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 else to do. As he gazed into those eyes, he was reminded of someone, but the memory skirted just outside of his reach. This woman was familiar, somehow, but he knew that he had never met her. He shrugged the feeling away.
Kurt shifted in his chair, dragging Ben’s attention away from the lovely Englisch woman with a bandage on her temple. He knew he was doing the right thing, but his conscience wasn’t easy about it.
“I don’t want to get you in trouble with your church. You know I don’t. But isn’t there a relative who could stay with you for a short time? Someone who could provide you with the chaperone you need? It will be for a short time. A week. Maybe two.”
Before he could reply, Sadie turned her attention to Kurt with a puzzled frown on her face. “Don’t I have a job? How is it that I can get away with just vanishing?”
Ben blinked. That was a very good question.
“You work as a high school counselor. There’s no way you could go back to your job in the condition you’re in. I have already contacted them and told them you’ve been in an accident. Obviously, they know nothing about the amnesia yet, but once they know, they’ll agree. You have some sick time saved up, although only about three weeks. If it takes longer than that, you’ll have to take unpaid leave.”
Ben let their conversation wash over him without really hearing it. Every instinct he had was screaming at him that if he left her in the hospital, Sadie would still be in danger. The image of her pale and lifeless-appearing body trapped in her vehicle filled his mind. Englischers could be a very reckless and violent people. He still remembered the father of a childhood friend being murdered years ago by an Englischer. The killer, a local teenager, was still in prison.
He shook his head. He couldn’t hold the actions of one man against all Englischers. Kurt, despite his lack of common sense at times, had proven himself to be a good and loyal friend. Ben knew that their family had suffered tragedies.
He couldn’t get involved, though.
He opened his mouth to tell his friend how sorry he was that he couldn’t help. Instead, he found himself saying, “Let me think about this and see if there’s a way I can make it work.”
Relief filled Kurt’s eyes and a wide grin broke over his face. What had he done? He glanced again at Sadie. Unlike her brother, she was frowning. He could see the slight furrow in her brow.
“Ben, I appreciate your willingness to consider helping me out. I know that you are friends.” She waved a hand between two men. “I don’t
