Plain Refuge

by Dana R. Lynn

  In that instant, he knew he was going to kiss her. Was it a bad idea? Absolutely. Still, he couldn’t find the strength to pull away. He should crack a joke or make some lighthearted remark to break the mood.

  He didn’t.

  Instead, he found himself leaning closer to her. He moved slowly, giving her time to retreat, but she seemed to be as stuck as he was.

  Her lids fluttered closed. He could feel her breath on his face.

  Tires rumbling up the driveway brought him to his senses. No, he couldn’t kiss her. That wouldn’t be fair. He pulled away from her, but that wasn’t enough. He needed to put some distance between them. Abruptly he stood and walked away from her. After a few steps, he couldn’t resist and glanced back at her over his shoulder.

  Sophie’s face was red. She shifted and stood, brushing imaginary dust from her dress. He hadn’t meant to embarrass her. Then he saw the flash of her eyes. Nope. She wasn’t embarrassed. His Sophie was mad.

  He kept the grin that wanted to break free locked up tight, but it was a struggle. Why she made him so happy was something he wasn’t prepared to analyze. And seeing her mad that he had broken off their almost-kiss, well, it made him want to laugh. Not in mockery. Never that. He was just happy to know that she’d wanted the kiss as much as he did.

  Which was absolutely not a good idea.

  Especially since they had someone out to kill them. He had to remember that. Whatever he was feeling, no matter how pleasant, needed to take a back seat to keeping her safe and nailing Phillip Larson.

  It made no sense to dwell on it. He pivoted on his heel and watched an old maroon sedan driving slowly up the driveway. He could walk faster than the car was crawling along. However, since this was a residence and young children lived here, he approved. If only more people were as cautious when they drove.

  “Oh, that’s the doctor,” Sophie said, coming to his side. “He was here last night and gave you a fairly clean bill of health. Except for the head. You gotta watch that.”

  Aiden nodded. His instinct to flee remained, but the doctor had already seen them. He wanted to determine what kind of threat the man posed for them.

  First, they had to wait for the doctor to park his car. The man pulled up, then did a six-point turn to get the vehicle facing the other direction. It would make it easier when it was time to leave, but it was amusing to watch.

  “I could do that with only three points,” he murmured, winking when she rolled her eyes at him.

  “Bragging?”

  He liked this banter. He knew what they were really doing, defusing some of the tension.

  At last the doctor turned off his engine and stepped from the vehicle. He looked to be in his late sixties and walked with a decided limp. His face, while kind, had a somber expression.

  “Well, son, you seem to be feeling better than the last time I saw you.” The man ran a clinical gaze over him, stopping to visually analyze the bruising on his temple. “How’s the head treating you?”

  “Not too bad. Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Huh. I bet you would say that even if it was hurting like Silas’s mule had kicked you.”

  Beside him, Sophie snickered. Clearly, she agreed with the doctor’s assessment. He wasn’t sure he appreciated their views.

  “Come on, Aiden,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. “Smile. It’s true and you know it.”

  Okay, yeah, maybe they were correct.

  A rusty chuckle left the doctor. He started to move up the stairs at a painful pace. When Aiden moved to assist him, he brushed him away. “Don’t you worry about me. I’ve got a few years of stair climbing ahead of me before I retire.” The doctor stayed for about an hour. Fifteen minutes to check on Levi, and another forty-five to chat with Silas after he arrived home.

  When they went in to eat, it was a dining experience like he’d never had. Eleanor and Silas had six children. Melvin was the oldest. Next in line was Mary, a shy girl around Celine’s age. Then there was a set of identical twin boys that Aiden couldn’t tell apart. An adorable three-year-old named Laura sat in wooden booster chair next to her mother. On the other side of Eleanor was a high chair with the baby of the family buckled in it. All the food was on the table, including a water pitcher. Before they started to eat, everyone bowed their heads and prayed silently. They stayed bowed until Silas said, “Amen.”

  No one fussed about eating their vegetables. Not even the youngest children. And they all ate everything on their plates. He shook his head.

  “Something wrong, Aiden?” Melvin inquired as he helped himself to a second helping of chicken.

  “I’ve never seen children eat their veggies so well.”

  Eleanor smiled, practically preening. “Danke.”

  When dessert was passed around, Aiden was so full he had to pass. And tired. It had been an exhausting few days, and now all he wanted was to crash.

  But he was restless, and after dinner was done, he stepped outside. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but the light was starting to dim. He heard the door close and knew immediately who it was.

  “Hey. This is like déjà vu.”

  He smiled at the laughter bubbling in her voice. His smile faded as he considered all that had happened since that early morning on the porch with her.

  “Will life ever go back to normal, do you think?” Her words were so soft he leaned in to catch them.

  “Yes and no.” He leaned a shoulder against one of the pillars on the porch and moved so he could watch her. “You’ll go back to your old life. But you’ve been through some things that will never leave you. So you will be different.”

  Wow. He didn’t know he could be so profound. Must be the tiredness.

  “I know one thing that’s changed.” She tilted her head. Her eyes gleamed in the fading light. “I have begun to rearrange my priorities. God, family and career. Before, I had put career first. I will always regret not appreciating my parents while they were here.”

