by Dana R. Lynn
Gently, he settled Beth down. His gaze scanned Kate for a few tense moments. Finally, he smiled and moved into the boathouse, limping. She frowned. What else had he injured? He returned, carrying a long thick cord and handed it to her.
“Danke,” she murmured, using the Amish word for thank you without a thought. Biting her lip, she transferred her focus to tying Natasha up good and tight. She had no future here with Abram, and she needed to make sure he knew that. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him again. Even though she knew they’d already gone too far for that. She would hurt both of them when she left.
This time for good.
A distant siren caught her attention.
“Ah,” Abram murmured, “I think Shane’s coming to rescue us.”
She snickered at his wry comment. A moan sobered her. Beth was waking.
“Watch her.”
Abram nodded and stepped closer to Natasha, earning himself a string of insults from the paramedic. Knowing he’d keep an eye on the woman, Kate flew to Beth’s side.
“Beth? Can you hear me?”
Beth’s mouth worked. Kate frowned, not liking the ashen cast to her skin.
“Feel sick. Stomach.”
Beth started to gag. Kate swiftly worked to help her move to the edge of the dock. She wished there was a way to get her warm. Beth had lost quite a bit of blood. She wasn’t out of danger yet.
When the sounds of retching faded, Beth had a little more color in her cheeks. “Who are you?” she croaked, opening her eyes and blinking at Kate. They were a startling clear green in her pale face.
“My names Kate Bontrager,” Kate said, smiling. “I’m with the Wallmer Grove Police Department. My partner and I were sent here to find you.”
Beth pushed herself up to a sitting position. “I remember you. You were there...”
Kate nodded as Beth let the statement die. Regardless of the circumstances, she was still in the witness protection program. The rules about not discussing the past were drilled into witnesses. If they broke the rules, they’d be kicked out of the program. She nodded to show she understood.
“We’ve apprehended the leader of the drug-trafficking ring, the woman who shot you. She’ll be going to jail. And her accomplices, Evan and Gary, have both been dealt with, as well.” Now was not the time to go into how Natasha had killed one of her own men. Beth just needed assurance that she was now safe and that those who had tried to do her harm were not going to come after her again. She felt for the woman, having had to hide twice.
“I didn’t think she’d find me. But she did.” Beth closed her eyes. “I would do it all over again, you know. Those kids, they needed someone to take their side.”
“You did that, Beth. You should be proud of yourself.”
Kate stood as two police cruisers rolled into view, lights flashing and sirens screaming. The sirens cut out abruptly, although the lights continued flashing, splashing blue and white on the water.
Shane stepped out of the first car. The doors to the second cruiser opened. She recognized Marshal Delacure, who was with another police officer. Beth gasped as her handler came into view. Delacure knelt beside Beth and they began whispering together. Kate moved away to give them some privacy.
Lieutenant Greer jumped out of the police cruiser and dashed over the soggy ground. Beth sat up, tears in her eyes. He joined her and the marshal. Marshal Delacure was talking rapidly, probably explaining the process of witness protection and the risks.
They probably wouldn’t listen, anyway.
Shane strode to Kate. “How ya doing, kid?”
She shrugged, afraid that if she opened her mouth, all her emotions would spill out for everyone to see. She was holding herself together by a thread.
He slung an arm around her shoulder for a quick squeeze, then released her. “Glad we got here in time. I’m always ready to ride to the rescue.”
Abram joined them with a snort. “Ja. What would we have done without you?”
She had to laugh. “Okay, guys. Yes, Shane. We’re glad you’re here for the cleanup.” She yawned. “I’m done. I need to sleep for a week.”
“After you write your report.”
Groaning, she nodded, rubbing her eyes. “After that.”
An ambulance pulled in behind the two police cruisers. The doors opened and two paramedics hopped down. Their eyes bulged and jaws dropped as the police officer walked past them with Natasha. Kate’s makeshift handcuffs had been replaced with genuine ones. The officer nodded once at the stunned paramedics before placing her hand on Natasha’s head and stuffing her neatly into the cruiser.
The somber pair of paramedics approached and checked out Kate, Abram and Beth. Beth was loaded into the ambulance. Marshal Delacure conversed with the paramedics briefly before climbing into the back with Beth.
“That arm looks painful,” a paramedic commented to Abram.
Kate bit her lip, concerned. She hated to think of Abram in pain. It galled her that he had gotten involved in this messy world of crime.
He smiled, but his jaw was clenched. He was in pain but wouldn’t admit it. Men.
“I think you busted it,” Kate told him bluntly.
He winced. “Ja. When I went over the dock, I used my arm to protect Beth and landed on it. I also twisted my ankle. That’s why it took me so long to get back to you. I needed to get her safely up. It wasn’t easy.”
She stared at him. “Not easy? You carried a full-grown woman up a wet embankment with a broken arm and a twisted ankle. Abram, that’s amazing.”
He flushed at her praise.
Shane strolled over to them. “I need the car,” Kate said to him. “Any chance you can hitch a ride with the officer before she takes off?”
He pulled the key from his pocket and tossed it to her. “Sure. I’ll see you later.”
