This story of an Amish maiden is second in the Brides of Lancaster County series. Sarah Mast and her lively young twin brothers are off to the market in Dover, Delaware. They have farm produce, herbs and baked goods to sell. Pennsylvania man Jedidiah Lapp is trading wooden products like bird houses and side tables at the market. He's travelled further because Englisch people like to buy at this market. The two meet when Jed narrowly manages to stop the twins from running in front of a car.

JEDIDIAH'S BRIDE has not yet appeared in his life, he thinks, though he likes the nice girls in his home town of Happiness. Accordingly he shaves his beard like the other single men. Early marriages and large families mean that a crowd gathers for Sunday services at the Millers' barn; Jed is staying there with friends and helps Sarah's ill mother down out of her buggy. He had assumed Sarah was the mother of the twins, as there is a big age gap. Jed learns the true situation and over a bounteous home-cooked meal of sliced meats, potato salads and dried corn casserole, he is filled with elation that this lovely girl is single. As the elders today decreed that men and women may eat together, Jed provides Sarah's mother with a plateful of food, and his thoughtfulness delights the girl. They live a long way apart however, and both have family responsibilities.

Her mother's upcoming heart surgery terrifies Sarah, but shepherding the twins out of the way to relatives in Lancaster County brings an unexpected benefit - that's where Jed lives. Could the Lord have worked to bring them together? There's a girl called Annie here however, and she appears more than a little friendly with Jed. Looks like Sarah got her hopes up too early.

These people don't count calories, taking a slice of cobbler and another of chocolate-cream pie, because they burn so much energy working and playing. There's a lesson there for all of us. A singing evening provides a social event for young people to meet. While there is no great drama, rather scenes of quilting, cooking and family life, Rebecca Kertz captures her situations beautifully and JEDIDIAH'S BRIDE is a pleasant change from tension-filled, fraught relationships in more hectic lifestyles. I recommend it to ladies who want a gentle read and to learn about the Amish people.

Book Summary

A Place of Their Own

When handsome stranger Jedidiah Lapp saves her twin brothers' lives, Sarah Mast offers him her heartfelt thanks. And a cherry pie! But she never expects to see him again. When they meet once more at Sunday services, Sarah begins to feel something special for him. Jedidiah is eager to know the blushing beauty, and asks permission to court her. Soon, he can see Sarah as part of his future. But her family is in Delaware, his in Pennsylvania. Dare he ask her to leave all she knows behind for him and build a life in Happiness, Pennsylvania?