Amish Rescue by Debby Giusti

Author:Debby Giusti
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-01-11T18:45:19+00:00

FIFTEEN

The ride to the Thomin property seemed especially long today, no doubt because Joachim was thinking of the way Sarah had gripped his arm and the plea he had heard in her voice.

Eventually he turned onto the Thomin driveway and guided Belle toward the barn, where she would stay while he dug through the decaying wood and replaced the rotten areas on the back porch. Once the rain stopped and the wood dried, he would paint the new patches to make them identical to the old.

The white SUV that had caused problems earlier sat parked at the front porch. Joachim stared into the rear seat, seeing nothing of interest. On the porch, he noticed a large duffel bag leaning against the side of the door frame. The arms of a man’s brown dress shirt poked from the drawstring closure. Would the filled bag, if propped up in the back seat, have given the appearance of a person with long hair? He shook his head and sighed, suddenly not sure of what he had seen through the tinted windows. He flicked the reins and guided Belle around the vehicle and into the barn. After unpacking his tools from the buggy, he hurried to the back porch.

The kitchen door opened. Victor sneered. “Where have you been? I thought you plain people got up early in the morning?”

As much as Joachim did not like Victor’s tone, he steeled himself and gave a brief nod as he set his tools on the porch. “The storm was severe. It is dangerous to be on the road when lightning strikes so close.”

“That’s a lame excuse,” Victor said with a wave of his hand.

“I do not offer it as an excuse” Joachim was quick to point out. “I have provided the reason I was delayed arriving. Would you prefer that I leave you now?”

Victor shook his head. “No need to get huffy.”

Joachim was not huffy, but he was concerned about what might be happening inside the house. The television was tuned to a sporting channel and cheers from the crowd filtered through the back door.

“Victor, bring me a beer,” a male voice demanded.

“You have guests today?” Joachim asked, glancing around Victor in hopes of seeing into the house.

“Get to work,” Victor growled before he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Joachim glanced through the windows on the side of the house, searching for some sign of a woman. Seeing nothing except empty rooms, he glanced into the wooded area where Mamie mentioned the kitchen house had been located. Over the years, a thick forest had encroached within twenty feet of the Thomin home. If the kitchen house had been left standing, the woods would have surrounded the small outbuilding by now.

The sounds of the game on the television and the cheers of the onlookers bolstered Joachim’s determination to continue searching. Convinced the men would remain focused on the TV, he hurried to the rear of the house.

Victor found him there. “I’m a little miffed at you, Burkholder,” he said, his voice raised.

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