Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1) by Karen Ann Hopkins Page B

all like the usually grieving parents of a dead child,” Serenity said, straightening her back to make her case.
    “The Amish believe in God’s divining hand in everything and they have extremely strong faith that the Lord takes care of his followers in life…and death. Maybe, the lack of hysteria is because of their strong Christian beliefs,” I suggested.
    She shook her head, “No, sorry. Even an Amish mother would shed tears on the day of her daughter’s funeral.”
    I remembered back to the Amish funerals that I’d attended as a child and young adult, and there’d been a slew ofthem. There were always tears—especially from the mothers. Maybe Serenity was on to something.
    “I know the Beilers—they’re good people. But, I do remember Patricia was cold and unemotional as a teen. She might not have out grown it.”
    Serenity latched on to just a few of the words and dove in, “So you grew up with Timothy and Patricia? What about James Hooley and Joseph Bender—and Bishop Esch?”
    “Whoa, slow down.” I patted the air, grinning at Serenity’s enthusiasm. She certainly wasn’t subtle. “I know all of them. ‘Course they’re fifteen years older now. Bishop Esch had just gotten the job right before I’d left the community. James was quite a bit older than me, so I wasn’t close to him. But Joseph was a good buddy of my older brother’s and I spent quite a bit of time around him.”
    Serenity took a deep breath and leveled her pretty eyes on me. “Would you be willing to assist me with the case by telling me what you know about these people, and their roles in the community?”
    She seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for my answer. A little warning bell in my head told me to say no and run away. But another voice was encouraging me to take the opportunity to get to know the sheriff better. After all, my life had been rather dull lately. I’d dated a lot of women over the years and each relationship had ended before it even got started. The wall around my heart was too high to allow anyone in. I’d accepted a while ago that I was probably destined to be alone. There was just too much emotional baggage attached to me for a woman to stick around for very long. To say that I was damaged goods was putting it mildly.
    But the tingle of anticipation I felt in my gut made me wonder about Serenity. Maybe she was different. It had been close to seventeen years since I’d experienced the uncomfortable sensation before—and that time had not ended well. Still, it was a revelation that I wasn’t completely numb. I could almost touch the pulsating energy between Serenity and I. I’d felt it the first time I’d met her. The day we’d talked on the porch of her bungalow-style house was still vivid in my mind. As she’d shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight, I’d become mesmerized by their pale blue color. I even remember stuttering a couple of times when I answered her questions about her roof. I left that day happy that she’d signed me on, but frustrated that she hadn’t given me any sign that she was interested in anything other than the roofing job. Nothing changed in her demeanor during the work week either. The job ended with not even a flirtatious look from the little sheriff, though I had to admit, she’d materialized in my daydreams on many occasions since.
    But, damn, to get mixed up in all the backward thinking, back stabbing and drama of the Amish people again was the real issue here. Was a woman worth it? Normally, I would have said, hell no, but glancing at Serenity’s anxious face, I wavered. Maybe, just maybe, she was worth it.
    As scary as it would be to see everybody again, it would be nice to check in with my brothers and sisters and their children. Father and Mother would probably still not welcome me to their table, but they were getting on in age. Perhaps their anger had cooled some in all these years. I wouldn’t be alone either. I’d have tough little Serenity at my