ABOUT THE BOOK
New York Times and
USA Today bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray begins a new series—The Amish of Hart County—with this suspenseful tale of a young Amish woman who is forced to move to a new town to escape a threatening stalker.
After a stalker went too far, Hannah Hilty and her family had no choice but to leave the bustling Amish community where she grew up. Now she’s getting a fresh start in Hart County, Kentucky . . . if only she wasn’t too scared to take it. Hannah has become afraid to trust anyone—even Isaac, the friendly Amish man who lives next door. She wonders if she’ll ever return to the trusting, easy-going woman she once was.
For Isaac Troyer, the beautiful girl he teasingly called “The Recluse” confuses him like no other. When he learns of her past, he knows he’s misjudged her. However, he also understands the importance of being grateful for God’s gifts, and wonders if they will ever have anything in common. But as Hannah and Isaac slowly grow closer, they realize that there’s always more to someone than meets the eye.
Just as Hannah is finally settling into her new life, and perhaps finding a new love, more secrets are revealed and tragedy strikes. Now Hannah must decide if she should run again or dare to fight for the future she has found in Hart County.
TWENTY QUESTIONS WITH SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY
1. Love or money?
I write romance. Love!
2. Plain or peanut?
Plain.
3. Beef or chicken?
I grew up in Texas, so beef. : )
4. Coffee or tea?
Coffee and lots of it.
5. Oxford comma: yes or no?
LOL. I’ve written 60 books and still am not sure what that is.
**Editor's note: I was thrilled to see a recent article in favor of the
Oxford comma!
6. Hardback or Kindle?
Some authors I always buy their hardcovers, but I have two kindles. I love getting books in ten seconds.
7. Salty or sweet?
Sweet Especially if it involves cookies.
8. City or country?
City. As much as I love visiting my Amish friends in the country, I enjoy the excitement of being in the city.
9. Dog or cat?
Dog. Specifically, dachshund.
10. Fame or fortune?
Fortune.
11. Laptop or desktop?
Desktop.
12. Health food or junk food?
I’m *trying* to eat healthy but junk food in a pinch.
13. Mountains or beach?
Beach.
14. Gourmet or diner?
Gourmet, though I’m not a picky eater, especially if I didn’t have to cook it or do the dishes.
15. Sweet or unsweet? (Tea of course.)
Unsweet. Always.
16. Humor or drama?
Drama.
17. Dr. Seuss or Mr. Spock?
LOL. Dr. Seuss!
18. Halloween or Christmas?
Christmas.
19. Spring of fall?
Fall.
20. Morning or night?
Morning, I’m usually in bed by 10:00. So boring, I know.
EXCERPT FROM HER SECRET
CHAPTER 2
Someone was coming. After reeling in his line, Isaac Troyer set his
pole on the bank next to Spot, his Australian shepherd, and turned in
the direction of the noise.
He wasn’t worried about encountering a stranger as much as curious to
know who would walk through the woods while managing to disturb every
tree branch, twig, and bird in their midst. A silent tracker, this
person was not.
Beside him, Spot, named for the spot of black fur ringing his eye,
pricked his ears and tilted his head to one side as he, too, listened
and watched for their guest to appear.
When they heard a muffled umph, followed by the crack of a branch,
Isaac began to grow amused. Their visitor didn’t seem to be faring so
well.
He wasn’t surprised. That path was rarely used and notoriously
overrun with hollyhocks, poison oak, and ivy. For some reason, wild
rosebushes also ran rampant there. Though walking on the old path made
for a pretty journey, it also was a somewhat dangerous one, too. Those
bushes had a lot of thorns. Most everyone he knew chose to walk on the
road instead.
He was just wondering if, perhaps, he should brave the thorns and the
possibility of rashes to offer his help—when a woman popped out.
The new girl. Hannah Hilty.
Obviously thinking she was completely alone, she stepped out of the
shade of the bushes and lifted her face into the sun. She mumbled to
herself as she pulled a black sweater off her light-blue short-sleeved
dress. Then she turned her right arm this way and that, frowning at what
looked like a sizable scrape on it.
He’d been introduced to her at church the first weekend her family
had come. His first impression of her had been that she was a pretty
thing, with dark-brown hair and hazel-colored eyes. She was fairly tall
and willowy, too, and had been blessed with creamy-looking pale skin.
