Planted with Hope by Tricia Goyer Page A

do what Clyde planned. He had to act first, or Clyde and Ruth Ann would take over and volunteer him for who knows what.
    â€œListen… ” Jonas followed Clyde to the door. “I was thinking about taking Emma by the shop for a piece of pie this afternoon. So why don’t I just bring it up to Lovina?”
    Clyde’s eyebrows lifted. “Today?”
    Jonas ushered Clyde out of the door. “Today, I promise.” He then smiled, guessing Lovina’s response. He would mention it, and then he could promptly forget it. With the pie shop barely getting on its feet, the owner of Me, Myself, and Pie would not be interested in her nice grass being dug up for a school project, especially by a schoolteacher who had no intention of staying beyond the school year. Yes, he’d mention it, point out all the reasons it wouldn’t work, and then let Lovina decide. Then—with a clear conscience—he could let Clyde and Ruth Ann know that Emma would have to wait until May to garden. Somehow his daughter would survive.
    Besides, when he got back to Kentucky he’d have plenty of time to ask one of his other sisters or older nieces to take Emma under their wing. It wasn’t like she’d be grown overnight.
    But would that be enough? A mentor for Emma?
    Ruth Ann wanted more for him than that. She wanted Jonas to find love again, but was that possible?
    Hope Miller’s sweet face popped in his mind again, but he pushed it away. She was too young, too beautiful. She’d never want to be with someone like him, who came with so much baggage—a daughter, a sad history, a broken heart.
    Besides, he’d never find a woman as sweet, loving, and gentle as Sarah. Yes, Emma needed someone to teach her what being an Amish woman was all about, but that didn’t mean he needed to fall in love again. After losing Sarah, Jonas wasn’t even sure that was even possible.
    Â 

    Peanut Butter Pie
    One 9-inch baked pastry pie crust
    2½ cups milk, divided
    1 cup sugar
    Â¼ cup cornstarch
    dash of salt
    3 large egg yolks
    1½ cups powdered sugar
    Â½ cup peanut butter
    whipped topping
    Bring two cups of milk to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. In a bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Stir in ½ cup milk, add egg yolks, and mix well. Stir cornstarch mixture into the boiling milk. Bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool.
    To make crumbs, mix together powdered sugar and peanut butter until crumbly. Reserve ⅓ of the crumbs for the top of the pie. Put remaining crumbs in the bottom of the baked pie crust. Pour the cooled filling on top of the crumbs. Cover with whipped topping. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top.

Chapter Five
    Too many of us don’t know what’s cooking until it boils over.
    A MISH P ROVERB

    J onas’s hand tightened around Emma’s as they neared the pie shop. She glanced up at him and her brow furrowed. He noticed a spattering of freckles across her nose that he was sure he hadn’t seen before. She was changing so quickly. Growing up.
    â€œWe’re eating pie? Before dinner?”
    â€œ Ja , we’ll get pie. We’ll share a piece, so as not to spoil our appetite, but I need to talk to someone while we’re here too.”
    They paused before the front door next to a large pot filled with flowers. Emma reached out her free hand and brushed it over the top of a cluster of violets. Violets had been Sarah’s favorite.
    â€œAbout what?” She bent down and sniffed a pink blossom that Jonas didn’t know the name of. Then her eyes rolled back as if enamored with the aroma. Sarah had done that too. She’d walked through her flower beds, bending down to enjoy the aroma of each one.
    â€œTalking about a garden here… well, not really.” He shook his head, hoping not to get his daughter’s hopes up. “I mean, I justneed to talk to someone that Aenti Ruth Ann wants