The Search The Secrets of Crittenden Cou - By Shelley Shepard Gray Page 0,42
the stoop as the other men walked forward.
For a split second, their gazes met. His expression was filled with a kindness and tender concern that took her breath away. It was as if suddenly all his layers were stripped away and she saw him for what he was—the good man she’d been starting to care for.
“Chris, are you in danger?” she whispered, her voice so frantic it wavered. “Do you need me to call the police or something?” She was scared to death but more than determined to help in any way she could.
Then, just as quickly, the covering was back. “I’m fine. Don’t do a thing, Beth. Don’t say a word about this to anyone.” The planes of his face became hard again, his expression fierce.
He closed the main door with a snap, leaving her standing in front of it, staring at wood—and fearing what was happening on the other side.
Tears pricked her eyes. “Lord, what should I do?” she asked as she started to pace. A few seconds later, she followed her heart. She couldn’t cower in a corner. Instead, she peeked through one of the windows near the door. Just to make sure everything was all right. She was finding out that knowing the worst was better than knowing nothing at all.
The four men were standing next to a black truck.
Unable to help herself, she peered closer, and saw Chris scowl at the men, then wave a hand. Two of the other men replied to him. One even went so far as to touch Chris’s shoulder, but he shrugged it off.
Beth was about to turn away when she spied him glancing at the window. When he saw her, he scowled, then turned abruptly and jerked open one of the doors of the truck. In a fluid motion, he slid into the dark vehicle.
Removing himself from her sight. Eventually, the other three got in the truck. As soon as all the doors were shut, the black vehicle drove away.
Only when it was long gone did Beth realize she was gripping the edge of her apron in one of her fists. As questions and fear bubbled to the surface, she felt herself gasping.
Chris was obviously in trouble. It was also obvious that he didn’t want her involved. Probably the right thing to do would be to go back to cleaning the house.
Not worry about things she had no control over. Yes, she should give her worries over to the Lord and know that He would care for Chris.
But what if He’d put Beth there for the whole purpose of helping Chris? After all, someone needed to help him!
There was no way Beth could stand still and do nothing. Just like she’d been willing to help run a B&B with little to no inkling of a plan, she was ready to go out on a ledge to help Chris. Deep inside she knew that she needed to help him. She needed to do this as much as she’d needed to help Frannie. But she had no knowledge of who he really was—or who the men who’d come to the inn really were either.
Frannie! Frannie was going to be home soon, and she had no idea what was happening with one of her guests! Beth couldn’t leave now. If she left, she’d be leaving Frannie alone with a great many questions. And possibly even in danger.
Feeling her knees start to shake, Beth stumbled to the couch. What could she say, anyway? That her guest had scary friends?
But, of course, that wasn’t the right thing to do.
No, what she was going to have to do was go upstairs and let herself into Chris Ellis’s room. She was going to have to search to find out more about him in order for Frannie to be safe.
All she was certain of was that if Chris found out she’d been looking through his things, she could very well be in danger, too.
Feeling like she was in someone else’s body, she calmly walked to Frannie’s office, pulled the main ring of keys out of her desk drawer, then made her way upstairs to Room 1A.
Chapter 14
“Once Perry and I snuck down to the quarry. The No Trespassing signs made no difference to him.”
JACOB SCHROCK
Luke’s first impression of Jacob Schrock was that he would be a popular man whether in a large corporation in New York City, in the middle of a college campus, or here in the Amish community.