Free A Simple Hope: A Lancaster Crossroads Novel by Rosalind Lauer

covered with puffy white clouds on a background of blue …
    Oh, she missed the comforts of home!
    “I’ll be right back,” Gary said, slamming the car door.
    She nodded, pretending to be distracted by searching for a radio station as he went through the parking lot to the front of the library building.
    Watching him from the corner of her eye, Shandell calculated. The sheriff’s office was just down Main Street, over to the right, but she would have to cross in front of the library to get that way. No, she couldn’t take the chance that Gary would see her through the library’s floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on Main Street.
    She would have to run in the other direction. The back of the parking lot stretched out to the other side of the ice-cream parlor, allowing plenty of extra room for Amish buggies and horses. In fact, there were two buggies parked there now, their horses nickering as they waited in the mild afternoon sun. She would cut over that way, around the far side of the ice-cream place, and then run like crazy.
    As soon as Gary disappeared from sight, Shandell popped out of the car. Her hands shook as she opened the rear door and reached in for her backpack, but she warned herself to stay calm. Keep breathing … and run!
    Her pack thumped against her back as she bolted across the parking lot, cutting a wide arc around the ice-cream place. Onceshe flew out onto the sidewalks of Halfway’s Main Street, she had to watch for pedestrians. She darted past two chatty teenaged Amish girls and cut around a woman helping an elderly man out of the car parked at the curb. With tourists and local people dipping in and out of shops and chatting casually, Halfway’s Main Street was no place to be in a hurry.
    Her heart raced, more from fear than exertion, as she passed a cute little tea shop and Kraybill’s Fish and Game, where some handsome wooden ducks were on display in the window.
    At the next corner she paused and peered behind her. No sign of Gary yet, but there was no telling how long he would be. She couldn’t outrun him. She would have to hide.
    Bracing herself, she bounded ahead, feeling a sense of relief with each step she put between herself and Gary. She had to get away—now.
    She raced past the bakery, its window teasing with iced pastries and buttery pretzels. The scent of baking rolls made her stomach growl, but right now hunger was the least of her worries. She had to get away and time was running out. But where could she hide?
    Her heart thumping, she slowed to a jog and paused at the door to the Country Store. It was as good a place as any. Bells jingled as she stepped inside to the mixed scents of lavender and sweet chocolate fudge. Old, white-scrubbed wood shelves and display cases held crafts like crocheted potholders, wooden birdhouses, handmade quilts, and Amish rag dolls. The quaint shop beckoned to her, a refuge.
    “What should I do with these, Elsie?” a big Amish guy asked the young woman sitting behind the counter.
    “Put them in the storeroom for now,” she answered.
    A quick glance told Shandell that Elsie had an unusual smile. Shiny dark hair was pulled back under her white kapp, and her eyesseemed kind as she focused on Shandell. “Can I help you find something?”
    Swallowing back her pride and fear, Shandell pressed her palms to the counter.
    “Please … Elsie, that’s your name, right? I need your help.”
    The young Amish shopkeeper’s eyes grew wide. “Tell me what I can do for you.”
    “Hide me.” Shandell’s heart was thumping fast now. She checked the door, sure that at any moment it would burst open and Gary would barge in, flashing the handsome smile that didn’t connect to his heart. “My friend is … well, he’s gone a little crazy and I need to get away from him. I ran from his car just now, but he’ll be coming after me. Please, will you help me?”
    Elsie’s dark brows lowered as she shot a look at the door. “Come with me.”
    As the