A Secret Amish Crush by Marta Perry

Author:Marta Perry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-11-25T18:59:13+00:00

Chapter Nine

Lydia struggled to gain control of herself as Simon lifted her into the buggy. Her teeth were chattering and her whole body shaking, but she was safe, thanks to Simon. Whatever else she did, she had to control her emotions. Anything else was unfair to him.

She huddled on the buggy seat, trying to force her brain to work. Were they really safe?

“Dolly...” she began.

Simon was quick to reassure her. “I’ll get her. You grab the lines and move ahead. We have to get clear before any more of the road washes out.”

They weren’t out of danger yet, then. Simon thrust the lines in her hands. She tried to grasp them, but she was shaking so badly she didn’t think she could.

Simon didn’t give her time to think. He slapped the gelding’s rump, clicking to him. The horse moved on, obviously eager to get away. Simon, now holding Dolly’s headstall, walked beside them. After a few yards he halted.

“We should be all right here. Let me tie Dolly properly and then we’ll go.”

Lydia gestured back the way she’d come. “My family...the buggy...”

Simon clasped her hand firmly as if to steady her. “We can’t get back. We’ll have to go on to town. There’s no way to save the buggy.”

She wanted to protest, but he was right. A look back told her there was no way to reach the buggy, not now. She watched as Simon secured Dolly to the back. He came quickly around to the front, pausing a moment to look up at her.

“All right?”

She managed to nod. She was alive, thanks to him. She couldn’t seem to find the words to say that, but he didn’t seem to expect it. The rain, still streaming down, flattened his clothing against him, and his face seemed stripped down to the bones, lean and strong.

He swung up to the buggy next to her, reaching into the back to pull out a blanket. “Put that around you. We’d best get to Aunt Bess’s and try to call our folks to let them know we’re unharmed.” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the thunder of rain on the buggy roof and the roar of the creek.

She nodded, grateful when he took the lines from her hands. Even as he clicked to the horse, they heard a crashing sound behind them and turned to see that another sizable portion of the road had collapsed. The rush of stones and broken concrete hit her buggy, and the next instant it had crumpled into itself and washed away.

A shudder went through her, and Simon drew the blanket around her, snuggling her against his side. She knew he was only doing it because she was shaking with cold, but she couldn’t deny the pleasure and comfort it gave her to feel him close to her—warm and solid in the midst of terror.

“We’ll not get back and forth that way very soon.” He pushed the gelding into a faster trot. “There’ll be a lot of damage in the valley.

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