With dripping but clean hands, Blake returned to the exam table. He took the instrument from Abby. “Pour that over the ends,” he said to Eli, nodding to the bottle of povidone-iodine, a topical antiseptic, that he held.
Eli did as he said, sterilizing the tool that he would try to save Becka Esche with.
“Now, pour that same stuff all over the front and back of your sister’s wound and wrap it up as tightly as possible. I’m assuming Langer has already called the EMS?” Blake knew his voice sounded detached and unfeeling, when it was the furthest thing from the truth. Inside he was dying with a panic that he’d never felt before in his whole career—his whole life.
Eli did exactly what he was told. Abby moaned as he pulled the bandages tight around her abdomen. It seemed like forever before the EMS arrived. Forever, while he struggled to save Becka and watched Abby grow paler by the minute.
But EMS arrived at last and they swept away both Becka and Abby and raced off to Fairview without him. Now all he could do was wait and pray....
TWENTY-ONE
Abby had been in surgery for what seemed like hours to Blake. He waited outside the operatory. He sat. He stood. He paced. Abby’s father sat next to him. Her mother, too. And Eli and Hannah.
“How’s that search for your birth parents going?” Bishop Miller asked.
Blake shook his head. “The FBI said it was a lost cause. That they’ll never be able to track down all the families Dodd stole babies from.”
Anyway, he didn’t care about that. All he cared about was Abby.
“You care for my daughter, don’t you?” Bishop Miller asked.
“I love her.”
The bishop nodded his head. Other than that, there seemed to be no reaction to Blake’s confession.
“Maybe you should know I plan to move here and hopefully court your daughter...I mean, if she’ll agree to that.”
Again, the bishop just nodded. “I’ve made my peace with it, son. Relax.”
Eli had been on his cell. He tucked it away and walked over to them. “They found the Esches’ baby and arrested Dodd.”
Blake felt a fraction of the tension inside him relax. At least the monster who had shot Abby would face charges for his crimes. “And how is Becka?”
“She’s fine.”
“Has she seen her baby?”
“Not yet,” said Hannah. “She’s in the NICU.”
Everyone sat again as there wasn’t much else to say, and they waited. At long last, the E.R. surgeon came out.
“We removed the bullet. Luckily, it managed to avoid any major organs. Due to the blood loss, she’ll be here for a few more days. But she will make a full recovery. She can have visitors, too—one at a time.”
Abby’s father headed toward Recovery without looking back.
“Wait, Dat. Let Blake go first,” Eli said.
“No.” Blake smiled. “She will want to see her dad first.”
He didn’t know if that was true or not but he wanted the bishop to be satisfied, and now that he knew she was going to be fine, he could stand to wait another five minutes. Blake was so happy and so nervous about what he had to tell Abby or ask Abby—a few minutes more to gather his thoughts might be a good thing.
* * *
Abby was surprised to see her father as her first visitor.
“How are you feeling, Abigail?” Her father sat next to her bedside and patted her hand.
“I’ve been better.” She started to laugh. “Oooh. That hurts.”
“You just rest. I’ll do the talking,” her dat said. “There’s a line of people waiting to get in here to see you. So, I’ll make it quick.”
Abby wondered if Blake was one of those people. She thought she had seen him come into her clinic. She vaguely remembered handing him the forceps to help Becka. Then again, maybe it had all been a dream.
“Dat, if you’re here to tell me I made the wrong decision again, then please don’t.”
“I just told you that I was going to do the talking. Be quiet and listen. Goodness, you’re as stubborn as your mamm.” He cleared his throat and patted her hand again. “I didn’t come here to talk to you about your decision. Well, I did. But...”
Abby held her breath—she did not want to hear her father’s disapproval once more.
“I came to tell you that I’ve been wrong,” he said. “I wanted you to join the church. I wanted you to marry an Amish man. I wanted you to give me lots of grandbabies and be a farmer’s wife. Or a carpenter’s wife. Or a miller’s wife... So, I let you go to school. I let you go to college. I let you work at the hospital. I let you start the clinic, thinking all the time that any day you would get tired of the outside world and all the complications. That you would give it up and come back home. And then I realized that home is where each one of us finds peace with the Lord. And you have that. All this time, Abby, you are home. You have been home. I just couldn’t see it.”
Abby could feel the tears pouring down her cheeks as she watched her dad touch his heart with his hand. “You are home. You were meant to be a nurse. And I’m very proud of you.”
“Thank you, Dat. Thank you for understanding. I love you so much.”
“And I love you, too. And now I have some things to do and you have other people to see. Get some rest and get better.” He kissed her forehead and turned and left the room.
