by Debby Giusti
Lucas might be good-looking, but handsome men could break a girl’s heart. She knew that too well. She had the scars to prove it. Not physical but emotional.
She’d built a wall around her heart. Unfortunately, she’d allowed someone entry and learned a very painful lesson that had forced her into seclusion over the last six weeks. Using a prepaid burner phone with a new number and changing her email address so he couldn’t reach her had been good decisions. Moving to Macon and starting over had been a bit more difficult. Along with making a new life for herself, she’d fortified that wall around her heart even more. No one could find a way in.
Not even an almost-Amish guy with a killer smile.
* * *
Lucas tensed. His eyes locked on the rearview mirror and a muscle twitched in his neck.
“What’s wrong?” Hannah asked.
“Headlights, coming this way. Looks like it could be an SUV.”
“A black Tahoe?” she asked, rubbing her hands over her arms.
“I can’t be sure of the make and model nor the color, but I don’t want to take any chances.” He glanced at the temperature gauge. “We can try to outrace the vehicle or hole up someplace and wait until it passes.”
“What about the leak in the radiator?”
“You’ve got more water. We can refill if need be.” Although putting extra stress on the car wasn’t a good option.
Grateful when a narrow dirt roadway came into view, Lucas turned onto the path, guided the car behind an expanse of pine trees and cut the engine. “Hopefully we won’t be seen.”
“I’d like a little more reassurance.” She tugged at a strand of her wet hair and stared through the trees at the all-too-close roadway. “What if it’s the guy who came after me and he spots us?”
“Then we’ll go to plan B.”
Her eyes widened. “Is there a plan B?”
“Not yet, but we’ll handle that problem when it arises.”
As much as he wanted to make light of a very serious situation, Lucas knew cars on the mountain road were few and far between. Not that he would share that bit of information with Hannah. She was anxious enough.
“By the way, thank you for coming to my aid,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
He glanced at her for a long moment and then turned his gaze back to the road. “My mama taught me to be a gentleman, and gentlemen don’t leave ladies at the top of their deer stands.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shoulders visibly relax. She let out an almost-inaudible sigh of relief. As her tension seemed to ease, a tightness constricted Lucas’s chest and sent a pulse of heat up his neck. He didn’t have medical training but he doubted the reaction had any physical basis, and that worried him. Who was Hannah Miller and what was she doing to his peace of mind?
As the SUV passed, she touched his arm. “It looks like the Tahoe from the gas station. I told you, he had headed for the highway, yet when I broke down, his was the first car to happen by.”
“The guy must have known you’d be stranded on the side of the road,” Lucas said. “Did you lock your car when you went into the station?”
She thought back. “I had gotten out expecting to pay at the pump, then realized I needed to pay the attendant. I left the car unlocked.”
“Which means he could have jabbed the hole in your radiator.”
“Except I’d been driving for hours. The engine was still hot. Wouldn’t steam and water spray out?”
“He could have worn insulated gloves to protect his hands. If he closed your hood before you returned to your car, you wouldn’t have noticed the problem.”
She nodded and stared into the night. “I went to the ladies’ room, which gave him ample time.”
“Did anyone tail you on the highway?”
“Not that I noticed.”
Had the guy taken advantage of a woman driving along an isolated road late at night or was Hannah a known target?
“A pretty woman on a desolate back road...” Lucas didn’t need to finish the thought.
Hannah leaned closer. “Did you hear about a mountain hijacking that ended with an older woman dead and two younger women captured?”
The question took Lucas by surprise. “How does that involve you?”
Maybe Hannah was a marked woman after all.
“The murdered woman was Leah Miller.”
“You’re related?”
Hannah nodded. “She was my mother. My younger sister Sarah was taken. Another sister, Miriam, was supposed to have found refuge with an Amish family named Zook. Do you know them?”
“That’s a common name around these parts. Do you have first names?”
“Unfortunately, that’s all the information I could decipher from the garbled voice mail Miriam left on my cell. The guy in the flannel shirt who came after me mentioned her name. He wanted to know where she’s holed up.”
“We need to talk to the deputy sheriff and learn more about the hijacking. Maybe he’ll know the Zooks and how to find your sister.”
Maybe he would know about Hannah Miller, as well. She’d gone from being a stranded motorist with a guy on her tail to a person of interest in a murder and kidnapping case. Lucas had distanced himself from law enforcement, yet crime and corruption seemed to have found him in the middle of the North Georgia mountains, which was both ironic and unsettling.
Reason told him to give Hannah a wide berth, but he couldn’t walk away from a woman in need. Especially a woman whose circumstances tugged at his heart.
“Stay in the car,” he said, opening the driver’s door. “I’ll add more water and then we’ll be on our way. There’s a fork in the road not far ahead. Just like the previous intersection, the fork to the left goes to Willkommen. We’ll veer right toward the Amish Inn. Chances are good the car that just passed us is headed to town.”
