Amish Tulip Read online

  Amish Tulip

  Amish Love Blooms Book 2

  Samantha Price

  Amish Romance

  Copyright © 2016 by Samantha Price

  (First Edition)

  Copyright © 2017 Samantha Price

  (Second 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.

  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

  Nancy Yoder had been successful in getting her oldest daughter, Rose, married in a timely fashion. Organizing people and events was what Nancy did best, and with her encouragement, Rose had finally seen the sense in getting married young. With the wedding held at their house now coming to a close, Nancy leaned against the outside wall, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. The guests were just finishing the main meal, and the desserts were ready to be distributed—a perfect time to have a break.

  Now that they were married, Rose and Mark would be moving into a small house on Mark’s uncle’s land, which left only the twins and Tulip still in the family home. Once they were all off her hands, Nancy figured she would take life easier and enjoy some time alone with her husband, Hezekiah. Of course, there would be the added benefit of the grandchildren that would follow the marriages and she was looking forward to watching them arrive. Her oldest son and his wife had already had a daughter and she’d been a blessing to the whole family. It was high time for her second eldest son who’d been married for more than a year to give her a grandchild.

  Nancy looked around for Tulip, her next project. Squinting hard, Nancy saw that her daughter was at the far end of the yard speaking with three young men. Wasting no time, she hurried over to find out exactly who these young men were. As she drew closer, she noticed that only one man looked familiar and she didn’t recognize the other two.

  Tulip glanced at her mother as she approached and didn’t look happy to see her. Nancy knew Tulip didn’t like her knowing too much about her friends. She’d developed a habit of being far too private and that didn’t suit Nancy one little bit.

  “Mamm! Do you want me to help with the food again?”

  “It’s a bit late for that, Tulip. Why don’t you introduce me to your friends?”

  “Jah, okay. Sorry. Mamm, this is Andrew, and this is Nathanial, and of course you know Phillip.” She turned to the young men and almost as an apology said, “This is my mudder, Nancy Yoder.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Yoder,” one of the young men said, while the other two nodded politely.

  “And where are you all from?” Nancy swept her gaze across the three of them. As they talked, she found out that one young man was from Oakes County, another was from their community, and the third one of them belonged to people from Ohio. It was all too much for her to remember, the three names let alone where each of them was from. She told herself she’d find out more from Tulip later in the night and whether Tulip might be interested in one of them in particular. Her job of finding Tulip a husband might well be easier than she thought it would be, but only if Tulip didn’t carry on in the ridiculous secretive manner she’d had of late.

  “Are you going to say hello to Aunt Nerida, Mamm? It looks like she’s leaving,” Tulip said, staring at the row of buggies.

  Nancy glanced over at her only sister, who she didn’t get along with. Tulip was simply trying to get rid of her mother, Nancy knew that, but she kept staring at Nerida and her two daughters, surprised they’d bothered to come at all. They hadn’t made any effort to come to either of her son’s weddings. Not wanting to create a bad example to Tulip, she said, “Jah, I suppose I should thank her for coming and be cordial.”

  After she had nodded a goodbye to the young men, Nancy strode toward her sister. If Nerida really wanted to make amends with her, she would’ve stepped up and helped with the food. And if that wasn’t the reason she’d come, then what was the reason? Perhaps Nerida and her girls were hungry and had come for the food? Nancy amused herself with that thought.

  Nerida and she had been the only girls, with ten older brothers, and Nancy was a year older. The thing that had forever irritated Nancy was that her younger sister had a bad habit of copying everything she did. And Nerida knew that her copying had always bothered Nancy. The worst thing and the most unforgiveable thing Nerida had done was to steal Nancy’s idea of calling her daughters names of flowers. That was her thing—her theme for the girls, and her sister should’ve known that she shouldn’t have copied. Nerida had called her first child Violet, and her second, Willow. When Nancy had confronted her about it, Nerida called her ridiculous and told her that ‘Willow’ wasn’t even a flower. She’d acted like Nancy was making a fuss over nothing. The name Willow was close enough to Nancy’s thinking, and from that moment, a rift developed between the sisters.

  “Are you leaving already, Nerida?”

  Nerida was already in the driver’s seat of the buggy. She took hold of the reins before she looked at Nancy.

  “Hello, Aunt Nancy,” the two girls chorused from the buggy.

  “Hello, Violet and Willow.” She smiled at her pretty nieces who were both a little younger than Nancy’s twins. “I haven’t seen you all for some time.”

  “And whose fault is that?” Nerida quipped.

  “Mamm!” Violet, the older of the girls looked shocked at the way her mother had spoken.

  “Why don’t you stay on a little so we can talk?” Nancy suggested to Nerida, After all, weddings were about families. Nerida’s presence signaled a step to reconciliation, so Nancy was also taking a step.

