by Debby Giusti
The boy recounted what he had told Hannah.
“How can I find Levi?” Lucas asked when Joseph had shared everything he could remember.
“I do not know.”
Frustrated by another dead end, Lucas and Hannah left the store and hurried along the path that led to the inn. When the main walkway split in a number of different directions, she stopped and pointed to the mechanic’s shop. “Let’s get my keys. We can take my car to the lodge.”
Lucas grabbed her hand. “We can’t drive there.”
“What do you mean?”
“We have to go Amish.”
“But—”
“We’ll take the buggy, although it won’t be an easy ride,” he cautioned. “Fannie can get the delivery items ready while I harness Daisy.”
“I’ll help Fannie.”
Lucas made sure both women were safely in the B and B’s kitchen before he hurried to the barn. A short time later, he guided the buggy to the inn’s side entrance.
Fannie helped load the buggy with the boxes filled with winter vegetables, pies, rolls and loaves of bread. “We will have cakes ready if you wait a bit.”
Lucas shook his head. “We need to go now. I want to stop at Belinda’s house on the way.”
Fannie wrapped a loaf of bread and an apple pie in a plastic bag and handed it to Lucas. “Give this to her mother. Tell Lydia we are praying for her daughter’s safety. I understand why she could not stay at work today. Tell her to come back when she can. Until then we will ask Gott to keep her daughter safe.”
Lucas appreciated Fannie’s thoughtfulness. “You have a generous heart, Fannie.”
“Yah, and you are hoping there will be pie left when you return.”
He laughed and hugged her, something he rarely did.
The older woman blushed and patted his arm. “You will have me with tears in my eyes for your thoughtfulness. Now go with Gott and be careful.”
Fannie held out her arms for Hannah. “Be watchful, my child. And remember Amish women do not talk to strangers. Lower your gaze if you come near someone. The bonnet will protect you from being identified. Lucas will keep you safe.”
The two women embraced. “Now go,” Fannie said, motioning them toward the buggy.
Taking her into his arms, Lucas lifted Hannah into the seat. He couldn’t help but note how light she was and how pleasing she smelled. She may be wearing Amish clothing, but she was anything but plain.
Climbing in beside her, he flipped the reins. “Let’s go, Daisy.”
The mare trotted along the drive and headed for the entrance. Turning onto the main road, Daisy picked up speed. Lucas’s heart grew heavy as he thought of what was before them. Hopefully having Hannah accompany him to the lodge wouldn’t be a mistake. She might see things he could overlook. Two sets of eyes were always better than one.
His thoughts turned to Olivia. They had been a good team and worked well together, but in the weeks before her death their relationship had changed. Another mistake he had made. He had started to see Olivia as more than a cop. He’d seen her as a woman who had woven her way into his heart.
The ride to the Lapp farm didn’t take long. Turning into the drive, Lucas was overcome with a sense of sorrow. Something had happened to Belinda Lapp, he felt sure. The forlorn look on Lydia’s face when she stepped onto the porch only confirmed what he was feeling. Her eyes were red. No doubt, she’d been crying.
“Fannie wanted you to have this,” he said, handing her the baked goods and wishing he could do something to ease her pain.
“I could not work today because—” The woman’s mouth twisted with emotion.
“Stay home as long as you need to,” Lucas assured her. “Fannie understands. She sends her love and her prayers.”
“She is a good woman, yah?”
Lydia was a good woman, too, but her daughter could have been lured into something that might prove deadly.
Lucas’s gut tightened as he turned Daisy back to the main road.
Hannah’s silence told him that she, too, had been touched deeply by the fear written so plainly on Lydia Lapp’s tearstained face. Neither of them spoke for some time and the significance of another young woman gone missing hung heavy between them. Perhaps, Lucas silently mused, it was better if they didn’t give voice—at least for a while—to the reality of what had been happening in this once peaceful mountain paradise.
The falling temperature brought both of them back to the present. Hannah wrapped a lap blanket around their legs, then tugged the bonnet down around her forehead and clutched the black cape tightly across her shoulders.
The day was cold and the sky overhead looked ominous.
“It might rain,” he warned, grateful for something to talk about that didn’t have anything to do with missing women.
“We will not melt if we get wet,” she said with an encouraging smile.
He appreciated her straightforwardness. There was nothing weak about Hannah. She could handle any problem, seemingly. Independent maybe to a fault, but he liked women who were assertive and could take care of themselves. Not that he wanted Hannah to take care of herself. He wanted to be there with her, helping her and protecting her.
He jostled the reins and the horse took off along the road.
If only he could keep Hannah safe.
* * *
Riding along the mountain road with Lucas would have been perfect except for the reason they were traveling. Another young woman had gone missing. Hannah needed to find Sarah, but she also worried about Belinda.
As much as she wanted to believe the young Amish girl could be found, Hannah wasn’t sure of anything, except Lydia Lapp’s sorrow that had tugged at her heart. Some pain was almost too hard to bear. Didn’t scripture say that the Lord gave only as much as someone could carry? Surely scripture was mistaken when it came to parents and their children.