Moments later, Blake entered Abby’s room and approached her slowly. She couldn’t blame him for being cautious after all the pushing away she’d done. She was surprised he was brave enough to come in.
“I hope those are happy tears?” he said.
“The happiest.” She smiled. “You saved Becka. Thank you.”
“You saved Becka. I just came in and helped her hang on until the EMS arrived.”
He reached her bedside. She motioned for him to sit down where her father had been. “They found Dodd and the baby. She’s fine. She’s here and ready to meet you. In the latest news from Hannah just a minute ago, I heard that her name is going to be Abigail.”
“Stop,” Abby said. “I’m going to start crying again and it hurts.”
“Okay. I’ll stop. In any case, I really wanted to talk about something else.”
Abby didn’t want to hear again about how he was leaving and going back to New York. The past week had been bad enough. She didn’t want to live it all over again. “Do we have to talk, Blake? I’m scared. I can’t be what you need. Just hold my hand and be my friend while you’re here. I know that’s all we can have.”
“Shh. I’m going to talk, Abby. And you? You’re just going to have to listen to me. No interrupting. Okay?”
“Have you been talking to my dat?”
He ignored her comment and resumed his speech, which sounded a bit as if he’d rehearsed it. “I know I haven’t known you very long. I know I haven’t been in Lancaster very long. But I know what right is, Abby. I know what peace of mind is. And I know what home feels like. This is my home. Not New York. Not the private practice. Not the big apartment and the cover stories. Right is my being here. That’s home for me—being with you. It’s what I want and it’s where I’m going to be.”
“What?” Was she dreaming? Was she hearing him correctly? “What about your practice? Your foundations? Natalie? New York?”
“My partners are buying me out. I’m going to work here at Fairview. Natalie is engaged to Artie. Remember Artie? And I’ve taken up a permanent room at the bed-and-breakfast. You can’t get rid of me. I’m here to stay. I love it here. And I love you.”
“What about the foundation? What about finding your birth parents?” Did he just say that he loves me?
“I’m moving the foundation to Lancaster. And I gave up finding my birth parents. I thought I was coming here for that and I guess that is what brought
me. But that wasn’t what I was looking for, Abby. I was looking for you. I just didn’t know it.”
Abby felt frozen in the wonderful dream. She’d just had a bullet removed but she couldn’t feel any pain. There was nothing but happiness inside.
“Abby? Did you hear me? I’m falling in love with you.” He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.
“Oh, I hear you, Blake. I hear you.” More happy tears fell from her eyes. “Kiss me again.”
“I would...but I have something I need to know first,” he teased her.
“Fair enough.”
“I heard you were never going to consider marriage. Ever. Is that true? Or is that up for negotiation? Because that might make a difference in how I kiss you...”
Abby felt the smile burst over her face. This was it. This was the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. As a nurse, helping others and being so in love she thought she would burst.
“Are doctors allowed to marry their patients?” She lifted her eyes playfully.
Blake smiled. He knew her answer. “Well, this doctor plans to marry his patient—his one very stubborn, Amish-born, beautiful, wonderful, favorite patient. What do you say, Abigail Miller? Marry me?”
“Yes, Blake. I’ll marry you. I love you so much.”
He leaned in again and sealed her answer with another kiss.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from TOP SECRET IDENTITY by Sharon Dunn.
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Lancaster County Target. I hope you enjoyed Blake and Abby’s adventure. Since Abby Miller has made appearances in two other stories, it seemed appropriate for her to star in her own romantic suspense. I always love adding a little twist to a tried-and-true story line like a doctor-nurse romance. My favorite part is giving the characters their happy ending. It was exciting, too, to have Eli and Hannah from Plain Secrets and Lydia and Joseph from Return to Willow Trace appear in this story—all part of the fun for me in writing a series.
This was an interesting story, too, in that while the Amish community evokes one type of mood for readers, hospitals can stir up all sorts of emotions for us depending on our own experiences. In this story, I wrote about placenta accreta, which one of my friends had a scary experience with. It also brought back some reflections of my own hospital experience, which you can read about in my blog archives. All I want to say here is that I hold some doctors and nurses in very high esteem. What they do is not easy. The patients are not always pleasant or grateful. And sometimes things happen so quickly that everyone is just praying it’s the correct treatment or diagnosis. They are true-life heroes in my book.
As always, I love to hear from readers. I would love to know your thoughts on Lancaster County Target. Please visit with me at www.kitwilkinson.com. You can email me at [email protected] or address a letter to Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, New York 10279.
Many blessings,
Kit Wilkinson
Questions for Discussion
Blake goes to Lancaster to search for his birth parents, but he ends up finding family in a different way. Have you ever set out on a journey that took you somewhere unexpected? Discuss yours and Blake’s experiences.
