Undercover Amish
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She shook her head but didn’t offer a verbal response.
“Where’s your car, ma’am?”
“Broken down on the side of the road not far from here. A warning light signaled the engine had overheated. I pulled off the road.”
“That’s when the man came after you?”
She nodded. “A few minutes later. I had seen him at the gas station.”
“He followed you?”
“I’m not sure. He was headed toward the highway when he first left the station. He must have turned around.”
“And he chased after you?” Lucas asked.
“That’s right,” she said with a nod. “I ran into the woods. He came after me and started up the deer stand. Thankfully, an animal rustled the underbrush and distracted him. He ran toward the sound, probably thinking it was me. Eventually, I heard a car engine and presume he drove off in his SUV when he couldn’t find me.”
Needing to gain her trust, Lucas pointed in the direction of the road. “You stay here and I’ll check the roadway to make sure he’s gone.”
As much as he didn’t want to leave the skittish woman, Lucas wanted to ensure the man had driven away as she’d suspected. He quickly made his way through the thick underbrush until he had a clear view of the roadway. A Nissan sedan sat at the side of the road. No other vehicle was in sight.
He returned to the deer stand. “It’s Lucas,” he announced as he started up the ladder, relieved to find her waiting for him at the top.
“I saw one car and only one car. A Nissan,” he informed her.
“That’s mine.”
“Then the guy’s gone. How ’bout we climb down the ladder? I can check the engine and see what’s wrong with your vehicle.”
She didn’t respond.
“Unless you want to stay on this deer stand all night,” he added.
The temperature had dropped even lower. Lucas could feel it in his leg. The wound had healed but the memory lingered. If the dampness bothered him, it had to be chilling her, as well.
Her jacket was light and her head and hands were bare. A slight mist had started to fall and she appeared to be shivering under her bravado.
“Not sure how you feel about a cold rain on a chilly night, but I’d prefer to seek shelter and stay dry.”
Her shoulders relaxed. Evidently he was making progress. “I don’t want to pry, ma’am, but you haven’t told me your name.”
“It’s Hannah.” Her finger inched away from the trigger. “Hannah Miller.”
“Pleased to meet you.” He hesitated before extending his hand. “Now, if you’ll pass me the rifle, we can get out of the rain.”
She sat for a long moment. Then, with a faint sigh, she handed him the .30-30. He checked to make sure the chamber was clear.
“I’ll go down first. You follow.” Swinging his good leg onto the ladder, Lucas started to climb down. Unsure how he’d handle the situation if she failed to move, he smiled to himself when she scooted to the edge of the platform.
“Easy does it, Hannah. One foot at a time. Take it slow. I’ve got your back.”
The woman had been agile enough to climb up the deer stand. Surely she could climb down, as well. Still, he didn’t want any missteps. Everything, including ladders, turned slippery when wet, and the last thing he wanted was any more harm to befall the pretty woman who had changed his plans for this evening.
In a flash of clarity, he realized her unexpected entry into his life could upset the peaceful existence he’d been living for the past eleven months. He’d turned in his badge, left law enforcement behind and found solace in the Amish community. Even more important, he’d gotten right with the Lord and found a simpler way to look at the world.
Savannah, Georgia, his years in law enforcement, and what had happened on that dock front were merely a memory. A painful memory that he chose to ignore. Except in the middle of the night when he awoke in a cold sweat, knowing his partner, Olivia, had died because of his delay in responding to her call for help.
He shook his head to send the thoughts fleeing then dropped to the ground and watched the woman with the long legs and free-flowing hair trudge down the ladder.
Her foot snagged on the second-to-last rung. Without thinking, he caught her in his arms. She was slender and soft, and smelled like a fresh floral bouquet. He hadn’t been this close to a pretty woman who tugged at his heart in eleven months and, for a long moment, he was transfixed by her nearness.
She bristled. He dropped his hold and took a step back, unsettled by the mix of emotions that played through his mind. A twinge to his gut told him getting close to Hannah Miller might be dangerous to his health.
“Are you okay?” He wasn’t sure of the response she would provide, but he knew all too well that he was anything but okay. The woman had an effect on him that was difficult to define. Confused and befuddled might be accurate descriptions of the way he felt.
Gripping his rifle in one hand, he pointed to the trail that wove through the forest with the other. “The path will take us to the roadway near to where you left your car.”
She swallowed hard and tugged on the bottom of her jacket before nodding. “I didn’t realize there was a path.”
“It’s hard to see at night unless you know where you’re going.”
“Maybe you should take the lead,” she suggested.
“Sure.”
“You’re positive the guy’s gone?” she asked as if needing to be reassured that Lucas wasn’t leading her into danger.
“I told you, your car was the only one I saw. You mentioned hearing a vehicle heading down the mountain.”
Without waiting for a reply, Lucas started walking and was relieved when he heard her following. As nervous as she seemed, he wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to run away. But then, where would she go? Her car was broken down, a man had followed after her, and she was halfway up a mountain road few people knew about and even fewer traveled.
He pushed back a branch from one of the saplings and turned to glance over his shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked again.
“I’m fine.”
The mist changed to a steady drizzle. Her hair was matted with rain that ran over her shoulders and down the front of her jacket.
“Fine” was a stretch. She looked cold and about as comfortable as a drenched kitten.
