Free Peace by Shelley Shepard Gray

get my gear.”
    Beth stepped in between them. “ Nee . I want him to stay.”
    â€œYou don’t know what you’re saying, Beth,” Mose warned. “This man is dangerous.”
    â€œNot to me.” She looked at him beseechingly. “Tell him, Chris. Tell him that you’d never hurt me.”
    He ached to reach out to her, to take her into his arms and soothe her fears. “Of course, I’d never hurt you,” he said quietly. “But I can’t promise that no harm will come to you. There’s a difference.”
    To his amazement, tears formed in her eyes. “Please, don’t leave me alone.” Turning to Mose, she said, “There’s a chance those men, those drug dealers might already know he’s here, jah ?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThen there’s a chance that they could come here. I don’t want to be alone if they show up.”
    Mose stared at her. “What else is going on, Beth? What are you not telling me?”
    â€œNothing is going on. It’s just that I simply know what I need to be doing—and that is taking care of Chris. He can take care of me if something happens.”
    Mose sat back down. “Beth, what is your mother going to say?”
    â€œNothing, because I’m not going to tell her.”
    â€œThis will come out sooner or later. You know it will.”
    Beth looked at Mose with a schoolteacher glare. “Nothing good will come from telling my mother about Chris, Mose. You know that as certainly as I do. Besides, in a few days this will only be a memory.”
    The sheriff stared at her hard before glancing his way. “Chris, I hope you know what havoc you’ve created.”
    â€œBelieve me, if I felt like I had a choice, I would have stayed far away from here.” Knowing that some things had to be shared, he turned to Beth. “Would you please get me a sheet of paper and a pen? I need to write some names and numbers down for the sheriff.”
    When she left, Chris turned to Mose. “You have every right to ask me to go, but I’m asking you to let me stay until the twenty-sixth. By then I’ll be well enough to get around better and my boss will have been able to send someone out to run interference.”
    â€œInterference my foot. You’ve got a terrible problem here.”
    â€œI swear, I don’t think anyone will find me here. I wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
    Mose shook his head slowly. “I ain’t talking about your drug-dealing buddies, Chris Ellis.” He looked at him meaningfully. “She’s a good woman with a kind heart. I’d hate for you to stoop so low as to start taking advantage of an Amish woman’s kindness. Or make her think that something could ever be possible between the two of you.”
    Beth’s return prevented him from replying. Instead, he took the paper, and wrote down two names. “If something does happen, call Taylor King. She’s my partner. Or, you can call Ryan Holditch; he’s my direct report and is in the Chicago office.”
    Mose took the paper, studied the names for a minute, then stood up with great reluctance. “I can’t say I’m real pleased about this, but since it’s out of my jurisdiction and no crime has been committed, I guess it don’t matter much what I think.” Turning to Beth, he waved a finger. “Don’t forget to visit your mother. And don’t forget to use Frannie’s cell phone and call me if you change your mind about things.”
    â€œI won’t forget.”
    After he slipped on his boots and tied the laces, Mose glanced at Chris one more time. “You really do look poorly, Chris. You might consider taking a long rest.”
    â€œI’ll do that. Thank you.”
    Mose tipped his hat, scowled at him one more time, then let himself out.
    When the door closed behind Mose, Beth heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh, Chris, I was so