Marta Perry - Home by Dark

THE PAST CAN CATCH UP TO YOU…

Rachel Weaver Mason is finally going home to Deer Run, the Amish community she left behind so many years ago. Recently widowed, she wants desperately to create a haven for herself and her young daughter.

But the community, including Rachel’s family, is anything but welcoming. The only person happy to see her is her teenage brother, Benjamin, and he’s protecting a dark secret that endangers them all.

Determined to keep Benjamin safe from a suspected killer, Rachel has no choice but to turn to the one man she wanted to get as far away from as possible. Colin McDonald was her late husband’s friend, and the man who came between them. He’s never forgotten her and would do anything to keep her and her family safe.

Rachel doesn’t know if she can trust Colin, or her growing feelings for him. But as they hunt for the killer, the tension between them builds and soon both their lives, and their hearts, are on the line.

Praise for Marta Perry

“Perry skillfully continues her chilling, deceptively charming romantic suspense series with a dark, puzzling mystery that features a sweet romance and a nice sprinkling of Amish culture.”

—Library Journal on Vanish in Plain Sight

“Marta Perry illuminates the differences between the Amish community and the larger society with an obvious care and respect for ways and beliefs…. She weaves these differences into the story with a deft hand, drawing the reader into a suspenseful, continually moving plot.”

—Fresh Fiction on Murder in Plain Sight

“Leah’s Choice, by Marta Perry, is a knowing and careful look into Amish culture and faith. A truly enjoyable reading experience.”

—Angela Hunt, New York Times bestselling author of Let Darkness Come

“Leah’s Choice is a story of grace and servitude as well as a story of difficult choices and heartbreaking realities. It touched my heart. I think the world of Amish fiction has found a new champion.”

—Lenora Worth, author of Code of Honor

“Marta Perry delivers a strong story of tension, fear and trepidation. Season of Secrets (4.5 stars) is an excellent mystery that’s certain to keep you in constant suspense. While love is a powerful entity in this story, danger is never too far behind.”

—RT Book Reviews, Top Pick

Home by Dark

Marta Perry

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing to read the first book in my new Amish suspense series, which is set in a fictional community in my own part of Pennsylvania. I’m finding it a delicate balancing act but also great fun to combine the real places I know with my fictional community.

The Amish attitude toward nonviolence plays a large role in Home by Dark. It’s sometimes difficult for people in the larger community to reconcile the very law-abiding nature of Amish life with the reluctance of the Amish to become involved with the law and its representatives. This attitude dates back to the earliest years of the Amish faith, when Amish were persecuted and killed by the law and government of the time. For the most part, an Amish person is more likely to forgive and/or ignore a crime against them by an outsider than to seek help from the police, and that attitude permeates the events of my story.

I hope you’ll let me know how you felt about this story, and I’d love to send you a signed bookmark or my brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. You can write to me at Harlequin HQN, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, email me at marta@martaperry.com or visit me on the web at www.martaperry.com.

Blessings,

Marta Perry

This story is dedicated to my grandson, Bjoern Jacob. And, as always, to Brian, with much love.

The gem cannot be polished without friction,

nor the person perfected without trials.

—Amish proverb

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

PROLOGUE

THE DESERTED BARN loomed ahead of them, broken beams jutting up toward the darkening sky like menacing fingers. Benjamin Weaver shivered, and the gas cans Will had made him carry clanked together.

Will’s head jerked around at the sound. “Keep it quiet.” His voice was a low mutter of Pennsylvania Dutch. “You want to get us arrested?”

“Told you we shouldn’t’ve brought him.” Joseph Stoltz frowned at him. Both the older boys wore Englisch clothes, and they’d snickered at Benj for showing up dressed Amish.

All very well for them to put on jeans and T-shirts. They were both old enough to have started their rumspringa, and parents turned a blind eye to such clothes then. But he was only fourteen, and Daad would skin him if he found Benj in a getup like that. Daad had been upset enough lately with Benj’s oldest sister, Rachel, coming back to town and not being Amish anymore.

He shivered again, half with cold, half with fear of where this adventure was taking him. It grew chilly at night this early in June, especially out here on the wooded hillside. He hadn’t thought to bring a jacket when he’d crawled out his window and slid down the roof of the woodshed. He’d been too excited that Will and Joseph were letting him come along to think about that.

Now his mind was churning, and he didn’t like what it was telling him. That it was a mistake for him to get involved, that he’d be shaming Daad and Mammi, that—

A loud creak sounded through the trees, and Benj didn’t need Will Esch’s gesture to drop to his knees behind the closest fallen log. Another sound from up ahead, one that he couldn’t identify. Why would anyone be up here in the woods overlooking Deer Run at night? Nobody’d be interested in that falling-down old barn.

Nobody but Will, who figured it would make a fine blaze up there on top of the hill for the whole village to see. Benj eased his hands away from the gas cans and rubbed clammy palms on his pants. He’d thought they were just going to splash paint on the barn, not start a fire. He should have had better sense than to get involved in one of Will’s schemes.

Will leaned over. “I’ll go check it out,” he whispered. “Wait for my signal, ja?”

With Will’s eyes on him, Benj could only nod. Too late now for second thoughts.

Will slipped over the log and slithered through the trees toward the barn. Benj leaned against the rough bark, wishing he was home in his bed. Will was moving quickly—Benj could see him, a dark shadow weaving through the trees. He’d be at the barn in a minute.

Benj turned away, sliding down to sit on the ground. In no time they’d hear Will whistle. Benj would have no choice but to pick up the gas cans and go along. Will was right about one thing. That dry old wood would make a fine blaze. But if they got caught...