Jenny's Choice (Apple Creek Dreams #3) (31 page)

He walked away without looking back and entered the restaurant. The place was empty except for a blond man sitting where the receptionist had said he would be. Jeremy King.

As Richard walked up, Jeremy put down the menu he was perusing, stood up, and stuck out his hand.

“Mr. Sandbridge, I presume. Jeremy King.”

“Please, call me Richard,” he said, sliding into the seat across from Jeremy. “What looks good today?”

“There’s a hot roast beef sandwich au jus that sounds interesting, along with the usual assortment of lunch items.”

The waitress came and took their drink orders. Richard was glad to see that Jeremy ordered ice tea.
So many Christians I go out to eat with are half in the bag by the time lunch is over. This guy is a nice change.

They exchanged the usual pleasantries about the drive over and how Jeremy liked his room, and then Richard got down to business.

“As you may know, Jeremy, Charis Records has grown a lot in the past few years.”

“That’s for sure. Three monster hit records, the top Christian band in the country, and the hottest new writer-producer. You folks are what’s happening right now.”

“Yes we are, and we want to keep it that way. We’ve been looking at the market, and we—the board of directors and myself—have come to the conclusion that we need to be doing more than just selling records, cassettes, and compact discs. But let’s not talk music, Jeremy. I came to talk to you about something else.”

“Yes, I’ve been wondering about that.”

Just then the waitress approached and asked if they were ready to order. She also had a record album with her—
The Best of Soul Circle
—and wasted no time. “Gee, Mr. Sandbridge, would you mind signing this for me? I just love ‘Tonight.’ I think it’s the most beautiful song ever written.”

Richard smiled at her “How did you know it’s my song?”

“This is New York, Mr. Sandbridge. Every person you see working in a restaurant is probably in show business in one form or another. I happen to be a Christian singer-songwriter. I have all the records with your songs on them. You’re bigger than Burt Bacharach.”

“Well, thanks. That’s most complimentary. So you’re a songwriter. Got any good tunes?”

“I think so.”

Richard pulled out a card. “Send me a cassette of your two best, along with an envelope with a return address. I’ll give you my honest opinion. Hope that helps.”

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Sandbridge!”

The waitress started to walk away with the card clutched in her hand.

“Miss?”

She turned back to them. “Yes, Mr. Sandbridge?”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

The girl blushed and pulled her pad out of her apron. Jeremy and Richard both smiled as she stammered out the specials of the day. She took their order and left. Richard watched her go with a sad smile.

“The truth is I probably won’t be able to listen to more than about thirty seconds of her songs, but you never know. Every once in a while you find something. There are so many young people here wanting to live the dream. If they only knew how hard it is.”

“You didn’t seem to have any trouble making it, Richard.”

“You know, Jeremy, that’s true. I don’t really understand my success except that it’s totally from the Lord. Someday, when we have time, I’ll tell you my story. But today I want to talk about you.”

Richard took a sip of water and then continued. “Let me just lay it on the table. We want to buy Kerusso Publishing and merge it with Charis Records.”

Jeremy, clearly surprised at the idea, started to speak, but Richard pressed on. “Before you respond, let me finish. We want you too, Jeremy. Kerusso Publishing would become the literary arm of an umbrella corporation, with Charis Records as the music side. You would
continue to run Kerusso just as you have been. You would receive cash and stock in the mother corporation in return for your company, and we would pay you a very competitive salary. In return, you keep publishing—not only the Amish material you’ve been working on but also standard Christian fiction and nonfiction books. We think we could attract some of the big-name Christian authors and teachers to our stable of writers. You would have your pick of great books to produce…I mean, publish.”

Jeremy let out a breath. “Let me be sure I heard what you said, Richard. You want to buy Kerusso Publishing, bring it alongside Charis Records, and basically take over the Christian music and publishing markets. And you want me to run the publishing side?”

“You got it.”

“Why me?”

“We like your style, and we like the focus you have on all things Amish. I’m not usually one to walk in the prophetic, but here’s what I see. You’ve had great interest in the Amish fiction novels you’ve published, and our research shows that they have done very well for you. Am I right?”

Jeremy nodded.

“We’re convinced that you have your finger on the pulse of the next big market in Christian books. Two of your Amish books are doing really well, and we think you can do a lot more of the same. And we will put our money where our mouth is to back up that belief. So now…what do you think?”

Jeremy was silent for a moment. “Well, it sounds really good. I’ve been wondering about the next step for Kerusso Publishing, and then here you come and drop it right in my lap.”

“So you like the idea then?”

“I think it’s a great idea, and the timing couldn’t be better. I’ve been working with an author for some time now. She’s the best writer I’ve
come across in all the years I’ve been in the business. She’s brilliant, she’s deep, she’s funny, she’s beautiful, and most interesting of all, she’s Amish. With the right promotional backing, I think she could become one of America’s best-known authors.”

“Has she published anything yet?”

