Plain Target

SANCTUARY IN AMISH COUNTRY

Horse trainer Jess McGrath only wants to clear her disgraced brother’s name, but enemies keep coming out of the woodwork and danger only gets closer. Jess soon learns that no place is safe—and no one can be trusted...except for the last white knight she’d ever expect to ride to her rescue. Paramedic Seth Travis was the boy behind her high school humiliation, but he’s also the man keeping her alive. When they find sanctuary in the Amish community, can they uncover answers in time to stop a killer—and resolve their past in time to build a future together?

“We can’t stay here. I think our being here has scared whoever is after you past the point of caution. We’re sitting ducks.”

“And how are we supposed to leave? And, even if we do leave, where would we go? The power is still down and the creek’s still flooded,” Jess countered.

She had a point. The situation wasn’t ideal. “We’re just going to have to rough it,” he announced.

Her brows lowered. Her teeth gnawed at her full lower lip. “Seth.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re about five miles out from where Rebecca’s parents live.”

“Do you trust her family?”

“Yeah. I’m sure her family would help us if we could just get to their house.”

He considered it. “Where do they live?”

She told him. “Most of the houses on their street are owned by the Amish. And the lumber mill Levi works at is close by. We could probably get over there and use the business phone to call the police.”

“Better there than here. If we can sneak into the woods without being seen, we have a chance.”

He waited for her slow nod.

“Let’s do it.”

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed Seth and Jess’s story. While this is the third story set in LaMar Pond, it is the first book of a new miniseries which is connected by the local Amish community. I was glad to finally give Seth his own happy-ever-after. And a chance to play the hero. After seeing how much he adored his new sister and her kids, I had to find a special woman just for him. Enter Jess. Jess has been through so much in her life. She is by herself, but has confidence that she is not alone... God is always with her. Her faith has kept her going during all the trials thrown her way. It was such a joy to watch her grow closer to Seth, and in the process, help him regain the faith he had lost.

I was also glad to bring my experience of working with the Deaf and hard of hearing into the story. I had always toyed with the idea of having a Deaf character, and after having been challenged by someone close to me, I decided to take a risk. I have just barely scraped the surface of the richness of Deaf culture here, and I hope to be able to go deeper in the future.

Thank you for journeying with me. I love to hear from readers. Visit me online at www.danarlynn.com, or email me at WriterDanaLynn@gmail.com. I am also on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Blessings,

Dana R. Lynn

DANA R. LYNN grew up in Illinois. She met her husband at a wedding and told her parents she had met her future husband. Nineteen months later, they were married. Today they live in rural Pennsylvania with their three children, two dogs, one cat, one rabbit, one horse and six chickens. In addition to writing, she works as an educational interpreter for the deaf and is active in several ministries in her church.

Plain Target

Dana R. Lynn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

My God will fully supply whatever you need,

in accord with His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:19

This book is dedicated to the memory of my Aunt Norma, who first introduced me to the genre of romance, sparking a lifelong fascination with Happy Ever Afters.

Acknowledgments:

Although writing is a solitary career, I couldn’t do it without the love and support of so many people. First, to my wonderful husband, Brad, and our kids. You alternately kept me sane and drove me crazy during this process, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

To my editor, Elizabeth Mazer, who took the time to brainstorm with me to make this story come to life. You are awesome, and I am so grateful to be able to work with you.

A special bittersweet thanks to my late agent, Mary Sue Seymour, who passed away before this book was completed. She loved this project and cheered me on from the beginning. A woman of great faith, energy and kindness. I was truly blessed to have been able to work with her.

My heartfelt gratitude to my Lord and Savior. I pray that my words will always point to Your love and mercy.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Acknowledgments

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

ONE

“Fire!”

Jess McGrath tore the fire extinguisher off the wall before running back to the blaze in her brother’s office. For the first time in five weeks she entered the room where she had found Cody dead from his own hand. Behind her, her hearing aids caught the eruption of sound as her visitors, Rebecca and Levi Miller, scurried to help the two daytime workers release the horses into the pasture. Gratitude surged briefly. Rebecca was her oldest friend. No one else had stuck by her when the scandal started, leading to Cody’s disgrace and the near ruin of their training stables. Her Amish-raised friend didn’t even consider abandoning Jess. It was fortunate that Rebecca had persuaded her indulgent older brother to give her a ride in to visit Jess today on his buggy. With staff down to the bare-bones minimum, Jess needed all the help she could get.

Pulling the pin, Jess aimed the extinguisher at the flames consuming the exterior wall. Would it be enough?

