tion id="uadab930d-819b-582f-920e-34127d873cec">
The Farmer’s Instant Family
Jeremiah Stoltzfus hopes the Amish community of Harmony Creek will provide a fresh start...until days before closing on his new farm, he finds a beautiful trespasser. Mercy Bamberger claims the property is hers, promised by her late grossdawdi. Jeremiah can’t turn out the single mom and her daughter, nor can he leave. His solution: temporarily sharing the farm until ownership is settled. Once a city kid adopted by a Mennonite family, Mercy yearns to make the farm a haven for unwanted children. But living beside the handsome Amish farmer has her yearning for everything that’s eluded her...laughter, love and a forever family.
“I’m not going to relinquish my family’s farm to you or anyone else.”
“But—”
“We moved in a couple of days ago. We’re not giving it up.” Mercy crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s our home.”
Jeremiah had to select his words with care. He didn’t know if he’d be allowed to close on the farm as scheduled. He’d never heard of a person dying before property was transferred.
Until he spoke with his real estate agent and got her advice, he didn’t know what the outcome of this sticky situation would be. Mercy wasn’t going to back down. That much was clear. If their situations were reversed, he suspected he’d be as unwilling to compromise. He was unwilling to compromise.
There wasn’t room to. Either the farm was going to be his...or it wasn’t.
A pleasant warmth buzzed through him again as his gaze connected with hers. He looked away. Until he knew what was going to happen with the farm, he needed to keep his distance.
JO ANN BROWN has always loved stories with happily-ever-after endings. A former military officer, she is thrilled to have the chance to write stories about people falling in love. She is also a photographer and travels with her husband of more than thirty years to places where she can snap pictures. They have three children and live in Florida. Drop her a note at joannbrownbooks.com.
An Amish Arrangement
Jo Ann Brown
Then the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, “Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth.”
—Jeremiah 1:9
For Leon Barkley,
one of my first friends.
Together we learned softball from my dad
and basketball from your brother.
Thanks for your help with my real estate
questions and making this story possible.
A special thank-you to Tina, Melissa and Dina,
who have shared my love for the
Stoltzfus family right from the beginning
and made each book better.
Contents
Harmony Creek Hollow, New York
The day had started out as Jeremiah Stoltzfus had planned.
It didn’t stay that way after a woman dropped into his arms.
For most men, playing the hero for a beautiful woman would have been a dream come true. But most men didn’t discover that woman trespassing on a tumbledown farm in northern New York. A farm Jeremiah couldn’t wait to call his own.
He’d been invited by the current owner to visit when he reached Harmony Creek. In a couple of days the farm would be his.
At