She glanced at the rugged mountain terrain and the steep slope of the road ahead. The mare was strong but would she be agile enough on the back path Lucas said they would travel? Hannah wrapped the cape more tightly around her chest.
“You’re cold.” His glance was laced with concern. “If we were riding in your Nissan, I could turn up the heater. Scoot closer to me, Hannah. Body heat is the only solution.”
“I’m fine.” But she wasn’t. She was worried and frightened about what they might find in spite of her attempt to be strong. Plus, although she didn’t want to admit it to Lucas, she was cold.
Being Amish in Fannie’s warm home with the rich smells of fresh-baked biscuits and a wood fire to make piping-hot coffee was one thing. Being out in the elements made her have second thoughts about the plain life and what she would have to give up if she joined the faith.
The thought took her by surprise. Consciously she hadn’t considered embracing the bonnet. She touched the ties under her chin as if to adjust the covering, but her thoughts took in the simplicity of the Amish way, of not having to worry about what she would wear or the need to be in style or to apply makeup or to go to a salon for her hair. All of that seemed so frivolous and such a waste of time when two young women were in danger.
Lucas placed the reins in his left hand and stretched his right hand into the seat behind them. He pulled a thick lap quilt out of a heavy burlap tote and draped it over Hannah’s lap.
“The quilt will add more warmth than the blanket alone,” he told her. “If you’re going to live like the Amish, you need to learn from them. They have warm woolen stockings and undergarments to ward off the cold. They also have outerwear and thick quilts and woolen blankets that insulate them from the frigid temperatures.”
“How did you learn so much about their way of life in such a short few months?”
“It was Fannie. She made sure that I was fully immersed in Amish l
ife. Some days I longed to catch up on the local news or find out what was going on in the world at large. She told me I had to decide whether to be of the world or not.”
“And you ended up embracing the Amish way?”
“I was hurt when I came here and quite literally stumbled onto the inn. My car had a flat tire half a mile from the entrance. I had seen a small sign at the last intersection I had passed, so I hoofed it there as best I could with an injured leg.”
He reached down and touched his old wound, grateful it had healed. “The first week I rented a room in the inn, but I soon got tired of having nothing to do. Calvin fixed my tire. I was ready to drive away, but I didn’t know where I’d go. My life had been a jumble of confusion at that point. Fannie had a knack for seeing beneath the surface. She needed help maintaining the property and offered me a job.”
“And you moved into the grossdaadi house.”
Lucas nodded. “That’s right. I sold my car to one of the kitchen staff who was going to college in the fall and needed transportation.”
“Fannie had convinced you to accept the Amish way?” Hannah asked.
“To at least give it a try.”
Hannah smiled. “She said you’re like a son to her.”
Lucas’s gaze softened. “Hearing that makes me happy. She can be tough when she needs to be, but she forced me to work through some of my struggle. I said it was her chicken soup that healed me, but it was her big heart that made the difference. My extended family was scattered. My parents passed when I was young. Having a home had meant a one-bedroom rental.”
Hannah nodded. “I can relate.”
“She enjoys having you around,” he added.
“How can you tell?”
“After eleven months, I can read her almost as well as she can read me. She’s been cooking and humming and smiling more recently. I know you’re the reason.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Feeling warmer?”
“Much. Thank you.”
Hannah appreciated Lucas’s concern for her comfort. He seemed to be adept with the horse and buggy and with the various ways the Amish would attack any problem.
“You’re planning to become Amish?” she asked.
“It’s been my hope.”
“Do I hear a reservation?”
“Not from me, but the bishop is a different story. He doesn’t think I’m ready.”
“There’s a stumbling block?”
Lucas nodded. “You could say that. Probably has to do with my pride. At least, that’s what he led me to believe.”
“Pride can be a stumbling block to a lot of things.” Hannah thought of her pain when she’d learned about her father. The shock had taken her aback. Her mother’s delivery had made the information even more hurtful and her pride had been wounded when she’d found out the truth.
“You don’t seem like you have a problem with pride.” Lucas jostled the reins and nudged the mare forward.
“Rejection, abandonment—both of those can be overscored with pride when you think you don’t deserve to be treated in a certain way.”
“You’re talking about a guy who didn’t appreciate you for who you are,” he said as if reading her thoughts.
“That’s not too far from the truth.” Her mother hadn’t made good decisions when it came to men. Hannah’s father was proof of that, but she wouldn’t go that far back with Lucas. “A seemingly nice guy kept showing up at the store where I worked. He invited me out for coffee. We got to know each other and hit it off, or so I thought.”
