A
Sister's Wish
The Charmed Amish Life #3
The Charmed Amish Life #3
By: Shelley Shepard Gray
Releasing
September 27, 2016
Avon Inspire
Avon Inspire
In Shelley Shepard Gray’s third book in her Charmed Amish Life series, a respectable young woman finds herself falling for an Amish man from the wrong side of the tracks.
Amelia Kinsinger is
the perfect Amish woman—at least according to her neighbors. And while Amelia
takes pride in her role as homemaker, she’s also harboring a secret: She’s been
in love with bad boy Simon Hochstetler for as long as she can remember. Too bad
he’s about as far from “perfect” as an Amish man could get… but that’s exactly why
she’s so drawn to him.
Life hasn’t been kind to Simon. He ran away from an abusive home at fifteen and things went downhill from there. Eventually, Simon landed in prison. But the experience changed him. Now back in Charm as a grown man, he’s determined to make a new life for himself and not think too much about his wild past…unless it pertains to Amelia.
He’s loved Amelia for years. To him, she represents everything good and kind in the world. When he realizes that she returns his affections, he starts calling on her in secret, even though her older brother Lukas—who just happens to be Simon’s best friend—has made it perfectly clear that Amelia deserves better. Simon disagrees and believes he’s the only one who can truly make her happy.
But when Amelia gets hurt, it sets off a chain of events that forces them to consider their future together—and face their past mistakes. There’s a chance for love… but only if Simon dares to trust Amelia with the secrets of his past.
Life hasn’t been kind to Simon. He ran away from an abusive home at fifteen and things went downhill from there. Eventually, Simon landed in prison. But the experience changed him. Now back in Charm as a grown man, he’s determined to make a new life for himself and not think too much about his wild past…unless it pertains to Amelia.
He’s loved Amelia for years. To him, she represents everything good and kind in the world. When he realizes that she returns his affections, he starts calling on her in secret, even though her older brother Lukas—who just happens to be Simon’s best friend—has made it perfectly clear that Amelia deserves better. Simon disagrees and believes he’s the only one who can truly make her happy.
But when Amelia gets hurt, it sets off a chain of events that forces them to consider their future together—and face their past mistakes. There’s a chance for love… but only if Simon dares to trust Amelia with the secrets of his past.
Simon Hochstetler had enough of his father's abuse and walked away from
everything he had ever known, with his last memories of bleeding from his
father's attack and the sweet nature of Amelia Kinsinger.
11 years after he left, Simon Hochstetler returned to Charm and started
working at the Kinsinger lumber yard, and he had watched Amelia from afar. Now
2 years later much had changed; Amelia's father had perished in a fire and her
brother Levi had left town. But now Simon was determined to win Amelia's love.
Shelley Shepard Gray's books have always had a way of getting into your
soul and A sister's Wish has achieved that, more than any other books in this
series has. A Sister's Wish is more a tale of forgiveness, about being kind and
gentle and about putting the person you love, feelings ahead of your own, and
that is exactly how Simon and Amelia are truly are! And I think that’s why the
plot moved me so much, even to tears in some parts, but it brought such warmth
to me as well.
Shelley Shepherd Gray always writes so beautifully and her books are
always filled with such honesty and love; she never shy's away from tough
subjects and isn’t willing to brush
things under the carpet, just because its easier that way. And that is why THIS
book is my favorite Amish romance ever!
I give A Sister's Wish 5 stars!
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(Three (3) sets of the previous books in series, A SON’S VOW and A DAUGHTER’S
DREAM)
Prologue
Thirteen
years ago
He had almost made it.
All he had to do was make it another
two miles, then he’d be able to catch the bus to New Philly and eventually
Mansfield. After that? Simon Hochstetler reckoned it didn’t really matter. He
would be free and that was good enough.
But for now, all he had to do was
ignore the pain in his side, make it over the next bend, then finally hike
through the northern edge of the Kinsingers’ property. Once he did all that,
the road would be flat. A whole lot easier to walk on.
He winced as he shifted his stuffed
army-green backpack on his left shoulder, wishing that his right one wasn’t as
bruised as it was. ’Course, if he was making wishes, he should probably start
with wishing that he didn’t have a black eye or cut lip. From there he could
wish his ribs weren’t hurting, either.
His father had been in fine form
tonight.
