It is 1864 and the nation is still torn apart by civil war when
Heather Worth discovers she is with child. She has been working as
a laundress with her husband's army unit, but when the army gets
orders to march south to Tennessee, Gideon insists Heather go home
to have their child under safer conditions. Heather agrees, but
returns home to another kind of devastation--deaths in the family
and a father who refuses to forgive her for marrying a Yankee. With
nowhere else to turn, Heather seeks refuge at the Shaker village of
Harmony Hill, where her great aunt Sophrena lives. There, after
many peaceful years at Harmony Hill, Sophrena is having doubts
about her Shaker path. Both women are in need of love and
forgiveness--whether given or received. With Christmas coming, can
the miracle of new life fill their hearts with unexpected
joy?
Ann H. Gabhart's many fans will be thrilled to return to Harmony
Hill at Christmastime for this stirring story of healing and
hope.
She stared up at the Shaker buildings. They took in
those in need. That was why she was riding into their village. But
she couldn't stay here. Not forever. They divided families. She'd
heard her grandmother speak harshly of the way Shakers didn't
believe in marriage and had special houses where children were kept
from their parents.
Heather put a hand over the swell of her baby inside her. Surely
they wouldn't take a newborn from his mother's bosom. Heather's
mother couldn't have imagined that happening or she'd have never
told her to come . . .
Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of several Shaker novels--The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, The Blessed, and The Gifted--as well as other historical novels, including Angel Sister, Small Town Girl, and Words Spoken True. She lives with her husband a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Find out more at www.annhgabhart.com.