Amish Daisy Read online

  Amish Daisy

  Amish Love Blooms Book 3

  Samantha Price

  Amish Romance

  Copyright © 2016 by Samantha Price

  (1st Edition)

  Copyright © 2017 Samantha Price

  (2nd Edition)

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

  This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  “Daisy May Yoder!”

  Daisy cringed when she heard her mother’s shrill voice calling to her from the kitchen. It was never good when Mamm used her full name. “I’ll be right there, Mamm!”

  “That’s what you said five minutes ago. I need you here now!”

  Knowing her mother wasn’t going to give up, she stomped down the stairs. It was Tuesday, and every Tuesday her mother sent her and her twin sister, Lily, around the community with food for anyone who was ill, elderly, or for some reason couldn’t get food for themselves. Lily had already left the house earlier to take a chicken meal to old Mary Stoltzfus, and now the second buggy was hitched and waiting outside for Daisy to take some food to recently widowed Valerie Miller.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to take the food to Valerie; it was just that—what could she possibly say to her? Dirk Miller’s funeral was only a week ago. He’d drowned in a nearby river, and Daisy had heard talk that Dirk had taken his own life. In Daisy’s opinion he’d never looked a happy man.

  “There you are,” her mother said when Daisy entered the kitchen. Nancy Yoder looked her daughter up and down. “You look tidy enough, but you’ve got to put a smile on that face of yours.”

  “I can’t smile when I see Valerie. Her husband’s just died and she’s all alone. She’s probably wishing she died too. What’s she got to live for now? She’s so old and she wouldn’t have anything to look forward to. She’s got no kinner, so obviously, she’ll never have any grosskin.”

  “Nonsense! She’s younger than me and she would’ve adjusted a long time ago when she knew she wasn’t able to have kinner. Old people have a right to live, too. Life isn’t just for the young, even though you young people tend to think that way.”

  “Well, you don’t seem as old as she is.”

  “I am, every bit.”

  “What am I supposed to say to her?” Daisy whined, hoping her mother would roll her eyes at her and say she’d go instead.

  “Just say that I sent you over with food. You don’t have to stay long. In fact, with your attitude it’s probably better that you don’t. She’s already upset, and we don’t want her to get worse.”

  “Okay.” Daisy blew out a deep breath. It was clear her mother was intent on staying put and not going anywhere. “I won’t stay long.”

  “It’s in that basket over there. And if you’re not going to stay and talk to her, come right back—don’t dillydally along the way.”

  “What time will Lily be back?”

  Her mother had recently started giving the twins things to do separately, and Daisy and Lily knew that she was doing it because one day they’d get married and have to live separately. Their mother had never told them that she was doing that, but they knew exactly how she thought. What their mother didn’t know was that they were going to marry twins and live in one large house with all of their children, who would also be several sets of twins.

  “Lily will be back when she gets here and not a minute before. Off you go. I can’t stand around talking all day. I’ve got things to do.”

  “Okay, but what if Valerie cries or something?”

  “She won’t cry. Her husband’s been dead a week already. If she does, just give her a hug.”

  Daisy frowned at her mother. “Oh, is that all the time you’d take to get over Dat dying, just a week?”

  Her mother frowned back at her and her mouth turned down at the corners. “Don’t say things like that.”

  “I wasn’t saying anything mean. I don’t know. I’ve never been in love, but I would’ve thought Valerie would maybe take years to get over it. I thought she’d be crying every day for ages.”

  “Jah, but she won’t cry when she sees a pretty young woman at her door with food. Now go!”

  Recognizing her mother’s angry tone, Daisy grabbed the handle of the food basket and wasted no time in getting out of the house.

  * * *

  Nancy Yoder grabbed a handkerchief from up her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. With her husband’s recent heart problems, she was scared that one day she’d be alone just like her good friend Valerie Miller. It was her biggest fear. At least her husband, Hezekiah, was now well enough to go back to work on his brother’s farm, but only if he did ‘light’ work.

  The next thing she had to do was find husbands for the twins, like she’d done for Rose and Tulip, her older daughters. Nancy shook her head, almost feeling sorry for the men who’d end up with Daisy and Lily as wives. What kinds of men would find the twins appealing? They were pretty enough, but at the same time they were immature and silly and showed no signs of growing up.

  When Nancy heard the horse trotting rather than walking away from the house, she ran to the front door, looked down the driveway, and yelled, “Not too fast, Daisy!”

  When the horse didn’t slow down, Nancy knew Daisy was pretending she couldn’t hear her. I’m going to look at that horse when she gets home and if she’s driven that horse too hard, I’m going to ban her from driving the buggy for a month, Nancy thought as she closed the front door. The girls had been told to walk the horse down the driveway and only trot the horse when they got onto the road.