Please Lord, let everyone and the horses be safe. The pictures on the wall connected to the stalls vibrated as the horses were led out. They would go directly to the pasture.

The flames died out and the extinguisher sputtered as it emptied. Jess stared at the destruction before her. Cody’s desk had taken the brunt of it, along with the wall. How had it started? The electrical systems had all been updated within the past three years. And no one had been in the office for weeks.

Not since the police had taken all Cody’s files when he came under suspicion for various charges of fraudulent practices. A third of the clientele to the stables and training facilities she owned with her brother had taken their business, and their horses, elsewhere. River Road Stables was facing bankruptcy if she didn’t find a way to improve business.

Her eyes landed on the still smoldering heap that had been a garbage can. It was unrecognizable. Only the fact that Jess knew what it should be helped her identify it. Her stomach turned. Trembling began from her toes up. Had the fire started there?

The floor vibrated, almost a heaving feeling. Jess spun around in time to see the large bookcase rock forward. The frame was anchored to the wall, but she could see the screws being ripped out. Even as she jumped out of its way, she knew she hadn’t jumped far enough. The heavy shelf toppled, knocking into her as it fell. She crashed to the ground. A sharp pain exploded in her head.

* * *

Jess struggled to open her eyes. The left side of her face ached. Her ears rang. With a groan, she lifted her head, only to drop it as nausea rolled over her.

A warm hand patted her shoulder. She risked opening her eyes again. A paramedic loomed over her, a concerned frown digging furrows in his forehead. He looked vaguely familiar. Her head ached too much to wonder where she had seen him before.

“Jessica? Jess, can you hear me?”

She blinked, incredulous. Who was this man? She had to have met him somewhere. Not only did he know her name, but he had also signed as he spoke. Of course, she was wearing her hearing aids, so it wasn’t fully necessary. It was appreciated all the same.

She moved her head. Oww.

“My head hurts,” she moaned.

He nodded, watching her carefully. “I think you may have a concussion. We’ll know better once a doctor examines you. I did check your vitals. They look good.” He continued to sign while he spoke.

“How did you know I’m deaf?”

His eyes widened, a surprised expression crossing his face. Followed immediately by a guilty one. His gaze shifted nervously before returning to rest on her face again.

“You don’t recognize me?” He seemed wary of her answer.

She shook her head slowly, wincing as her aching head protested. “No, but you look really familiar.”

He sighed. “High school.”

It couldn’t be.

Narrowing her eyes, she looked closer. It was. How had she not recognized him? But he had changed so much from the gangly sixteen-year-old boy she had known so briefly eleven years ago. His black curly hair was shorter, and his scrawny body had shot up in height and was well muscled. The nerdy glasses were gone. But the eyes...she did remember them. Deep brown eyes that she had crushed on for several months during her freshman year before realizing that the sweet boy she thought she knew didn’t exist. He had been a bad boy who was only interested in flaunting the rules and irritating his high-society parents.

“Seth Travis.” The words felt bitter on her tongue.

He nodded, then focused his attention off himself. “Do I need to sign, or can you hear me well enough if I just talk? I can help you faster if I don’t sign.”

“Yeah, as long as I have my hearing aids on and it’s quiet and I can see your face, I’m good.”

“I remember that.”

Of course he did. Seth had always been brilliant. On track to be the salutatorian. Not to mention his memory. She had been amazed at his ability to recall even the smallest of details. She didn’t remember him signing in high school, though. When had he learned? And why bother?

“I’m surprised you didn’t recognize me. What with my dad being the senator and all.”

She shrugged. “It’s been a long time since I saw you and you’ve changed a lot. And I don’t pay attention to politics. Never have.”

“So you never saw my old man on television?” His mouth curled in a slight sneer. Problems with his dad, apparently. It was none of her business, but she couldn’t say she approved of his attitude. She would never have disrespected her parents that way.

“I don’t own a TV.” She didn’t add that she had better things to do with her time than to watch the drama of the spoiled rich kid she remembered play out before her.

Rebecca entered the stables, and Jess settled her attention on her dearest friend. Rebecca’s brother, Levi, followed her at a slower pace. It still looked odd to see Rebecca dressed Englisch when she stood next to her Amish brother. But it warmed her heart, too, knowing that Rebecca’s family supported her choices. Jess knew that Rebecca’s social circle was very small, due in part to her deafness. It could have been smaller. If she had left her community after she’d been baptized, she would have been shunned, even by her family. The fact that she had decided to leave her Amish community instead of being baptized had enabled her to keep her close ties to her family.

