by Marta Perry
“The more you eat, the happier you’ll make Aunt Jessie and Mammi,” Joanna said, some of her tension evaporating at how easily that had gone. Maybe having two families wouldn’t be a struggle, after all.
Footsteps on the stairs announced the arrival of Chief Jamison. He stopped in the doorway, looking around the table.
“Good, you’re all here.” He glanced from Joanna to Meredith. “How are you ladies doing after your exciting night?”
“I’m fine,” Joanna said quickly, ignoring the bruise in her ribs from when she’d hit the barn post, to say nothing of her sore shoulder.
Meredith nodded with a quick smile for the chief. “I feel great. See, I told you I didn’t need to go back to the hospital.”
“Guess not,” he said grudgingly. He took the chair that Daad brought in for him. “Ms. Bristow, your relatives want to see you, but I managed to hold them off for the moment. I said they could come by sometime after noon. Okay?”
Meredith nodded, looking relieved.
“So like I said, we’ll need to go over everything...”
“Never mind that,” Joanna interrupted, causing her mother to give her a chiding look. “Tell me I didn’t dream it. It really was the lawyer, Tom Watson, wasn’t it?”
“It was.”
“Did he admit it?” Noah asked, his voice sharp.
Jamison snorted. “Small chance you’d ever catch a lawyer admitting to anything. All he’ll say is that he wants to see his own lawyer—some guy who has to come from Philadelphia.”
“But why did he do it?” Joanna couldn’t help asking. Of all the people who might have a reason to wish Meredith out of the way, he was the last she’d have pitched on.
“Wish I knew,” Jamison grumbled. “Without a motive, it’s going to be tough to pin anything on him. He could even say he followed someone suspicious into the stable and in the dark, grabbed the wrong person.”
“That’s ridiculous. He certainly knew what he was doing.” It was beyond belief to Joanna that the man might get away with what he’d done.
“I know, but without knowing why he did it—”
“I know why.”
They all turned to look at Meredith, who seemed as surprised as they were. “The missing bit fell back into my mind. It was the trust.”
“You said your grandfather put his fortune into a trust for you.” Jamison clearly didn’t understand.
“Not that one.” She seemed to collect her thoughts. “About a month before he died, my grandfather wanted to talk to me. He said he’d been worrying about his daughter, that would have been my aunt, and he wanted to do something to show he’d forgiven her. He’d tried to find her, but he couldn’t. So he was leaving money in a trust for her, just in case she showed up someday. He didn’t want it known, because he was afraid of people falsely claiming to be her or her child.” She glanced at Joanna and smiled. “He said Tom Watson had drawn it up, and no one was to know.”
Joanna frowned, trying to wrap her mind around it. “But I don’t understand. Why would Watson care who inherited?”
“I imagine because there was nothing left in that trust. Somebody will have to look into that, but I’d guess Watson figured no one would ever turn up and helped himself. Is that your idea, Ms. Bristow?” Jamison’s face had lit with understanding.
Meredith nodded. “I think so, too. It makes sense. I didn’t say anything to Watson about the trust until recently, and when I did, he seemed...well, shocked that I knew about it. He explained that by saying my grandfather told him he didn’t want anyone else to know.”
Jamison nodded, but Joanna spoke before he could. “What made you bring it up? Had you found something out?”
Meredith seemed pleased at all she was remembering. “The investigator Grandfather had hired had been in touch with me. He’d unexpectedly come across some information. So I told Watson I thought there was a good chance we’d find some trace of her.”
“How did he react to that?” Jamison was intent, scribbling notes on a pad in front of him, while the rest of them could only listen, trying to understand.
“He acted like that was a great idea. In fact, he wanted me to let him take charge of it, saying it was a lawyer’s job. But by then...” She suddenly looked very young. “Well, I felt like it was my duty to carry out what Grandfather wanted.”
Daad nodded approvingly. “That’s right.”
“Did you find her?” The question spilled out before Joanna could stop it. “My...my birth mother?”
Meredith reached across the table to clasp Joanna’s hand, and she knew by Meredith’s expression what the answer was.
“I’m sorry. The investigator found out that she’d died sometime ago. It must have been not long after you were born. I’m sorry,” she said again.
Joanna nodded, trying to assess how she felt and feeling Mammi’s sorrowing gaze on her. To her surprise, the grief she felt was that for any young woman dying too soon, but not really personal.
“Denke.” She struggled to express what she felt. “I never knew her. Somehow, she always seemed unreal to me.” She squeezed Meredith’s hand. “I guess I never even thought of what it would be like to meet her.”
It was sad to say that about the woman who had given birth to her, but it was the truth. She had given birth, and she’d also given Joanna a good life with people who loved her, and Joanna would always be grateful.
Jamison cleared his throat, breaking through the emotion. “So I’ll pass this on to the Philadelphia police. They’ll be able to find out about the truth quicker than we ever could.” He glanced at Joanna. “Pity if the money was all gone, Joanna. Sounds like you could have been rich.”
Joanna shuddered, not even wanting to think of taking money from someone she’d never known. “I couldn’t have taken it anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
Noah moved slightly. “It mattered enough to Watson to make him want to kill.”
