Amish of Apple Creek

Addie Byler may be Apple Creek's resident wallflower, but she knows she has a lot to offer-and much to be grateful for. Raised by her loving grandmother, she lives a life filled with good friends and hard work. Wary of romance, Addie assumes no man will look beyond her glasses and her tendency to talk to her rescue donkey, Snickers-until the day she finds a note from a secret admirer. A prank, most likely. But then, a second note arrives . . . It's not that Daniel Miller doesn't like Addie, he just doesn't want to court her. She's too willful, too chatty, too odd. Yet when he learns she's been teased because she's never had a beau, he decides to send a little note of encouragement. One note leads to another. And when Addie begins replying with thoughtful messages of her own, he's struck by her sweetness and warmth. As chilly winter melts into spring, what began as a gesture of sympathy becomes something much deeper. Daniel fears revealing the truth, but with courage, faith-and a helping hand from their close-knit community-Apple Creek's most unlikely couple may find their path to happiness . . .

May Schott would do anything to change the tragic moment when she stepped too close to the fire that left her best friend, Carl Hilty, devastatingly burned. After Carl left Apple Creek for extensive surgeries, May patiently prayed for one chance to ask his forgiveness. Now, six years later, Carl Hilty is coming home. The reunion goes nothing like May anticipated. Overwhelmed with emotion at seeing Carl again, she is speechless, unable to look away. And Carl's own stone-cold silence leaves her certain that whatever attraction they once shared has been replaced by his hatred of her. After hiding in the shadows of the big city, Carl has returned to connect with his family and to see if May can overlook his scars and accept his tender love-but her reaction makes it clear that she wants nothing to do with him. He grudgingly agrees to stay with his family for a time before retreating to anonymity once again. But in Apple Creek, it's easy to miss what everyone around you sees plain as day. For two people who belong together, it will take a few helping hands to heal the hurts of the past and make a miraculous new beginning.

Now that her friends are all marrying or moving away, Heart Beachy has started feeling lonely. Worse, everyone keeps asking when she's going to find a man of her own. Don't they realize Heart has her hands full at home with her widowed dad, too many chores, and a menagerie of needy, small animals? Besides, she doesn't understand the fuss about marriage. It's enough to make her consider finally becoming a pet-sitter, or moving to an English community, where she won't be an oddity . . . Newcomer Clayton Glick is utterly charmed by Heart-and completely confounded. He can't figure out why this beautiful woman is as awkward as a teenager whenever he's around, which is often now that he's an apprentice to her blacksmith father. So Clayton starts assisting with Heart's never-ending tasks, even helping her corral her unruly pets. How else can he court an adorably flustered woman who doesn't know the first thing about courtship? Because courting is exactly what he intends . . . Heart doesn't know why her pulse hammers every time she sees Clayton. She only knows yielding to such emotions will mean trouble . . . But maybe with a little faith-and the trying on of a shoe-Clayton can convince her to join him on the road to happily ever after.