She glanced at the hillside, trying to find her words. She hadn’t talked about Brian to anyone. Maybe sharing some of what had happened would help her heal. “I enjoyed his attention and the nice things he did for me. Brian seemed concerned and attentive. Turns out it was a game for him. He...he lied to me about a number of things. He said a bill from his credit-card company had gotten lost in the mail. His late payment hurt his credit. He asked to use one of my credit cards to buy supplies for the law office where he worked. He assured me he’d be able to pay me back.”
A muscle in Lucas’s neck tensed. He kept his eyes on the road. Perhaps he thought her gullible and naive. Seemed she was both.
“Of course, he didn’t plan to pay me back,” she admitted. “He charged a number of big-ticket items to my card that didn’t pertain to his job and seemed hurt when I questioned him. He made up another excuse and then another. Finally, I did some investigating and found an address that he hadn’t told me about.”
Lucas squeezed her hand, offering support.
“I went there when I thought he was home from work. We had always met in town. I thought he shared a house with two other guys, but the guy who came to the door was five years old. The child’s mother appeared and then the child’s father did, as well.”
Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “It was Brian?”
She nodded. “I never suspected that he was married. He was using me the entire time. Here’s the funny thing. He told me he worked for a well-established law firm in Atlanta. Turns out he’s an ambulance chaser and not a good one. But he said if I made a fuss, he’d make certain that people would think I stole money from him.” Which was a repeat of what had happened in her own home.
Hannah hung her head in shame. His hateful words echoed through her mind. I know who your father is. Once the information is made public, your reputation will be ruined. No one will believe anything you say.
“I’m sorry, Hannah. You were too good for him.”
“Too stupid is what I was, but I learned my lesson, that’s for sure.”
“Did you go to the police?”
Inwardly she flinched. How could she explain her reason for not notifying the authorities? “I...I worried that he would discredit my reputation and my credit.”
“So you did nothing?”
“I moved to Macon. I turned off my cell phone and got a prepaid cell to use instead. I changed email addresses in case he tried to contact me over the internet. I didn’t want him to find me.”
“You weren’t the one at fault.”
“I wasn’t sure how he would spin the story, and I couldn’t risk what he might do.”
“You need to let law enforcement know.”
She shook her head. “It’s all right, Lucas. That part of my life has ended.”
“That’s why you don’t want to go back to Macon,” he said, which wasn’t far from the truth.
“Do you think I’m foolish?” she asked.
“Not at all. I think he bullied you and badgered you and told you untruths. I can help you.”
“It’s okay, really.”
“But you have property there, your household furnishings, clothing.”
“Nothing of value.”
He stared at her, probably wondering why she had accumulated so little in her life.
“When you grow up with a mother who never stayed long in any one place, you learn to travel light. Anything we acquired that brought joy or comfort to our lives had to be left behind when she awakened us, often in the middle of the night, to climb into the car and leave for someplace new.”
“What about your education? A kid would have to be smart to get by in that type of situation.”
“Maybe, or maybe it worked because we were young. We didn’t know any other way to live. We never established strong friendships because we always had to say goodbye.”
“I’m sorry, Hannah. You and your sisters should have been close.”
“You would have thought we would be, but Mother manipulated us with her love and played us one against the other. Especially Miriam and me. Miriam was the dutiful daughter. I dreamed of making my own way.” She laughed ruefully. “And look what happened to me. You might say that I’
ve become my mother.”
“You can’t believe that.”
“I’ve been wandering through life, which is what my mother always did. She was searching for something, although I never knew what it was.”
“Maybe love and acceptance,” Lucas suggested.
“That was something her daughters couldn’t give her.”
“Of course not. You needed her to mother you and provide the love and acceptance you needed. Don’t confuse the roles here, Hannah. The child is never the one who needs to take care of the mother.”
“But Miriam did.”
“Later in life, but not when you were growing up.”
Hannah picked at the cape and lowered her head. She didn’t want to talk about her childhood or her mother or her dysfunctional life. Nor did she want to consider what her life could have been like if she hadn’t been so gullible when it came to Brian. She had been such a fool.
She scooted away from Lucas, needing to distance herself from his warmth and acceptance. She had made a mistake in Atlanta when she had given her heart to the wrong man. She wouldn’t, she couldn’t, make that same mistake again.
FOURTEEN
Lucas turned the buggy onto the narrow mountain path that led to the lodge. Hannah had been silent and lost in her own memories ever since she’d mentioned the man in Atlanta. From what she’d said, it sounded as if she still cared for Brian.
So many thoughts swirled through Lucas’s mind that centered on pride and betrayal and abandonment. His world had ended in Savannah when Olivia died, but he’d gone after the shipping magnate and his company. The guy was well connected and his goons and minions had soon come after Lucas. He never would have backed off except for the suitcase uncovered in Olivia’s personal effects and the immediate supposition that she was involved in something criminal. Olivia had never been dirty, but money didn’t lie. At least, that was what his supervisor warned. The stash of marked bills had made her a suspect in a Savannah murder-for-hire case.
Lucas was thought to have been dirty by association, and he’d been encouraged, rather forcefully, to resign from the force before he was incriminated, as well.
