Having populated Jacob’s Crossing, Ohio, in the first book in this series, The Caregiver, Gray now adds nuance to a series that deals with aspects of modern life not usually discussed in terms of the Amish.

At the end of the first book, Ella Hostetler’s mother had recently died and Ella had put the family farm, which was too big for her to keep up alone, up for auction. Ella’s long-time heart throb, Loyal Weaver, bought the farm, and now all Ella had to do was have a massive auction for the rest of her family’s personal effects, so that she would be free to begin her new life.

This second book begins where the first one left off: Ella attends the auction, much to the dismay of her friend Corrine. Loyal is ecstatic at being a land owner, even though his older brother Calvin thinks the farm isn’t a fixer-upper but a waste of time and money.

As Loyal works at upgrading the farm, Ella rents half of a duplex in town from an older Amish woman named Dorothy and at Dorothy’s recommendation begins work at the public library under head librarian Jayne Donovan. Tall, shy, only-child Ella with her glasses and humble looks, is happy and carefree for the first time in her life.

This feeling, however, doesn’t last as Dorothy becomes more demanding that she and Ella be together all the time which frightens the younger woman. Even more frightening, but in a nice way, is the attention Loyal gives her, asking her opinion on changes he’s making and stirring up her dreams of a husband and family.

While the book is primarily about Ella, Dorothy, and Loyal, two other threads share the pages almost equally.

Loyal’s Uncle John, who split from the Amish community previously, is now back, owner of the local donut shop where everyone congregates. Divorced, he begins to date librarian Jayne and befriends an Amish woman and her preteen son. He longs to remarry. But who?

The third thread features cancer survivor Mattie Lapp who encourages her childhood friend Graham to pursue his courtship of lovely Jenna. So Graham hides his deeper feelings for Mattie, saying nothing about them to her. Mattie, who has gone through a mastectomy and chemotherapy, tries to resign herself to spinsterhood, even though it goes against all she’s dreamed of as a child.

While Gray is topnotch at characterization and scene setting, the glut of characters, relationships, and goals gets a little confusing at times. This is definitely an interim book that enlarges the canvas begun in the first book. If it could be read right after The Caregiver, readers would have less trouble keeping the characters and their relationships from becoming a mishmash.