by Debby Giusti
With a heavy sigh, she glanced back again.
The vehicle came into view.
Her pulse raced. A white car with tinted windows.
She flipped the reins and pulled the mare to the side of the road, so the car could go around her. Not a car, but an SUV. The vehicle passed the buggy and pulled to a stop. Her heart pounded.
The driver remained in the vehicle for a long moment. Julianne wondered if she should turn the buggy around and race back to town. Just as she was ready to flick the reins, the driver’s door opened and a man stepped to the road.
He was dressed in black and wore a red bandana.
“No,” she inwardly moaned.
She could never turn the buggy in time, nor could she outrun the SUV. Instead, she leaped to the ground and ran into the woods.
He followed after her.
The brambles tugged at her dress, and branches brushed against her arms and scratched her skin. Footsteps crashed through the underbrush behind her. He was close. Too close.
She pulled in a lungful of air and pushed on. Raising her arms, she shoved aside the higher branches and ran deeper and deeper into the woods. The tree canopy overhead blocked the light, and the forest grew dark.
A clap of thunder crashed overhead, but she kept running. Lightning cracked, and rain filtered through the trees. She slipped on the wet leaves and pine straw, caught herself and hurried on.
He still chased after her.
Her side ached, and her legs were tight. She tripped and fell, and let out an oomph. Staggering to her feet, she kept moving.
The rain intensified. If only the man would turn back, but she could hear him stumbling through the thick underbrush. He would never give up.
The sound of rushing water came from ahead. The fishing pond. She’d gone there often with Bennie as a child. A creek fed the pond along with the rain and run-off water. She and Bennie used to swim in the pond on hot summer days.
The cold wind billowed through the trees. Today was anything but sunny and warm, but her legs ached and she couldn’t outrun the attacker.
Nearing the pond, she knew her only hope was the water.
Holding on to an overhanging branch, she stepped off the bank into the pond and forced herself into the water.
The man was approaching. He would be at the edge of the pond in seconds.
She pulled in a deep breath and ducked below the surface.
The cold hit her like a sledgehammer. She grabbed on to a root of a tree that grew along the shore and gripped it with both hands to remain submerged.
How long could she hold her breath? And when she did surface, would the man in the bandana be waiting for her?
In the murky frigid water, she thought back to her family, her mother’s sweet face, her father’s loving gaze, and Bennie, her dear brother, as they ran through the woods on her father’s farm. Her heart swelled with love for her family.
Then another face appeared.
William.
If only he could find her before she died of hypothermia or at the hands of the man in the red bandana.
* * *
William had raced to the Schwartz farm, frustrated that Julianne would go there on her own. The widow and her children were on the porch eating apples.
“I’m looking for Julianne Graber,” he had called from his buggy.
“She left some time ago.”
“Was she heading home?”
“Yah, along the back road. Julianne said it would be a peaceful ride.”
Peaceful? Except he feared someone had chased after her. Someone who had come after her time and time again.
With her car in the shop, Julianne was driving her aunt’s buggy and wearing Amish clothing. Why hadn’t she asked him to go with her?
He flicked the reins and encouraged Sugar to increase her speed. The old road was bumpy and rarely traveled, but he had to find Julia.
Nearing the Miller farm, he spied Aunt Mary’s buggy and her mare at the side of the road. Heart in his throat, he leaped to the ground and followed the trail of broken branches. “Julianne!”
The rain had eased, but the floor of the forest was wet and slippery. He ran as fast as he could, pushing his way through the thick vegetation.
His gut tightened as he spied a piece of blue fabric caught on a limb of a tree. Julianne had been running—running for her life. If only he could find her.
“Julianne!”
Had the man grabbed her? Worse yet, had he done her harm?
Stopping in the middle of the forest, he called her name again. The sound was like a keening death knoll that broke his heart when he heard nothing in reply.
Again, he called for her. Then again.
A lump filled his throat. He would keep searching until he found her. “Julianne.”
A sound. The cry of an animal? A coyote, perhaps?
The old fishing pond was nearby. He pushed on, alert for any other sound.
“Julie, where are you?”
He ran to the edge of the water. His heart nearly stopped when he saw her. She was lying on the shore, soaking wet, shivering, her hair hanging in strands around a face that was pale as death.
Kneeling beside her, he touched her cheek. Ice-cold. He wrapped his coat around her, lifted her frigid body into his arms and ran back through the brush, praying he could get to the buggy and the blankets he kept there in time.
“Stay with me, Julie. Don’t give up. Stay awake just a little longer.”
At the buggy, he wrapped her in blankets, lifted her onto the front seat and climbed in next to her. “Let’s go, Sugar.” He flicked the reins, then pulled Julianne into his arms again. “Back to town, Sugar. Now.”
Julie trembled almost uncontrollably, and he could hear her raspy breath.
The ride to the clinic took longer than he would have liked. He stopped at the front entrance, climbed from the buggy and carried her inside. “She’s been submerged in the pond.”
Nurses swarmed to help. They laid Julianne on a stretcher and wheeled her into a treatment room. Dr. Norris raced past him and entered the room. The door closed.
