Plain Pursuit

DANGER IN AMISH COUNTRY

When her brother is killed in a small Amish town, Anna Quinn discovers she’s an unwelcome outsider. But the FBI agent investigating the case is right at home—because Eli Miller was born and raised in Apple Creek’s Plain community. Eli left his Amish faith behind long ago, but his heart is rooted in a local cold case he can’t forget—a mystery with strange connections to Anna’s loss. Desperate to uncover the truth, Anna and Eli are faced with stony silences and secrets...secrets that someone wants to keep buried in the past.

Anna saw a dark shadow flicker between cornstalks.

She spun around and plowed through the stalks. Each of her frantic steps was met with a rustling off to her right. Stalks whacked her face. Please help me, Lord. Sensing she was losing ground, she spun back around to face her potential attacker.

Two strong hands gripped her upper arms. A bloodcurdling scream died on her lips when she glanced up to find Eli’s concerned gaze on her.

“Someone…” Anna swallowed hard. “Someone was in there.”

He pointed to the house. “Go wait up there while I check it out.”

Anna nodded and jogged to the house.

After what seemed like forever, Eli strode toward her. “I didn’t see anything.” He narrowed his gaze. “What exactly did you see?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe I’m as paranoid as my brother.”

“No, your brother was worried about you.” He glanced back toward the fields. “Until I figure out why, I want to keep an eye on you.”

ALISON STONE

left snowy Buffalo, New York, and headed a thousand miles south to earn an industrial engineering degree at Georgia Tech in Hotlanta. Go Yellow Jackets! She loved the South, but true love brought her back north.

After the birth of her second child, Alison left corporate America for full-time motherhood. She credits an advertisement to write children’s books for sparking her interest in writing. She never did complete a children’s book, but she did have success writing articles for local publications before finding her true calling, writing romantic suspense.

Alison lives with her husband of twenty years and their four children in western New York, where the summers are absolutely gorgeous and the winters are perfect for curling up with a good book—or writing one.

Besides writing, Alison keeps busy volunteering at her children’s schools, driving her girls to dance and watching her boys race motocross.

Alison loves to hear from her readers at [email protected]. For more information please visit her website, www.AlisonStone.com. She’s also chatty on Twitter, @Alison_Stone.

Plain Pursuit

Alison Stone

Then Peter came to Him and asked,

“Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied,

“but seventy times seven!”

—Matthew 18:21, 22

Thanks to my awesome agent, Jennifer Schober, who stuck with me on this long and winding road

to publication. Your faith in me kept me going.

Thanks to Allison Lyons, my editor,

who championed my work from the beginning. I’m thrilled we finally get to work together.

Thanks to my fabulous critique partners

and good friends, Amanda Usen and Barb Hughes. You guys always keep me on track, especially when I get carried away with the suspense and forget that it’s a romance, too. To Roxanne, I miss your insightful critiques and sharp wit.

Thanks to Professor Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, who generously answered my questions about the Amish. Any errors I’ve made are mine alone.

Thanks to my mom and dad for providing a childhood home filled with lots of love and laughter. Thanks for making financial sacrifices to send

all five of your children to wonderful schools. It laid the foundation for all my successes in life. Thank you for that gift.

And thanks to my husband, Scott,

and our four children, Scotty, Alex, Kelsey and Leah. If you want something badly enough and you’re willing to work hard, dreams can come true. Thanks for helping me make my dream come true. I love you guys, always and forever.

Contents

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

EPILOGUE

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

ONE

The pungent odor of manure and smoldering wreckage clogged Anna’s throat. As she coughed, she tented her hand over her eyes to shield them from the lowering sun. Stalks and stalks of corn swayed under brisk winds, masking the point of impact where the single-engine plane plummeted into the earth. An unmistakable desire to scream overwhelmed her. She clamped her jaw to quell her emotions. She had to hold it together for now. Swallowing hard, she tried to rid her mouth of the horrible taste floating in the air. Across the country road from her parked vehicle, first responders fastened the straps to secure the crumpled plane to a flatbed truck.

Turning her back, she flattened her palms against the window of her car. She closed her eyes as the world seemed to slow to a crawl. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. Her brother was dead. She was alone.