hardins. Devlin and Rebecca, who may be smitten with each other, spend days scouting the depths of the cave and learning its secrets. When the cave threatens to claim another Hardin family member, can Tolly and Devlin use their skills before it's too late?
Neva Shilling has a heavy load of responsibility while her husband travels to neighboring communities and sells items from his wagon. In his absence, she faithfully runs the Shilling Mercantile, working to keep their business strong as the Depression takes its toll, and caring for their twins. When a wagon pulls up after supper, Neva and her children rush out-and into the presence of the deputy driving a wagon carrying three young children. The deputy shocks her with the news that Warren and his wife have died, insisting it was their last request that the three children go live with "Aunt Neva." Neva's heart is shattered as she realizes that Warren's month-long travels were excuses for visits with his secret family. She wants nothing more than to forget Warren, but can she abandon these innocent children to an orphanage? Yet if she takes them in, will she ever be able to see them as more than evidence of her husband's betrayal and love them the way God does?
Riddled with doubt and lingering regrets, will Suzanne and Paul find strength in God to explore a second chance at love? It wasn't easy to move back to the Old Order Mennonite community from which quiet, responsible Suzanne Zimmerman was shamefully sent away as a pregnant teen.
Returning twenty years later to take care of her mother, Suzanne and Alexa-the daughter she raised as her own-have spent months rebuilding relationships with her family. Now with the upcoming wedding of their biological daughter, Suzanne and Paul find themselves drawn to one another once again-but with new challenges to face. They have been single parents with painful pasts.
Can Paul and Suzanne find the strength to rebuild the loving relationship that was torn apart by their teen pregnancy so long ago? Suzanne must also let go of Alexa as she heads back to Indianapolis to visit friends--and as her chance to find her birth parents. Leaving the bed-and-breakfast in Suzanne's apprehensive hands, Alexa embarks on a journey that will certainly change her life completely. Can mother and daughter trust God to restore all things in His timing?
When trouble roars into quiet Arborville, Alexa and Anna-Grace find themselves the target for discord and exposed secrets. Can they continue to seek the God of all grace amidst the fog of confusion?
Alexa Zimmerman wonders if the Old Order Mennonite community in Arborville, Kansas will ever fully accept her. Her family roots here aren't what anyone thought when she first arrived, but she is hopeful that her culinary and hospitality skills will win the skeptics over. The bed-and-breakfast she's operating needs to succeed so Alexa agrees to allow Briley Forrester, the hotshot reporter from Chicago, to stay as a long-term boarder not knowing his real motives for being amongst the Plain folk.
But when Alexa agrees to host her cousin Anna-Grace Braun, the presence of extended family brings out Alexa's insecurities and sets Briley on the trail to uncovering a web of hidden truths.
Plans for a secure future and the sweetness of young romance hang in the balance when Alexa and Anna-Grace have to face that their secrets are interconnected, binding the two in ways they could not have imagined. They must trust in a loving, heavenly Father and His plan for their futures.
She left, heavily weighted with secrets.
But God reveals all things, in His timing.
And He redeems them.
Suzanne Zimmerman was only seventeen and pregnant when her shamed mother quietly sent her away from their Old Order Mennonite community in Kansas. With her old home, family, and first love firmly behind her, Suzanne moved to Indiana, became a nurse, and raised a daughter, Alexa, on her own.
Now, nearly twenty years later, an unexpected letter arrives from Kansas. Her brother asks her to bring her nursing abilities home and care for their ailing mother. His request requires that Suzanne face a family that may not have forgiven her and a strict faith community. It also means seeing Paul Aldrich, her first love.
Paul, widowed with an eight-year-old son, is relieved to see Suzanne again, giving him the chance to beg her forgiveness for his past indiscretion. But when he meets Alexa, his guilt flickers in the glare of Suzanne’s prolonged secret—one that changes everything.
Suzanne had let go of any expectation for forgiveness long ago. Does she dare hope in mercy–and how will her uncovered past affect the people she loves the most?
CBA bestselling author and Carol Award winner Kim Vogel Sawyer weaves tales of romance and faith that keep fans coming back for more. In Through the Deep Waters, timid Dinah Hubley takes a job as a chambermaid in a Kansas hotel after leaving her life in a Chicago brothel. Carrying memories that shame her to the core, Dinah spurns the attention of Amos Ackerman, a farmer who knows the healing power of Christ’s love.
When a suspicious accident occurs at the famous Dinsmore Chocolate Factory in Sinclair, Kansas, Caroline Lang goes undercover as a factory worker to investigate the circumstances surrounding the event and how the factory treats its youngest employees-- the child workers. Caroline' s fervent faith, her difficult childhood, and compassionate heart drove her to her job as an investigator for the Labor Commission and she is compelled to see children freed from such heavy adult responsibilities, to allow them to pursue an education.
Oliver Dinsmore, heir to the Dinsmore candy dynasty, has his own investigation to conduct. Posing as a common worker known as "" Ollie Moore,"" he aims to find out all he can about the family business before he takes over for his father. Caroline and Oliver become fast friends, but tension mounts when the two find themselves at odds about the roles of child workers. Hiding their identities becomes even more difficult when fate brings them together over three children in desperate need. When all is revealed, will the truth destroy the love starting to grow between them?
The practice of ministering to the widows and orphans is reflected in this story of Christina Willems, a young woman from Kansas in 1884 who is determined to reopen the poor farm she manages after a fire devastates the property. She finds opposition from many surprising corners but an unlikely ally in a lumber mill owner who wants nothing more than to hold himself aloof from the world and its troubles. Levi Jonnson agrees to take care of one of the poor farm residents, a young blind boy--and in doing so opens himself up to Christina's world in ways he wouldn't have imagined. Can he help her realize her calling once again -- or will he succumb to the safety of a solitary life with no chance of further pain?
