Ava, young, beautiful - and Amish - is elated that Kez, her puppy, is coming home. Kez, a border collie, has been at a neighboring farm, being trained by Mr. Bontrager to become a cattle dog. Once Kez is home Isaac trains him to keep his distance from the house and from their Aunt Rachael who hates dogs. The Troyer siblings know something is wrong when Kez bounds up the steps to the house and begins to bark frantically. Inside they find Aunt Rachael passed out on the floor.
Rachael wakes in the hospital to find herself surrounded by her nephews and niece, whom she loves, but is surprised to find Helen, Zeke's cousin, with John. Though reluctant, Aunt Rachael begins to tell the five young people her story. The awkward situation gets worse when Zeke walks in and surprises everyone.
Roger Rheinheimer spent the first eighteen years of his life in northern Indiana. His father was the only doctor for a small town of 1200, and had a hitching rail on a side street by his office for the Amish patients. His father bought an eighty acre farm, and Roger and his older brother worked it, raising cattle and growing crops.
While he was still in high school, Roger learned woodworking skills from Elmer Schlabach, his Amish mentor. They built houses in the old-fashioned tradition, from hand-mixing the concrete for the foundations to hand-nailing the shingles. The only phase they did not do was the electrical. To this day, Roger enjoys using his wood crafting skills, making acoustic guitars and furniture.
Roger earned an undergraduate degree in Behavioral Psychology from a small private college in the Shenandoah Valley, took a Creative Writing class, loved it, and published a short story called My Brother. He was a regular contributing writer to the college newspaper.
Roger has two novels in print and ebook, Amish Snow and Yield Spread: a novel.
Crystal Linn is a free-lance writer and award-winning poet who teaches a variety of creative writing classes. Her third book, Poetry for Friends, is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2012. She lives in the greater Seattle area where she enjoys reading mysteries, writing poetry and sailing with friends and family.
