Miriam didn’t like heights and she didn’t like rushing water, both of which she had to face if she were to pass over the river and continue on to the Rogers’s farm.
Gazing over the side of the bridge’s broken guardrail made her stomach woozy as she peered at the rain-swollen water below. Sharp gusts of wind rushed across the surface of the river, forming froth and white caps.
She shivered from the cold that seeped through her cape and also from fear as she gazed into the turbulence below. Emma had said the bridge was navigable. Miriam wasn’t so sure.
Two sections of the bridge platform were still standing, but the guardrails had collapsed and the entire structure appeared rickety at best.
The sound of water rushing over the rocks was as ominous as the gray skies overhead and the gathering storm clouds. The morning had started out clear and had given her hope. Now, peering at the dark clouds above and the even darker water below, her hopes were dashed. She had been foolish to leave the security of Abram’s home. Walking four miles wasn’t the problem, but crossing over the water on a dilapidated bridge was. The wood creaked as an even more forceful gust of wind swirled from the west.
Miriam glanced over her shoulder, longing to see Abram’s farmhouse in the far distance, but the thick woods and rolling hills obscured it from sight. Fisting her hands, she fought for resolve. She couldn’t rely on the protective Amish man. She had to forge on, quite literally.
Pulling in a determined breath, she mustered her courage and took a step forward. Through the broken slats, she saw the churning water. The downward drop-off caused her head to swim. She reached for a still-attached portion of the handrail and gasped when it broke under her hold. The rotten wood crashed onto the rocks below.
Her heart pounded and fear gripped her throat.
Arching her back, she raised her arms in a frantic attempt to maintain her balance.
You’ll fall to your death. The warning came from within. The internal threat sent another chill to tangle along her spine and manifest in outward shivering that sucked the air from her lungs and left her gasping.
Above the roar of the water she heard a rhythmic cadence. Not a car but the clip-clop of a horse’s hooves.
“Miriam?”
Recognizing Abram’s voice, she steeled her resolve to keep moving forward. Cautiously, she took another step and then another.
Abram had come to stop her, yet he wasn’t thinking of her own good. He was thinking of the other woman who had worn this dress. The woman he longed for Miriam to be.
“Kommst du hier.” The guttural inflection of his voice sounded as ominous as the raging river. He was angry with her for leaving without saying goodbye.
He raised his voice. “Come here, Miriam. The bridge is weak. Crossing is too dangerous.”
She waved a hand in the air, hoping he wouldn’t follow her. She needed to be free of Abram. Free to find the Rogers’ farm and use their computer. Technology she needed, even if Abram rejected the modern conveniences of the world.
“Turn around. Get in the buggy.”
More demands that didn’t take into consideration her plight.
“Go home, Abram. Tend to your farm. Live in the past with your memories.”
“I live each day in the present, Miriam. But I live wisely, putting my faith in Gott.”
“Your Gott, as you say, did not save your wife. He won’t save me. I have to take care of myself.”
Abram’s silence tore through Miriam’s heart. She’d hit a nerve that was too sensitive and too painful. Instantly she regretted her caustic tongue.
She had no reason to bring more pain to Abram’s life. He carried enough of his own.
“I’m sorry.” She turned, hoping he would see the depth of her contrition and her desire to make amends.
Another burst of wind tore along the riverbank, caught her full skirt and caused it to billow out around her legs. The strength of the blast of air threw her completely off balance. Suddenly the trees, the broken bridge and the water below swirled around her.
“Abram!” she screamed as she started to topple off the bridge.
Her fall was aborted by Abram’s strong hands that gripped her tightly and pulled her into the safety of his embrace.
She gasped, thinking they both would tumble into the water. He pulled her even closer and lifted her into his arms.
“No,” she moaned. “Let me go.”
“Do as I say.” He swept her off the bridge and carried her to his buggy.
She fought against his hold. He had saved her from the river, but she couldn’t return to his farm.
“Shh,” he soothed. “You must be quiet.”
“I will not be silent.” She struggled to free herself from his hold.
“It is for your own good,” he warned.
“You cannot control me.”
“This I know to be true, Miriam. But you must listen and comply. Do you not hear the car? He is coming to find you.”
Miriam stilled and turned her face toward the sound, somewhat muffled and hard to distinguish over the tumbling water and the wind rustling through the trees.