William remained in the hallway. As the minutes passed, he became more anxious. Leaning against the wall, he hung his head in his hands and prayed.
“She’s going to be okay.” The doctor placed his hand on William’s shoulder. “You got her here in time. Any longer out in the forest, and hypothermia would have set in. She’s on one antibiotic, but I’m adding a second one. No telling what she swallowed in that water. I’ve called the sheriff. He’ll be here soon, but she wants to see you now.”
William eyes stung as he hurried into the room. Her face was as white as the sheet and mud streaked, but she looked beautiful.
She smiled, and his heart nearly burst.
He took her hand and leaned over her. “I didn’t think you would make it.”
“I didn’t think I’d get away from the man in the bandana. You saved me again, William.”
He rubbed his fingers over her cheek. “Don’t scare me like that again.”
She nodded. “I promise.”
The sheriff pushed into the room. “I’ll need to talk to her alone, Will.”
He didn’t want to leave Julie, but she squeezed his hand. “The doctor said I can go home soon.”
While the sheriff talked to Julie, William paced the hallway. Deputy O’Reilly appeared with clean clothes for Julianne. “I stopped by your house and explained what happened to Julianne’s aunt. She sent me back with a dry outfit.”
A nurse took the clothing. “We’ll get her changed after the sheriff is finished talking to her.”
“Smithy said he’ll deliver Julianne’s car later tonight,” the deputy explained to Will. “I’ve arranged for someone to drive your buggy and Julianne’s aunt’s rig to your house. I�
��ll take you both home as soon as the doc releases her.”
Take Julianne home?
Why would she stay in Mountain Loft when someone wanted to kill her? The town was too dangerous and held too many hidden secrets.
William wanted to protect her. Instead, she had almost died. Again. She deserved more than an Amish guy who couldn’t keep her safe. She deserved someone who could protect her, although with the man in the bandana on the loose, how could Julianne ever be safe here in Mountain Loft?
* * *
Julianne couldn’t get warm even wearing dry clothes and wrapped in blankets. William sat next to her in the back of the patrol car. His face was drawn. He hadn’t smiled since he’d rescued her. Neither had she. There was nothing funny about frigid water and running for her life.
They passed the Miller farm and saw the flashing lights.
“The sheriff is arresting Mose,” O’Reilly said. “I’m sorry we let him go after only twenty-four hours. Would have saved you a lot of problems, Julianne, if we would’ve kept him in jail.”
Julianne thought about the man who had accosted her the first night. His build had seemed different from Mose’s, but the sheriff said he’d confessed to breaking in.
O’Reilly glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Evidently, Bennie told Emma about money your father kept at your house,” the deputy explained. “She offhandedly mentioned it to Mose, who decided to steal the money for a down payment on your farm.”
“I noticed an odor on his breath the night he broke in,” Julianne recalled. “Maybe it was the moonshine he sampled when he manned the still.”
Glancing again at the flashing lights on the sheriff’s car, Julianne thought of Emma. Mose treated her badly, but she was his wife, and divorce wasn’t an option for the Amish. The bishop would encourage her to forgive her husband’s wrongdoing, although abuse was hard to forgive, even for a faithful Amish wife.
“The sheriff still thinks Seth Reynolds is involved,” the deputy said. “At least we know he let Mose borrow his car. The sheriff will question him tomorrow. He’s convinced Seth will confess to taking part in not only the moonshine operation, but also the attacks on you, Julianne.”
William wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “You’re still cold.”
She nodded and snuggled closer. “I’ll have some hot tea when we get back to your house.”
With Mose arrested and Seth being brought in for questioning, she should feel relived, but she had hoped the attacks could have something to do with the deaths of Bennie and her father. Clearing her brother’s name would have brought comfort, but that seemed impossible now. Mose’s greed and desire to scare her off her property so he could buy her farm had nothing to do with the business scheme Bennie had uncovered.
Earlier at the clinic, she had overheard two of the aids talking about her brother being a killer. The rumors would never stop, no matter what she did. Each time she heard someone disparage Bennie, a knife stabbed her heart.
William’s farm appeared in the distance. She turned her gaze to her own farmhouse sitting dark against the night, feeling a swell of melancholy for all that once was and would never be again.
Aunt Mary hurried to the car when Deputy O’Reilly braked to a stop in front of William’s house. “I have been so worried.”
Julianne stepped into her aunt’s outstretched arms. “It’s over, Aunt Mary. Mose wanted my farm and confessed to breaking in. The sheriff is convinced the man he works for, Seth Reynolds, is responsible for the other attacks.”
“You have been through so much, Julianne. Let’s go inside. I’ll fix a hot cup of tea. I kept dinner warm.”
“I don’t want anything to eat, but tea would be good.”
She waved to the deputy through the open driver’s window. “Thanks for the ride, Terry.”
“No problem, Julianne. Again, I regret Mose was released earlier.”
“It’s over.”
William shook hands with the deputy and followed her inside. Aunt Mary made tea for Julianne and poured a cup of coffee for William.
