The Average Amish Man

By: Amy Mast

Narrated by: Tom Fria

Eli Jacobs was a local police officer of some standing. An Amish man who had left on rumspringa and never returned. After 10 years of service, and being a man for whom the community held a great deal of love and respect, he was always there when needed to go above and beyond the call of duty, always there to go the extra mile and do the small stuff that other officers would think beneath their rank or job description. He would help an elderly woman home with her shopping if he saw her. He would break up a fight between youths if he saw it.

The problem was that he was well thought of, but.... Overlooked. Overlooked for promotion, overlooked in life, and overlooked in love. To be honest he had never really even asked a woman out on a date and for a man with such a huge heart, his public facing smile hid a broken heart that yearned to give and receive love.

Emma Shrock was the apple of his eye. A middle-aged woman from the local Amish community who was simple, plain, but pretty, and like himself was overlooked and assumed to be an average woman who might end up never married. Eli loved her but had never found the courage to ask her out. He made his feelings obvious to everyone but Emma through always doing little chores for her and giving longing looks, but always fell short when it came to actually asking the question for fear of a backlash from his old community.

Over time he noticed that she was giving attention to a local Englischer businessman Jack White who had dealings with things less than legal. Eli made it his business to check the man out and was alarmed at what he found. Links to crime, smuggling, and forgery, yet no cast-iron evidence or convictions.

After many minor brushes with unsanctioned surveillance, arguments with his boss, and even Emma telling him to back off, Emma's sister met him late one night to inform him that Jack had seen Emma speaking to Eli and wanted to silence her. It was now or never.

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