Lucas refilled the radiator, crawled back into the car, started the engine and pulled out onto the road. The rain eased, but the overhanging trees and thick underbrush that lined the road hung heavy with moisture. The headlights cut a path into the dark night.
As he guided the car to the right at the fork, the moon peered through the clouds. Stretched out around them were rolling hills that led to higher peaks in the distance. They drove in silence for some distance until fenced pastures marked their approach to the B and B. A three-story, rambling inn, painted white with black shutters, wraparound porches and two stone fireplaces came into view. The scene, no matter how many times he saw it, filled Lucas’s heart with a sense of home.
“I’m sure everything will look more welcoming in the light of day,” Hannah said.
Evidently the bucolic scene that warmed his heart caused her unease. She worried her fingers as if she didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned about what she saw.
“The inn sits at the end of the entrance drive,” he explained, hoping to reassure her. “The building closer to the road is the Amish Store and produce mart. Fannie Stoltz owns the place. She’s Amish and lives in one of the two houses at the far side of the property. The two Amish homes don’t have electricity or technology. The rest of the property runs on solar power backed up with propane generators. The majority of the guests are Englischers who want to enjoy the peace of the Amish way but still have their comforts, such as indoor plumbing, electric lights, heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer.”
“So it’s not Amish?”
He smiled. “It’s about as Amish as most folks want to get. Fannie is a widow. The inn was a way she could provide for herself.”
“She has children?”
He shook his head. “But she’s got a big heart.”
“You’re sure she won’t mind me arriving this late at night.”
“We won’t wake her. I’ve got a master
key and will set you up in a room. Tomorrow we’ll explain your late arrival.”
Lucas pulled her car close to a rear maintenance shed. “I’ll have the mechanic check out your car in the morning. Calvin can fix anything. Even a radiator.”
Rounding the car, he opened her door and then pulled her tote from the trunk. Together they hurried along the path that led to the inn and climbed the steps to the expansive front porch.
Lucas keyed open the door and stepped back to let her enter first. A small table lamp glowed halfway down the entrance hall. He placed Hannah’s tote on the floor by the table and checked the log book.
“Room three is available,” he whispered to keep from waking the other guests.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“Of course. We all work together at the inn.”
He grabbed the key off the peg where it hung and opened the door to the downstairs wing, then motioned her to the left. “It’s the last door on the right, a corner room with great views.”
He unlocked the door and held it open for her. She stepped into the room and flipped on the overhead light. Her gaze took in the double bed with fluffy pillows and hand-stitched quilt. A dresser and overstuffed chair filled one side of the room across from a door that led to the private bath.
A small latched rug warmed the floor, but the room was still chilly. Lucas adjusted the thermostat on the wall. “You’ll get heat soon enough. Extra blankets are in the bottom drawer. Breakfast runs from six thirty until nine a.m. To get to the dining room, turn left and head to the end of the hall.”
He stepped past her and checked the latches on the windows in the bedroom and bath.
“Lock the door after I leave. In the morning, I’ll let Fannie know you’re here.” Lucas glanced around the room. “Do you need anything else?”
“Towels?”
“In the bathroom.”
“Then I’ve got everything I need. Thank you, Lucas. I...I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “I’ll be on the job by six. Get some sleep. Morning will come soon enough.”
With determined steps, he headed for the door then glanced back. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe here.”
Stepping into the hallway, Lucas felt a sense of relief. He had checked the windows and cautioned Hannah to lock her door. The guy from the gas station wouldn’t find her tonight.
Once clear of the house, Lucas stopped to listen to the sounds of the night. Small creatures scurried through the underbrush and the croak of bullfrogs sounded from the nearby pond, but little else could be heard. No cars, no planes overhead, no chatter from guests who were hopefully enjoying their slumber.
He should have been relieved, but tonight something wasn’t sitting well within him. He scanned the pastures and the mountains in the distance. Tired as he was, he couldn’t pull himself from this observation spot as if everything was warning him to stand guard.
What had he overlooked?
“Gott,” he said as his Amish neighbors did. “Show me through Your eyes what I am to see.”
The night settled heavy around him, yet still he remained.
The light in room three, where Hannah stayed, went out. His eyes again scanned the fields, the outbuildings, the paddock and stable. A dog barked in the distance.
Foolish of him to remain for so long when the night was quiet. Ready to return to his house, he saw the glow of ambient light from afar. Headlights?
His spine tightened. Was it the man from the filling station? Had he taken the turn to Willkommen and then doubled back when he’d failed to find Hannah once again broken down on the side of the road?
The lights drew nearer. Lucas moved to the retail store and stood behind the building, hidden from anyone passing by yet with an unobstructed view of the road.
The vehicle’s motor filled the night. Lucas watched a dark SUV pull toward the entrance to the property and slow to a stop.
He stepped from the shadows and hurried toward the car, bending to catch sight of the driver through the tinted windshield.
