THE SEASON OF GIVING
“Leah’s right,” Tillie said. “There will never be enough that we can offer you to show our thanks for helping me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
“You would’ve been just fine,” he said. “But I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.” There was a strange light in his blue eyes. Tillie had no idea what it meant. But she had to admit that Levi looked happier than he had the whole time she had known him. She supposed that was the power of a baby and a Christmas miracle.
“Well, thank you anyway,” Tillie said. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.”
Since the time she had arrived, she had been thinking about leaving, and now that the time had come, all she could think about was finding a way to stay. But there was no excuse to stay. And she knew deep in her heart that all she wanted was to postpone the inevitable, to stall the reckoning . . .
Books by Amy Lillard
The Wells Landing Series
CAROLINE’S SECRET
COURTING EMILY
LORIE’S HEART
JUST PLAIN SADIE
TITUS RETURNS
MARRYING JONAH
THE QUILTING CIRCLE
A WELLS LANDING CHRISTMAS
LOVING JENNA
ROMANCING NADINE
The Pontotoc Mississippi Series
A HOME FOR HANNAH
A LOVE FOR LEAH
A FAMILY FOR GRACIE
AN AMISH HUSBAND FOR TILLIE
Amish Mysteries
KAPPY KING AND THE PUPPY KAPER
KAPPY KING AND THE PICKLE KAPER
KAPPY KING AND THE PIE KAPER
Published by Kensington Publishing Corp.
An Amish Husband For Tillie
Amy Lillard
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
THE SEASON OF GIVING
Also by
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2020 by Amy Lillard
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
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ISBN: 978-1-4201-5172-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-5173-2 (eBook)
ISBN-10: 1-4201-5173-8 (eBook)
Chapter One
“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” The English driver looked down the narrow, red-dirt road, then back up into Tillie’s eyes.
She smiled in what she hoped was a confident manner and nodded her head. “I’m sure.”
It wasn’t too cold out, just enough to let a person know winter had arrived in Northeast Mississippi. But he was talking about something else entirely.
He hesitated once more. She held her breath. She didn’t want him to follow her down the road to the house where she had grown up. She knew he was only trying to be kind and gentlemanly, but she didn’t want anyone to be a witness in case they turned her away. She remembered her father’s reaction when Hannah had returned. He had not been pleased. He would most likely be even less joyed that she was back. Her mother would be happy, she was fairly certain, but would it be enough to keep Tillie there? She didn’t know. The shame of her return was more than enough to keep her running.
English Christmas music streamed from the car radio as the man considered his choices. “There’s only Amish houses down that way,” he said.
“Yes, I know.”
“You used to be Amish?” he asked, taking in her English attire. His gaze swept her from head to toe. She was glad that she had fastened the middle buttons of the military coat she had found at the Goodwill. She would never get him on his way if he knew what she had concealed beneath her winter jacket.
“Something like that,” she replied.
“If you’re sure.”
“Positive.” She gave him one last smile that she hoped was confident enough to pass.
“Okay.” He gave a final nod.
She had a feeling that if she’d had a couple of suitcases she wouldn’t have been able to dissuade him. But all she had were the clothes on her back and what she had been able to stuff into her backpack.
She handed him the folded bills she had counted out for the ride home. It was all that she had left. The last of her money had brought her back to Pontotoc. She had no choice but to stay. For a while anyway. No choice at all.
With a sigh she hoped the driver didn’t hear, she turned and looked down the road toward the house where she grew up. She couldn’t see it, of course. It was down in a little valley surrounded by barns and outbuildings and the houses belonging to her brothers.
Behind her the car idled. She would have to take those first steps before the driver would be certain that she would be okay. Of all the people she had met in the English world, why did one of the sweetest and nicest have to be the last one she would see for a while?
Somehow she managed to