“I’ll take your wet clothing to the barn and wash everything later tonight.”
Julianne doubted she would ever wear the Amish dress again. Still, she knew Aunt Mary wanted to be helpful, and if washing clothing brought comfort, Julianne wouldn’t rob her aunt of that satisfaction.
As her aunt hurried to the barn, William reached for Julianne’s hand. “I’m sorry, Jules.”
“I shouldn’t have gone alone to visit the Widow Schwartz, but I thought Mose was behind bars. I didn’t want to disturb your work. Instead, I caused more upset.”
“I’m so glad I found you.”
“I’m glad, as well.” She smiled weakly and squeezed his hand. “But, William...”
He raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“As grateful as I am for your protection and your hospitality, I cannot stay in Mountain Loft any longer.”
“Mose has been arrested, Julie. The sheriff will ensure he remains in jail so he can’t hurt you again.”
“I know, but Mose has nothing to do with Bennie. I had hoped to clear my brother’s name. That didn’t happen. People will continue to talk and call him a murderer. Each time I hear a comment about him, I feel a knife stab my heart.”
“What about your land?”
“Harvey said he would sell the farm for me. He even said he would buy it himself. I’ll stop by the grocery on my way out of town and make certain he’s still willing to help.”
“So you’re definitely leaving?”
She looked pleadingly at him. “Come with me, Will.”
He shook his head and sighed. “This is my home, Jules.”
“You can buy another home.”
“My home is more than the house. It is the land my father and grandfather farmed. It is the Amish community that took me in when my datt was sick.” He shrugged. “Because I was not yet baptized, they accepted me back and supported me during my datt’s decline. This is where I belong, Julianne.”
“I—I thought...”
Ever since that night at the lake, she’d had deep feelings for William. Coming back and reconnecting, she’d realized those feelings had grown into something much stronger. The word love pulsed through her mind and surrounded her heart.
“Think about staying, Julianne. You have a house and sixty-five acres. I could help you with the farming. We could work together.”
She stared into his eyes and saw the possibility of a future with William, but it meant she would need to become Amish again. How could she face the people who had known her father and her brother, people who thought Bennie was a killer, people who talked about it being Gott’s will that both of them died?
She pulled her hand out of Will’s grasp. A lump filled her throat. She was exhausted and needed to hurry upstairs before her heart broke again. She couldn’t stay in Mountain Loft. Each day would be a reminder of that terrible night. Every time someone whispered behind her back, she would know they were talking about her family. As much as she wanted to be with William, she didn’t belong in Mountain Loft.
“I need sleep, William. Tell Aunt Mary I will see her in the morning.”
“Please, Julianne. Stay a little longer so we can talk about this.”
“There is nothing to discuss, William. You are Amish. I am not. There is no reason to make something out of that which can never be. You saved my life tonight. You did the same when you rescued me from the trash receptacle. I will always be grateful.”
“It sounds as if you’re saying goodbye.”
Tears stung her eyes. “I am, William. There is no reason for me to stay.”
“But—”
She didn’t want to hear his excuses or the reasons she should remain in Mountain Loft. Without looking back, she ran upstairs and let the tears fall as she threw her
self on her bed.
There was no future with William and no future without him. She would go through the motions of life, all the while knowing she had left her heart with William in Mountain Loft.
NINETEEN
The next morning, Julianne overheard William and Aunt Mary talking in the kitchen. The smell of bacon wafted upstairs, and the clatter of dishes in the sink told her they had eaten breakfast without her. Aunt Mary probably thought she needed to sleep. The truth was, Julie had remained in her room because she didn’t want to see William.
Hearing the outside door slam, she hurried to the window. William walked with purposeful steps toward one of the distant pastures. Turning back for a moment, he glanced at her window. As much as she wanted to tap on the glass and wave to him, she ducked behind the curtain so he wouldn’t see her. She had said goodbye last night. She couldn’t endure repeating those difficult words again.
Her car sat in the drive. Smithy, true to his word, had brought it back last night. Nothing would stop her now.
Working quickly, she packed her bag and hurried downstairs. Her aunt’s eyes widened when Julianne entered the kitchen carrying her bag in hand.
“Tell me you are not leaving.”
“I have to leave.” Julianne softened her gaze. “But I promise to visit you soon.”
Aunt Mary wagged her finger. “If you do not visit me, I will hire an Amish taxi and visit you in Dahlonega.”
“That would make me happy. I could show you the town and where I work. You could tour the old abandoned mines and visit the museum.”
“Ack!” Aunt Mary shook her head. “We have enough gold mines in this area, yah? I do not need to tour that which is also in Mountain Loft.”
“Maybe Ted McDonough and Brad Abbott will build a museum here in town,” Julianne mused sarcastically.
Her aunt raised her brow. “A museum where you could work, perhaps?”
Julianne’s heart ached. “I can’t come back to Mountain Loft.”
“It is because of Bennie, yah?”
“Yah.” She smiled ruefully. “People still think my brother is a killer.”
