by Dana R. Lynn
“I’m going to lower you through the window. Go stand by the tree outside and wait for your mama,” Luke told him.
LJ’s chin wobbled, but he nodded his understanding. Careful not to bring the boy too close to any of the shards, Luke reached him past the window wreckage and dropped him on the snow below.
“Go, LJ. To the tree!”
LJ stood up and ran to the tree, his face white with fear.
“Jennie.”
She was already at his side. He grasped her hand and assisted her over the ledge. Their eyes met for a single instant before she was out the window. The moment her feet touched the ground, she ran to LJ and gathered him in her arms.
They were safe.
By this time, the smoke was too heavy to see Randi. Luke wouldn’t abandon her. He dropped to the ground and felt around, trying to recall exactly where he had dropped her when he moved to break the window. His hands swept out in a wide circle. When his left hand bumped against her, he nearly yelled out his exaltation. He’d found her!
Grasping on to Randi with both hands, he dragged her inch by painful inch to the window. With each step he took, he grew more and more certain that he was too late. When he felt for her pulse, he was unsurprised when he couldn’t find one.
He still refused to leave her behind. He wasn’t sure whether it was the smoke or if she’d been more seriously wounded by her brother than they had suspected. If he didn’t bring her body out, the truth would never be known. He owed it to her.
Lifting her body in his arms, he leaned over the rug-covered window and gently let her drop to the snow. He heard a soft cry from Jennie.
Looking back, he saw a wall of flame creeping closer. It was less than a foot away from him. Climbing up over the ledge, he braced his hand on the sill. A shard that wasn’t covered by the rug pierced his skin. He flinched and jerked his hand away.
The heat from behind him singed his hair. He was out of time. He dove over the sill, tucking and rolling as he landed in the cold snow.
He lay still for a second before forcing himself to move.
Behind him, the destroyed Christmas tree was engulfed in flames. Two more seconds and he’d have been toast.
They weren’t out of danger yet. The heat from the fire washed over his back. They needed to get farther away.
“Jennie! Help me move Randi away from the haus.”
Jennie ran to him and grabbed hold of her friend. Her mouth trembled when she saw Randi’s lifeless face. Her mouth trembled, but she assisted him without a word. They dragged Randi away from the burning structure. LJ waited for them near the tree. Jennie had tears running silently down her face. Luke tried not to look at her as she grieved for her friend.
“You should call the fire department,” he said to her.
“I already did.”
No sooner had she said that than they heard the wail of sirens. A large fire truck zoomed up the road, followed closely by a pickup truck with red flashing lights on the roof. When the pickup stopped, the driver got out and set a white helmet on his head, identifying him as the fire chief.
They were checked out by the paramedics. Trooper Carter arrived.
“Did you call him, too?” Luke whispered to Jennie.
She kept her gaze trained on the trooper as he talked with the fire chief. “I did. After everything that’s happened, I figured he’d be more willing to buy that we were trapped in a burning house.”
A few minutes later, Trooper Carter and the fire chief approached them. “According to my notes, this house belongs to a Miss Miranda Griggs, aged twenty-six.”
Standing beside her, Luke heard Jennie gulp before she answered. “Yes, sir. That’s her, over there.”
Their gazes followed her pointing finger. There was a moment’s silence while the two men stared at the body.
“I take it you knew her,” the chief asked, his voice gentle.
Jennie bobbed her head once. “We went through the foster care system together. She was my best friend.” There was a definite sob in her voice.
Luke edged closer so his arm was touching hers. She didn’t acknowledge him, but her voice was stronger when she continued. “She asked me to come over. We heard something in the garage. Luke went to check it out, and the rest of us waited in the hall. The fire started so suddenly, I didn’t see what happened.”
“I know what caused it,” Luke said. “There was a man in the garage. When I opened the door, he was pouring gas on a pile of firewood. He threw the can in the haus, then threw a flare in after it.”
The chief rubbed his chin. “I noticed that the front door had been bolted shut.”
Jennie’s eyes widened. “That must have happened before we arrived. I never noticed that. I thought it was just locked.”
“He never meant for anyone to get out of the house, which makes this first degree murder,” Trooper Carter said. “It was a very careful job. Obviously planned out. Do either of you have any idea who would have done this?”
They both nodded. Luke responded, “It was Morgan, Randi’s half brother. When we arrived, she was lying on the floor. He’d beaten her.”
Jennie explained to Trooper Carter what Randi had found. “Is she—” She broke off.
Luke grabbed her hand. Regardless of having dragged Randi’s limp body across the yard, Jennie was still hoping her friend was merely unconscious.
“I’m afraid so.” Trooper Carter’s normally flat expression brimmed with sympathy. “I’m sorry for your loss. We’ll put out a bulletin on Morgan.”
Luke opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to ask what they should do next. His words were cut off by a fit of coughing. His ears began to buzz. He couldn’t breathe and the air in front of him seemed to shimmer, as if someone had tossed a handful of glitter in the air in front of him.
He put out an arm to reach for Jennie. Her face swam before his eyes.
He went down.