  He could relate to that.

  She shifted closer. His traitorous mind flashed back to when he had nearly kissed her. It was fortunate the doctor had shown up although, truth be told, Aiden regretted not kissing her as much as he would have regretted it if they had kissed.

  Completely ridiculous.

  “Have you talked with your chief yet?”

  “Huh?” Sophie’s voice dragged him away from his thoughts. “Oh, no. Not yet. Let me do that now.”

  He pulled the cell phone that he’d been carrying out of his pocket. Only seven percent of the battery was left. He hoped it was enough. He dialed the chief’s personal number.

  She picked up on the first ring. “Wanda Daniels.”

  “It’s me. Aiden.”

  “Aiden, where are you?” she whispered urgently into the phone. “Do you know that you are wanted for questioning?”

  Wincing, he pinched the bridge of his eyes. “Yes, I’m aware. The kid who was killed, he was the one that Larson was talking with when Sophie walked in on them. He had disappointed Larson, lost him a deal.”

  “I figured it was something like that. You still have the two Larson girls?”

  “Yes, ma’am. They’re fine.”

  “Where are you?” she asked again.

  He paused, unwilling to give away too much. “Are you sure this phone is safe?”

  “Yes. I had this phone and my office swept for bugs last night. We’re good. Are you going to answer my question?”

  He knew that tone. She was done taking excuses and expected immediate compliance.

  “Yes, ma’am. We’re in Ohio. Near Berlin. Hang on,” he said when Sophie waved at him.

  Covering the phone microphone with his hand, he looked at her.

  She glanced at the phone in his hand. “I talked with Silas this morning,” she whispered to him. “We’re in Fisher Village, a Ne
w Order Amish community. We’re only an hour outside of Berlin.”

  He nodded and relayed the information to his chief. “Have you found the mole yet?”

  There was some shifting on the other end. “Wait a sec. Berlin. Okay, I see it on the map. That’s Amish country. You converting, Forster?”

  He laughed. “No. But my buddy Levi has family there. We’re going to see if we can stay there.”

  “Gotcha. As to your mole question, we have Officer Quail under watch.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  Quail was as solid as they came. He was young, but everything about him read cop. He was completely by the book. Even though he was a bit of a rookie, he was loyal to a fault. There was no way it was him.

  “I thought the same thing. But we have to follow the evidence. And right now, it’s pointing to him.”

  Well, it could point to him all it wanted to. He wouldn’t believe it until he had a chance to look at the supposed evidence himself.

  TWELVE

  “Levi explained to us what’s been going on.”

  Silas had caught Aiden right after breakfast. On his guard, Aiden quirked an eyebrow at Silas.

  “Oh? What did he tell you?”

  “Most of it we knew. You are a police officer. Celine and Sophie are being chased by their uncle.” Silas took his hat off a hook and gestured for Aiden to walk with him. The men stepped outside. It was a cool morning that smelled like rain was coming.

  “All that is true,” Aiden said. “Levi was leading us to his family’s place. I guess they live right in Berlin.”

  “Ja, so he told me.” The older man tugged on his beard. “I’m thinking that if you still plan to go there, Levi won’t be going with you.”

  Unfortunately, the doctor had declared that Levi’s wound was infected, and he needed to remain exactly where he was in order for it to be treated. Which meant either they remain as well or go on without him.

  Aiden was itching to be on his way. He felt they were too close to where they had started.

  Frustrated, he blew out a breath, hard.

  “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, because I am grateful, but I believe that me and the girls should keep going. I’d hate to bring harm to your family.”

  “Kind of you. But Gott will keep us safe. It’s all in His hands.” He took a sip of his coffee. “If you need something to do, we could use a hand.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I think it would be better if no one knew we were here.”

  “Ja. The doctor knows.”

  Was that a warning?

  “Is he likely to talk?”

  “Nee. Edward is a gut friend. He won’t talk. Unless—”

  “Unless what?” he barked, then grimaced. Rubbing his hand over his face, he apologized. “Don’t pay any mind to me. I’m a little tense these days.”

  To his relief, Silas chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “Ja. This I can see. You are a man protecting his own. I understand.”

  Well, not exactly. But he did feel like Celine and Sophie were his responsibility, so he didn’t correct the man. Admit it. You like the idea of them being yours. And you belonging to them. He did like it. He just wouldn’t act on those feelings.

  “Cumme, the other men at the mill are all Amish. If I say you are a gut man and not a threat, they will take my word.”

  Aiden opened his mouth to refuse politely, then stopped. He would like to scope out the area a bit. What better way to gauge if his enemies had found them? If these men could be trusted not to go to the police, would he be able to casually inquire if anyone had heard anything or seen any strangers about town?

  “Maybe...” He looked at his clothes. He had put on his old jeans out of habit that morning. “I don’t know if it would be a problem, but I stand out in my own clothes.”

  “Ja.” The man frowned at his attire. “I suppose you could dress in Plain clothes for a few days. You and Melvin are around the same size. He isn’t as tall as you, though.”

