Undercover Amish

by Debby Giusti

  She smiled at Lucas. “I’m getting older. Having Hannah with me made me realize how much I missed spending time in my own home. I’m ready to turn over more of the inn’s operation to a competent manager, if that’s the type of job you’re interested in having, Lucas.”

  He beamed with gratitude. “That sounds perfect, Fannie.”

  “I guess we just need to know what Hannah plans to do.” Fannie smiled. “I need someone to help me in the office, if you’re interested in a permanent job.”

  Everyone looked at her. She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. “I...I don’t want to go back to Macon, and I don’t want to go back to the way I was living. If you need me here, Fannie, I’d like to stay and work at the inn.”

  “I need you, of course, but I think someone else does, as well.” Fannie winked at Lucas and then patted the sheriff’s arm. “Might be good to stretch your legs, Samuel. Your physical therapist said you need exercise.”

  He took the hint and the two of them left the room.

  Lucas pulled Hannah to her feet and smiled down at her, causing her heart to beat wildly. Without saying a word, he drew her closer. Then he lowered his lips to hers. She molded against him, overcome with a sense of acceptance and joy.

  “Everyone seems aware of the way I feel,” he said when their lips finally parted.

  “Everyone except me,” she answered coyly.

  “I’ve fallen in love with you, Hannah Miller.”

  “Oh, Lucas. I love you, too. You’re a good man and I’m sorry that I thought you harbored vengeance in your heart. Evidently I couldn’t see clearly enough because of my own struggle. I told you that I learned about my father the night I left my mother and sisters, but I never told you what else I learned. He was a thief and also a murderer. He gunned down three people in a church and killed two police officers as he was fleeing. All this time, I’ve feared law enforcement mainly because I thought they would look unfavorably on me because of the sins of my father.”

  Lucas started to speak but she touched her finger to his lips, needing to explain everything she had been holding back. “For the last three years, I harbored resentment toward both my mother and father. Seeing how you brought Olivia’s murderers to justice made me realize that I needed to forgive my parents so I could move on with my life.”

  “Your father has no bearing on who you are, Hannah.”

  She nodded. “I know that now. I’ve forgiven him and forgiven my mother, thanks to you.”

  He rubbed his hands down her arms. “You’re beautiful, Hannah, and sensitive and smart, and you make life worth living again. It’s soon, I know, but I want you to hear what my heart is saying...”

  Her own heart was ready to explode. She stepped even closer.

  “My heart says it loves only you. Will you be my wife? Will you let me love you and cherish you for the rest of my life?”

  “Oh, Lucas, I love you, and, yes, I want to be your wife. Nothing would make me happier.”

  “There’s one condition, as you probably know.”

  She tilted her head, suddenly worried about what he expected, what caveat he would place on their love.

  “I want to become true Amish, to be baptized into the faith and to live my life within the Amish community. It’s not an easy choice, and I know you probably need more time.”

  Relief flooded over her. “When I thought you would return to law enforcement, I knew I wouldn’t be able to follow you back to Savannah. What I’ve found here, in this peace-loving community with their focus on the Lord, is what I want for my life, too.”

  “I need to talk to the bishop. Hopefully he’ll realize I no longer harbor vengeance in my heart or desire retribution. I’m free of the past and ready to embrace the future.”

  Again, Lucas lowered his lips to hers and pulled her more tightly into his embrace.

  Eventually he eased up a bit and smiled. “We’ll have children together.”

  She nodded. “A houseful.”

  “I’ll work the land and manage the inn.”

  “I’ll learn how to cook on a woodstove and how to bake bread and delicious pies.”

  “And we’ll face tomorrow together.”

  “Nothing could be better.” She pulled him closer and turned her mouth to his. “Now, my sweet husband-to-be, stop talking and kiss me again.”

  “Yah, kissing is a good thing. Ich liebe dich, Hannah Miller. I love you.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered before his lips touched hers. “Ich liebe dich, Lucas Grant. I love you now and will love you forever. Cross my heart.”

  EPILOGUE

  Hannah stood next to Lucas and peered over the clearing, seeing the green grass and the budding trees in the distance. Turning, she spied the deer stand where everything had started on that fateful night.

  So many things had changed since then. Instead of her earlier apprehension toward law enforcement, she now felt only gratitude for Ned Quigley, Deputy Gainz and especially dear Samuel. She glanced at where he and Fannie stood, hand in hand, both somber and lost in thought.

  With Lucas’s help, the three men from the Willkommen sheriff’s office had brought down a state-wide trafficking operation. Tucker Davis, the guy in flannel who had come after her, was in jail awaiting trial, along with a handful of other men who had been involved in the mountain operation. The men Lucas had subdued at the lodge had copped a plea, and because of the information they had provided, the Savannah district attorney felt confident Eugene Vipera would pay for his crimes.

