The Beekeeper's Son (The Amish of Bee County Book 1) by Kelly Irvin

Working to have the means to support a family. Buying a place for the family to live.”
    Always the thoughtful, measured person. A quality to be admired in a man. Yet he’d chosen to move across the country on his own to start a new life. That showed initiative and courage. “Moving here and leaving behind your folks in Tennessee must’ve been hard.”
    “Not so hard.” He snapped the reins, his gaze on the road ahead. “My daed decided to leave the farm to my older brother. He said it did no good to subdivide it. It couldn’t make enough to support a family that way.”
    Emotion stained the words. Something Stephen obviously didn’t like to think about. Abigail understood that. Families could be hard. “But you learned a trade and managed fine from the looks of it.”
    “And I did. Carpentry. I did a lot of different jobs, mostly working for Englischers.” He nodded more to himself than her. “That’s why I came down here. This district needed more people and Carroll County was crowded. I had a hankering to have my own place and get a new start.”
    Staying in Tennessee would’ve meant seeing her and Timothy at church on Sundays and watching their family grow. A new start would’ve looked mighty fine. She glanced at the neat rows of trees, heavy with brilliant oranges. “You’ve made it work. Does your family ever come out to see you?”
    “Once or twice, but they’re getting up there in years and don’t travel much anymore. I don’t know if they’ll come for the wedding.” Wedding came out in a stutter. “Not to get ahead of myself.”
    “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” She tried to see herself walking across that bridge, Stephen at her side, his hand in hers. Her palms felt slick with sweat. The heat, just the heat. “We have time.”
    Stephen cleared his throat. “We’ll see, I reckon.”
    “Your farm is nice. I like it.”
    “You mean that?”
    She wouldn’t say it if she didn’t mean it. Stephen had a lot to learn about her. The irrigation made his farm an oasis of green in the midst of so much drabness. “I try to always tell the truth. You seem to have a green thumb.”
    “What I have is Gott’s blessing. All this comes from Him.” Stephen’s face creased in a sudden grin. He hopped from the buggy and scooted around to her side where he held out his hand to help her down. “What it needs is a woman’s touch.”
    His fingers felt warm and moist around hers. “I’m fine, I can make it.”
    He didn’t let go of her hand. In fact, his grip tightened. “It needs a flower garden. Well, maybe a cactus garden would be easier, but you know what I mean. And a good cleaning. The grass needs to be mowed.”
    Was he listing the chores he expected she would do as hiswife? Or trying to sell her on how the house would look once a woman got ahold of it? He plopped her on her feet so she stood close to him. “It sounds—”
    “Shush.” He loomed over her, a curious gleam in his eyes. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
    He bent down. She opened her mouth to protest. His hand came up and touched her cheek, his skin rough against hers. His eyes closed and he leaned in. Abigail wanted to back away, but the side of the buggy dug into her shoulder. “Stephen.” Her voice came out a whisper. “I don’t—”
    His lips covered hers in a wet, slobbery kiss that reminded her of Caleb’s favorite dog back home. Bubba, with his big muzzle all over their faces whenever they’d been away for a while. Abigail closed her eyes and tried to summon the emotion such a kiss should elicit. Her heart chugged faster, but more from embarrassment than emotion. She wanted to give Stephen what he wanted, what he was asking her to give him with this kiss. He wanted her heart. He wanted them to be as one, as husband and wife.
    She wanted that too. She’d been sure of that. The kiss seemed to go on and on. Her back hurt and her face felt slick with sweat.
    Stephen took a step back,