* * *
Jennie shrieked as Luke collapsed. All she could think about was that he was dead, too. She’d already lost him once. Even though she didn’t really know him anymore, he was still Luke, the man she’d loved with her whole being.
“Luke!” Dropping to her knees in the snow beside him, she frantically searched for a pulse.
“Easy, miss.” A paramedic nudged her aside to kneel next to Luke. “He’s probably inhaled too much smoke. We need to get him to the hospital.”
In shock, she watched as the paramedics swarmed about, getting him hooked up to oxygen and lifting him onto a stretcher. When the ambulance door slammed shut behind him, the sense of loss was a physical pain, a sharp invisible spear in her gut.
“Mama, Mama.” LJ yanked on her hand, his little face frightened and tear streaked. “Where’s Daddy going, Mama? Why wouldn’t he wake up?”
Trooper Carter’s face became grave. She was grateful when he didn’t ask questions. Her emotions were too shaky to deal with complex explanations right now. All she wanted was to make sure that Luke would be all right.
It was strange how used to having him around she was getting after one day in his presence. Luke Beiler was not the same man she’d married, but she was already certain he was a man she could rely on. What she couldn’t trust was the way she was drawn to him.
He had made the choice to become Amish, whether he’d had all the facts or not. There was nothing she could do to change that. Which meant it was irrelevant how wonderful or trustworthy he was, or how his smile made her pulse race. None of that was important.
As soon as this ended, if they were all still alive, he’d return to his Amish home with his Plain community. She and LJ would stay here. If she weren’t careful, they’d both wind up with their hearts broken. She didn’t want that for her son.
Nor did she see how she could stop him from getting to know his father.
It was his right. And
it was Luke’s right to know his son. She had seen how devastated he was to learn he’d missed seeing LJ grow.
She couldn’t deny him the joy of seeing LJ become a man.
But how to do that without herself becoming emotionally dependent on him, she didn’t know.
Ugh! This was becoming too complicated.
“Mrs. Beiler,” Trooper Carter said as he approached her again. “I can give you a lift to the hospital if you want to check on your husband.”
Jennie shook her head. “Thank you, but I have my car. I’ll follow you.”
LJ was disappointed. “I want to ride in the police car.”
Trooper Carter lowered himself to his level. “You want to ride with me? Maybe I can have someone else drive your mom’s car—how does that sound?”
She sighed. There was no way she could say no. Sure enough, the little boy’s eyes widened and a grin spread across his adorable face.
“Will you turn on the lights? And the siren?” LJ stared up at the trooper, his eyes pleading.
Trooper Carter chuckled. “I guess I can do that.”
She cringed but managed a weak smile for her son. The last thing she wanted was to be seen sitting in a police car with sirens blaring and lights flashing. However, there was much to be said for the relief at seeing her son smiling, especially after the harrowing day they had had up to this point.
A quick glance over her shoulder told her that Randi’s body had already been moved.
“We’ll find him,” Carter murmured.
She thanked him, then followed him to the police cruiser. At the car, his partner stood, waiting.
“Hey, Jill,” Trooper Carter greeted the woman. “How would you like to drive a civilian car for a change, while I give my pal LJ here a fancy ride in our cruiser?”
Jill rolled her eyes. “Fine. Fine. Can I have the keys, please?”
Jennie dropped the keys into her open palm.
The entire way to the hospital, LJ chattered at the trooper, questions pouring from him at lightning speed. Jennie soon gave up trying to listen to the conversation. Her thoughts were too consumed with Luke’s situation. Surely, if he had died, or if his condition had worsened, someone would have contacted Trooper Carter, wouldn’t they? She hoped that was the case, but never having been in this situation, was unsure what to expect when they arrived.
Before she exited the vehicle, Trooper Carter stopped her. “I had a purpose for wanting to drive you. I didn’t want any other ears to hear this, but whatever happens, I want you to promise me that you won’t go back to your apartment. This is too coincidental, and I don’t like it. Morgan. Steve. Too many variables. You need to disappear. Though, keep in contact.”
The two directives seemed contradictory, but she nodded her head. “I get it. And we plan to do just that. As soon as we can collect Luke to go with us. We’re still set to head to his uncle’s house. It’s outside of Meadville, halfway to Spartansburg. Most of the houses belong to Amish families. It’s a very rural area. Highly unlikely anyone would think to look for us there. Especially since most of the people I see on a daily basis have no idea who Luke is or where he’s from.”
* * *
In the emergency room, their way was barred by a nurse. “Family only.”
Jennie took a deep breath. “We are family. I’m his wife, and this is his son.”
“I want to see my daddy.” LJ went into full pout mode, his lower lip protruding, his bright blue eyes narrowing to slits as he glared at the nurse.
“It’s okay, honey,” Jennie murmured.
The nurse gave her a doubting expression.
“It’s a long story, but he really is my husband.”
With the support of the state trooper at Jennie’s side, the nurse gave in, although not gracefully. Jennie and LJ were allowed back in the examination room.
To her relief, Luke was alive, though he didn’t look happy.
“Jennie! LJ!” he exclaimed when they entered his curtained cubicle. “Ach, I was getting worried.”