Discuss the pros and cons of adoption. When is it appropriate to tell a child that he/she is adopted, or is it not appropriate to tell them at all? Have you ever thought of adopting a child?
Would you want to know if you were adopted? Why or why not? Would you search for your birth parents?
Discuss Abby’s struggle to break away from her culture and especially her father. Have you ever been torn between two paths? How did you choose what to do? Do you think Abby would have been happy if she had joined the Amish church?
Discuss Blake Jamison. Is he an easy hero to like at all times? Why or why not?
Discuss the role of Abby’s father in the story. If you have children, what are your expectations for them? How do you deal with it when they choose something other than what you think is best? What moments are hardest for parents and why?
What is your favorite scene in the novel and why?
1 Chronicles 28:9 says, “Acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” How does this verse apply to Abby’s and Blake’s stories?
Illegal adoptions take place more frequently than you might think. What precautions should couples take to avoid these situations and the people orchestrating them, who often take a couple’s money and never actually deliver a baby? What can the government do to prevent this, if anything?
Discuss the Amish dilemma of using or not using modern medicine and/or modern technology during a pregnancy or other complicated medical condition. Do you appreciate their standpoint? How do you view this part of the Amish culture?
In this story, I mention chicken potpie and Church Soup—the recipes can be found on my website. What are some of your favorite Amish dishes? If you have never tried Amish food, are there any dishes that you would like to try? Why or why not?
In the beginning of the novel, Abby feels as if Blake is hiding who he really is from her. Discuss how that is partially true and how the reverse is also true—that she is also very guarded around him and others. Why might they both have a tendency to be guarded?
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Discuss how this verse applies to the Amish culture versus mainstream American Christian lifestyles. Do you think Abby made the right choice by leaving the Amish faith? Why or why not?
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense story.
You enjoy a dash of danger. Love Inspired Suspense stories feature strong heroes and heroines whose faith is central in solving mysteries and saving lives.
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ONE
A wave of terror washed over Morgan Smith when she heard the tapping at her window. She gripped the book she’d been reading a little tighter. Someone was outside the caretaker’s cottage. Had the man who had tried to kill her in Mexico found her in Iowa?
Though she’d been in witness protection for two months, her fear of being killed had not subsided. Only a few days ago, she’d left Des Moines for the countryside and a job at a stable because she’d felt exposed in the city, vulnerable. She’d grown up on a ranch in Wyoming, and when she worked as an American missionary in Mexico, she’d always chosen to be in rural areas. Wide open spaces felt safer to her.
With her heart pounding, she rose to her feet and walked the short distance to the window, half expecting to see a face contorted with rage or clawlike hands reaching for her neck. The memory of nearly being strangled made her shudder. She stepped closer to the window, where there was only blackness. Yet the sound of the tapping had been too distinct to dismiss as the wind rattling the glass.
A chill snaked down her spine.
Someone was outside.
If the man from Mexico had come to kill her, it seemed odd that he would give her a warning by tapping on the window.
She thought to call her new boss, who was in the guesthouse less than a hundred yards away. Alex Reardon seemed like a n
ice man. She’d hated being evasive when he’d asked her where she had gotten her knowledge of horses. She’d been fortunate to get the job without references. Her references, everything and everyone she knew—all of that had been stripped from her, even her name. She was no longer Magdalena Chavez. Her new name was Morgan Smith.
The tapping came again, this time at a different window. She whirled around. Paralyzed by terror, she couldn’t bring herself to take a step. Did he intend to torment her before he moved in for the kill? With the description she gave them, the U.S. Marshals had tracked down a name for the man who had tried to kill her—Josef Flores, a mercenary for hire, a muscular man known for wearing white suits and killing his victims with his bare hands. But they hadn’t caught him yet.
Her pulse drummed in her ears as silence pressed on her from all sides. It had taken her weeks to get out of Mexico alive. Twice, Josef had found her and tried to strangle her. She could still see his bloodshot eyes as he vowed to kill her.
The trouble had started when she became suspicious of some of the practices at the agency where she assisted with international adoptions. Babies were being escorted into the States, instead of adoptive parents coming to Mexico to pick up their children. The behavior of some of the birth mothers was peculiar. At first, they would decide against adoption. Then they would return, days later, saying they’d changed their minds. The young mothers seemed afraid at that second visit. She’d just begun to look through old records and try to contact the mothers when Josef had come after her in her office late at night.
The marshals had agreed to provide her with protection and a new identity because they thought her case might be connected to a larger kidnapping and illegal adoption ring.
Now she stared at the dark window and took in a raspy breath. If what had happened to her was connected to a larger crime, it wouldn’t only be Josef who came after her. There could be others.
Lancaster County Target Page 19