A Simple Winter: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel (41 page)

“Remy …” That gentle voice, the low baritone she’d often heard soothing Simon late at night, rumbled in her ear. “You know the roads are clearing.”

“Yes.” Without lifting her head, she slid closer so that her face was pressed to his chest. Her nose pressed into the fabric of his shirt, picking up his familiar smells of soap and wood smoke, pleasant odors. Adam’s scent. His arm came around her, holding her in place, safe and secure.

“And that means we’re getting to that awkward moment where I’m supposed to let you go.…”

“I know.” She bit her lower lip. She didn’t want to leave. This felt like her home now, here with Adam and his family in Halfway.

“But there’s a problem. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you,” he whispered.

I fell in love with you.…

Whispered or shouted, the words couldn’t have been more thrilling if he had written them in the sky with stars.

She lifted her head so that she could meet his eyes. The vulnerability she saw there made her reach for both his hands.

“And now I can’t let you go,” he said. “Since you arrived, you’ve lit up our home with laughter and joy. All these days … I noticed how much you adore my family, how you shine in the glow of their love.”

So he had noticed.

All those times when she had thought he was preoccupied, when he seemed to be mulling over plans or talking business with Jonah, Adam had been in tune with Remy. He’d been watching her, really seeing the woman she’d become.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on you, Remy, but I want to be with you always, and it’s not such a simple matter, with you being Englisher.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she anticipated the question that smoldered in his dark eyes. “Are you serious about talking to the bishop about becoming a baptized member?”

Unable to speak over the knot of emotion in her throat, she nodded.

His chest swelled with a huge breath of relief. “I had hoped … crazy hope … but now, maybe not so crazy.”

“Not crazy at all,” she said, blinking back tears.

“Are you willing to make that promise? Would you give up the city, give up a life of ease and—”

“In a heartbeat. I know I have a lot to learn. I know your family well, but I still need to meet the other families in your congregation. I realize it’s a huge commitment, but my heart is in it, Adam. I feel like I’ve found a home here.”

He smiled. “Then I hope you’ll think about being my wife. I want you beside me, always. I can’t imagine life without you.” He lifted her hands to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles.

The sweet gesture unraveled her composure. Remy sniffed, overcome with emotion.

He loved her, and she had fallen in love with him, fallen so hard that she could barely remember life before Adam.

In fact, her entire life before Lancaster County now seemed a dull, gray blur, like a decaying movie filmed in black and white. The past was a bleak contrast to the brilliant hues of her life here, as colorful as the green, purple, or blue gowns worn by Amish women here.

“You’re crying.” He frowned. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

She sniffed. “Tears of joy.”

“Joy, as in … yes?”

“Yes, a thousand times yes. I love you, Adam, and I want to be by your side, always and forever.”

He folded her into his arms, and Remy closed her eyes and gave herself up to his kiss. How she loved him.

On the small of her back his hands pulled her closer, as if beckoning her to his world. Willingly, she leaned against him, feeling the soft contours of her body meet his very male muscle and bone. Despite their differences, Amish and English, she knew they were meant to be together.

For Remy, it would be the promise of a lifetime, vowing to live Amish and be Adam’s wife forever. An ominous step, but not scary at all. Locked in Adam’s arms, Remy knew it was the right choice for her.

A lifetime of loving Adam would not be enough … but it was a start.

A wonderful start.

The ringing phone interrupted their kisses. Adam’s arms released her, and Remy slid away reluctantly, fingertips pressed to her lips, as if to hold on to the passion.

“I’m glad we don’t have telephones to interrupt in Amish homes,” Adam said, a smile playing at his mouth.

Remy sighed, squeezing his hand. “No. You have ten siblings instead.”

He laughed. “Plenty of interruptions there.” Taking her hand, he rose and gave her a tug. “Kumm. Let’s tell Simon.”

Inside the kitchen, Nancy was pacing, a cordless phone pressed to her ear. Simon sat on a bar stool, pressing glistening moist granola mix into a shallow pan.

