Amish Calling

Together, schoolteacher Rachelle Lapp and auctioneer Toby Miller must face their hardest battle yet: trusting God's plan for their uncertain future. At twenty-nine, auctioneer Toby Miller is a notorious bachelor. But his job keeps him on the road for months out of the year, and he knows no Plain woman could want a marriage that would force her to live and raise children alone. Thankfully, Toby's content to dedicate his life to the family business, especially now that his grandfather is retiring. So why does his heart keep longing for something, or more specifically, someone, he can't have? Rachelle Lapp has already turned down two marriage proposals. Neither promised a future that would bring her more joy than her job as a teacher to Amish children with developmental disabilities, including her brother, Jonah, and Toby's sister, Sadie. But when the parents' committee votes to send her students to the English schools, where they will have access to many more resources, Rachelle finds herself out of a job. She's forced to decide between pursuing her calling far from home and staying near to the man she can't get off her mind. As their families matchmake, Toby and Rachelle realize their jobs may not be all that's holding them back from a future together. They both must learn not only to trust each other, but also trust God's plans for them. But do those plans involve a lifetime together or them going their separate ways?

A young Amish woman who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders learns to share her burdens, and a few laughs, with her old classmate in the latest heart-felt Amish romance from Kelly Irvin. Bethel King loves caring for her two brothers who have a rare form of muscular dystrophy found most frequently in Amish families. She pours her energy into helping her parents cope with the boys' care while also working at a plant nursery to earn money to pay for their medical bills. When Bethel's sister is diagnosed with the disease, Bethel is convinced she has to put her family ahead of her own dreams of marriage and family. Her parents need her. Her siblings need her. Declan Miller loves being an auctioneer and has never wanted to do anything else. He has a well-earned reputation as a clown who can never be taken seriously. Harboring a crush on Bethel from their school days, he can't help but act the fool whenever they're together. Bethel thinks Declan is handsome and funny-too funny. How can a man who never stops joking be taken seriously? Life is no joking matter-at least hers isn't. But when he's diagnosed with a disease that could take his voice, his vocation, and ultimately his life, everything is thrown into a new light. Is it possible God has a different-better-plan for them?

Bonnie and Elijah each believe that marriage is not in their futures... but they hadn't counted on God's plans being bigger than their own imaginations. Bonnie Yoder owns and operates a gift shop popular with tourists and local shoppers alike. She's glad she's found a way to be a productive member of her Plain community where all women aspire to marry and have children, something she's sure she'll never do because of her physical disability. Elijah Miller has been acutely shy his entire life, which makes joining his brothers as auctioneers unthinkable. It also means he's never courted a woman. Instead, he spends every spare moment creating wooden children's toys and child-size furniture in a workshop he built behind his parents' house, all the while dreaming of starting his own business. It's that dream that prompts Elijah to approach Bonnie about selling his wares in her store. He feels an immediate connection. So does Bonnie, but she's afraid to believe he'll ever see her as more than a shop owner kind enough to sell his toys. Elijah's convinced that someone so sure of herself would never be interested in a man who's too shy to put two sentences together around her. What they can't see, others can. Matchmaking mothers and caring friends conspire to bring the two together. After spending time with each other, Elijah and Bonnie learn that sometimes the most challenging obstacle is a lack of faith-in themselves and in God. Together, they will traverse a difficult road to find their way to the future they've never allowed themselves to dream of having.