  Nerida tilted her chin high and said down the end of her nose, “I’m only here for Rose. She’s a sweet girl, and the girls wanted to come to the wedding too.”

  “We love weddings,” Willow said.

  “We’re just serving the dessert,” Nancy said, hoping that would make at least the girls want to stay on. “Wouldn’t you girls like to stay longer?”

  “It’s not their decision, Nancy.”

  “Couldn’t we stay, Mamm?” Violet asked.

  Willow added from the backseat of the buggy, “Just a little longer?”

  “Nee. Goodbye, Nancy.” Nerida slapped the reins against the horse’s neck, and the horse walked forward.

  Nancy stood and watched the buggy leave. They were the first guests to leave the wedding. Well, Hezekiah can’t say that I didn’t try.

  Chapter 2

  When Nancy was standing back by the house, Rose and Nancy’s eyes met and Rose gave her mother a little wave. Nancy smiled and waved back at her newly married daughter.

  “Well, we’ve got three married off and three to go.”

  Nancy jumped at the sound of her husband’s dee
p voice. She hadn’t noticed him walking up behind her. “There you are. I was just thinking the very same thing. With the boys and Rose married now, there are only Tulip and the twins to go. Then we’ll be alone again—at last. That will be the best outcome.” Nancy giggled.

  Hezekiah chuckled along with her. “Don’t forget all the grosskinner we’ll have.”

  “I’m not forgetting about that, or our little Shirley. She’s been a blessing for the whole familye. She needs other children to play with; that’s something I think about every day.”

  “There are plenty of children she can play with.” Hezekiah put a hand gently on his wife’s shoulder. “That will all happen in time, Nancy, all in Gott’s timing.”

  Nancy nodded and then her husband walked away. Hezekiah thought that things happened by themselves under God’s general oversight, and she wasn’t about to disagree with him, but sometimes God used people’s actions to fulfill His will. That’s all Nancy was doing; she was being God’s helper to get her three remaining daughters married and off her hands.

  Tulip was smart, so she needed a man equally smart, but where would she go to find one of those? Nancy looked around the crowd. It was getting harder just to find a single man, as many of them had married over the past year.

  Seeing Tulip still talking with the same three young men, she decided to invite them all to Tulip’s birthday. She left Hezekiah standing there and hurried back to Tulip’s side. “It’s your birthday soon and we always have a big party for you.”

  “That’s not necessary, Mamm. I’m not interested in birthdays, not mine, anyway. I don’t like a lot of fuss.”

  Nancy shook her head. “That’s nonsense.” She turned to the three young men. “I hope all of you will be able to come?”

  “We would love to,” one of them said. “At least, I’ll be there. What day is it?”

  “Wednesday upcoming.”

  “We’ll be there,” another of the men said, as the other two smiled.

  Nancy was pleased that the three men appeared delighted to be invited. “Gut! Shall we say seven o’clock?”

  All the boys nodded in agreement.

  “If you’ll excuse me, there are some other people I need to organize for serving the desserts.” Nancy walked away, pleased with herself, and then hurried to find some more single men to invite to Tulip’s birthday. Weddings were the best places for young men and women to gather, and they brought in many visitors from other communities far and wide. Tulip was stuck speaking to the same three men, so Nancy would have to do the legwork for her. She could not let this opportunity pass her by.

  Nancy organized the serving of the desserts and then spent the next hour meeting as many young men as she could. She invited every one she could to her daughter’s birthday.

  * * *

  Tulip was glad that her mother hadn’t caught on to the fact that one of the boys she’d been speaking with was Jacob Schumacher’s brother, Nathanial. Jacob had disappointed her sister, Rose, several months ago before she married, and then he left their community to go back to Oakes County to marry someone else. Jacob had gotten a young woman into a situation where they had to marry. Of course, none of that was Nathanial’s fault, but her mother was stubborn and would fail to see it that way. Things turned out much better for Rose because the hurt from Jacob’s deception opened her eyes to Mark, who had loved her since they were young. Rose and Mark were a far better match than Rose and Jacob would’ve ever been.

  Now Tulip and Nathanial were alone, since the other two young men were talking with others nearby. Nathanial was a handsome man, much like his brother, Jacob. His hair was rich brown in color, and his eyes were a vivid blue-green that stood out against his tanned olive skin. He was so handsome that Tulip could barely take her eyes from him.

  “I might stay on a few weeks more.”

  “That would be nice. Can you do that? What about your job?” Tulip asked.

  “I’m in between jobs at the moment. I’m told there could be work around here.”

  Tulip smiled. She knew Nathanial liked her by the way he continually smiled and hung around making conversation. If she married him things could be awkward because Rose would be even more closely related—by two marriages—to Jacob, since Jacob was Mark’s cousin.