“We’re done with the mixing,” he reported. “Now it must sit and harden.”

“Good job.” Adam touched his brother’s shoulder as he began to talk about how much their family loved Remy.

Wonder played on Simon’s face as Adam outlined their plans. “You will marry … and Remy will live with us always?”

Adam nodded. “After she’s baptized, in the fall. What do you think of that?”

A grin ruffled his lips. “I think it will be a very good fall.”

“Okay, Hank.” Nancy’s voice was clear as she turned back toward them. “I’ll let Adam know. Thank you much.”

“I finished!” Simon pointed the spatula at the tray.

“Good work, Simon,” Nancy said as she ended the connection. “How about you take that pan down those stairs there. You’ll see a big silver door down there. Pull it open and you can tuck that away on an empty shelf.”

Simon hopped down from the stool and walked off with the tray.

“That was Hank,” Nancy reported. “Says he just got back from the Mueller place, and knew you were waiting here to get word.”

“What did he find?” Remy asked eagerly.

Nancy pulled off her paper hat and carried the big mixing bowl to the sink. “Hank searched the house and he thinks he may have found the evidence that makes the case.” She paused to run some water in the bowl, as if to be sure she had their attention. “Under the bed there was a steel box with a handgun—a thirty-two-caliber automatic, like the weapon that killed Levi and Esther.”

“Wow. It really was him.” Adam let out a sigh. “Thank the Lord Gott. I really didn’t think we’d ever see this day.”

Remy sank down onto a stool, feeling as if an enormous weight had been lifted. Of course, there would be further investigation and charges. The wheels of justice might turn slowly with a trial and sentencing, but in her heart she now knew Chris Mueller was the killer, and it felt so good to know he would be out of circulation soon.

Out of Halfway.

Far from the King family.

“Hank is running all the evidence into the state forensics lab to match ballistics and whatnot. He’s got the county prosecutor in the loop, and they’re ready to go.”

“Hank thinks Mueller is the man?” Adam asked.

“Oh, yeah. He’s at the farmers market, picking up Chris for questioning right now. We may not have enough to hold Chris in custody at this point, but my guess is, when confronted by the sheriff, Mueller will break down. I wouldn’t be surprised if he confessed to killing Esther and Levi before the day is over.”

Raking a hand through his hair, Adam let out a deep breath. “Then it’s almost over. They’ll get this man off the streets.”

Nancy nodded. “Yup. And as your friend and mayor, I am much relieved to put this one to bed. Maybe now your family can start healing. Maybe we all can.”

Gripping the granite counter, Adam took a deep breath. “Thank you, Nancy. Thanks for pushing this forward.”

Nancy waved him off. “Oh, Remy here was the one who connected the dots.” She winked at Remy. “This one has good investigative skills. It’s no wonder your boss sent you here on assignment. Which reminds me—mind like a sieve—what newspaper did you say you work for?”

Remy’s jaw dropped as the energy in the kitchen drained.

Did Nancy really say those words … those poisonous words. She felt Adam go stiff beside her, felt the bitter fallout coming.

“What did you say?” His voice indicated they were lingering on a dangerous edge.

“I wanted to know what newspaper Remy writes for.”

He wheeled on her, his dark eyes piercing. “You’re a writer.” A statement … he had already worked beyond disbelief.

“I can explain about that—”

“A newspaper reporter.” His voice held the grit of disdain. “There is no excuse in the world that could cover a lie like that.”

Nancy winced. “It looks like I just stepped in it.” She backed away from the granite counter. “Let me go check on Simon. I’ll leave you two to sort this out. Did you hear me? Fix this. After what you two accomplished today, you can certainly work this out.” She went to the cellar door and paused behind Adam to mouth: “Sorry.”

Remy shrugged. It wasn’t Nancy’s fault. This was a mess of her own design.

“Listen, Adam …” When she turned to him he was stone cold, a stranger critiquing her flaws. “It’s not the way it sounds.”

“You’re not a reporter?”

