Amish Outsider by Marta Perry

Author:Marta Perry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2019-04-23T13:52:08+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

AS SOON AS he’d said the words, Michael realized the full implication. He was trapped. He could see a possible way out of the nightmare and at the same time see it was closed to him.

“Surely it’s better to speak the truth about it. If you hide this from the police, they may never know what really happened.”

“They’re not interested in what really happened.” He spoke from the depths of his bitterness. “All that detective wants is enough evidence to take to trial. He doesn’t care about truth.”

“Ach, Michael, that can’t be true. He’s the police—he’s supposed to find out what really happened.”

“You don’t know—how could you?” Cathy was way out of her depth. No one here could understand—and certainly not his father. He sent a fleeting regret after the possibility of a reconciliation with the old man. “You’ve been sheltered from that side of life. You don’t know what trouble is.”

Cathy’s gentle face tightened in a rebuke. “Trouble comes to everyone, Michael. You know that. The Amish aren’t immune. We just have to trust.”

“Trust?” Anger swept over him. “Who am I going to trust? Diana, who betrayed me? All the friends who turned their backs on me? My father? Him least of all.”

“You might trust God.”

He made a short angry gesture. “I don’t want to hear about it. I’m not that naive any longer.”

Cathy paled, and he knew he’d hurt her. “You say that everyone has let you down. You’re forgetting the ones who didn’t—the people who tried to help. The ones who welcomed you back.”

Shame battled with anger. It wasn’t fair to take out his feelings on Cathy. And she was right. “All right. I’m sorry. Not everybody. Not you, or Verna, or Sarah and Lige. But my own father—he’s so stubborn he can’t let go of anything. You don’t know what it’s like.”

Answering anger sparked in Cathy’s eyes. “You blame your father for being stubborn, but you’re just as bad. You don’t give anyone a chance to help you. You push people away because you’re so sure you know what’s best.”

The words struck at his heart. Had he really been doing that? He hadn’t wanted to put his burdens onto other people. He wanted to protest that it was necessary, but he wasn’t sure that was true.

“You don’t understand.” He put his hand over hers, wanting her to see it from his perspective. But something happened when his fingers closed over her wrist. He felt her pulse fluttering against his hands, her warmth against his skin.

That warmth spread from his palm, radiating up his body until it enveloped his heart. He warned himself to look away, but he couldn’t. His eyes met hers, and he sank in the clear blue depths.

Cathy’s breath caught. Awareness of him filled her face. The surroundings faded until he couldn’t see anything else.

Without thought, he bent toward her. Their lips met, and the longing to be closer overwhelmed him. He slid his arms around her, and she came willingly, clinging to his shoulders.

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