Rose's Responsibility — Emma Cartwright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited - This series can be read in any order

Three out of the four Springer sisters are courting. Lily's wedding is quickly approaching, and Daisy and Iris are blissfully happy with their beaus. Rose rejoices for all of them, but sometimes has to resist the urge to feel envious. Marriage is not for her. She has the bakery to run.

With her parents gone for nearly three years, Rose has become accustomed to their absence on one level, but the hole that her father left never quite closed. Doing the work he left behind has helped in some ways, but more recently, it has become a burden.

Not blessed with the natural affinity for numbers or a fondness for technology, Rose struggles to keep the bakery in the black. Each day, she works from dawn until dark to get everything done, but all this has taken a toll. The pain medication that she used to take occasionally has become a steady part of her diet, but even its effectiveness is waning, as is her enthusiasm for her job. But what can she do? The bakery is her livelihood, her responsibility.

Never one to complain, Rose bears her pain stoically and keeps a tight rein on her emotions, but thoughts of the future without her sisters by her side leave her weepy in unexpected moments. She withdraws from them more and more.

Caleb Albrect, a shy man by nature and a confirmed bachelor as well, finds himself inexplicably drawn to Rose. Has God thrust her into his life? But for what purpose? In his confusion, he prays for guidance. He'd long thought that God had something else in store for him. Wasn't he to remain single and serve the Lord?

Like Gideon of old, Caleb asks God to show him the way to go. He sends out a request, and waits for the answer, but then hesitates. What will he do if God answers in a way that he doesn't expect?

The last of the Springer sisters' longs for something more than what she's been given, but is too stubborn and proud to admit it. Caleb never looked for love, but may be on the cusp of finding it. Will the two of them be able to set aside their own ideas and accept what God has for them?