The Prodigal Son Returns

The Prodigal Son Returns
Jan Drexler

RETURNING TO HIS AMISH PAST From her first glimpse of his big-city suit, Ellie Miller knows Bram Lapp is trouble. The handsome Englischer says he wants to reclaim the life he left long ago. Even if his smile disarms her, all of Ellie’s energy must go to her children and their struggling farm…and to atoning for her mistakes.A criminal’s trail has brought FBI informant Bram to Ellie’s warm and welcoming Indiana community. Now he’s posing as the kind of man he once hoped to be. Someone steadfast and upright. Someone who might be worthy of Ellie. Because no matter how much she claims she doesn’t want a second chance at love, he knows he’s found the home they were meant to share…

Returning To His Amish Past

From her first glimpse of his big-city suit, Ellie Miller knows Bram Lapp is trouble. The handsome Englischer says he wants to reclaim the life he left long ago. Even if his smile disarms her, all of Ellie’s energy must go to her children and their struggling farm…and to atoning for her mistakes.

A criminal’s trail has brought FBI informant Bram to Ellie’s warm and welcoming Indiana community. Now he’s posing as the kind of man he once hoped to be. Someone steadfast and upright. Someone who might be worthy of Ellie. Because no matter how much she claims she doesn’t want a second chance at love, he knows he’s found the home they were meant to share.

“Last night you told me

you never intended to stay here.”

Ellie kept her eyes on the far side of the lake, where a heron stalked in the shallows. “I know I said I’d trust you, Bram, but I don’t know what to think. You’re like two different people sometimes—sweet and tender one minute, and then harsh and almost frightening other times.”

“Ja, I know, and I’m sorry.” Bram paused, his own eyes on the motionless heron. The bird was nearly invisible in the shadow of the trees, his gray-blue coloring a shadow within a shadow. Living undercover. How did a man stop living a lie?

“I want to stay, Ellie. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to.” He took her hand in his, and she looked at him.

“Even if you stay, we can never be more than friends.” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, her blue eyes reflecting the water.

“Aren’t we already more than friends, Ellie?”

JAN DREXLER

A recent graduate from Homeschool Mom-hood, Jan Drexler devotes her time to the voices in her head who have been clamoring for attention during the past few decades. Instead of declining Latin nouns and reviewing rhetorical devices, her days are now spent at the computer, where she gives her characters free rein.

She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband of thirty years, their four adult children, an extremely furry Husky, and Maggie, the cat who thinks she’s a dog. If she isn’t sitting at her computer living the lives of her characters, she’s probably hiking in the Hills or the Badlands, enjoying the spectacular scenery.

The Prodigal Son Returns

Jan Drexler

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

He shall cover thee with his feathers,

and under his wings shalt thou trust:

his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

—Psalms 91:4

To the storytellers in my life, especially

my grandmother, Ethel Sherck Tomlonson Rupel, and my parents, John and Veva Tomlonson.

To my dear husband and children,

who never stop believing in me.

And to the ladies of Seekerville.net. Without you, I’d still be typing away, alone in my writer cave.

Soli Deo Gloria

Contents

Chapter One (#u1d63cf8f-b622-59ed-ad83-aea0aedf08c5)

Chapter Two (#u97d854e3-f077-528c-b741-a72af4d149cf)

Chapter Three (#ub6337b2c-7ac7-5645-a983-a53ac681e8b6)

Chapter Four (#u8bea4d10-a33f-5098-8797-e06220ee9ae9)

Chapter Five (#u3bfad30a-5986-54dc-814e-5c3d15f5ed4b)

Chapter Six (#u690f43f9-0b28-5db8-b6c1-c8399d8587c9)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)