Shielding the Amish Witness by Mary Alford

Author:Mary Alford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-01-08T18:32:37+00:00

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Eli skillfully maneuvered the buggy through the thin woods beyond the road. So far, there had been no sighting of Vincent through the gaps in foliage. Eli had been surprised he’d hit the man hard enough to knock him out. By now, he was convinced Vincent would be awake and searching for them. They couldn’t slow down for a second.

“How did he get the second car?” Faith asked.

Only one explanation made sense.

“He probably stole it. Victoria was correct. He had some way of tracking the truck on his phone. I’m glad we were able to get it away from Aaron and Victoria’s home, but I hope he didn’t see their location before we moved it. I don’t want that man near them.”

The road to Aaron’s homestead intersected the woods. Instead of getting on it, Eli turned the buggy right and ran parallel with the road.

“Do the rest of your brothers still live in West Kootenai?” Faith asked the question innocently enough. If only she’d realized the answer would be anything but.

While he struggled to respond, she turned toward him. Waited. Undoubtedly sensing something was off.

He did his best to answer without bringing up Mason. “Fletcher lives at our family homestead with mamm. Hunter has a place on the other side of the community.” He stopped. Read the next question coming as if he had asked it himself.

“What about Mason? You two were always so close.”

She was right. At one time, he and Mason had been close. They’d done everything together. Then, Mason, younger by a couple of years, became interested in Miriam without realizing she only had eyes for Eli.

When Mason first started talking about Miriam, Eli had wanted to tell his brother about the attraction he and Miriam shared, but Miriam had asked him to keep their courting secret until she spoke to her daed, so he had. Then Mason found out and became furious. Accused him of taking Miriam from him. Though Eli had tried to tell him the truth, Mason didn’t want to hear it. The rift between the brothers grew. Mason left the faith before being baptized and moved away. A regret Eli carried with him to this day.

“He moved from the community many years ago.”

Her brows rose. The questions were all there, yet she must have sensed he didn’t want to talk about his bruder because she let it go.

The clearing near the family workshop came into view. Aaron and Fletcher created handcrafted furniture the family sold around the state. The sight of it was a relief. They were almost to Aaron’s home.

“Your family still makes furniture?” Faith commented as they passed by the building.

“Jah. Aaron and Fletcher are the craftsmen of the family. Hunter and I mill the lumber we harvest from the woods on our property.”

Eli kept the gelding at a steady pace as they approached the house. He expelled a sigh of relief when he spotted the plume of woodstove smoke spiraling into the night air. The flicker of lantern light behind closed curtains.

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