The sky overhead darkened even more. Her stomach tightened. She knew what the sound of the engine meant. Serpent was coming after her.
If he found her, he wouldn’t let her live to escape again.
* * *
Relieved that he had successfully tucked Miriam into the rear of the buggy moments earlier, Abram now stood next to Nellie and watched Serpent’s car screech to a halt at the edge of the road. The swollen river pounded over the rocks and rushed under the bridge. Overhead the sky darkened with an approaching storm that appeared to be as volatile as the man climbing from his car.
“Stop where you are.” Serpent’s voice was laced with anger.
“What do you want?” Abram demanded.
“I want the woman in the buggy with you. I saw her foot as she climbed in. You’ve been hiding Miriam Miller somewhere near your farm.”
“I am not sure the woman you speak of has done anything wrong.”
“She’s a suspected murderer and you’re a fool to believe anything she says otherwise.”
Serpent pulled a weapon from his waistband. “Tell her to step down from the buggy or I’ll start shooting.”
“Then you will be a killer.”
“I’ll kill you if you stop me from apprehending her.”
He cocked his gun and aimed it at the buggy.
Abram started walking toward Serpent.
“Wait, my brother.”
He turned at the sound of Emma’s voice and, although concerned for her well-being, he was grateful his sister had insisted on coming with him. She climbed from the buggy.
“I do not understand why you needed to see me, sir.” Emma’s voice was calm and engaging as she stared at Serpent. “Surely, I have done nothing to cause you upset.”
The man’s face twisted. He glanced from Abram to Emma.
“Put down your gun,” Abram demanded.
Serpent shook his head. “I don’t know what kind of tricks you and your sister are playing, Zook, but I’m convinced you know where the woman is hiding. She’s a criminal, and if you help her escape, you’ll be prosecuted and sent to jail, along with your sister.”
His gaze flickered to the surrounding countryside. “I searched your farm last night.”
Abram’s instincts had been right after all.
“She might not be holed up on your property,” Serpent continued, “but I’m convinced she’s hiding someplace not far from here. I’ll keep watching, and if you make a misstep, it will be your last.”
“You do not frighten me.”
“That’s because of your false Amish pride. But pride can’t stop a bullet and pride can’t make a woman come back to life. Tell the woman you’re protecting that I’m coming after her. And tell your Amish friends that if they’re hiding her, I’ll send them to jail. The bottom line is that I’ll find her, Zook.” He started to get into his car and then added, “Next time she won’t get away.”
* * *
“I can’t stay with you any longer,” Miriam insisted from the rear of the buggy once Serpent’s car had disappeared from sight.
Abram helped Emma into the front seat and climbed in beside her.
“Serpent was ready to kill both of you when he thought I was hiding in the buggy,” Miriam continued. “As gracious as you were, Emma, to confront him, you were putting yourself in danger. What would have happened if he had stepped closer and found me hiding in the rear?”
Tears welled up in Miriam’s eyes. She couldn’t let any harm come to Abram and Emma. “Take me to the Rogers’s house. I’ll email my sister and wait for her there.”
“Mr. Rogers and his wife are visiting their daughter in Nashville.” Abram grabbed the reins. “They will not be home until next week.”
Emma glanced back at Miriam. “I’m sorry, I did not know about their trip.” Her voice was filled with regret. “I never thought you would try to find their farm alone. You should have told us what you needed.”
But she had told them she needed to contact her sister. Neither Abram nor Emma realized what was at stake. If Serpent was part of a trafficking ring, the whole county would be impacted negatively by his criminal activity.
“We should all leave here and go someplace safe,” Miriam suggested. “Come with me to Atlanta.”
Abram grunted and flipped the reins, causing the horse to increase her speed. “A farm must be maintained. I cannot leave my animals.”
“Just until I can tell my story to honest lawmen who will come after Serpent.”
“Samuel will return to Willkommen tomorrow, Miriam. We will go to town for the market. You can talk to him then.”
But would he believe her story?
Miriam rubbed her forehead, hoping to ease the pounding headache that had started while she was on the bridge.
Jammed into the rear of the buggy, she felt lost. Would she ever get to Atlanta? Yet leaving meant saying goodbye to Abram, which was the last thing she wanted to do.