“Is everyone okay? The horses?” Jess signed to Rebecca, who was born profoundly deaf. Unlike Jess, Rebecca depended totally on American Sign Language, or ASL. People were always surprised to find out how little she could lip read. English was a difficult language to lip read well, with so many sounds looking the same on the lips. Add the fact that Rebecca’s family spoke Pennsylvania Dutch at home into the mix, it was no wonder she hadn’t bothered with it.

“Yes. We helped your two employees move them to the back pasture. How are you? I was scared when I found you unconscious.” Rebecca’s hands flew.

Jess looked at Seth. Did he need her to interpret? Her mouth fell open when he answered Rebecca in almost fluent ASL. That was a whole different skill set than putting signs to English grammar. She was impressed in spite of herself.

“My partner and I need to take her to the hospital,” he signed, indicating someone behind her.

Jess hadn’t even noticed the other paramedic. The woman walked their way, pushing a stretcher. She gave Jess a professional smile.

Jess turned her attention back to Rebecca and Levi. “Did anyone call the fire department?”

They both shook their heads. “We didn’t think it was necessary,” Levi answered her. “The fire was out. It was gut, jah?”

No surprise there. Calling for outside help would not enter Levi’s mind unless it was absolutely crucial.

She hesitated. Part of her was relieved not to have to handle the firefighters or police. She had dealt with so much scandal recently, she didn’t have the heart to face more. But the other part of her wondered if the fire was an accident. It just seemed odd that it started in Cody’s office for no apparent reason.

A stretcher halted on her left side. The female paramedic had reached their small group.

“I called the fire department a few minutes ago.” The blond woman leaned over to check something on the stretcher. “It’s not uncommon for a fire to restart hours after it’s put out. It’s pretty standard procedure to have the local fire department check it out.”

So there was no longer any choice. Jess sighed. She just wanted this day to be over. Quickly, she murmured a prayer for strength. Seth gave her a startled glance, but didn’t comment. Instead, he and his partner loaded her into the ambulance and whisked her off to the hospital.

Two hours later, she was receiving her release papers and, except for a lingering headache, a clean bill of health. What was unexpected was that Seth reappeared as she was getting ready to leave with Rebecca. And with him was a police officer. A very grim-faced officer.

“Jess, this is Sergeant Jackson from the LaMar Pond Police Department. He needs to speak with you for a minute.” He signed the introductions, then started to back away.

Without thought, her hand shot out and caught at his. “Stay. Please.”

He raised his eyebrows, but nodded. She closed her eyes, feeling some of the tension in her chest disintegrate. As little as she trusted Seth, he was someone she knew. Being alone with a police officer was a frightening prospect for her. All she could think of were the accusations of fraud and theft, not to mention the thorough searches she’d endured, that had happened both before and after Cody’s death. No matter how much she and Cody had protested that he hadn’t stolen money from his foundation or rigged horse races, no one believed them. And even knowing the police were just doing their job didn’t shake her feeling that they looked at her with suspicion.

Plus, she reasoned, Seth signed, which could help. As well as she read lips, she sometimes needed to see the words to be sure she understood them. And interpreters were hard to find. She could be here hours if she waited for one.

Sergeant Jackson cleared his throat. “Miss McGrath, the fire department investigated the fire at the stables. It’s their inspector’s opinion that the fire might have been deliberately set.”

A shiver worked its way up her spine. Her day had just gotten much worse.

* * *

Gravel crunched under the tires of Seth’s Ford pickup truck as he turned into the driveway of River Road Stables the next morning. Water splashed up on his tires. The heavy scent of wet hay slipped through the inch-wide crack in his window. It had stormed the night before, and puddles were everywhere. His front tire hit a particularly deep puddle, and he was jarred by the motion as his truck bounced. Man, they really needed to fix the potholes on this driveway.

A yawn crept up on him. He had barely been able to sleep last night. The image of Jess’s distraught face haunted him. A queasy sensation settled in his stomach as he realized that the only reason she wasn’t being investigated for possibly causing the fire was because of her injury. Yet. He had seen the look in Gavin Jackson’s eyes. And he had been around cops enough to know that often arson was committed for insurance fraud.

He expected to continue up the lane to find Jessica in her one-story ranch house where she should be resting, as per doctor’s orders. His plan shifted when he spotted her brown ponytail swaying as she walked into the barn. Pressing his lips together, he parked his truck in front of the barn. Frustration and worry mingled. As hard as it was to believe, she didn’t have a concussion from her accident yesterday. Still, he was sure she probably was feeling some aches and pains. Enough to convince most people to take it easy and rest. A sigh escaped. Not that he was surprised that she refused to slow down. She always had pushed herself harder than others around her. In his mind, he had always wondered if she felt that being deaf, she had to overachieve in order to prove herself.