He jogged up the hill, catching the officer before she backed up and left. Only a true friend would have given in to her request without questions. She turned to Abram.
“Come on.” She waved for him to accompany her. “I’m driving you to the hospital myself. There’s only one ambulance.”
“Gut.” He fell in line beside her. “I think we should talk.”
It was the last thing she wanted to do, but it had to happen. Now was better than waiting. Like pulling a Band-Aid off fast. It hurt, but sometimes doing it slowly or hesitating hurt more.
She let him get in and helped with the seat belt, knowing he’d struggle with only one hand.
“I’ll try not to hit any bumps.” She slid behind the wheel and started the car. The cruiser pulled smoothly off the grass and onto the road.
A thick silence fell between them. After five minutes, she took a deep breath. Abram beat her to it.
“We’ve found Beth and the leader of the drug ring here in Sutter Springs has been arrested,” he mused. “It’s been an eventful day.”
She snorted. No one made understatements like Abram. “Yeah, you could say that. A little too eventful.” She gestured toward his arm.
“I don’t know. We’re alive. So, it’s gut.” He looked out the window. “What now? You’ve done everything you were supposed to do.”
This was it. Her chest felt hollow, like her heart had been harvested, leaving a hole in her chest.
“Now, I go home,” she whispered. Her hands clenched on the wheel. She blinked back the wetness searing her eyes. A single tear slipped out. “I go home, and life returns to normal.”
He turned to face her. “It won’t, ain’t so? You can return to Wallmer Grove, but will it still be home? Will you miss me, Katie?”
“What kind of question is that?” she huffed.
“An honest one. I will miss you every day of my life, Katie. But I’m not sad that we met again.”
“I’ll miss you,” she muttered, her voice nearly inaudible
. “My life isn’t here, though. I’m not Amish anymore.”
“You could be.”
Her breath stalled in her chest.
She pulled into the hospital parking lot and drove under the emergency room carport. “Abram, I left the Amish world behind almost a decade ago. That’s not something I can go back to. I’m sorry. I truly am.”
The tears were falling faster now. He wiped her cheek with his uninjured arm. “Ja. I’m sorry, too. I love you, Katie Bontrager. If you ever decide you can live the Amish life again, you know where I am. I’ll be waiting for you.”
She sat, frozen, as Abram released his seat belt and opened the door. Her eyes followed him as he walked through the sliding doors and out of her life.
SEVENTEEN
“Done.”
Kate jabbed the send key on her report and leaned back in her desk chair. She hooked her finger through the handle of her favorite mug and took a sip of the steaming French vanilla cappuccino. She’d splurged for the first time in a month as a small reward for another successful arrest. She frowned into the mug. It used to feel good to close another case. To take one more drug dealer off the streets. She’d been meticulous in making sure the proper procedures were followed, not wanting to leave the defense attorney a millimeter of wiggle room. Kate took another small sip from her mug, breathing deeply as the sweet aroma wafted past her nose.
Even her coffee wasn’t as enjoyable as it once was. Too sweet.
“Hey, kid. Sitting on your hands again?”
She snorted at the remark, mock glaring over her mug as her partner, Shane, strolled down the aisle between the desks at the Wallmer Grove Police Department, his heels clomping in a steady rhythm on the tiles. Shane, she thought fondly, was the only thing that felt the same since she’d returned.
He came closer and leaned back, half sitting on her desk. “Out with it, kid. I’ve kept my mouth shut for weeks.”
“What?” she stalled, knowing he wouldn’t be fooled or put off. He had given her space, but she knew Shane. Now that he’d decided to speak his peace, he wouldn’t be moved until she gave in.
Narrowed eyes pinned her in place. “Don’t give me that. You’ve come to work every day, smiling that big fake smile to me, trying to act like everything is peachy. Well, I’m not buying it.”
Sighing, Kate leaned back in her chair. “Really.”
She took a sip of coffee, mostly to occupy her hands.
“Really.” He mimicked her tone. “It’s that Amish dude, isn’t it?”
She choked on the coffee. Using the word dude to describe Abram was just wrong.
Shane waited until she could breathe again. “Am I mistaken?”
He’d been patient long enough. “No, you’re right, but it’s complicated.”
He nodded. “It always is. But I still want to know. Explain complicated.”
“Well.” She used her toe to swivel her chair from side to side. “You know that I grew up in that community. Abram, he and I were special to each other.”
He nodded, his gaze sympathetic. Encouraged, she continued.
“I guess we both assumed that one day we’d get married and have a family. Until Gary.” She could see the light dawning.
“I know that you pressed charges against him. It never occurred to me when we accepted this assignment that you’d run up against someone like him. I’m glad he’s in prison. I’m also glad you were able to have a hand in that. I take it you knew him before he hurt you.”
She grimaced. “Yeah. He worked with my father. He gave me the creeps. When I was sixteen—” she paused “—you can guess what happened.”
His eyes were round with horror. “Oh. Kate, you can stop.”