His heart went out to her, but then he realized his mistake. He knew nothing about Hannah Miller, yet a man had chased her through the woods. Maybe that was why Lucas had built the deer stand six months earlier. Had the Lord placed it on his heart to do so, knowing a woman on the run would need a place to hide?
He was still a neophyte when it came to having a relationship with the Almighty. The Good Lord was working on making him a stronger believer and more willing to accept the precepts of the faith he had picked up from the Amish with whom he worked.
Thankfully, they had embraced him with open arms, but he was the one holding back because of the burden he carried in his heart. He’d asked God to send someone into his life who could remove the plank that weighed him down.
So far, God hadn’t answered that prayer.
“Oh,” Hannah gasped.
He turned to grab her arm before she tumbled over a fallen log. She nodded her thanks and leaned closer as she regained her footing.
His pulse hammered in his ears. What was it about this woman that caused him to take note? She was pretty. But lots of women were.
Maybe his protective nature had kicked into overdrive. Once a cop, always a cop, even after eleven months off the job. Still, he’d worked lots of investigations in Savannah and had never felt so engaged with a victim or a witness to a crime. Something about Hannah was different, and whether he liked it or not, he felt sure his life was about to change. For better or worse? Only God knew and, at the moment, He was silent.
TWO
Lord, keep me safe, Hannah prayed as she stared at the second man tonight who had peered into her car’s engine.
“Shine the light this way,” Lucas asked.
She angled her cell to where he pointed, grateful for the flashlight on her phone.
“Looks like there’s a hole in the radiator,” Lucas said, confirming what the horrible man in the flannel shirt had already told her.
The bad news was easier to accept from the helpful guy wearing suspenders.
She glanced at the road that disappeared around the mountain. A nervous tingle wrapped around her spine. The lewd guy who’d wanted information about Miriam could come back, especially if he expected to find Hannah huddled in her car, seeking shelter from the rain.
Lucas seemed oblivious to the danger. Although there was no telling what he was thinking with half his face hidden under that wide-brimmed felt hat he wore.
Swallowing hard, she gathered her courage to say what played heavy on her mind. “Do you think he’ll come back?”
Lucas glanced out from under the hood of the car and flicked his gaze to the mountain road. “We’ll see his headlights in plenty of time.”
His comment lacked the reassurance she needed and wanted. Would they really have enough warning to hide if the man returned? Or could a car traveling at a rapid rate of speed surprise them both?
The Good Samaritan’s nonchalance troubled her. Surely he wasn’t in cahoots with the guy in blue flannel. She shook her head ever so slightly and sighed, refusing to go down that road. Better to think of Lucas in a favorable light. So far, he’d done nothing to cause her concern.
Besides, the Amish were peaceful folks. Weren’t they?
Yet he’d said he was almost Amish. What did that mean?
“If we had some water, we could fill the radiator and drive until it ran dry.” Lucas extracted himself from under the hood. “That might give us enough time to get to the B and B.”
“Where you work?”
He nodded. “But as I mentioned, we need water.” He held out his hand, palm up. “And more than a sprinkling of raindrops.”
“I’ve got a case of water bottles in the trunk of my car,” she shared. “I went to the store after work—”
“And forgot to unload your groceries?” he added with a knowing smile.
Even in the darkness, she could see the dimples in his cheeks and the sparkle in his eyes.
“I planned to help with the youth at church,” Hannah explained. “The kids are always thirsty.”
“What changed your plans?”
She avoided his gaze. “It’s a long story.” One she didn’t need to share. “Let’s fill the radiator and see how far we get.”
After unlocking her trunk, Hannah grabbed as many bottles as she could carry. Lucas did the same. He jimmied a tiny portion of cloth into the hole in the radiator, and then, together, they poured water into the reservoir.
“Looks like it’s holding.” He held out his hand when she pulled the keys from her pocket. “I’ll drive. The roads can be tricky at night.”
She liked his take-charge attitude and the smoothness with which he closed the hood, scooped the empty plastic bottles into her trunk and held the passenger door open for her. She settled into the seat and watched as he rounded the front of the car and slipped in behind the wheel.
The road twisted and turned, and she was grateful Lucas was driving. She glanced at her watch. Half past midnight.
Coming to an intersection, he turned right. A road sign pointed left to Willkommen. “Isn’t that where I want to go?”
“The town is still a distance from here. The B and B is closer.” He glanced at the clock on the console. “It’s late, and you’ve got a radiator that’s losing fluid. If we get to the Amish Inn, I’ll be more than grateful. You can stay there overnight. The rooms are clean and comfortable and off the beaten path. You won’t have to worry about the guy who followed you.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I wear a lot of hats,” he said with another smile that played with her heart. “One of them is security.”
“But you weren’t working tonight?”
“That’s right. My shift starts at six a.m.”
She hated to pry but another question came to mind. “If you don’t mind me asking, how’d you get to the deer stand without a car?”
“I live in a house on the inn’s property. There’s a shortcut on the other side of the mountain. It’s a good hike, but doable. When the parcel of land went for sale, I purchased it some months ago and built the tree stand as a place to go to be alone.”
“Sorry I interrupted your serenity.”
“Not a problem.” He flashed another upbeat glance her way. “Glad I could help.”
A comforting warmth settled over her. Then, realizing her error, she sat straighter in the seat. She wouldn’t succumb to Lucas’s charm. She’d been involved with one man too many. No reason to let herself make another mistake.
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?