“He hit me, you know.” Meredith looked surprised at herself. “I remember now. When I got the information that led to Joanna, I wanted to come alone, but Watson insisted that as attorney for the estate, he had to be there. He drove me here.” She frowned. “I don’t remember all of it, but he was behind me on the stairs. I felt him move, and then something struck my head.” She nodded to Chief Jamison. “He did it. I’ll swear to it.”
Jamison, looking satisfied, made another quick note. “Okay, that’s enough to start building a case. Maybe we’d better stop there for now before we wear you out. Do me a favor and don’t talk about this to anyone.”
Meredith nodded, shivering suddenly. “Why would I want to? Just think of him smiling and being helpful and all the time planning to get rid of me.”
Jamison rose. “I’ll be moving on this and talking to the district attorney, and he’ll want you to make a formal statement.”
“Whenever you want.”
Jamison disappeared down the stairs, looking eager to get on with his job. For a moment the rest of them just sat in silence. Joanna didn’t know about everyone else, but it was all she could do to absorb what had happened. Her head was still reeling.
Aunt Jessie was the first to breathe the silence. “Looks like we could all use a fresh cup. And I’ll cut another coffee cake.”
With that, the strange quality of the past half hour suddenly dissolved into normal. What could be more normal than an Amish woman meeting every crisis by feeding someone? Smiling, she got up to help.
“I’ll get the coffee, Aunt Jessie.”
“Wait.” Meredith rose, her gaze fixed on Joanna. “It’s not fair if all your money is gone when there’s plenty for me. I’ll split with you.”
Joanna’s heart warmed at her young cousin’s quick reaction. “Ach, that’s wonderful kind, but I don’t want it. I couldn’t take anything from someone I never even knew.”
“Not even to show you forgiv
e him?” Meredith must have seen the impact of her words, because she smiled. “I’ll tell you what. When it’s all settled, we’ll get together and figure out how to give it away—maybe something to help children. I’ll come for a visit, and we’ll talk.” She stopped suddenly, seeming uncertain. “I mean, if you want me to come.”
Joanna couldn’t get to her fast enough. “Of course we want you.” She wrapped her in a hug, followed immediately by Mamm and Aunt Jessie.
But through the tears and the chatter, she found herself looking for Noah, wanting to share this moment with him. But Noah wasn’t there. He was going down the back stairs. Her heart plunged. Although no word had been spoken, she’d believed things had changed between them after last night. Was she wrong?
Noah paused as if he’d felt her gaze, and his eyes met hers.
“I’ll go and see to the horses.”
She couldn’t actually hear the words over the tumult around her, but she knew what he was saying. And what he meant.
* * *
NOAH REACHED THE outside and took a deep breath. He didn’t think he could have stayed there any longer, feeling on the fringes of the group of people who loved Joanna and had the right to express that love. He had to talk to her, but not there, with everyone around.
He glanced up at the windows of the apartment and then started slowly toward the stable. The tape that had surrounded it earlier was gone now, once he’d pointed out that the horses had to be tended, whether it was a crime scene or not. He’d go in, check the horses and hope Joanna might understand what he’d been trying to convey.
And if not, he’d keep trying until he got her alone, no matter how long it took.
It only took about five minutes—just long enough for her to detach herself from the family. He heard her light step, and she appeared in the doorway, blinking a little at the switch from the bright sunlight to the peaceful dimness of the stable. Then she moved forward until she was standing only an arm’s length away from him, a look of determination on her face.
Before he could say a word, she’d plunged into speech. “Noah Troyer, will you marry me? It’s very un-Amish for me to ask, but if I wait for you to say it, it’s never going to happen. It’s ridiculous for us to sacrifice our happiness and the lives of the kinder we might have for a silly scruple. And furthermore—”
Noah stopped her the only way he could...with a kiss. And not a hurried, regretful kiss like the last time, but a slow, sweet kiss that held all the promises any two people could make to each other.
When he finally drew back, still holding her, a soft smile curved her lips. Her eyes were filled with so much love he felt humbled that she could care for him so. He nearly had to kiss her again, but there were things that must be said.
“I take it you’ve changed your mind,” she murmured, a hint of laughter in her eyes.
“Yah, I’ve changed my mind. Or maybe just recognized that you had been changing it for me every day of the past weeks.” He grew more serious. “But you have to know that marrying me is a risk. I swear I’ll never touch alcohol, but what if the taste for it comes out in our kinder? How could you bear that?” The torment brought by the idea swept through him, clawing at his heart.
“Hush.” She reached up to put her finger lightly on his lips. “If it happens, we’ll be ready for it, and we can bear anything if we face it together. Don’t you feel that way?” For a moment his bright, determined Joanna looked anxious.
“Yah,” he said, knowing it was true. “We can take anything together.”
The words were so lovely that he had to draw her close again. Together they leaned against the stall, arms around each other. Curious, Princess nuzzled at them. Then, deciding they weren’t going to feed her, lost interest.
“When did you know?” Joanna said at last.
