Beverly Lewis [Abram's Daught The Sacrifice (retail) (epub) i

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.TheSacrificeBEVERLYLEWISTheSacrificeThe SacrificeCopyright © 2004Beverly LewisCover design by Dan ThornbergThe portion of a poem cited in chapter thirty-four is as quoted in A Joyous Heart by Corrie Bender, published by Herald Press of Scottdale, Pennsylvania, in 1994.The author of the poem is unknown.All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher.The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.Published by Bethany House Publishers11400 Hampshire Avenue SouthBloomington, Minnesota 55438Bethany House Publishers is a division ofBaker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.Printed in the United States of AmericaPaperback: ISBN-13: 978-0-7642-2872-8 ISBN-10: 0-7642-2872-2Mass Market: ISBN-13: 978-0-7642-0484-5 ISBN-10: 0-7642-0484-X* * *Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:Lewis, Beverly, date-The sacrifice / by Beverly Lewis.p.cm.— (Abram’s daughters ; 3)ISBN 0-7642-2875-7 (hardcover : alk.paper) — ISBN 0-7642-2872-2 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-7642-2876-5 (large-print pbk.)1.Lancaster County (Pa.)—Fiction.2.Amish women—Fiction.3.Young women—Fiction.4.Sisters—Fiction.5.Amish—Fiction.I.Title II.Series: Lewis, Beverly, date.Abram’s daughters ; 3.PS3562.E9383S23 2004813'.54—dc222003028149* * *DedicationForJeannette Green,wonderful friend and “sister.”Beautiful in every way.By Beverly LewisABRAM’S DAUGHTERSThe Covenant • The Betrayal • The SacrificeThe Prodigal • The RevelationTHE HERITAGE OF LANCASTER COUNTYThe Shunning • The Confession • The ReckoningANNIE’S PEOPLEThe Preacher’s Daughter • The Englisher • The BrethrenTHE COURTSHIP OF NELLIE FISHERThe PartingThe Postcard • The CrossroadThe Redemption of Sarah CainOctober Song • Sanctuary* • The SunroomThe Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbookwww.BeverlyLewis.com*with David LewisBEVERLY LEWIS, born in Pennsylvania Amish country, fondly recalls her growing-up years.A keen interest in her mother’s Plain family heritage has inspired Beverly to set a number of her popular stories in Amish Country, beginning with her inaugural novel, The Shunning.A former schoolteacher and accomplished pianist, Beverly has written over eighty books for adults and children.Five of her blockbuster novels have received the Gold Book Award for sales over 500,000, and The Brethren has been nominated for a 2007 Christy Award.Beverly and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, reading, writing, making music, and spending time with their three grandchildren.ContentsProloguePart OneChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-FivePart TwoChapter Twenty-SixChapter Twenty-SevenChapter Twenty-EightChapter Twenty-NineChapter ThirtyChapter Thirty-OneChapter Thirty-TwoChapter Thirty-ThreeChapter Thirty-FourEpilogueAcknowledgmentsPrologueSummer 1949Come June, the first song of the whippoorwill reminds me of berry picking.and bygone days.Although it has been over two years since Jonas Mast left for Ohio, I still wonder about him, along with my older sister, Sadie, and am able to pray for their happiness more readily than at first.Especially now, at summer’s onset, when strawberries are ripe and ready for pies and preserves, I think of Jonas.He loved strawberry-rhubarb pie like nobody’s business, and both his mamma and mine made it for him with sugar and raw honey, so it was nothing short of wonderful-good.“Desserts are s’posed to be plenty sweet,” Mamma has said for as long as I can remember.This, with her irresistible wide-eyed smile.These days Sadie is the one baking such delicious fruit pies for Jonas.Now and again I feel almost numb for the way things turned out between Jonas, Sadie, and me.Close as I was to each of them, it seems they should have cared enough to send some word early on—prior to Bishop Bontrager’s strict decree—offering an explanation.Anything would’ve been better than this dreadful silence.It’s the not knowing how things got so ver-kehrt—topsy-turvy—that causes the most frustration in me.The lack of word from Ohio confirms my worst fears.I expect even now Sadie probably wonders if I have any idea she is married to Jonas, or that I feel strongly she stole him away from me.How on earth does she live with herself?I’m slowly accepting the split between my beau and me, since it would be wrong to pine for a man who belongs to another.Most folk just assume I’ve passed the worst of it and am moving on with life.They will never know truly, because I tend to go about things rather cheerfully.and, too, so much time has passed since that devastating autumn.It does still puzzle me, if I think on it, how one minute we were so happily planning our wedding, and then, clear out of the blue, a most peculiar letter arrived saying Jonas suspected Gideon Peachey of carrying a torch for me.Even though I promptly wrote to reassure him of my devotion and love, I never again heard from him.Downright baffling it is.Of course, if Jonas were privy to my present friendship with Smithy Gid, he might have a little something to go on.But, back then, nothing was further from the truth.Fact was, my heart belonged wholly to Jonas, and nothing and no one could make me think otherwise.Not Smithy Gid, nor his sister Adah, my closest friend.Not even dear Dat and Mamma, though my father has long hoped Gid might one day win my affections.With the revelation of Aunt Lizzie’s secret to me— to Mary Ruth and Hannah, too—my father’s and grandfather’s health seems much improved and both Mamma and Aunt Lizzie have a new spring in their step, in spite of the vacant spot at the supper table.Sadie’s absence is a constant source of worry, especially since she’s been shunned from the Gobbler’s Knob church.And Dat was right; the bishop—after a reasonable time—insisted Sadie’s letters be returned unopened.It’s no wonder she stopped writing along about Christmastime after leaving for Ohio.I wish to heavens I might’ve been allowed to read those things she wrote to us.Some days it seems as if my sister has been away for years on end.But if that were true, I’d be thought of as a maidel by now, which I’m surely not.I am still only nineteen—a few years under the limit of the expected marrying age—though if Smithy Gid had his way, he and I would be hitched up already.The berry patch calls to me even now as I help Dat with morning milking [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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