Faithful to Laura (33 page)

“Not yet. There’s something else you haven’t told me. About Laura. Why did you give her money?”

“How did you—? Never mind.” She waved her hand at him. “You should forget about that girl.”

“I can’t. I care for her.”

She could see he was sincere. And deluded. “Please, listen to me, Sawyer. She doesn’t deserve you.”

His dark brows furrowed. “Why? Because she’s Amish?

Because she’s poor? Because she’s not physically perfect?”

“Because she was so easily bought.”

His grandmother’s words struck Sawyer’s heart like an arrow hitting a bull’s-eye. He fought for every ounce of patience he possessed. He failed.

Lord, give me strength
, he prayed. Since he’d arrived in New York, he’d been sending up these quick prayers, at first purely out of desperation. Now he knew they worked. He had prayed for his anger to diminish enough to allow him to reach out to his grandmother. Now he needed to be just as calm so he could find out the truth.

Cora’s tears had dried up. Her usual cool mask was in place. “Sawyer, she took the money without hesitation.” She leaned against the chair, crossed one leg over her knee.

“Why did you give it to her in the first place?”

“To protect you.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Try again. This time, with the truth.”

Her façade slipped. “All right. Have it your way. I wanted her out of the way. I offered her enough money to take care of her face.”

He frowned. “Her face? You mean the scars?”

“Of course I mean the scars.”

“There’s nothing wrong with her face.” Sawyer let out a deep breath. “And you don’t understand the Amish. They’re not vain. She wouldn’t have plastic surgery unless it would save her life.”

Cora shrugged. “Be that as it may, she took my money. And she asked for something else.”

Confused, he went to her. “What?”

“The services of my private investigator.”

“So she didn’t go to Tennessee?”

“Tennessee? Sawyer, Laura is in New York. Not the city— upstate somewhere. She is looking for a man named Mark Something.”

“Mark King?” He tightened his fists.

“King. Yes, that may be it. I don’t know for certain. I supplied her with what she needed to find him. All she had to do was make sure you came to New York with me. She kept up her end of the bargain.” Cora looked away. “I certainly can’t blame her for you leaving me.”

But Sawyer barely heard his grandmother’s last words. Laura had lied to him.

Was everyone around him filled with deception and deceit?

Then the realization struck him full force. Laura had gone after Mark. Alone.

He had to find her.

“Where is she?”

“You’re going after her?” Cora said. “Why on earth would you do that? She betrayed you. She—”

Sawyer silenced her with a glance. “Those scars on her face? Mark King caused them. Who knows what else he’s capable of?”

His grandmother turned even paler than usual. “Sawyer, I had no idea. I just gave her the information she asked for.” She rose from the chair and disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later, she returned with a business card. “This is the private investigator I hired. He’ll know where she is.”

Sawyer took the card. “Thanks.” He headed for the door.

“You’re leaving?” She trailed him into the foyer. “But you’ve left your bag here.”

“Send it to Middlefield.”

“What about money?”

“I have enough.” He opened the door.

She gripped his arm. “But you’ll need to rent a car. Money for lodging—”

“Grandmother.” He faced her. “I’ve been working since I was fifteen. I have money.”

“Oh.”

He hurried out the door.

“Sawyer?”

Impatient, he spun around. “I have to go!”

“Will you . . . please let me know you’re all right? Laura too.”

He paused. “Yes, Grandmother. I will.”

C
HAPTER
28

Laura looked out the window as the limo zipped down the freeway. Here, as in Ohio, brown leaves carpeted the landscape. The last remnants of sunlight dipped behind the horizon.

“This is your exit.” The driver gestured to the right.

“There’s the sign for your hotel.”

“Is this Jasper?”

The driver shook his head. “This is Corning. The Radisson’s the closest decent hotel. Jasper’s about thirty miles west on 417.”

“But I need to go to Jasper.”

“I got my instructions,” the man insisted. “I was to bring you here. When you’re ready in the morning, I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

“Thank you.” Laura clutched the door handle until her knuckles cramped. Cora had kept her word. During the past two days she’d managed to keep Sawyer in the dark while she made arrangements for Laura. First the detective. Then the information. Finally a car and driver, and hotel accommodations. By this time tomorrow she would be face-to-face with Mark King.

