Hidden In Amish Country. Dana R. Lynn

Sadie forced herself to sit up straighter. She noticed that Ben sat forward, his gaze sharpening as he stared at her brother. The intensity of his glance made her momentarily lose focus on the conversation. When her brother began to speak again, she mentally shook herself and returned her attention to Kurt.

      “Explain, please. How is it your fault that I may be in danger?” She stressed the word may, as she was still hoping it was all a bad nightmare and she would soon wake up with her memories intact.

      “I can’t get used to you not knowing things.”

      He wasn’t the only one. Irritation stirred that he would find her amnesia an inconvenience. How did he think she felt?

      “Kurt,” Ben interrupted him, his deep voice rich with reprimand.

      “Yeah, yeah, I know. That sounded really selfish. Sorry. I don’t mean to be insensitive.” He shoved a hand through his dark hair. “I’m a reporter. Nothing big. Smaller stories, mainly section B. I’ve slowly been getting more important stuff, though. Recently my boss put me on a new story. I can’t tell you much about it, confidentiality and all, but I think I might have found something serious. Unfortunately, it’s nothing I can take to the police. I have no actual evidence. Right now, I just have suspicions.”

      “One of your suspicions is that someone knows you’re looking?” Ben asked.

      “Yeah.”

      Sadie glanced from one man to the other. “I still don’t understand how that affects me.”

      Kurt sighed. “It affects you because I think someone is telling me that you’ll get hurt if I don’t stop digging.” Frustration rang in his voice. “I’m so close to finding something, so close, and I’m going to have to stop.”

      “Are you sure you can’t go to the cops? That Keith seemed to like you well enough. Maybe he’d be able to find the information you are seeking.”

      Kurt snorted. “The moment it’s learned I went to the police, any chance I have of uncovering the facts are gone. My boss will never trust me with another major project again.”

      It wasn’t her fault. She knew it wasn’t her fault. But she couldn’t stop the trickle of doubt and guilt that wound its way through her. A new fear surfaced.

      “Will they still come after me, do you think?”

      He didn’t answer her, which was an answer in itself.

      “Kurt, you have to protect your sister.” Ben shoved his chair back. The sound of the four legs scraping the floor made her cringe. Ben stood and paced away from the bed. “Your family must be a priority.”

      She appreciated him stepping in to speak up for her, virtual stranger that she was.

      “I know I have to protect her,” Kurt snapped. “I just don’t know how to do that. Even if I stop digging, they’re still there and will most likely come after me and probably her. I have to get more information so I can go to the police. Once they are involved, I’m sure we can find more protection.”

      Ben didn’t let up. “And until then? How do you intend to make sure she is safe before then?” The Amish man slowed his pacing and took a deep breath. She could tell he was struggling to remain calm, although she had no idea why he was so invested in what happened to her. Was it just because he was friends with Kurt?

      “You don’t need to worry,” Kurt said, lifting his chin and crossing his arms. “I’ll figure something out.”

      Sadie’s jaw dropped open. She couldn’t hide her surprise. Maybe she felt this way because she couldn’t remember her brother, but she was not impressed with him right now. Shouldn’t he be more concerned about her? And about his own safety? Although, she had to admit, she had no idea what he had gotten himself into. That was a definite negative about having amnesia.

      She flicked a glance toward Ben. He obviously wasn’t any happier with Kurt than she was. Even through the beard she could tell that his jaw was clenched. His brows were lowered, and his dark eyes were flashing. “I stood beside my seven-year-old son and watched your sister’s car slam into a tree. I will never forget the sound it made. When I got to the car, I thought she was dead. It was horrifying. There was gasoline on the ground. My neighbor and I pulled her from the car, wondering if the car would explode at any moment. I came here this afternoon because neither my son nor I could stop wondering if the woman we had tried to save would survive.”

      Silence followed his words.

      She was touched by the care he had shown her.

      “Your son, is he all right?”

      Ben’s glance settled on her. The kindness in those deep, sad eyes struck her. “Yes, Nathaniel is gut. He is very worried about you.”

      Kurt sat forward and placed his elbows on his knees. “I’m worried, too. Don’t think I’m not. I just don’t know what to do. I can’t even think of many friends you could stay with. It would be one thing if you could remember, but you’d be so vulnerable without your memory. Unless...”

      Suddenly he sat forward. Excitement lit up his face. “I know exactly what I can do and where you can go.”

      “Where?” Sadie shivered with apprehension. She might not remember Kurt, but at least she was certain of who he was. The idea of staying with someone she didn’t know made her uneasy.

      Her stepbrother gave her his wide cheerful grin. “It’s perfect. No one would think to look for you there, and I could continue digging until I find what I need.”

      “Where?” she asked again, growing more tense by the second.

      “You can stay with Ben. No one would look for you in Amish country.”

      Ben gaped at his friend, certain he had missed something. Kurt was desperate; he could comprehend the feeling, even empathize with it. In addition to that, he and Kurt had known each other for several years. Ben was a carpenter by trade, and they had met several years back when Kurt was writing a story on local businesses. He had included a section on businesses within the Amish community and had come out to interview Ben. They had formed a connection. When Lydia became ill the following year, Kurt had gone out of his way to assist and to be a support to his friend. He was the one and only Englischer that Ben considered more than a mere acquaintance. In fact, when Ben had decided to move away from the district where he and Lydia had both grown up, Kurt had helped him locate a new home.

      Even so, the idea of the attractive young Englisch woman staying in his home was ridiculous. A widower did not ask a single woman to stay with him unchaperoned. It just wasn’t done. He knew it would not be appropriate, and the gossip that would surely sprout from such an event could be devastating. Not to mention the trouble he would get in with the bishop.

      Nee. He wanted to help. Truly he did. But not this way.

      He tried to convince himself that he was making the right decision, but he couldn’t keep the worry about what would happen to her once she left the hospital out of his mind. And almost as important, what he’d tell Nathaniel. His son had been almost in tears when Ben left to come to the hospital, afraid that the woman was dead.

      With a start, he realized he was actually considering taking this woman into his home. He needed to put a stop to this foolishness.

      “I am a widower,” he told his friend sternly. “I cannot have a single woman living in my home, even temporarily, without a chaperone. You know this. That’s not our way.”

      “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” a soft voice said. He turned his head and looked straight into eyes the color of warm caramel. Eyes that intrigued him, although he couldn’t say why. “Please, don’t worry about me.”

      He would worry, though. He knew he would. He just couldn’t think of anything