But for all of that, she’d looked incredibly wary.
Thinking she was simply shy, he’d tried to be friendly, everyone in
his family had. But instead of looking happy to meet him or his
siblings, she’d merely stared at him the way a doe might stare at an
oncoming car—with a bit of weariness and a great dose of fear.
He left her alone after that.
Every once in a while he’d see her. At church, or at the market with
her mother. She always acted kind of odd. She was mostly silent,
sometimes hardly even talking to her parents or siblings. Often, when
he’d see her family in town shopping, she usually wasn’t with them. When
she was, he’d see her following her parents. With them, yet separate.
Silently watching her surroundings like she feared she was about to step
off a cliff.
So, by his estimation, she was a strange girl. Weird.
And her actions just now? They seemed even odder. Feeling kind of sorry for her, he got to his feet. “Hey!” he called out.
Obviously startled, Hannah turned to him with a jerk, then froze.
Her unusual hazel eyes appeared dilated. She looked scared to death.
Rethinking the step forward he’d been about to do, he stayed where he
was. Maybe she wasn’t right in the mind? Maybe she was lost and needed
help.
Feeling a little worried about her, he held up a hand. “Hey, Hannah. Are you okay?”
But instead of answering him, or even smiling back like a normal person would, she simply stared.
He tried again. “I’m Isaac Troyer.” When no look of recognition
flickered in her eyes, he added, “I’m your neighbor. We met at church,
soon after you moved in. Remember?”
She clenched her fists but otherwise seemed to be trying hard to
regain some self-control. After another second, color bloomed in her
cheeks. “I’m Hannah Hilty.”
“Yeah. I know.” Obviously, he’d known it. Hadn’t she heard him say
her name? He smiled at her, hoping she’d see the humor in their
conversation. It was awfully intense for two neighbors having to
reacquaint themselves.
By his reckoning, anyway.
She still didn’t smile back. Actually, she didn’t do much of anything at all, besides gaze kind of blankly at him.
Belatedly, he started wondering if something had happened to her on her walk. “Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt or something?”
Her hand clenched into a fist. “Why do you ask?”
Everything he wanted to say sounded mean and rude. “You just, uh,
seem out of breath.” And she was white as a sheet, looked like she’d
just seen a monster, and could hardly speak.
Giving her an out, he said, “Are you lost?”
“Nee.”
He was starting to lose patience with her. All he’d wanted to do was
sit on the bank with Spot and fish for an hour or two, not enter into
some strange conversation with his neighbor girl.
“Okay, then. Well, I was just fishing, so I’m going to go back and do that.”
Just before he turned away, she took a deep breath. Then she spoke. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not making any sense.”
“You’re making sense.” Kind of. “But that said, you don’t got
anything to be sorry for. It’s obvious you, too, were looking for a
couple of minutes to be by yourself.”
“No, that ain’t it.” After taking another deep breath, she said, “Seeing you took me by surprise. That’s all.”
Isaac wasn’t enough of a jerk to not be aware that seeing a strange man,
when you thought you were alone, might be scary to a timid girl like
her.
“You took me by surprise, too. I never see anyone out here.”
Some of the muscles in her face and neck relaxed. After another
second, she seemed to come to a decision and stepped closer to him. “Is
that your dog?”
“Jah. His name is Spot, on account of the circle around his eye.”
“He looks to be a real fine hund.” She smiled.
And what a smile it was. Sweet, lighting up her eyes. Feeling a bit
taken by surprise, too, he said, “He’s an Australian shepherd and real
nice. Would you like to meet him?”
“Sure.” She smiled again, this time displaying pretty white teeth.
“Spot, come here, boy.”
With a stretch and a groan, Spot stood up, stretched again, then
sauntered over. When he got to Isaac’s side, he paused. Isaac ran a hand
along his back, then clicked his tongue, a sign for Spot to simply be a
dog.
Spot walked right over and rubbed his nose along one of Hannah’s hands.
She giggled softly. “Hello, Spot. Aren’t you a handsome hund?” After
she let Spot sniff her hand, she ran it along his soft fur. Spot, as
could be expected, closed his eyes and enjoyed the attention.