And she had no idea what she would say to him.

Later that evening she settled into the hotel room. Modest by Cora Easley’s standards, she supposed, but lavish enough to make an Amish girl feel out of place. King-sized bed, flatscreen TV, marble bathroom. Who needed such luxuries?

Laura laid her suitcase on the low dresser and sat on the edge of the bed. Her stomach rumbled, but she wasn’t hungry. And it wasn’t because of nerves over her upcoming confrontation with Mark. All she could think about was Middlefield.

Saying good-bye to Leona and Emma had been almost as difficult as leaving Sawyer. She had lied to them too, telling them she was going back home to Tennessee. Instead, she had cashed the check, then called Cora on the prepaid cell phone and asked how she could wire money to her parents in Etheridge. That debt was now paid, with enough left over to see to her needs until she could get back home again.

Laura stood, fingering one of the strings on her
kapp
. The clerk at the front desk had looked at her strangely, but his curiosity could just as easily have been about the scars on her face as her Amish clothing.

Her first time in a hotel. Her first time using a phone. And she was now farther from home than she’d ever been.

Far from home, and far from God.

She had broken so many rules to get here. Lied to her friends. To the man she had begun to fall in love with. Deceived her family—more than once. Allowed herself to be bought off by a rich woman who didn’t care a thing about her, just about what Laura could provide.

All for a chance to get even with Mark King.

The goal that had consumed her for months was within her reach. She should feel satisfied. Instead, she felt cold. Empty. Afraid. Most of all, alone.

A knock at the door made her jump. Except for the driver, no one but Cora and the detective knew she was here.

The knocking grew more insistent. Standing on tiptoe, she peered through the round peephole. She couldn’t see anyone.

The knocking increased. “Laura?” a voice said. “Open up.”

“Sawyer?” She opened the door to the length of the safety chain and looked out. If she was surprised to hear his voice, she was even more shocked by the angry look on his face. Then again, he had a right to be angry. “How did you find me?”

“Let me in.”

He wasn’t supposed to be here. Didn’t need to be here. “
Nee. Geh
back to your grandmother, Sawyer. That’s where you belong.”

“I’m sick and tired of everyone telling me what to do. Now, let me in.”

Laura pushed the door shut and unlatched the chain. He stormed in and slammed the door behind him.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

Sawyer turned, his brown eyes burning into hers. “Stopping you from doing something stupid.”

“You have no right—”

“I have every right. I care about you.” He moved closer to her. “I thought I made that clear in Middlefield. When you pushed me away.” He lowered his voice. “Even though you didn’t want to.”

Her lips trembled. “I . . . I thought it was for the best. I still do.”

Sawyer held up his hands. “It’s amazing how everybody else knows what’s best for me. What I need. You, my parents, my grandmother. Nobody thinks I have a brain of my own.”

“That’s not true. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

“Then why won’t you let me make my own decisions?” He drew nearer. “What do I have to do to make you trust me?”

Laura licked her lips. “I do trust you.”

“But not enough to take a chance on us.”

She stepped back. “I took a chance, and look where it got me.”

He shook his head. “Revenge got you here. That and my grandmother.”

Her eyes widened. “She told you?”

“It wasn’t too hard to figure out. I knew you pushed me away on purpose. And when I found out she paid you, I knew why.” His expression suddenly dropped. “You needed vengeance more than you needed me.”

“Nee.”
She went to him. She had to make him understand. “I wasn’t lying to you when I left. You do deserve better than me.”

“Stop saying that!”

He reached out and pulled her to him. And before she could catch her breath, he kissed her.

Her kiss was as sweet as he’d imagined. It filled him, comforted him. He’d expected her to pull away. Instead, she leaned into him. His arms tightened around her shoulders. Then, before he reached the point of no return, he pulled away.

“Don’t expect me to say I’m sorry,” he said. “Because I’m not.” He drew in a deep breath, gratified to see that she was also struggling for air. After that kiss she could never deny she cared for him. He knew her true feelings now. And they matched his own.

She backed up a step or two. “This won’t work.”

“Yes, it will.” Sawyer tempered his tone. “We can make it work, Laura.”

And he knew it was true. He knew it because he had risked everything to come and get her.