Safe Hearts (Amish Safe House, Book 3) (13 page)

“
That would be rude, and
even if the women like to gossip a bit, it’s something we try to
avoid,” Maria added, without looking up from her
project.

“
We assumed you would tell
us when it was the right time,” Nancy remarked. “As Maria likes to
remind us, asking personal questions isn’t polite.”

Kate still couldn’t believe that the
knitting circle ladies had known the entire time, but the fact that
they still trusted her, meant the world to her. “Well, I’m sorry I
couldn’t have been entirely honest with you all, but my life was in
danger, and the last thing I wanted to do was to bring that harm
down on any of you.”

“
We’re not afraid of a
little man and his clipboard of questions,” Nancy added.

Kate felt laughter brewing up inside
her, and noticed that all of the women, except one, was smiling at
the comment. Maria shook her head and continued knitting, but Kate
could see a partial smile washing over her face as well.

“
The food is almost ready!”
Lillian blurted, walking toward the kitchen. She turned back and
called out, “Will you be staying for lunch, Kate?”

As much as she wanted to stay longer,
Kate had to get going soon. “I would love to, but I really should
be going shortly. I just wanted to come clean to you all, and say
goodbye, but you already knew the truth, so that just leaves the
goodbyes.”

Lillian smiled, and then left to
retrieve the food.

“
Have you told Bill and
Beth yet?” Beckie asked.

Kate sighed. “I stopped there before I
came over to visit you ladies, and it was a lot more difficult to
face them.”

“
What happened?” Nancy
asked, earning a sharp glance from Marie.

“
It was just very sad and
heartbreaking. Unlike you all, they had no idea that I wasn’t
really Amish. They took the news well, but it still hurts to know I
had to lie to them, despite everything they did for me,” Kate said.
“Beth made it very clear that they both forgave me and were just
happy I was safe, but I still feel so horrible about it
all.”

“
You did what you had to,
Kate. And you must have had someone’s blessing to hide out here,
right? Did the bishop know?” Beckie asked. Kate nodded, but didn’t
answer aloud. Part of her felt too embarrassed to make the
admission.

“
Then you did nothing
wrong,” Esther added. “Even though you may have been an outsider,
you never treated us like we were different than you. I think that
is why we were able to welcome you in and accept you, despite our
hunches and instincts that you weren’t being entirely
honest.”

Kate smiled. The realization that she
had people in her life who would stand up for her no matter what
really filled her with confidence and humility. “Well, I thank you
all for being such wonderful friends to me.”

“
There’s no need to thank
us,” Nancy said. “Just make sure you don’t forget to come
say
hiya
whenever
you’re around.”

“
I’m not sure how often
that will be, but you have my word. If I’m ever in town, I’ll make
sure to stop by and see how things are in the community,” Kate
promised.

Beckie then looked at her and spoke.
“Does that mean you’re leaving town?”

“
Actually, I’m not quite
sure yet, but it’s possible. I haven’t made any decisions, but what
happens next isn’t completely up to me anyway. But, if I do leave
town, I’ll be back soon to visit you all!”

Esther sat up in her rocking chair and
cracked a smile. “You leaving town wouldn’t have anything to do
with that handsome, young police officer, now would it?” she asked,
causing the other women to chuckle loudly.

Kate laughed, trying to hide the
embarrassment from showing on her cheeks. “Perhaps it
is.”

Just then, Lillian walked back into
the room carrying several containers of food. She placed them on
the table next to the empty cups and the large pitcher of fresh
meadow tea. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for lunch?” she
asked Kate. “We’re having your favorite!”

Kate looked down to see a delicious
looking meal, corn, carrots, and mashed potatoes surrounded a large
dish of baked chicken. “Okay, thank you,” she said in defeat. The
circle of elderly women erupted with laughter as Kate and the
others gathered around the table for their last lunch
together.

“
Just don’t forget about
us,” Nancy reminded her.

“
How could she?” Esther
joked.

Lillian chuckled and Maria
sighed.

“
Kate, you’ll always be
part of our circle,” Beckie said, with a broad smile. “So if you
ever need anything, don’t hesitate to come and ask.”

“
I won’t,” she replied.
“And maybe one of you can teach me how to sew, since I’m so
horrible at knitting.”

The ladies of the knitting circle
laughed, and then Maria chimed in. “Let’s enjoy this special lunch
with Kate before she leaves.” They each smiled at each other and
then shut their eyes for the silent prayer. Kate looked down at the
table and closed her eyes. She prayed for the safety and protection
of her friends in the Amish community.

Hebrews 13:
8.
Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Chapter 15
.

Kate sat on a hotel chair, looking out
the window at the yellow mellow afternoon sun. The hotel was small,
nothing special, and she had planned to be back home already. Kate
knew she needed to go back, but she was having a hard time leaving
Ryan.

What’s more, Kate did not
want to leave the rest of the people she had grown to love, the
wonderful Amish community. She had said goodbye to those she cared
about, and who had cared about her. She had moved out of the
grossmammi haus
, since she
thought she would be back home by now. Everyone had been
understanding, and some even had known she was lying to them about
being Amish. She supposed it was hard to lead a fake life, and if
Kate came away with anything from the experience, it was a newfound
respect for those with whom she had worked, the people who had gone
into witness protection. They had given up everything, and they
were forced to pretend to be someone else. It was if they were
playing a game, but it was a game which lasted forever. Hers hadn’t
lasted forever, but a part of her was wishing it had.

Thinking about moving, and leaving the
area and the people, made her sad. It was time to go back, and she
really couldn’t put it off any longer. She had been away from work
for long enough.

Kate rubbed her forehead. Yet could
she go back? She wasn’t sure.