  Lucas slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  She smiled, appreciating his concern. Glancing down at the freshly covered grave, she was overwhelmed with a sense of closure. Her mother had been laid to rest in this idyllic setting, on Lucas’s land, almost at the exact spot where he had saved Hannah for the first of many times.

  “I was just thinking about everything that happened and how God protected both of us.” She hesitated, feeling the weight of concern she carried in her heart. “If only—”

  He pulled her close. “They’ll find Sarah. God will hear our prayers.”

  She nodded, appreciating how her soon-to-be husband always said what she needed to hear. “I’m praying for Rosie Glick, as well.”

  “‘Patience is a virtue’ is what the bishop told us before we were baptized.”

  She rubbed his arm and smiled. “My mother claimed I was impatient to a fault. I understand her better now. She struggled to accept God’s love and, evidently, never felt loved herself. I hate that she had to carry such a cross. Hopefully the Lord healed that brokenness before her death.”

  “What about the letter? Have you opened it yet?”

  She nodded. “My father hopes I’ll keep writing. He said he never knew what happened to me. My mother left him when I was six months old, but he’s kept a picture of me all these years.”

  “If you decide to visit him in prison, I can—”

  Hannah shook her head and held up her hand. “Not yet, Lucas. I’m not ready. Maybe someday.”

  “We have time, Hannah. A whole lifetime ahead of us.”

  She kissed his cheek, thankful for his strength and understanding. Taking his hand in hers, she stepped back from the graveside and together they walked to where Fannie and Samuel stood.

  “Thank you for being here,” Hannah told them both.

  “Of course, child. You’re like family.” Fannie opened her arms and Hannah stepped into her warm embrace, feeling a connection and a love that she had always longed to receive from her own mother.

  “You’ll need a marker for the grave,” Samuel said, ever the pragmatist. “Something simple with her name.”

  Hannah appreciated his suggestion and smiled, knowing how the kindly man seemed a perfect match for Fanni
e. Perhaps soon he would be ready to embrace the faith of his youth.

  No doubt aware of his fatigue, Fannie patted Samuel’s hand. “Let’s go back to the inn. Lunch will soon be served and I know you are hungry.”

  As they turned to retrace their steps, Hannah stopped short, seeing the handsome Amish couple who had climbed from their buggy at the far side of the clearing.

  “Looks like we’ve got company,” Samuel announced.

  Tears welled up in Hannah’s eyes and her heart nearly burst with joy. “Miriam,” she called as she ran with outstretched arms to her sister, her beautiful sister who had come back to Willkommen.

  “Hannah.” Miriam’s long skirt billowed out behind her as she raced across the clearing, wisps of hair pulling free from her bonnet.

  A flood of tears spilled down their cheeks as the two women embraced. “My sweet sister, I have missed you so.” Miriam’s words were like a balm that healed Hannah’s long-ago broken heart. In that split second everything was forgiven and the wounds of the past were forgotten. Now only this present moment mattered.

  An Amish man, tall with broad shoulders, shook Lucas’s hand, and then the two men embraced, as well.

  Fannie and Samuel joined in the welcome.

  Miriam and Hannah didn’t need words. They would catch up later. Now they just basked in the knowledge that yesterday had passed and they were together again.

  Arm in arm, they walked to their mother’s graveside, both women silent, each lost in her own thoughts.

  “I’m sorry I left you,” Hannah whispered at last, the words and the memories no longer painful.

  “I still don’t know what happened that night,” Miriam admitted. “Later, Mother told me how much she loved you and missed you. She regretted her actions, but she could never muster the courage to call you. I regret not doing so. Maybe I wanted to punish her for forcing you to leave.”

  “She’s at peace now,” Hannah said.

  Wiping their tear-streaked cheeks, the sisters walked to where the men they loved waited.

  “I’m hungry,” Samuel grumbled.

  “I’d like to invite all of you to the inn for lunch,” Fannie announced, taking Samuel’s hand. “I hope you’ll join us there.”

  Eager for the welcoming comfort of the inn, the two other couples climbed into their buggies. Hannah hesitated and glanced back over the clearing, overwhelmed with gratitude for the many ways the Lord had blessed her life.

  Lucas kissed her cheek and then stared down at her with eyes of love. “As Fannie would say, Gott is good.”

  Overcome with emotion at the bounty of the Lord’s providence, Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled at the wonderful man who had stolen her heart. “Sarah will come home soon. I know it, Lucas, especially now with Miriam here. Today we will celebrate as a family.”

  “We need to tell them about our upcoming wedding.”

  She nodded. “We have to tell them about a lot of things, but first, I need to tell you something, Lucas Grant.”