LJ clambered up to sit on the edge of the thin mattress with Luke. Jennie stepped close, but was careful not to get too close, remembering her resolution to keep her emotional distance.
Luke gave her a questioning glance. She ignored it. “I’ve never seen anyone hit the ground so fast. Are you okay?” she asked him.
His cheeks and the tips of his ears reddened. “Jah, I’m gut. I woke up on the ambulance. Breathed in too much smoke.” He hesitated. The indecision on his face told her he was trying to decide if he should say something.
“They’re out searching for Morgan,” Jennie commented. “Trooper Carter came in with me. He all but ordered me to go off the grid until Steve or Morgan or anyone else gunning for me is found.”
His brow raised. “Off the grid?”
“You know, hide. No cell phones, leave no trace, that sort of thing.”
“Jah, I know what it means. Did you remind him we’re heading to my onkel Jed’s haus? You can’t get more off the grid than an Amish community.”
She snorted in reply, suppressing the odd desire to laugh. It seemed somehow wrong to laugh at a time like this. “Yeah, yeah. I told him. When can you leave?”
“Hopefully soon.”
Soon turned out to be three hours later. Luke was examined and the cops came and went, taking with them his vague description of the man who set the fire. It was late afternoon before he was released from the hospital.
The parking lot was coated with a fresh layer of soft white snow. It was fluffy and pretty. And as slick as stepping on a sheet of ice. They walked with careful steps to the car. Still, Jennie’s right leg shot out from underneath her when she hit a particularly icy patch. Luke caught her, wobbling as the force of her weight hitting his nearly took them both down.
The momentary contact rocked her as his warm breath washed over her face. It smelled like mint.
Why was she noticing this?
Flushing, she pushed away as soon as she could stand without embarrassing herself.
Exhausted, but alive, the three made it to her car.
“Mama, I’m hungry.” LJ’s whine broke into the somber silence that covered them like a thick fog.
“Okay, honey, we’ll find something to eat.”
Chicken nuggets and fries at a drive-thru turned out to be the best she could come up with at the moment.
“Your uncle, I know he lives off Route 77. I don’t recall the road I turn on, though.” She turned off the main street and headed up the hill, past a Kwik Fill gas station and away from Meadville.
“You’ve still got another fifteen or twenty minutes before you come to it,” Luke said. “It’s about five minutes after the turn off to Centerville.”
“Got it.”
She turned on the radio for some music, but then turned it off again when the news came on. She really didn’t want to hear about the fire. She’d have nightmares for the rest of her life about Randi’s death.
“I wonder,” she began, then stopped.
“What?”
Jennie released a sigh. “I wonder if I’d seen Randi’s call when she first tried to get a hold of me yesterday if she would still be alive now.”
Luke placed his hand over hers. “Jennie, you can’t do that to yourself. It’s not right that she died. But there is nothing you can do to change it. Morgan is responsible for what happened, not you.”
“I know that. In my mind. But I’m not sure I believe it.”
EIGHT
It had never bothered him that he didn’t have more charisma. Luke had never been a smooth talker, able to glibly know the right thing to say at any given time. That had never been his gift. Raymond, now, Raymond had always been far more eloquent. Which had never bothered Luke before.
Until now.
If only he knew the words to wipe t
he sorrow from Jennie’s deep brown eyes. He wanted more than he could say to see the gold specks in her eyes shine. To see the way her left cheek dimpled when she smiled, truly smiled with her whole heart. In those moments, she was radiant.
He didn’t even question how he knew that he used to enjoy basking in the glow of her happiness. He had no specific memories, but he knew it to be true.
Now he could do nothing. Nothing but hold her hand as the sorrow emanated from her like a strong perfume.
He was in a very dangerous position. For the foreseeable future, he was going to be sequestered with Jennie and LJ. While getting to know his son was a wonderful opportunity, and one that he would be forever grateful for, being in such close proximity to the woman he had once married was not a good idea.
Already his emotions were becoming far too tangled up where she was concerned. The mere sound of her voice soothed him in a way he would not have believed possible. Sitting so close beside her in the car, he could catch the whiff of the vanilla scent she wore. It was a scent that reminded him of home and all that was beautiful.
It was almost like a memory. Being so near her, he wondered if he closed his eyes and breathed in deep, would a memory spark of his life with her, that life he had lost?
It was useless to encourage such imaginings. He had made his choice when he had joined the Amish church, and he didn’t regret it. It meant that Gott was the center of his world, and that’s how he felt it should be. The problem was Jennie was no longer part of his future.
If only his heart could remember that.
He sneaked a peek at her face. It was more closed off than it had been earlier. When she had entered his cubicle in the emergency room, he had noticed that she seemed more reserved. It reminded him of the moment when he had met her again in her apartment. It was hard to believe that was only yesterday.
He found himself wishing for the closeness that had started to grow between them. But that would only lead to more pain and heartache when they had to part again. Would he still be able to keep in touch with his son when this was over?
Beside him, Jennie flicked on the blinker. They were turning onto his onkel Jed’s road. Luke sat straighter in his seat.
