Amish Refuge. Debby Giusti

her way through the bramble, averting the twigs and branches that would snap if she stepped on them. Any sound would alert Serpent.

      She gulped for air, her lungs constricting with the tension that made her hands shake and her heart lurch.

      Careful though she tried to be, her foot snagged on a root. She toppled forward and caught herself just before she landed in a pile of dried leaves. Thankfully, at that very instant, a bolt of lightning crashed overhead and a blast of thunder covered the sound of her fall.

      Regaining her footing, she scurried behind the rocks, willing herself to meld into the outcrop of granite. The skies opened and rain fell in fat drops that pinged against the rocks, the trees and the floor of the forest.

      A deep guttural roar sounded, like a wild beast’s bellow. Serpent was standing only a few feet away on the other side of the rock, venting his anger. If only he would be deterred from coming closer.

      More footsteps. Her heart nearly ricocheted out of her chest. She flattened her hands and cheek against the granite trying to disappear into the stone.

      “I know you’re here.” Serpent’s voice, laced with fury.

      Could he hear her heart beating uncontrollably in her chest?

      “Pearson?” another voice called, deep and demanding.

      Serpent grumbled.

      “There he is.” Abram’s voice.

      Relief swept over Miriam.

      “You’re on a wild-goose chase,” the first man said as he drew closer.

      “I saw something,” Serpent replied.

      The deep-voiced man snickered. “You saw that skunk standing at your backside.”

      “What!” Serpent groaned.

      The putrid and unmistakable stench of a skunk’s spray filled the air.

      Leaves rustled wildly, followed by the sound of footsteps racing back to the roadway.

      “Looks like Pearson learned his lesson about chasing varmints in the woods.” The deeper voice chuckled.

      “He has other lessons to learn,” Abram said, his tone sharp and without the joviality of the other man’s. “Tell him to leave me alone.”

      “I’ll tell him,” the man answered. “Although I doubt it’ll do any good.”

      The voices became fainter, but even though the danger subsided, Miriam continued to tremble. Serpent had been too close.

      Abram would come to get her, she felt sure, when the men had left the area. She and Abram would return to the farmhouse where she would remain until the roadblock was lifted.

      But would Serpent continue to search for her? And if he found her, what would happen then?

       SIX

      The next morning Miriam stood at the kitchen window and peered at the mountain road, searching for any sign of a dark sedan. Yesterday Abram had returned to the woods and found her as soon as the two lawmen had left the area. Grateful though she was, Miriam was still concerned about her safety.

      She had risen early to help Abram’s sister. Apples needed to be peeled and pies baked for market, but the nervous churning in her stomach made her want to hide upstairs, away from the peering eyes of anyone who might pass by the farm.

      Emma seemed oblivious to Miriam’s anxiety and chatted amicably as she worked. Stepping away from the window, Miriam wrapped her arms around her waist, debating how to still her unease.

      “As I mentioned last night, I have many pies to bake,” Emma said as she placed a bowlful of apples on the table. “You will help me?”

      Longing to allay the tension that tightened her shoulders, Miriam reached for the apple peeler. Using her hands would be therapeutic and might take her mind off the man who wanted to do her harm. Plus, Emma and Abram had provided her safe lodging. The least she could do was to help with the baking.

      After peeling more than a dozen apples, Miriam heard Abram outside and, stepping to the sink for a drink of water, she peered from the window. “Does your brother ever stop working?”