“Yes, we just put out her first book about three months ago. It’s called
Dear Jenny
. It’s a compendium of articles she wrote for some local papers around Lancaster. She began by just telling stories about her parents and growing up Amish in Ohio, but pretty soon people starting writing in with questions about the Amish lifestyle, so the column became known as “Dear Jenny.” Her name is Jenny Hershberger, and her book is starting to do very well regionally. And
Dear Jenny
doesn’t even begin to show what this lady can do. She is absolutely brilliant. Wait until you read some of the book.”

“Jenny Hershberger…Jenny Hershberger,” Richard said. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“She’s getting some press right now. Maybe you read about her somewhere. My point is that she is also a great fiction writer. She has a book that I worked on with her. It’s the most amazing story about how she was rescued in the huge snowstorm that blew through Ohio in 1950. Nobody could find her parents, so an Amish family adopted her. Then years later it turned out that her mother was Amish. If I could get her to let me publish the book and then come out with a series, we might have some best sellers on our hands.”

“Sounds like a really great story. You say it’s autobiographical?”

“In an interesting way. She wrote it like a novel, but it’s a true story—a real tear-jerker.”

“Jenny Hershberger…Sounds great! I’d like to meet her.”

“If we can work out this proposal, you definitely will.”

Jenny sat in the kitchen with the three men from her church. She was trying to stay calm, but her heart was beating hard inside her chest. The whole thing brought back memories of her meeting with Samuel Lapp and the tragedy that resulted. She didn’t want anything like that to happen again. Then Jonas Plank spoke up.

“Mrs. Hershberger, we are aware of what happened with the former
bisschop
of Lancaster when you were in Ohio, and we deeply regret it. We believe your parents would still be alive if Samuel Lapp hadn’t interfered with your family. So first of all, we want to ask you to forgive us.”

Jenny felt a slow sense of relief at his words. “Of course I forgive you. I’ve come to terms with everything that happened in Apple Creek. But there must also be another reason you have come here tonight.”

“
Ja
, Jenny, there is.”

He looked at the other men and then continued. “We don’t want you to be afraid. We have not come to bring discipline, but protection.”

“Protection?”

“
Ja
. We’re concerned about your well-being and your walk with the Lord.”

“May I ask what brought this about?” Jenny asked.

The second elder spoke up. “We obtained a copy of your book and read it, and we find it to be delightful.”

“Delightful? But I thought you had come…”

Jonas smiled. “To tell you we hated it? No, Jenny. It is
wunderbar
—quite charming. You give a true and accurate portrayal of the Amish life, and after talking it over, we have decided that it can only help the Amish community. You see, after the affair with Samuel Lapp, there was much misunderstanding about us among the
Englisch
around Lancaster. There were many accusations leveled at the Plain People because of the evil behavior of one man. It did us great harm. We want to live
in peace with our neighbors, but many of them became suspicious of us. We were labeled as a cult by some.”

“So how does my book help?”

“We feel that your book gives a real insight into our lifestyle, especially your detailed discussions about the roots of our faith. You have a wonderful grasp of the history of the Amish, even before we came to America. Your words seem to brush away many misconceptions about us, and because of your book, people are beginning to realize that we are really not any different from anyone else. The tensions that Lapp created seem to be easing. Instead of seeing us as aloof and secretive, people see, through your book, that although we may have separated ourselves from the world, that doesn’t keep us from having our problems.”

“So what is the concern?”

“You are a widow, living with an
Englischer
…”

“Bobby Halverson?”

The three men looked at each other and then nodded.

Jenny started to protest. “But he’s like a blood relative. He was my papa’s best friend—from the war. We’re not living…together! He lives on my farm!”

Jonas smiled again. “
Ja
, we understand your relationship to Bobby Halverson. We also know that he is a good friend to the Amish.
Bisschop
Troyer in Wooster has nothing but the greatest respect for him. But there are many who do not understand a single woman living in what they see as questionable circumstances.”

Jenny crossed her arms. “I’m not going to tell him to go away, if that’s what you are asking.”

“No, of course not, Jenny. We’re not asking that.”

Jonas looked to the others for reassurance. They nodded, so he continued.

“Our concern…what we think…”

He sighed and then got to the point. “We feel that you need a covering—a husband, to be specific. You’re still young, and there are many eligible bachelors who would want to court you if you were open to that. We just think with that kind of protection, the people of our district would be more inclined to support your writing and your
Englisch
friend. But without a husband, it’s easy for people to talk.”

The old familiar irritation rose in Jenny. She did her best to control it because she saw that these men were not being judgmental, but caring. So she took a deep breath before she spoke.

“I have not considered taking another husband. To be honest, I was offered marriage several years ago, but it was outside the faith, and I could not do it. And I don’t think the men of our district would want to court me if they really got to know me. I’m strong-willed and temperamental, and I know what I want. Not many men could put up with that.”

“And it is for that reason we are most concerned, Jenny. The Bible tells us specifically that man was put as the head of the woman to prevent her from being deceived. And that is what we want to protect you from.”

The whole conversation was becoming bittersweet to Jenny. She was beginning to feel anxious and hemmed in, so she compromised.

“I will consider what you are saying and put it to prayer. If
du leiber Gott
has a husband for me, I will ask Him to show me who it is.”