  Daisy and Lily were identical twins, and they had given her more than a few problems over the years. They were impulsive, headstrong, and extremely stubborn.

  * * *

  On the way to Valerie’s house, Daisy considered throwing the contents of the basket in the tall grass along the roadside and not going at all, but her mother would find out—somehow, some way, she always did.

  Going to see Valerie was a job for her mother or someone older, Daisy was certain of that.

  Chapter 2

  Daisy pulled up her horse outside the home of their newly widowed neighbor, Valerie Miller. Still not knowing exactly what she’d say, she jumped out of the buggy and pulled the basket along with her, settling the handle over her arm.

  She rolled the small pebbles of the driveway under her feet as she trudged to the front door. Just when she thought that Valerie might not be
home, she heard voices coming from inside the house. If Valerie had visitors, she wouldn’t have to stay too long.

  Daisy knocked on the door, and when it opened, she found she was looking at a man’s chest. Slowly, she worked her way up to see a pair of unusual amber-colored eyes looking back at her.

  “Is Valerie in?” Daisy finally asked.

  “She is. Come inside. I’m Bruno Weber.”

  She stepped inside when he stepped back to allow her in. “Hello, I’m Daisy Yoder.”

  He held out his hand and she shook it. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “And you as well.” His hand was warm and large and it unnerved her slightly the way the man kept his eyes locked onto hers.

  “Valerie’s in here.” He led the way into the living room.

  Valerie stood up when she saw Daisy. “It’s nice to see you.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Miller. My mudder sent me over … I think it’s chicken casserole.” She held up the basket.

  “That’s lovely of her. Bruno, can you take that from Daisy and put it in the kitchen?”

  Daisy knew that Valerie must have heard her greet Bruno at the door, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to tell if she was Daisy or Lily. Only their close family members knew which twin was which.

  Bruno nodded, took the basket from her, and left the room.

  “Come and sit by me, Daisy. Tell me some happy news.”

  Daisy sat down beside her, feeling awkward. Her mother should’ve been the one to visit. “I’m sorry about what happened … you know…”

  “Denke. You’re a sweet girl to visit an old lady.”

  “You’re not old!” Daisy said, completely contradicting her comments in the earlier conversation she’d had with her mother.

  “That’s what I keep telling her,” Bruno said when he came back into the room.

  “Daisy, this is my youngest bruder.”

  “Oh, hello. I didn’t realize.”

  “I tried to get back here for the funeral, but one thing after another kept me in Ohio.”

  “You’re from Ohio?”

  He nodded as he sat on the couch opposite. “I’m visiting Valerie for a few weeks. I’m trying to talk her into coming back with me to live permanently.”

  “And I’m trying to talk him into moving here.”

  Daisy nodded. It was awkward talking to people without her twin sister there beside her. They’d always been together. Lily and she had separate bedrooms, but apart from that, they were with each other all day every day until recently when their mother thought she was being smart by giving them separate errands.

  “Daisy’s vadder is the deacon.”

  “Is he?” Bruno asked.

  Daisy nodded and wondered what she should say. Normally Lily would speak and then she’d say something, or the other way around. Say something! she silently screamed in her own head. “And do you like chicken, Mrs. Miller?”

  “I do. Be sure to thank your mudder for me. Did you help her cook it?”

  Daisy nodded. “Jah, Lily and I help our mother cook.” She glanced at the good-looking man staring at her. Why couldn’t she think of something interesting to talk about?

  “Do you live close by, Daisy?” he asked.

  “Jah, not too far away. What kind of work do you do, Bruno?” she asked, not really caring about the answer, but knowing that was one of the usual questions people ask when they meet someone for the first time.

  “I’m a horse trader. I run auctions too.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  He laughed. “It can be sometimes. Mainly it’s a lot of hard work. And what do you do?”

  “I haven’t got a job or anything like that. I stay at home and do work there.”

  “Daisy’s mudder is very busy. She’s the main woman in the community, the one who does everything.”

  “Jah, she’s very gut at arranging everything. She’s always doing the organizing at all the weddings and charity events.”

  “And do you take after her?”

  Daisy recoiled. “Nee! Not at all.”

  Bruno laughed again.

  The man was so handsome and so lovely that Daisy knew that if God had been listening to her prayers, the man would have a twin for Lily. She would marry him, and Lily could marry his twin brother. She’d never felt an attraction to a man like this before. “Do you have a twin?” she asked, staring at him.