  “Your schweschder looks happy,” he said, looking over at the wedding table at the end of the Yoder’s yard.

  Tulip glanced over at Rose. “She is. She’s in love with Mark. He’s always loved her.”

  “And what about you?”

  She stared at him. “Me?”

  “Jah, do you have a man in your life?”

  “Nee, I don’t right now.” She giggled and looked down at her lace-up boots. The complete truth was that Tulip had never had a man in her life.

  “Can I see you sometime? Alone, I mean.”

  She looked into his blue-green eyes and her heart gave a flutter. “I’d like that.”

  “I’m staying with my aunt and uncle, Mark and Matthew’s parents.” He nodded toward her house. “I already know where you live. Maybe I can see you before your birthday?”

  Tulip nodded, wondering what her mother would say if she learned that she’d accidently invited Jacob’s brother to her birthday. “Okay. What did you have in mind?”

  “Can I see you—maybe Saturday afternoon? Can you get away and head into town?”

  “I’ll try.”

  “We could meet at Little Beans Café. It’s a nice place. I went there yesterday with Matthew.”

  “I know where it is. What time?”

  “Two?”

  “I think I could do that.” The only way she would be able to get away was to tell her mother she was meeting friends in town. She couldn’t tell her she was meeting Jacob’s brother. If she did, her mother wouldn’t allow it, or worse, she’d send her younger twin sisters with her. That would completely ruin all her chances with him. The twins would tell stories to Nathanial and make Tulip look a fool. Either choice would be a complete disaster. She didn’t like lying, so she hoped her mother wouldn’t probe too far into where she was going on Saturday.

  He smiled at her. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Me too.” She glanced down at her boots and then looked back up at his handsome face. “I should see if Mamm needs my help.”

  He nodded. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

  “Okay.” Tulip walked away as though she were floating. She pushed some loose strands of dark hair back under her kapp as she walked between rows of tables. The second seating of the meal had taken place and now the women were running the desserts out from the kitchen.

  As soon as she walked into the house, a line of women with their arms full of either serving trays or bowls passed her. In the kitchen, her mother barked out orders at her. She too took several trips out with large serving bowls and trays of desserts to place on the tables.

  When Tulip placed the last of the desserts down on one of the tables, she looked around at the hundreds of guests, most of whom were seated. She no longer felt hungry because of Nathanial. Not only had he made her feel light-headed, he’d taken her appetite away. She looked around for him and spotted him eating at a table next to his cousin, Matthew. He caught her eye and smiled at her. It was as though they had a secret that was their very own.

  She turned around to see her father and the twins at the table in front of her, so she sat with them. Even though she wasn’t hungry, she helped herself to a large piece of apple pie and spooned on a large helping of cream. If she sat there without eating, her twin sisters would say something about it and tease her. Tulip wasn’t in the mood.

  “It’ll be you next, Tulip,” Daisy, one of her sisters, said.

  Tulip knew what she was teasing her about. It was time to do a little teasing of her own. “Nee, I think it will be both of you. Mamm’s writing to all the communities and finding twin boys your age, or a little older, for you to marry.”

  “Is she?” Lily’s face lit up like a lantern on
a dark winter’s night.

  Their father chuckled. “Your schweschder’s only having fun with you.”

  Daisy frowned at her. “Jah, having fun at my expense is what she’s doing. How could you be so mean, Tulip? It sounds just like something Mamm would do.”

  “Jah, that would be gut, to marry twins, wouldn’t it, Daisy?” Lily asked. “Then we could all live in one big haus.”

  “And each have twin bopplis,” Daisy added with a giggle. “Three sets of twins each.”

  Lily added, “They can be the same ages so they can grow up together.”

  Tulip pulled a face. Did the world need more twins like her sisters? Tulip said, full of sarcasm, “Would you ever consider marrying someone who wasn’t a twin?”

  “Nee,” both of them said at once.

  “I don’t think that’ll happen. I haven’t heard of twin boys your age,” their father said as he helped himself to more dessert.

  Lily said, “Don’t be like that, Dat. You have to believe there are some out there somewhere.”

  Their father chuckled again. “You never know, but I would be surprised if that happened, so don’t wait for these twins.”

  “I’ve found a man for you, Tulip.”

  Tulip leaned forward, not knowing whether Daisy was being serious or silly. “Where is he?”

  “Over there.”

  She turned and looked where her sister was pointing to see Jonathon Byler, a quiet single man in his late twenties. He was very much overweight. Tulip wouldn’t let on she knew they were teasing her and being mean about Jonathon. It would only draw attention to their meanness. “Jah, I like Jonathon, but not in that way.”