The Amish Midwife's Courtship and Plain Truth by Cheryl Williford

Author:Cheryl Williford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Love Inspired
Published: 2017-12-03T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two

Ella stepped into the hallway and paused. Her head ached, and the muscles in her back and legs were strained. Although she’d survived the attack, her insides were still trembling. After Quin’s death, she had moved to Georgia, looking for a better life. Now an intruder had robbed her of her peace and sense of security.

She doubted that the special agent could understand the way she felt. He was big and bulky, and impeccably dressed in a navy sports coat and khaki slacks, with a patterned tie that brought out his rugged complexion and dark eyes. Some might call him handsome. She found him intense.

Glancing into the small treatment room, she saw Hugh Powers, head in his hands, sitting in the chair where his wife had slept not that long ago.

Ella tapped on the door frame. “Corporal Powers?”

He glanced up.

“I’m sorry about Mary Kate.”

“The EMTs said she would have bled out if you hadn’t helped.” He looked weary and confused.

A sound caused her to turn. The special agent had entered the hallway and stood staring at her. “I thought you were going to your residence.” His voice was low and clipped.

“I was talking to Corporal Powers.” She glanced back at the soldier. “I know this isn’t the homecoming from the Middle East that you expected, with sick children and an injured wife. If it’s any consolation, the girls are getting stronger, and I’m sure the doctors at Fort Rickman are doing everything they can for Mary Kate.”

“When can I leave here?” he asked. “I need to go to the hospital to be with my wife, but the sergeant said he might have more questions.”

“Maybe Special Agent Swain can help you.”

Zach stepped forward, getting much too close to Ella. All she’d been able to smell since the storm was Georgia clay and dried blood. Now she inhaled the clean scent of sandalwood and a hint of lime.

She looked up, taking in his bulk, and then glanced down at her tattered blouse and soiled hands, realizing once again that she couldn’t let appearance define her.

Ella wasn’t who Quin had wanted her to be—that became evident over the course of their short marriage. The problem was, she wasn’t sure who she was or what she wanted anymore. Quin had that effect on her. Or maybe it had started with her father, who was never satisfied with anything she did. How had she married a man who reminded her of her dad? A psychologist might say she was trying to prove her worth to both men, but she was tired of having to prove herself to anyone, even the special agent.

He touched her arm. She glanced down at a hand that would dwarf her own.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice brimming with concern.

Evidently, she had been lost in thought longer than she realized. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

Turning abruptly on her heel, she followed the female police officer into her private residence and sighed as she closed the door behind her. Of course she wasn’t fine.

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