She couldn’t. “No, it’s fine. My parents were very strict. And very conscious of how others saw them. They blamed me. I couldn’t take the shame and the guilt. Maybe if they’d lived, things would have improved. But they didn’t. I was so alone I fled. Got out of there so fast. I never told anyone I was leaving. Not even Abram.”
“He must have felt awful.”
It was painful remembering how she had doubted him. He was the most honorable man she knew, and she had hurt him so bad he’d never gotten over it. Neither had she.
“He felt betrayed, and he was. I hurt him so bad, Shane.”
“Kate.” He leaned closer. “Does he still blame you?”
She shook her head. “No. In fact, he told me he loved me and wanted me to stay.”
He had wanted her to stay, to be his wife. He might not have said all that, but she knew it. Could she have traded in her life for the Amish way, for Abram?
“So, if he forgave you and doesn’t blame you anymore, why do you still blame yourself?”
Stunned, her jaw dropped. “I don’t. I mean, I couldn’t—” She stopped, her mind whirling. “It’s not that I blame myself. Not exactly. It’s more like I don’t know how to move on from what happened. How do you go back to where it happened?”
“Kate, I don’t want to tell you how to live your life, but I’m going to, anyway. If you have an opportunity for love and happiness, you need to ask yourself if you really want to let it go. Love is something pretty special.”
She stewed on the revelation for two days before she finally made an appointment to speak with the department counselor. In the week before her appointment, she came up with twenty different reasons why she needed to cancel it. She started to dial the number several times. Each time, she halted before hitting Send.
“This is something I need to do, God. Something I need to do so I can heal and get on with my life. Give me the strength, please.”
The day of her appointment arrived. She approached it with the same joy one would a root canal. To her surprise and relief, it wasn’t as awful as she’d feared. Oh, it was challenging, and in some ways, it was dreadful. She swallowed her reservations, though, and made a second appointment.
It was almost Thanksgiving when she realized that her self-flagellation had stopped. She still harbored some guilt. She didn’t know if she’d ever be rid of it all. But she’d let go of the ugly rage she felt against herself and her parents. Regardless of what had happened in the past, she had put Gary the Shark away and had rescued Abram’s cousin from him.
Abram.
Each day, the longing in her heart grew. The business and clutter of her life became increasingly unsatisfying. She wanted more. She wanted to live a life where she worked with her hands and family was more important than the bottom line. She wanted to know that God was the first priority.
And she wanted to be a wife and a mother.
Mostly, she wanted to be Abram’s wife.
I’ll be waiting for you.
She sucked in a breath, holding her hand over her heart as she recalled his parting words to her. Was he still there, waiting for her?
She had no reason to doubt it. He’d never forgotten her, even after ten years. Certainly, he wouldn’t forget her after such a brief separation.
Could she join the church? Yes. She was ready to make that commitment to God. And she felt no sorrow about giving up her job. She’d miss Shane, but he’d understand. He and his wife could visit.
Grabbing her laptop, Kate tapped out a quick resignation letter. She read it to make sure it sounded the way she wanted it to, then sent it to the printer.
Standing, she strode to the printer and took the letter. It was warm to the touch. With a flourish, she signed her name and headed to the captain’s office. She could wait, maybe think about it more, but what would be the point? She was as sure about this as she’d ever been about anything.
She knocked softly on the door.
“It’s open.”
Pushing the door open, Kate stepped inside the captain’s office. “Do you have a minute, Captain?”
Captain Murphy eyed her sharply. “I do, Kate. Wh
at’s on your mind? Although, I think I have an idea.”
Kate blinked at her superior officer. “Oh. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of resigning from the police department.”
The captain’s eyebrows rose. “Thinking of resigning? Then, I can persuade you to stay?”
“That didn’t come out right,” Kate corrected her. “I have decided to resign. Here’s my letter.”
Setting the letter on the desk in front of the captain, Kate stepped back and waited, hands clasped behind her back. Now that she had done it, all her nerves had fled. She was at peace with her decision.
Captain Murphy picked up the letter and read it, her lips pursed. When she had finished, she set it down on the desk. “I’ll be sorry to see you go, Kate. You’re an exemplary officer. I know you have the ability to go far. If you stayed, I’m sure you’d be promoted in the near future.”
“I don’t desire promotions, Captain. My heart is no longer in the job.”
It never had been completely, but she didn’t think the captain needed to know that.
Captain Murphy sat back in her chair. “So, you’re leaving us. I’m not surprised. I’ve sensed you haven’t been satisfied since you returned from Sutter Springs. I guess I hoped you’d shake it off. I can see now that you won’t. I accept your letter of resignation. Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”
“No, ma’am. I’m leaving the department. I plan on returning to Sutter Springs. I have someone waiting for me there.”
“Actually,” a familiar dry voice said from behind her, “that someone is here.”
Joy and disbelief sparked in her heart as she whirled to see the man who held her heart.
“Abram!”
* * *
She was resigning. Abram couldn’t squelch the grin that had formed when he’d heard her say she was returning to him. He could have saved himself the trip, but it had been worth it to hear those words.
When Shane had seen him entering the department, a knowing smile had crossed his face. “Ah, you’re here to see Kate. She’s in the captain’s office. I just passed there.”