“That I loved you? Always, I think. That we really could do this—I guess a lot of things came together. Working with you to help Meredith helped, and knowing you were in danger nearly pushed me into marrying you at once so I could protect you. Even Caleb had a part in it, reminding me that I was the opposite of my father. Everything.”
She let out a long, satisfied breath. “When shall we be married?”
He chuckled. “Won’t you leave anything to me? Let’s see if your father will agree to a wedding in November. That should give you enough time for all the things brides do, ain’t so? But aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What?”
“I didn’t answer you yet,” he said, and laughed again at her expression.
“Well, do I have to ask you again?” she demanded, sure of him again.
“No, once is enough. And yah, I will marry you, Joanna Kohler. I love you, and I’ll do anything to protect you and be with you forever.” He paused, and the smile she loved came again. “I suspect that’s the only way to deal with a strong-minded woman like you.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder, and when she spoke, her voice seemed to resound with love. “Aunt Jessie always did say I’d never marry until I found a man as strong as I am.” She looked into his face, smiling. “Now I’ve found him.”
Noah held her close, feeling the steady beat of her heart against his chest, and knew just how much they were blessed to have found each other. After the loneliness, the danger and the darkness, they had come through it into the sunshine of a new day.
* * *
Ready for more love and mystery in River Haven?
Don’t miss Amish Secrets, the next book in
Marta Perry’s River Haven series.
Rachel Hurst sacrificed the life and marriage she wanted to care for her father and siblings after her mother’s death. But now that her father has decided to remarry, there’s no room for Rachel. Desperate to find a job rather than become a lonely old maid, she accepts a housekeeping position with a wealthy elderly English woman whose isolated mansion had been the setting for Rachel’s childhood nightmares. But Rachel finds more to worry her at the Withers house than bad dreams...
Jacob Beiler, the man she’d almost married, is doing carpentry work at the house, and he hasn’t gotten over her rejection. When strange accidents begin happening to her employer, she finds herself plunged into danger, with only the hope of a new beginning with an old love to rescue her.
Available soon from HQN Books.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Dangerous Amish Inheritance by Debby Giusti.
Dangerous Amish Inheritance
by Debby Giusti
ONE
Ruthie Eicher awoke with a start. She blinked in the darkness, hearing the patter of March rain on the tin roof, and touched the opposite side of the double bed, where her husband had slept. Two months since the tragic accident and she was not yet used to his absence.
Finding the far side of the bed empty and the sheets cold, she dropped her feet to the floor, tied the flannel robe around her waist and hurried into the hallway. Sorrow twisted her heart as she peered into her father’s room, unoccupied since the buggy crash that had killed her husband and claimed her datt’s life, as well. Had her mother been alive she would have said it was Gott’s will, although Ruthie placed the blame on her husband’s failure to approach the intersection with caution. According to the sheriff’s report, the Englischer’s car had the right of way, which her husband failed to acknowledge.
Ruthie hurried to the children’s room. Even without lighting the oil lamp, she knew from the steady draw of their breaths that nine-year-old Simon and six-year-old Andrew were sound asleep.
Danki, Gott. She lifted up a prayer of thanks for her two wonderful sons, one blond, one brunette, both so different yet so loved. After adjusting the coverings around the boys’ shoulders, she peered from their window and gazed out at the farm that was falling into disrepair.
Movement near the outbuildings caught her eye. She held her breath and stared for a long m
oment, unsure of what she had seen.
Narrowing her gaze, she leaned forward, and her heart raced as a flame licked the air.
She shook Simon. “The woodpile. On fire. I need help.”
He rubbed his eyes.
“Hurry, Simon.”
Leaving him to crawl from bed, she raced downstairs, almost tripping, her heart pounding as she knew all too well how quickly the fire could spread. She ran through the kitchen, grabbed the back doorknob and groaned as her fingers struggled with the lock.
“No!” She moaned and coaxed her fumbling hands to work. The lock disengaged. She threw open the door and ran across the porch and down the steps.
Cold Georgia mountain air swirled around her, along with the acrid smell of smoke. Rain dampened her hair and robe. She raced to the pump, grabbed a nearby bucket and filled it, then scrambled to the woodpile and hurled the water onto the flames. The fire hissed as if taunting her efforts to quell the blaze. Returning to the pump, she filled another bucket, then another.
A noise sounded behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting Simon. Instead she saw a large, darkly dressed figure. Something struck the side of her head. She gasped with pain, dropped the bucket and stumbled toward the house.
He grabbed her shoulder and threw her to the ground. She cried, struggled to her knees and started to crawl away. He kicked her side. She groaned and tried to stand. He tangled his fingers through her hair and pulled her to her feet.
She turned, her arms flailing, and made out only a shadowed form of a man. A lady’s stocking distorted his face. A knit cap covered his hair. She dug her fingernails into his neck.
He twirled her around and yanked her arm up behind her back. Pain, like white lightning, exploded along her spine. She reared back to ease the pressure.
The man’s lips touched her ear. “Didn’t you read my notes? You don’t belong here.” His rancid breath soured the air. “Leave before something happens to you and your children.”
Her heart stuttered.