  He drew his dark eyebrows together. “Nee. Do I look like someone you’ve seen before?”

  Daisy could barely speak as she watched his full lips form every syllable.

  “I think what Daisy means to say is that she’s a twin—an identical one.”

  His face lit up. “There’s another young woman just like you?”

  “Nee, there’s not.”

  Valerie said, “What do you call Lily, then?”

  “Who?” Daisy asked, a little annoyed that Valerie was interrupting when she was getting along so well with Bruno.

  “Lily, your twin schweschder.”

  “Lily? Is she here?” Daisy frowned. She hadn’t heard a buggy pull up.

  Valerie smiled at her. “Nee, I think you came alone, didn’t you?”

  “Ach, jah.”

  Daisy noticed Bruno put his hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh, but she didn’t care. She was lost in a world where it wouldn’t matter if nothing existed except Bruno. If only they could be alone, so she could find out all about him.

  “Daisy, does your mudder need the basket back today?”

  “Huh?” Daisy thought hard. Basket? What basket was Valerie talking about? “Oh, the basket. Nee, she doesn’t need it back. I could come and collect it tomorrow.”

  “Jah, do that.” Bruno was now staring at her just as much as she’d been staring at him. “What time might you come back here?” he asked.

  “Ten in the morning.”

  Valerie interrupted again. “Daisy, would you like to come back for dinner tonight?”

  This time, Valerie wasn’t being so annoying. “If that’s not too much trouble, I’d love to.”

  “It’s no trouble at all. What’s one more for dinner? We’d enjoy the company.”

  “I’ll bring dessert,” Daisy said.

  “Bring Lily too,” Valerie said.

  She was back to being annoying. Daisy thought quickly. “Lily won’t be able to make it. She’s busy tonight, but I’ll be here. I could even come back early to help you, Mrs. Miller.”

  Bruno nodded. “Jah, my schweschder would like that.”

  Daisy rose to her feet. “I should go.” If she was coming back there tonight, she didn’t want to outstay her welcome.

  “I’ll walk you out,” Bruno said, bounding to his feet.

  “I’ll see you tonight, Daisy,” Valerie said.

  Daisy offered her a bright smile and then stepped outside with Bruno. “How is she coping?” she asked Bruno.

  “She’s doing okay. It was a shock for everyone that he died so unexpectedly.”

  “I wouldn’t like Valerie to move away. She has a lot of friends here. There are a lot of women her age.”

  “Jah, but they’re probably married with families to look after. Valerie’s got no kinner and no relatives.”

  “She’ll be taken care of and my mudder is close to her age and there are so many people who’d miss her if she left. Everyone likes her. She’s so kind and lovely.”

  He nodded as they continued walking to her buggy. “That’s nice of you to say so.”

  “It’s true.”

  When they reached the buggy, he said, “I’ll see you later this evening.”

  “Jah, I’ll be back in plenty of time to help Valerie cook. Or to cook for her.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll look forward to it.”

  Daisy climbed into the buggy and then looked back and gave him a big smile. He grabbed the lower section of the reins and turned the horse until he was faced back down the driveway.

  Chapter 3

  Daisy arrived home and
couldn’t remember how she’d gotten there. She was too busy thinking about the man she had just met. He was different from the men in her community, and she was sure that he liked her, too, because he kept smiling at her. She jumped out of the buggy and unhitched the horse just the way her father had shown her.

  “What took you so long?”

  Daisy glanced up at her mother who was walking through the barn toward her.

  “Was I a long time?”

  “Considering you said you weren’t staying, you were.”

  “That’s because Valerie had a visitor and she asked me to stay. I couldn’t be rude.” Daisy continued talking as she gave Damon, the black horse, a rubdown. “Anyway, you didn’t say you were in a hurry for me to come back.”

  “I was. But you’re right. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t need you to come back, but because of what you said I expected you earlier.” Nancy looked over the horse carefully. “At least you didn’t drive the horse too hard this time.” When Nancy had finished running her hands over the horse’s legs, she straightened up. “Valerie asked you to stay? Who were her visitors?”

  “There was only one; her bruder from Ohio.”

  “Hmm, from the look on your face, I’m guessing he was young and handsome?”

  “He’s not married.” Daisy giggled. “He’s a bit older than me. They asked me to come back and have dinner with them tonight.”

  “‘They,’ or Valerie’s bruder?”

  Daisy looked at her mother and knew Mamm could see right through her. She couldn’t put anything over on her. “Valerie asked me, and I said I’d bring dessert.” Daisy couldn’t remember if she’d said that, but if she hadn’t, she should’ve. Anyway, she couldn’t turn up empty-handed.