The Covered Bridge by Karen Harper

Author:Karen Harper [Harper, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781460395516
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2012-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

ONCE AGAIN Abby ran to Ben. A fleeting thought crossed her mind—that the Lord kept throwing them together despite Amish law that they must keep apart. And she needed Ben now again, desperately.

She rushed to the rear door of his house so she couldn’t be seen from across the river. Someone must have hiked into the woods behind her house. Getting a car over there was nearly impossible, and the bridge was too rickety to take such a heavy weight. The old road could be approached from behind only by a roundabout drive from town.

Abby pounded on his back door with both fists. He opened it with a large, half-carved piece of wood in his hand. She threw herself into his arms.

Though she slammed into him, at first he didn’t budge. Then he dropped the piece of wood. As she pressed herself against him, her cheek to his chest, he closed his arms hard around her. He pulled her inside and slammed the door, leaning back against it. She heard only her ragged breathing and his heart beating hard.

“What happened?” he whispered, his chin atop her head as he clamped her full length to him, her hips pressed to his, her breasts flattened against his chest.

“A man draped in a hemp sack with a hemp mask—gloves—chasing me. Swinging my spade like he wanted to cut me down.”

Ben’s body tensed. “Did he follow you across the bridge?”

“No. Chased me down the road beyond the bridge and through the forest. I hid in a hollow log. When I ran home, I saw he’d left me a note in the garden that said get out. In Deutsch and English!”

Ben squeezed her tighter, then tipped her back to look down into her eyes. She realized she was smudged with dirt from the hollow log, but that hardly mattered. His intense gaze made her light-headed. Her knees nearly buckled, but his legs were strong and firm against her quaking ones as he propped her up.

“You stay here,” he said. “I’ll go over and look around. Is your house locked?”

“Ja, but who knows what he’s done? Ben, I will not just leave my house and garden at harvest time and run like a rabbit, though I guess that’s just what I did. I know I can’t stay here, but—”

“We’re going to lock you in right now. I’ll just look around over there and bring the threatening note back for evidence. You’ve got to get help from the sheriff. He said he’d be away the rest of the day, but back tomorrow. First thing in the morning, I’ll follow you into town. I have a meeting with Bishop Esh and the church elders set up then.”

“That’s great. But what about tonight?”

“When I get back from checking your place, we’ll talk, decide whether this is aimed at you—or at me.”

“At you? You think it might be Burt Commons? He threatened both of us. Maybe he’s picking on me to get to you? Or it could be Elam Garber.

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