He walked on, patting his pocket,
feeling for the wad of money he’d been saving for the last year and kept hidden
in an old coffee can near the woods. How long was it going to last? He had no
idea how far eighty-eight dollars lasted in the city, but he was fairly sure it
wouldn’t be far enough. He was going to need to figure out a way to make some
cash, quick.
Feeling panicked, he stopped to
readjust his backpack.
“Simon? Hey! I thought that was
you,” Amelia Kinsinger called out, her voice ringing through the empty field
like a bright, merry cowbell. “Whatcha doing?”
He froze. Then, attempting to gather
himself, he turned to watch her trot closer. A bright smile was on her face.
She looked really pleased to have spied him.
Though he knew better than to stay,
he remained where he was. Even at only nine years old, little Amelia was the
prettiest thing he’d ever seen. White-blond hair, crystal-blue eyes, and pale
skin that never seemed to tan, she was everything delicate and perfect. She was
also sheltered and his best friend’s baby sister—and the only person who seemed
to think he was worth something. Both of her brothers had confided that Amelia
had a terrible crush on him. They’d thought it was embarrassing. Levi had even
apologized for her.
He hadn’t needed an apology, though.
Simon had always thought Amelia’s infatuation made him something special. He’d
never let on that he noticed the way she always looked at him. He never acted
annoyed when she rushed over to tell him about her day. Instead of making fun
of her, he’d been patient and often sat with her when her older siblings were
too busy.
But that said, he’d always taken
care for her not to see him like this. He wanted to look worthy in her eyes.
Not beaten and bruised.
“Can’t talk right now, Amy,” he bit
out as he started forward. He took care to keep his gaze fixated on the ground
in front of him. Maybe then she wouldn’t catch sight of his eye.
But, as usual, she didn’t listen to
his warning. Instead, she picked up her pace. “Did you know that the sun is
almost set? Where you going? It’s going to be dark soon.”
“Ain’t none of your business.”
She stumbled, then caught herself
before he reached out to steady her.
“Slow down, wouldja?” she said.
“Can’t.”
She sighed. “Why are ya being like
this?” she asked, hurt in her tone. “All I asked is—”
“Simon! What happened to you?”
Unable to help himself, he drew to a
stop. Then, because he probably was never going to see her again anyway, he
allowed himself to lift his chin and let her look her fill. As he’d expected,
she was staring at him in concern, her pale pink lips parted in wonder. And, he
suspected, pity.
“Go on home, Amelia.”
“Did you . . . did your daed
do that?” she whispered, letting him know that his secret
had never actually been one. “Do you need something? Do ya need some help?
’Cause my daed’s home. If we went to him, I bet
he’d help ya.”
That was why she meant so much to
him. Here he was, bruised and battered, running away from home, and she thought
he could still be saved. “Your daed can’t
help.”
Tentatively, she held out a hand.
Then, to his shock, she swiped at a patch of skin just to the side of his lip.
When he flinched at her touch, she looked at him with sad eyes. “Sorry, but
your lip is bleeding.” She held up her finger to show the stain.
Seeing his blood on her hand was one
of the worst things he’d ever experienced. It symbolized everything that was
his life . . . and everything he didn’t want it to be. Unable to help himself,
he grabbed her hand and roughly swiped it on his shirt. “Wash your hands when
you get home, hear me?”
“Oh. All right. But . . . but,
Simon, won’t you come with me? You could wash up, too.”
“Nee.
I’ve gotta go.”
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she
asked softly. “Just like your brother and sister did.”
He couldn’t lie to her. “Jah.
I’m leaving. Just like Jeremy and Tess did.”
“Please, don’t.”
As much as he would have liked to do
anything she asked, he couldn’t do that. “Listen, do me a favor, wouldja? Don’t
tell nobody you saw me.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “But—”
“They’ll find out soon enough. Just
. . . just let me go, okay?” Then he did what he’d sworn he’d never do. He
looked at her directly in the eyes and let her see his pain. “I have to do
this, Amy.”
Around a ragged sigh, looking so
very sad, she nodded.
“Okay.”
“Bye, Amelia. You take care of
yourself.”
He started walking before she could
reply. Before he did something stupid and followed her to her house. Before he
thought about staying just a little longer so he could see her again.
He started walking because no matter
how difficult and scary it was to leave, he knew for certain it was always
going to be a whole lot worse at home.
Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and
USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction
Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Hold Medallion winner. She
lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can
often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
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