Although Lucas couldn’t make out his features, he saw the driver startle, no doubt surprised to see someone approaching, before the late-model Tahoe accelerated. Georgia clay conveniently covered the rear license plate, obscuring the number. The left taillight was out.
The SUV passing the inn could have been anyone, except Lucas hadn’t been a cop for six years in Savannah not to know the simplest conclusion was usually the best. Everything in his gut told him the man at the wheel was the guy from the gas station and, for whatever reason, he was intent on finding Hannah Miller. Was he interested in finding her sister Miriam? Or was he focused on Hannah? Whatever the case, one thing seemed certain. If the man found either woman, he planned to do them harm.
THREE
Hannah woke to the clip-clop of horses’ hooves. She slipped from the bed and pulled back the curtain, then smiled, seeing a farm wagon stop at the side of the Amish Store. She checked her watch. Six thirty.
In the distance she saw Lucas hurrying along a path. He approached the Amish farmer. Together they unloaded boxes and hauled them into the store, then shook hands on the porch before the man climbed onto his wagon and headed back to the main road.
The sun was barely up, yet everywhere she looked groundskeepers and farm hands, many wearing typical Amish garb, were already hard at work. Dropping the curtain back in place, she hurriedly dressed and followed the scent of coffee to the dining area.
Entering the room almost took her breath away at the sight of the ceiling-to-floor windows that looked over the rolling hills, gardens and mountains beyond. Starched, white tablecloths and napkins dressed the round tables set with blue china that matched the curtains and made the room seem bright and cheerful.
A woman, probably midfifties, wearing a simple, calf-length dress and white apron approached Hannah. Her hair was pulled into a bun topped with a starched cap. Her round face and twinkling brown eyes were warm with welcome.
“You must be Hannah. Lucas told me about you.” The woman took Hannah’s hand. “I am Fannie Stoltz. I run the inn, and I am happy you can stay with us. Your room was to your liking?”
“Oh, yes, it was perfect. I slept better than I have in years.”
The Amish woman’s smile increased, and then she tilted her head. “Perhaps the reason your sleep is not usually sound can be worked out while you are here. The simple life sometimes lets us see more clearly that which is important. The world frets about too many things that should not have power over our well-being. Here—” She spread her hands and glanced through the windows at the rolling hills. “Here our focus can turn to that which is most important.”
Finding her sisters was Hannah’s number one priority, but she didn’t want to disturb the innkeeper with troubling thoughts of two missing women. Instead she chose a timelier topic. “You probably need my credit card.”
The woman waved her hand. “We will deal with that when you are ready to check out. Now you must eat.” She pointed to a table by the window. “You may sit wherever you like, but this is a nice spot. Lucas is mending a broken fence. Perhaps he will join you in a bit.”
A young woman wearing the same garb as the innkeeper filled Hannah’s cup with a robust coffee made even richer with the thick cream Hannah added to the hot brew.
“The cream is from our own dairy,” the young girl said with pride. “You would like the regular breakfast or do you have dietary needs?”
Probably eighteen at the most, the server had alabaster skin and rosy cheeks that spoke of wholesome living. Even without makeup, the girl was beautiful.
Breakfast was hearty and delicious. Lucas never showed up and Hannah tried to squelch the disappointment she felt. Surely he would be on the grounds. She would find him there.
“Breakfast was wonderful,”
she told the server before leaving the dining room.
Hannah returned to her room and grabbed her jacket. Hopefully her car would soon be fixed so she could drive to Willkommen. She needed information to locate Miriam, and she didn’t have time to while away the morning, enjoying the pretty scenery.
Opening the hallway door that led to the alcove, she nearly ran into a Hispanic man wearing jeans and a navy polo.
“Morning, miss. You are going somewhere?” he asked.
“Just for a walk.”
He tapped the board where the keys hung. “You leave your key here when you are gone. The cleaning staff must make your bed and bring fresh towels.”
“I wasn’t thinking.” She dropped her key onto the wall peg attached to her room number.
“You are the new guest?” he asked.
Hannah nodded. “That’s right. I arrived last night.”
“Someone gave me a note.” He held out a folded sheet of white paper. “It is for you, yes?”
Seeing her name written on the outside, she nodded. “Who’s it from?”
The man shrugged. “I know only to give it to the new lady.”
Unfolding the paper, she smiled seeing Lucas’s signature at the bottom of the page. Meet me at the gazebo after breakfast. I want to show you around the property.
Tucking the paper into her pocket, she thanked the man and hurried out the door. The musky scent of moist earth hung in the air and filled her with anticipation for the new day. She pulled her jacket around her shoulders and scurried to where Lucas had parked her car last night outside the mechanic’s shed.
An African American man, midfifties with a lean face and slender build, greeted her. “I’m Calvin Crawford. You must be Hannah. Lucas said your radiator had sprung a leak.”
“Sprung a leak” wasn’t Lucas’s assessment last night. Evidently he wanted to downplay what had happened. Not that she wasn’t grateful. She didn’t want to call attention to herself or to the incident on the mountain road.