“Technically, I am … I was, but—”

“Who do you work for?”

“The
Post
. My father owns the paper, but I’m not writing a story anymore.”

He folded his arms defensively. “I’ve been a fool. Everyone warned me to stay away from the Englisher, but I didn’t listen.”

“Adam, don’t freak out about it. I’m not writing the story, okay? Besides, I’d never write anything hurtful about you or anyone in the family. I love your family. You know that.”

“Ya? Then tell me, Remy, why did you drive out here in the first place? What was that … that business proposition you kept choking on? You were writing a story from the beginning, but you were afraid to tell me.”

“I …” At a loss, she pressed a hand to her chest, then tugged on one string of her prayer kapp. “Okay, at first I came out here for a story. Way back in the beginning I was hoping to do a story on the unsolved murders, a follow-up on how your family is doing now. But I wasn’t going to publish anything without your permission.
And as I got to know you and your family, everything changed. I fell in love with you.”

“That’s right … you fell in love with the Amish.” The edge in his voice frightened her. “So much that you wanted to join us.”

“But that part was genuine,” she insisted. “It
is
genuine. I fell in love with you, Adam. With you and your family and with God. My old life, a very privileged life, just doesn’t hold any appeal for me anymore.”

She couldn’t go back to Philadelphia now. She knew she belonged here, and Adam knew it, too.

He had just proposed to her. They were going to be married in the fall.… Surely he wouldn’t toss that all away over a misunderstanding like this.

“I can’t trust you, Remy. I thought I could, but …” He stood there, his face crossed with pain.

My fault
, she thought, biting her lower lip in an attempt to hold back the tears stinging her eyes.
This is all my fault
.

“Adam, I am so sorry about this. Please, forgive me. It was wrong to lie, but it was long ago.”

Before I knew you
.

Before I loved you
.

He shook his head, his dark eyes glittering. “I have to protect my family. It’s my responsibility to keep them safe from … from people like you.”

“Remy! Adam! There is a very big icebox downstairs. So big, you can walk inside!” Simon bounded over, his arms outstretched, his fists full of shiny cellophane-wrapped candies. “And there are so many pans in there already! Do you want to come see?”

“No, thanks.” Adam’s voice was clipped, restrained.

Remy tried to answer but couldn’t form words over the swell of tears in her throat. She shook her head, a hot tear coursing down her face as she realized it had all come tumbling down around her.

There would be no forgiveness.

Simon looked from his brother to her, a panic filling his eyes. “What happened?” He burrowed into Adam’s side, pressing his face to his brother’s jacket.

“We need to go.” Adam placed a hand on Simon’s shoulder and gave a slight squeeze.

Simon lifted his head, as if to check that the tempest had cleared. “Okay.” He reached across the table and took Remy’s hand. “Come on, Remy. Time to go.”

“Not her.”

Simon’s face puckered.

“She’s staying here.” Adam took his brother’s hand and tugged him away from the table. “She is never to come round our home again. She will not be invited inside, and you are forbidden to speak her name.”

A startled gasp peeled from Remy’s throat, and she pressed a hand to her face in an attempt to hold it all together. He was treating her like someone who had turned away from the faith! How could he cut her off so quickly?

Simon’s small hands clenched the hem of Adam’s jacket. “But Adam, I don’t understand. You said you and Remy are going to marry.”

“No more.” Adam turned away, his broad-shouldered silhouette ominous against the light from the kitchen’s broad windows.

Simon took one look at his brother, pivoted, and flew into Remy’s arms. Her heart filled with gladness as she dropped to her knees to hug him.

“I don’t understand,” he mumbled against her neck. “What happened, Remy?”

It all slipped away. One lie, one flaw, and the bottom fell out from under her.

“Kumm! Now!” Adam’s gruff voice caused Simon to flinch in her arms.

“You’d better do as he says,” she whispered. She squeezed her eyes shut, preferring not to see as Simon was pulled from her arms. If only she could shut her ears to avoid the muffled whimpers that tore at her as he was shuffled away.