  He took off his hat and pulled her closer, his eyes twinkling. “Yah, I am waiting to hear what you will say, my little cabbage.”

  She laughed then feigned a pout. “But I wanted to be your brussels sprout.”

  “Ah, liebling, you are my everything.”

  They laughed, and when the laughter stopped she said what she had wanted to say and would continue to say for the rest of their lives. “I love you, Lucas.”

  He lowered his lips to hers and all she had ever wanted was fulfilled in his kiss.

  “Let’s go home,” he said, helping her into the buggy.

  Snuggled next to him as Daisy started down the path that led back to the inn, Hannah’s heart nearly burst with joy. Gott had given her what she had always wanted, a man to love and a place to call home.

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed UNDERCOVER AMISH, look for the first book in the AMISH PROTECTORS series, AMISH REFUGE.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THANKSGIVING PROTECTOR by Sharon Dunn.

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  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Undercover Amish, Book 2 in my Amish Protectors series that follows Book 1, Amish Refuge. Attempting to find her missing sisters places Hannah Miller in the middle of a human-trafficking ring, and the only one who can help her is Lucas Grant. The former cop left the Savannah police department eleven months ago. Since then he’s been working for a kindly Amish innkeeper and is ready to join the Amish faith, but when Hannah’s life is in danger, he knows Hannah is more important than his future. The problem is Hannah can’t trust anyone involved in law enforcement, especially a handsome guy who harbors a dark secret that could threaten not only her safety but also her heart.

  I would love to hear from you. Email me at debby@debbygiusti.com or write me c/o Love Inspired, 195 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Visit me at www.DebbyGiusti.com and at www.Facebook.com/debby.giusti.9.

  As always, I thank God for bringing us together through this story.

  Wishing you abundant blessings,

  Debby

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense story.

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  Thanksgiving Protector

  by Sharon Dunn

  ONE

  Bad things happen at night.

  Border patrol agent Kylie Perry stared through her night vision goggles and repeated the words that had kept her alive every time she went out on patrol at this hour—words that reminded her to be prepared for anything.

  Tonight could be big. All intel pointed to the drug lord Rio Garcia crossing the border into El Paso from Juarez, Mexico. Rumor had it he was coming to seek revenge on his sister, Adriana, who had betrayed him.

  Catching Garcia would be a coup for both the border patrol and the Texas Rangers she was working with tonight.

  With the rushing rumble of the Rio Grande current pressing on her ears, Kylie scanned the high thin grass that surrounded the river.

  A voice burst through the radio. “I’ve got movement at ten o’clock.” Austin Rivers, one of the rangers she was assisting, couldn’t hide his excitement. Apparently, he liked the action as much as she did.

  Kylie’s heart skipped into double time as she turned her head toward where Austin had indicated. She scanned until her view took in one person moving at a rapid pace across the river. That couldn’t be their target. Rio Garcia would have four or five henchmen with him. He never went anywhere without his bodyguards.

 
But maybe he was changing tactics.

  “Kylie, let’s see if we can catch him.” Austin’s voice came through the radio. “The rest of you hold your position. This could be nothing.”

  Heart racing, adrenaline surging. Kylie took off running. A moment later, she heard Austin’s footsteps behind her. Her feet pounded the ground. She knew the fastest route to the river. Because of their knowledge of the people, terrain and geography, border patrol was an invaluable asset on these ranger missions.

  The glowing figure disappeared in the tall brush on the American side. One person alone. Who could it be? She couldn’t tell if the yellow glow she’d seen through the night vision goggles had been a man or woman.

  Kylie quickened her pace as she gulped in air.

  As they approached the river, she slowed down and drew her weapon. Austin came up beside her and pulled his gun, as well. She scanned the landscape looking for the solitary figure. Her ears tuned into every sound. Austin pressed close to her, their shoulders nearly touching.

  Minutes passed as the tension bore down on her and twisted her stomach in a knot. The high-wire tension was made worse by the sweat that trickled down Kylie’s neck. Even a November night in this area felt hot to her. She was a Montana girl, born and bred. As much as she loved her job, she wasn’t sure she would ever get used to the desert climate of El Paso.

  Austin whispered as he pivoted and aimed his gun at each sector of the landscape. “Are you sure your informant was right about Garcia coming over tonight in this spot?”

  “All my information from her so far has been golden,” Kylie said.

  Most informants were criminals themselves, men and women on the take wanting money or criminal charges against them dropped. This one was different. Kylie had met Valentina and her six-month-old baby, Mercedes, at her church. When Valentina found out Kylie was a border agent, the young mom had offered Kylie a deal. Valentina would pass vital information to her in exchange for prepaid classes at a community college. Kylie’s boss had readily agreed to the arrangement.