Ryan came over that evening, and he
brought with him a bag of Chinese food. They went outside and sat
on two plastic, white chairs that were placed by her door, and ate
as they watched the sun go from yellow back to orange, as it
vanished behind the line of green fields in the
distance.

“
So what time's your
flight?” Ryan asked.

“
Nine,” Kate
said.

“
I have to get some things
settled here, and then I can come,” Ryan said. He was going to sell
his house, and give up everything, to go to Wyoming. But Kate had
been thinking of that, while he had been gone. She enjoyed her
life, but she didn’t love it. She didn’t love her job, and she
didn’t love her home. She liked it; she was happy. But being here,
in Amish country, with Ryan and the others, made her realize that
she didn’t love any of what she used to have.

On the other hand,
Ryan
did
love his
life. He loved his job and he was good at what he did. Kate was
good at what she did, too, but it wasn’t even what she wanted to
do. She had fallen into the job about as much as you could do such
things. She had always really been keen to work in forensics, and
had wanted to work with a forensics team.

“
I’m not going tonight,”
she said softly.

Ryan laughed. This would be the third
plane ticket she had canceled in as many days.

“
You have to go back
sometime,” Ryan said.

“
I don’t,” Kate said, “not
really.”

Ryan put his white, cardboard box of
food down on the floor of the porch and leaned over, his fingers
brushing Kate’s hand.

“
I’ll come to Wyoming, as
quickly as I can.”

“
You love it here,” Kate
said.

“
I love you more,” Ryan
said.

The words knocked the breath out of
Kate, hitting her like a sledgehammer to the stomach. He loved her.
And she loved him.

“
I love you,” Kate said
softly, smiling over at Ryan. “You love it here, and you love me. I
don’t love it back home. I liked it, but I love you, and I love it
here.”

Ryan’s forehead scrunched, and his
eyebrows met in the middle. “So what are you saying?” he
asked.

“
I’ll come
here.”

“
I thought you couldn’t?”
he said.

“
I thought I couldn’t, but
I can,” Kate said. “I can get into forensics; it’s what I want to
do.”

“
They have a pretty good
team up in Lyleville,” Ryan said. Lyleville was only a forty minute
drive from where they sat.

Kate smiled. Ryan smiled, too. “I’m
tired,” he said, “and I have work in the morning. I should really
go, and get some rest.”

That evening, Kate tried to have an
early night, but sleep eluded her. She got up, and pulled on some
jeans and her tennis shoes before sliding out of the front
door.

The night was a bit cool, and Kate
crossed her arms over the front of her tee shirt. The moon was
full, but partially hidden by a string of gray clouds that were
floating lazily across the dark sky.

The hotel was next to a farm, and in
the distance she could see a barn, black in the night, red and
white when the light shone on it. Green corn was planted in the
fields, and the cool breeze was quick enough to set it swaying back
and forth.

Kate leaned against the side of the
building, her arms still crossed, her elbows and forearms on the
white wood. She closed her eyes, and listened to the bugs chirping.
A big grasshopper to her left was particularly loud, as if it was
trying to get her attention. She opened her eyes and tried to find
it, and sure enough, there it was. It was sitting on the end of a
blade of grass, and moments after she looked at it, it jumped,
spreading its quickly moving wings.

Kate stepped back and then walked
across the parking lot, walking out and to the side of a stretch of
yard that ran alongside the building. She went out into the grass
with her bare feet. She sat on the grass, looking out across the
street at the farmland. There were several long, metal poles held
horizontally over the ground, and a few minutes after she sat they
came to life, throwing huge arcs of water over the corn.

“
Interesting, isn’t it?”
Ryan said as he came to sit beside her, causing Kate to
jump.

“
You scared me!” she
said.

The cop laughed. He was wearing jeans
and a tee shirt. “I had to go into work. Someone hadn’t filed the
paperwork they needed to, so it fell to me. I saw you sitting out
here as I was heading home.”

“
You don’t live around
here,” Kate said.

Ryan chose to ignore that. “So what’s
up?” he asked.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Why are you out here?
Couldn’t you sleep?”

“
I guess not. I guess I’m
too excited. It’s just nice out here though, you know? I guess I
just wanted to feel the grass.”

“
Believe me, this is a good
place for that,” Ryan said with a laugh. “Look at that big guy,” he
said, pointing as the grasshopper took off again, this time landing
on the road. He didn’t linger long there, as if he knew it was
dangerous. He jumped up again and was lost in the corn across the
way.

“
I could catch so many
criminals if I could jump like that,” Ryan said.

Kate laughed, loud and sudden. “You
would be a superhero. Grasshopper Man!”

Ryan laughed and shook his head. “That
sounds like the lamest hero ever.”

And they went on, laughing and making
jokes, and having one of their easy conversations, where nothing of
importance was said, but every word brought them closer together.
Ryan was sweet; he was easy to talk to. Kate had never felt that
way about someone before. She had never had someone she wanted to
be with all the time, someone about whom she thought when she
wasn’t with them. Ryan was that guy, and he had been for some
time.

The cop stood, after ten more minutes.
“I better hit it,” he said.

Kate stood as well. “Yes, I should try
to sleep,” she said, and Ryan nodded and kissed her, and then went
to the cruiser he had pulled into the lot without Kate
noticing.

Kate watched him leave and then went
to her room, stepping onto the concrete that ran in front of the
hotel, but turning when she was at her door. She looked out once
more at the corn field. She wondered where the grasshopper was. She
thought of herself as the grasshopper. Not for the super power like
jumping, but just for the ease in which it moved. It wanted to
jump, and it jumped, up into the air, those wings beating
furiously, and then down, into a whole, new place.