Showing results by author "Brenda Maxfield" in All Categories

Leora King’s life boils down to two things: running her parents’ farmhouse and trying to keep her cranky father happy. Both require all of her energy. She’s all but given up on finding true love; she’s all but given up on a home of her own. Johnathan comes to Green Valley for the express purpose of finding a wife and settling down. His first choice is Mae Gross. She is a pretty, nice, friendly girl, who just happens to be Leora’s best friend.

Timothy Studor barely makes it through his former fiancée’s wedding. When it’s finally over, he’s ready to flee when he overhears his friends talking. Pausing to listen, he learns that the Amish district in Green Valley, Ohio, is calling for young Amish men from Hollybrook to move there and court their women. It’s the perfect chance for Timothy to get away. Though not interested in courting again, he nevertheless volunteers.

Doris Glick’s Amish beau was convicted of car theft and is in prison. Her parents are distressed about their relationship; indeed, the entire district is upset with Jordan. But Doris is undeterred. She loves Jordan Lehman and is determined to remain loyal to him. She’s sure that when they hear the complete story of what happened, everything will be cleared up. She only prays Jordan will be released by Christmas. After all, isn’t Christmas the time to be together?

Doris Glick’s beau has done more than enough to cause pain to his family and everyone in the district. Surely, he is finished causing upset. But, no. Now, his carelessness lands him in the hospital. Doris is beside herself. She’s tired of making excuses for him, tired of defending him, tired of him. But how can she break up with him when he’s hurt? What kind of person would she be?

Annie Hershberger’s engagement doesn’t last 24 hours before her fiancé backs out and dumps her. Devastated and humiliated, she flees to Hollybrook to work in her uncle’s toy shop. Maybe this move will give her the new start she desperately needs. But Annie doesn’t count on an accidental shooting and the painful loss of one of Hollybrook’s youngest. She doesn’t count on meeting the victim’s grieving brother or the compassion for him that stirs in her heart. She doesn’t count on her father insisting she come home to attend her former beau’s wedding to his new fiancée.

Things go from bad to worse for Andrew Miller. After his wife dies, leaving him with a newborn daughter, he struggles to provide a stable home. But his mother-in-law has other ideas. And now, she wants to keep Susie with her permanently. But Andrew can’t allow it. He won’t allow it. He’s already lost too much.

After her best friend dies immediately after childbirth, Amy Yoder cares for little Susie like her own. When Susie's grandmother appears on the scene, ready to take over Susie's complete care, Amy tries to be gracious and bow out. But how does a person bow out of a situation like that? How can Amy give up the baby she loves like her own? How can she leave Andrew's home where she's stayed since Susie's birth?

The unthinkable has happened. Amy Yoder rushes to Andrew’s house, ready to take care of his newborn baby. How can her best friend Grace be gone? How could Grace not have lived to see her baby draw its first breath? Grief is thick in Andrew’s house. Amy does her best to keep things going. She and her sister will be staying at Andrew’s house indefinitely. But Peter, Amy’s long-time beau, isn’t pleased. When he witnesses Amy in Andrew’s house, he panics and asks her to marry him.

Everyone in Hollybrook agrees Uriah Umble is bad news - except Beulah Yoder. Uriah certainly isn’t bad news for her. She loves him and will do anything for him - including sneak out of the house repeatedly to be with him. After months of this, she finally gets caught and the anvil falls. She is forbidden to ever see Uriah Umble again. Join Beulah as she struggles through unbearable circumstances. Feel her confusion and rejection and rejoice with her as she learns the true meaning of faith, forgiveness, and love.

Honor Kennel thought marrying Gabe Chupp would solve everything. It would give her and her parents a roof over their heads. It would allow them to stay put in Hollybrook. But there is one glaring problem. She doesn’t love Gabe. Oh, he’s a nice enough guy, but there are no sparks. No passion. Gabe Chupp can’t believe his good fortune - God is certainly smiling down on him. He’s secretly loved Honor for years, so when she begins seeking him out, he is over the moon. But after their wedding, something is wrong.

Ruth Schwartz never planned on falling in love with an Englischer. But then she meets Jack Wilson—handsome, intriguing, kind. She even finds herself willing to give up her Amish roots for him. When her parents find out, they promptly ship her off to Hollybrook to stay with her cousin. Ruth despairs of going, but she writes Jack so he can come and take her away. But something goes awry. Not only does Jack not come to rescue her, he doesn’t write her back. Certain something horrible has happened, Ruth makes plans to sneak back to her hometown.

Every day, Miriam Peachey forces a smile, trying to act natural. But since her Rumspringa, nothing is right, and she fears it never will be again. The secret she hides threatens to suffocate her. She can never publicly claim the tiny baby she left in her barren friend’s barn. For Amanda and Caleb Ebersole, the discovery of a newborn in their barn is nothing short of a miracle—a divine answer to their prayers. However, with the baby comes a mystery as deep as the night sky. Where did she come from? And can they safeguard this unexpected blessing from being taken away?

Elaine Jutzi has a God-given gift—she knows just what to say to someone who is hurting. So surely, she can help her sister, who recently suffered a stillbirth. But things don’t go well. Christina yearns to join her boppli in heaven, and Elaine can’t seem to reach her. And then Elaine’s longtime beau decides to call it quits, thrusting Elaine into her own world of sadness.

Single and Amish, Grace Wittmer cares for three elderly Englisch ladies in her home. At first, it was to make enough money to survive. But now, she loves them as if they were kin. Thaddeus, Grace’s hired hand, takes care of the animals and the land. He’s a mysterious sort, silent and reserved, yet Grace relies on his steady and solid character.

How could Shelah Studer’s fiancé have done such a thing? It was unthinkable. But there was no denying it, and now all Shelah wants to do is run away—far away. She decides to move in with her brother and his family in Indiana. After all, her sister-in-law is about to give birth to their fifth, so she can use Shelah’s help.

Melita Otto wants more than anything to get away. She’s not fond of the beau her aunt and uncle are pushing on her, nor is she fond of her routine life. But she has no idea what she’s getting into when she takes the job as housekeeper for three brothers who run an Amish horse farm.

Julia Bontrager’s world collapses when her husband is killed in a freak accident. Suddenly a single mother with three children to raise and a farm to work, she flounders to survive. Her in-laws pressure her to return to Illinois, but Julia won’t give up her late husband’s dream; nor can she imagine living with her difficult and dominating mother-in-law. In desperation, she hires a young Amish man to take over the bulk of the farm work.

Ellen Kauffman’s younger sister Nancy is walking a dangerous path. Smitten with the divorced father of one of her nursery school students, Nancy has become deaf to Ellen’s warnings. Ellen will do anything to save her sister from being shunned. So, when Mark Otto, the man Ellen secretly loves, declares his interest in Nancy, Ellen sets aside her feelings and does all she can to help him.

Katie Smucker didn’t set out to break the rules. The first time she saw her shunned sister and spoke to her, she nearly buckled with guilt. But every time after that, it got easier and easier. Both Katie’s sisters have left their Amish roots. Katie’s heart breaks every time she thinks about her mother never seeing her two grandchildren. Is there any way Katie can intervene? But how, without taking even more risks…

Tamara Zehr struggles to keep her late husband’s Amish furniture business going while tending to her four young children. She depends heavily on her husband’s two employees, but it quickly becomes impossible to keep up—especially during the Christmas season. Isaac Hochstetler is more than happy to help in any way he can, but Tamara suspects he wants more than friendship from her.