As the buggy crashes into the ditch, Susanna slips into unconsciousness. She only had a brief look into the light blue eyes of her rescuer, but she dearly wants to thank him for the early Christmas gift of saving her life. It was a chance encounter and Neil Vance also remembers the pretty girl with the beautiful green eyes. He is sure that the Lord had intended them to meet and is happy to see her until he hears her last name. Now, he swears he will have nothing to do with her, especially after her family had taken advantage of his parents' selling their farm and forcing them out.
After a short while, Neil's closest friend, Dale Kaufman. is happy to be introduced to the bright and cheerful Amanda, Susanne's sister. The sisters hope to build bridges of friendship in their new community of Hart County and ask permission for a short cut. Dale is happy to let them cross his family's farm and Neil is annoyed with him for being friendly. Yet, despite his anger he is drawn to Susanne. Is it really her fault that they lost their farm? Can his family ever forget what has happened?
Meanwhile, a series of dangerous and potential dangerous events threatened the joy that the Schwartz family had hoped to get in their new community. They had worked so hard and squeezed every dime and dollar to save for their own farm. Will they ever find peace in their new home?
THE GIFT is a beautifully written story of jealousy and forgiveness by best selling author Shelley Shepard Gray and is the third book in her The Amish of Hart County series. With her talents at crafting mysteries, Gray sets out a multi-layered tale that is sure to capture her reader's interest. With very likable and realistic characters, THE GIFT sets the bar high for Amish romance stories. While I thoroughly enjoyed THE GIFT as a standalone story, I am sure Gray's many fans will delight in this story of how a community's meanness changed as people began taking responsibility for their own actions instead of blaming others.
Like the enchantment of a first snowfall, you will be immediately pulled into the inspiring story in THE GIFT right from the first page to its very moving and satisfying conclusion. Now, I can't wait for the next in the series!
THE GIFT is a wonderful winter/Christmas reading treat you definitely will not want to miss! Enjoy!
New York Times Bestselling Author Shelley Shepard Gray
gifts us with a special Christmas story about love and
blessings in this next book in her Amish of Hart County
series.
The Schwartz family is happy to be spending Christmas on
their new farm in Hart County. But when Susanna Schwartz
hears gunshots that causes her buggy to overturn, and
then her little sister falls through a wooden bridge into
the icy creek, it becomes clear from these dangerous
โaccidentsโ that someone wants them gone.
Neil Vance has been heartbroken ever since his parents
lost their family farm. He knows itโs not the Schwartz
familyโs fault, but he canโt help but be resentful. Until
he meets Susanna. She is kind-hearted and bold, and Neil
canโt stop thinking about her pretty green eyes.
Neil thinks the accidents are just that, but Susannaโs
father is convinced the Vance family is responsible.
Susanna refuses to believe Neil would do anything to harm
her. Sheโs fallen in love with him and knows he is a good
man. But her family is ready to pack up and move, and
time is running out to uncover the truth before someone
gets hurtโฆor worse.
EXCERPT
Friday, November 24
Crack!
Susanna Schwartz jolted. She knew of only one thing that
could make a sound like that. A rifle. Someone was
shooting nearby. Right by where she was driving her buggy
on Highway 218.
Crack! Ping! Ping!
That sounded closer. She glanced nervously toward the
woods but didnโt see anything . . . or anyone. Of course,
the way the icy snow was falling, it was a wonder she
could even see her horse, Star.
She exhaled, tried to calm herself down and concentrate on
driving her buggy home. Tried to make some sense of what
she was hearing. It was Thanksgiving weekend, the first
weekend of the hunting season. At least, it was back in
Ohio. Maybe a hunter hadnโt realized that he was hunting
so close to the road. That had happened all the time in
Berlin, where sheโd lived until two weeks ago. Boys and
men would get so excited about tracking their turkeys and
deer, they would neglect to pay attention to their
surroundings.
Another crack sounded, just as she was sure a patch of
asphalt kicked up. But maybe sheโd imagined that?
Exhaling a ragged breath, she attempted to calm her beat-
ing heart. No good would come of her getting in a tizzy.
If she did that, sheโd upset the horse, and then sheโd
really be in trouble.
But when yet another crack reverberated in the air, fear
took over. Star whinnied and attempted to pick up speed.
โSteady, Star,โ she called out. โEasy, girl. Itโll be all
right.โ At least, she hoped it would. At the moment, she
wasnโt so sure about that. Everything about her decision
to drop off her little sister, Traci, at her girlfriendโs
house just a few miles from their new farm had been a bad
idea.
The snow had already picked up, covering the empty high-
way in a thick blanket, which had made driving her buggy
difficult. The metal wheels had slipped and slid several
times since sheโd begun the journey.
Now she just wished it hadnโt gotten so dark so fast, and
so icy. And she really wished the gunshots would stop.
Donโt make things worse by imagining things, she cautioned
herself. Focus on what is happening now, not what could
be.
She didnโt need to borrow trouble. She needed to do what-
ever it took to get home as quickly and safely as
possible. That meant she needed to remain calm and keep
Starโs lines firm and steady.
When Star whinnied again, jerking her head to the right,
Susanna tightened her grip on the leather straps. โEasy
now, Star,โ she called out once more, hoping and praying
that the taut lines and her voice would soothe the mare
before she lost control.
But it was too late. Star neighed in alarm and jerked to
the right, neighing even more loudly. Then, as another
crack reverberated through the air, the horse broke into a
gallop.
Heart racing, Susanna leaned forward, holding on to the
bench seat with one hand while trying to retain her grip
with the other. โWhoa, Star! Please, Star!โ
Her cry did no good.
The buggy wobbled, the wheels sliding precariously on the
snow- and ice-covered black asphalt.
The muscles in her arms strained as she attempted to gain
control. A steady burn raced up her forearms and biceps as
she pulled the reins.
Star scrambled, her horseshoes clattering on the ice and
snow.
Ping!
That was too close. Fully terrorized now, Star was kicking
her legs. The action forced one of the lines to the buggy
to snap. Seconds felt like minutes as the buggy jerked and
slid. When the other line snapped, Star darted forward to
safety. Susanna cried out. Screamed as the buggy slid and
rocked precariously. Grasping the seat as tightly as she
could, she pressed herself against the side of the closed
space. Bracing herself for impact.
Suddenly free, the buggy skidded toward the center of the
road.
She grabbed the brake. Attempted to pull. But she might as
well have been clutching air. The buggy spun, then slid
toward the other side, racing toward the ditch.
She was going to crash. Desperately, she tried to focus on
where she was. But between the frost on the windshield and
the sleet and ice falling in thick sheets from the sky,
there was no way to tell.
All she knew for sure was that she was stranded on an
unfamiliar road in the middle of an ice storm. And someone
was shooting a rifle nearby.
Crying now, she closed her eyes, held on to whatever she
could, and prayed.
Prayed as hard as she could. Prayed like she never had
before.
And as the conveyance fell down into the ditch, crashing
into a thicket of trees, the force of the impact threw her
to- ward the door. It flew open and she was thrown out,
landing on her side, her arms barely bracing her. Her body
twisted and useless.
Sheโd gotten out. Sheโd survived.
But as the snow and ice fell against her skin, stinging
like sharp pellets, Susanna wondered if that was enough.
Then she didnโt care at all as she slipped into
unconsciousness.
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