"I've got you. Hold on!" he commanded, holding out his other hand. "Here, grab hold! I won't let you fall."
Grasping his hand, she stared into eyes that were a deep, dark brown, intense and mesmerizing. He pulled her up into the loft almost effortlessly. She lay there, her heart thumping and her breath shallow.
"I'm sorry I scared you," he said. His face loomed over her."I must have fallen asleep up here. Are you all right?"
An Englischer. Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, he wore his sandy brown hair quite short. She'd never seen him in these parts. Her heart rate, already fast from the near fall to the barn floor, beat faster.
"Who are you?" she stammered. "What are you doing here?"
Before he could answer, he heard someone enter the barn.
"Hannah!"
She dragged her gaze away from the man's eyes. Matthew!
Chris felt his heart jump into his throat when he heard the male voice. He muttered a curse. All he needed was some angry husband or boyfriend.
The woman sat up. "I'm up here!"
She brushed the hay from her clothes and began climbing down the ladder, moving slowly and carefully.
"What were you doing in the loft?" he called up.
She glanced up at Chris and bit her lip, then resumed descending the rungs.
With a deep sigh, Chris pulled on his backpack and moved to the edge of the loft.
He heard an exclamation he couldn't understand and the man thundered, "Who are you?" He picked up a rake and strode toward the loft ladder.
Chris looked down. "Chris. Chris Matlock. I'm coming down."
He'd had a gun shoved in his face more than once, had been trained to take on any enemy, and had held his own. He could face one stern-looking Amish man with murder on his mind.
Well, maybe not murder, Chris acknowledged as he glanced now and then over his shoulder as he descended the rungs of the ladder. The Amish were known for their peaceful manner and forgiving natures, weren't they?
He hoped what he'd heard was correct.
"Matthew! What are you doing?" the woman named Hannah cried out. Chris hesitated on the steps.
Turning, Chris jumped down the last two rungs and held his arms in the air. But instead of reassuring Matthew, he still advanced on him with the rake in hand.
"Let me explain," Chris said, striving for calm. "It's not what it looks like."
2
The other man's eyes were hard and his mouth was drawn in a grim line.
He wore the same Amish clothing Chris had seen others wearing today: black broadcloth trousers, a dark blue cotton shirt, work boots, and a black large-brimmed hat.
"I've never seen you before today, you're up in the loft with my sister, and it's not what it looks like?"
Matthew turned to Hannah. "Did he hurt you?"
"Let me explain," Chris repeated, making eye contact and keeping his voice calm and steady. "It's not what it looks like."
But the Amish guy didn't look like he bought it. Chris took measure of the man. Matthew was tall and sturdy, about the same height and weight as Chris, and looked to be in good shape from farming as opposed to weight training like Chris.
He could probably take him, especially with the special training he'd received in the military. But he didn't have any desire to fight this man. He would react the same way if he caught some stranger up in a loft with his sister.
The woman called Hannah grabbed her brother's arm."Matthew, he saved me from falling! I thought the kinner were up there playing, and when I saw him my foot slipped on the ladder and I almost fell. He caught me. Matthew, listen to me!"
When Matthew turned to look at her, Chris grabbed the rake and tossed it aside. Matthew jerked back and Chris held his hands up in the air again.
"I'm not interested in fighting you, but I'm also not interested in you overreacting and hurting me," Chris said. "Now, if you'll let me explain—"
"Matthew? What's taking so long?" Another woman hurried into the barn, one who looked familiar despite her Plain clothing.
Chris grinned and stepped forward. "Jenny!"
To his utter shock, he felt his arm grasped and pinned behind his back.
"Don't touch my wife!"
"Matthew!" Jenny cried. "What are you doing?"
"I found him with Hannah up in the loft—"
"Stop it!" Hannah shouted. "Just stop this right now! This man didn't try to hurt me and he was not doing something improper!"
Chris blinked and then glanced at Matthew and at Jenny; he saw that they were staring open-mouthed at Hannah. Evidently, neither of them had been expecting such a reaction.
"I know you," Jenny said, looking at him. She frowned and bit her lip. "Give me a minute; I'll remember."