  There was enough hesitation in the man’s words to make Aiden wonder if he’d be asking him to break some sort of taboo.

  “If it would get you in trouble—”

  “Nee, it would be safer for you.” He shrugged. “Eleanor already found clothes for Celine and Sophie, and they can wear them again. Finding clothes for you won’t matter.”

  Aiden nodded. “It would also be safer for your family not to have three non-Amish people walking around your house.”

  Within an hour, Aiden, Sophie and Celine were all fully dressed in Amish clothes. The women were wearing the same dresses they’d put on the day before while their clothes were washed. Aiden loved that shade of green on Sophie. It was difficult to not stare at her. Man, she was pretty. But it went deeper than that. She was spunky and brave and kind.

  There were no buttons on the dresses. Eleanor had shown Sophie how to braid their hair and pin it up before donning the starched white prayer kapp. The moment he saw the kapp on Sophie’s head, he smiled at the picture she made. At the same time, he missed seeing her gorgeous hair. When Celine went to tie the strings, Eleanor stopped her with a gentle hand.

  “Nee. We leave the kapp strings untied.” Sophie signed the comments for her sister’s benefit.

  Celine shrugged and allowed the strings to drop. When she left the house for the barn, he frowned. She was stomping a bit more than usual. He caught Sophie’s attention when she sighed.

  “What’s going on with Celine?”

  “She’s frustrated at not hearing.”

  “Because we’re in disguise.”

  She lifted her hands. He could see the frustration shimmering in her eyes, too. “Her processors need to be charged, and there is no electricity here. And when we left the car, we left her charging port in it. So we are going to be dealing with a cranky preteen until I can get a new charger.”

  Which could be a while.

  He didn’t envy Sophie the task of dealing with her sister. He’d help as much as he could, but at the end of the day, she was the one handling most of the drama.

  “Look, I’m going with Silas to the mill today. I’m going to ask around and see if anyone has seen or heard anything.”

  “Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to ask around in the nearest town?”

  “Maybe. But we can’t take the risk of being identified. Also, I don’t know who we could trust not to repeat what we say. Either way, this might be our safest choice.”

  She didn’t look happy about it, but she nodded. “Celine and I promised to help Eleanor with her chores today, although I doubt Celine will be much help. She’s been in a mood all morning.”

  Reaching out, he caught and squeezed her hand. “Hey, she might surprise you.”

  She squeezed back before removing her hand from his. “We’ll see.”

  When Silas announced it was time to go, Aiden grabbed the straw hat he’d been loaned off the peg near the back door and followed the older man out to the buggy. Heaving himself up on the seat, he settled in next to Silas.

  He wasn’t used to riding in a buggy, and it was obvious. Sitting up on the bench with Silas, he kept his hands planted firmly on the bench on either side of himself to keep his balance. When the horse first started, the buggy jolted forward. Aiden fell back slightly. Automatically, his right foot shot out to hit the brakes.

  Silas slid a laughing glance his way.

  Chuckling, Aiden shrugged. “What can I say? I’m used to my car.”

  Flicking the reins with an easy, practiced movement of his wrists, Silas set the horse off at a trot. Aiden couldn’t remember a time he’d felt so exposed. At least in a car, he had the frame around him. Here, he was literally sitting out in the open. There was a window between them and the horse, no doubt to keep the dust and rocks from hitting them, but other than that, they were pretty much visible to anyone who car
ed to look.

  “I want to thank you again for your hospitality, Silas. It really means a lot.”

  “Ja. You’re welcome. Gott brought you to us to assist. We are paying back an old debt.”

  “An old debt? What do you mean?”

  Silas sent the mare trotting down another dirt road. “Before Melvin was a member of our church, while he was deciding whether to be Amish or join the Englisch world, he became friends with some Englisch boys.”

  Rumspringa. He’d heard of it. Aiden held back from asking questions. Silas was revealing some deeply personal information. He suspected this was not something Silas would have shared were it not for the idea of a debt he owed Aiden.

  “One of the young boys my son befriended was being abused by his grandfather. When my son tried to help, the grandfather locked them both in a shed and started to set it on fire.”

  Aiden remembered that case. “My partner and I were the officers on call. We got the boys out.”

  “Ja. You did more than that. My son had stopped breathing. You did CPR on him. Broke two of his ribs, but he lived. He saw you once, when you came to the hospital to check on him. Eleanor and I were still on our way. We had to find a driver and someone to care for our other children. We never met you before that day, although we did see a picture of you and your partner in the newspaper at the hospital. My son wasn’t sure if you were the one who had saved him when we came upon you the other day, but we knew your name.”

  “I didn’t realize he lived that far away.”

  “Ja. He had traveled into the city in a car driven by one of his friends. He has talked of wanting to thank you and your partner for several years.”

  Aiden felt his throat closing as thoughts of Tim crowded in. He would have been so touched by the story.

  “We were glad we could be there.” He cleared his throat. “Tim, my partner... He was killed in the line of duty. I know meeting your family, meeting Melvin, and knowing how well he was doing... Well, it would have meant a lot to him.”

  Aiden understood now why the family was so set on helping them.

  “Is that why you trusted us so quickly?”