“Look at that,” Hannah said. “He likes to be petted.”
“He’s friendly.”
“Do you go fishing here much?” she asked hesitantly.
“Not as much as I’d like to. I’m pretty busy. Usually, I’m helping my
father on the farm or working in my uncle’s woodworking shop.” Because
she seemed interested, he admitted, “I don’t get to sit around and just
enjoy the day all that much.”
“And here I came and ruined your peace and quiet.”
“I didn’t say that. You’re fine.”
She didn’t look as if she believed him. Actually, she looked even
more agitated. Taking a step backward, she said, “I should probably let
you get back to your fishing, then.”
“I don’t care about that. I’d rather talk to you.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh?”
“Jah. I mean, we’re neighbors and all.” When she still looked doubtful, he said, “Besides, everyone is curious about you.”
“I don’t know why. I’m just an Amish girl.”
He thought she was anything but that. “Come on,” he chided. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Looking even more unsure, she shook her head.
“First off, I’ve hardly even seen you around town, only on Sundays
when we have church. And even then you never stray from your parents’
side. That’s kind of odd.”
“I’m still getting used to being here in Kentucky,” she said quickly.
“What is there to get used to?” he joked. “We’re just a small community in the middle of cave country.”
To his surprise, she stepped back. “I guess getting used to my new home is taking me a while. But that doesn’t mean anything.”
Aware that he’d hurt her feelings, he realized that he should have
really watched his tone. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just
saying that the way you’ve been acting has everyone curious. That’s
why people are calling you ‘The Recluse.’ ”
“ ‘The Recluse’?”
“Well, jah. I mean you truly are an Amish woman of mystery,” he said,
hoping she’d tease him right back like his older sister would have
done.
She did not.
Actually, she looked like she was about to cry, and it was his doing.
When was he ever going to learn to read people better? Actually, he
should knock some sense into himself. He’d been a real jerk. “Sorry. I
didn’t intend to sound so callous.”
“Well, you certainly did.”
“Ah, you are right. It was a bad joke.”
“I better go.”
Staring at her more closely, he noticed that those pretty hazel eyes
of hers looked kind of shimmery, like a whole mess of tears was about to
fall. Now he felt worse than bad.“Hey, are you going to be okay getting
home? I could walk you back, if you’d like.”
“Danke, nee.”
Reaching out, he grasped Spot by his collar. “I don’t mind at all. It will give us a chance to—”
She cut him off. “I do not want or need your help.” She was staring
at him like he was scary. Like he was the type of guy who would do her
harm.
That bothered him.
“Look, I already apologized. You don’t need to look at me like I’m
going to attack you or something. I’m just trying to be a good
neighbor.”
She flinched before visibly collecting herself. “I understand. But like I said, I don’t want your help. I will be fine.”
When he noticed that Spot was also sensing her distress, he tried
again even though he knew he should just let her go. “I was done fishing
anyway. All I have to do is grab my pole. Then Spot and I could walk
with you.”
“What else do I have to say for you to listen to me?” she fairly
cried out. “Isaac, I do not want you to walk me anywhere.” She turned
and darted away, sliding back into the brush. No doubt about to get
covered in more scratches and poison ivy.
Well, she’d finally said his name, and it certainly did sound sweet on her lips.
Too bad she was now certain to avoid him for the rest of her life. He
really hoped his mother was never going to hear about how awful he’d
just been. She’d be so disappointed.
He was disappointed in himself, and was usually a lot more patient
with people. He liked that about himself, too. And this girl? Well, she
needed someone, too. But she seemed even afraid of her shadow.
***
Excerpt from Her Secret by Shelley Shepard Gray. Copyright © 2017 by
Shelley Shepard Gray. Reproduced with permission from HarperCollins
Publishers. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shelley Shepard Gray is a
New York Times and
USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
Connect with Shelley:
Website |
Facebook |
Twitter |
Goodreads |
Pinterest
Buy the book:
Amazon
Giveaway!
This is a Rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Shelley Shepard Gray and HarperCollins Publishers. There will be 2 winners of one (1) Amazon.com gift card. The giveaway begins on April 15th and runs through May 2nd, 2017. This giveaway is for US residents only.
Void where prohibited by law.
