Prologue

Mid-October

Mifflin County, PA

Annie tried to quiet the nervousness in her stomach. She pressed her hand against the fabric of her new dress—her wedding dress. The fabric’s bright blue color reminded her of the clear morning sky outside. From the upstairs window, she could see much of her parents’ farm—the recently harvested fields, the barn, the yard, and the rows of benches where her family and freinden were waiting. The lane stretched past it all and led to the road that would take her to Samuel’s, to her new life.

Soon she would be Annie Yoder.

A light tap at the door caused her to turn. Leah peeked inside. “Can I come in?”

“Ya. I was watching out the window, trying to freeze this moment in my mind.”

Leah joined her there, linking their arms together. One year younger, slightly thinner, her hair a shade lighter, they could have been sisters. Annie’s brother, Adam, had been courting her for over a year and already she felt like one of the family. Afraid her knees might give out, Annie sat on the bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“You and I will be sisters soon, before the noon meal.”

Leah reached forward and tucked a wayward curl into Annie’s kapp. No matter how she pinned her hair, it insisted on escaping. Last night Samuel had confessed he’d loved her the moment she’d stepped into her father’s room, when she’d come home to nurse Jacob, and he’d first seen her hair loose and cascading beneath her nurse’s cap.

“You’ve known this for months,” Leah reminded her.

“Ya, my mind knew, but today my stomach finally understands.” She ran her hand over the hand-stitched quilt covering her bed, the bed she would no longer sleep in once she was Samuel’s fraa.

“I’m nervous, too. The crackers I had for breakfast helped.”

“I couldn’t swallow a thing.” Annie studied the blue and yellow pinwheel pattern of the quilt. “Do you think these feelings are normal?”

“It’s the excitement. Think of all Gotte has in store for us. It seems Adam and I have waited for so long, and I know Samuel would have been content to marry you months ago—”

“I was so surprised when he asked me on Christmas.”

“Today we begin our new lives.”

Annie smiled as a calm assurance settled her nerves. “By this time next year we could have a family of our own.”

“We’re marrying on the same day.” Leah stood and straightened her blue dress. “Perhaps we’ll also share the day our babies are born.”