To be fair, she had probably been right. He could remember the one class they had together—biology. The teacher had tried to convince her to drop the class, telling her in front of her peers that he didn’t have time to waste trying to keep her caught up.

But she had been stubborn. And the guidance counselor had asked Seth to tutor her, to ensure her success. He’d agreed, reluctantly, knowing it would look good to the teachers and guidance counselors who would eventually write him college recommendation letters. And soon found that they had all underestimated her. Had started to admire her, to like her—and that was where the trouble had begun.

He winced. Those were memories he didn’t want to relive.

Parking the truck, he grabbed the wallet he had found on his floorboard that morning. If she had noticed it missing, she might be panicking about now. It gave him the excuse he needed to pay her a visit, although he refused to think about why he was so anxious to see her again. He was a paramedic—it was his job to worry about people, particularly people who had just been injured. He had been skeptical when she had agreed to follow the doctor’s directives. Something told him that she wouldn’t be able to sit still. He had seen the stubborn look in her eyes.

Obviously he had been right.

Didn’t she know she needed to rest? He admitted to himself that he was concerned. Working alone in the barn was not safe for her. And she had said the day before that no one would be coming in until after lunch. It hadn’t struck him until he had dropped her off that someone—meaning her—would have to come out to take care of the horses in the morning. All alone like that, she would be an easy target if the person who’d attacked her stables came back. He shook off the thought. For all he knew, the fire was a random act by a group of kids. Yeah, right.

The stable door was standing open. He headed that way, pausing just inside it. Jessica stood outside the office door, her arms closed tight against her belly, her eyes squeezed shut. He started, ready to rush in and...what? Comfort her? He wasn’t sure, but he knew he didn’t like seeing her so vulnerable. Never had, even though their association had been so brief. Which made what had happened even more contemptible. When he had betrayed her trust, he had left her open to the cruelty of others. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been a part of the actions they had taken against her. He knew what a soft heart she had. And that she had a crush on him. But instead of protecting her, he’d stepped back and allowed her to be hurt in a disaster which ended with her being pulled from the school.

He drew himself away from his painful memories. Then he noticed her lips were moving. She was praying. Okay, now he felt really uncomfortable. He wasn’t big on prayer. Not that he minded other people praying. He just hadn’t had much experience with it personally. And to be honest, he rather doubted it did any good.

A few seconds later she opened her eyes. They widened as she saw him poised in the doorway.

“Seth! What are you doing here?” Her voice was low and pleasant. Although her inflections were slightly irregular, most people probably wouldn’t even pick up on that.

“You left this in my truck.” He waved the bright pink wallet at her.

Jess’s hazel eyes widened. “Oh, no! I hadn’t even noticed it was missing.”

“No worries. It was safe. And I’m even a little glad ’cuz it gave me an excuse to check up on you. Make sure you were taking it easy.” He gave her a pointed look.

She bit her lip. Dropping her gaze to the floor, she scuffed the toe of her boot in the dirt. When she flicked her glance back up to his face, he was momentarily distracted by her wide hazel eyes. He hadn’t let himself feel attracted to a woman for a long time. His behavior in high school, and his poor judgment six years ago with his former fiancée, had taught him that he was not husband material. As bitter as it made him feel, he had been forced to acknowledge that he was too much like his father. Selfish and prone to hurt those close to him. Shaking himself out of it, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

He held his breath while he waited to see if she would answer. He wouldn’t blame her if she brushed him off. She had no reason to trust him. Past events would tell her not to. But he really hoped she would.

Finally, she sucked in a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

“You know that the police are toying with the idea that I started the fire?” She waited for him to nod before she continued. “What I couldn’t tell the officer last night was the fire wasn’t the first accident.”

“What?” He hadn’t meant to shout, but her words terrified him. He wanted to sweep her into his truck and drive her to a safe place. The feeling surprised him. And made him uncomfortable.

Jess squirmed. Then she lifted her chin and seemed to collect herself. “I didn’t realize at first that they were anything more than accidents. I put it down to carelessness. Until last week. A new ladder broke when I took it out to paint. That’s when I started to wonder if someone was behind the accidents. Then this happened.”

“How long has this been going on?” He kept his voice calm with an effort.

“About three weeks.”

“You should have mentioned it to Sergeant Jackson last night,” Seth admonished her.

Hazel eyes blazed up at him. “And you think he would believe me? Just when my barn suffers extensive fire damage and I’m a person of interest?”

She had a point. It would have looked like she was lying to cover her tracks.

“I think it started because I was asking too many questions.”

He wasn’t going to like this. “Asking questions about what?”