"No, it's nothing like that," Samantha said. She took a deep breath before saying, "We're not really Amish. We are from a community that hasn't had any contact with the modern world in over three hundred years. It's on an island near here. We sailed over here in a boat."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"We're usually self-sufficient, but the crops failed last year and then this blizzard killed our livestock and-" She stopped to wipe tears from her eyes. "We're desperate and we don't have any money, so I took all the jewelry and I tried to sell it to this woman but she thought I stole it and called the police. I'm really sorry about lying to you after everything you've done. Please don't tell the police about Wendell and Prudence. They didn't do anything wrong. This is my fault."
Mr. Pryde reached into his pocket for a cigarette, lighting it with an unsteady hand. He blew out a stream of smoke and then said, "I ain't going to let Sheriff McCovey take you. The way I see it, you ain't done nothing wrong." He bent down to shovel the fallen jewelry back into the bag. Then he handed the bag to her. "We'll straighten all this out."
"You mean it? Thank you, Mr. Pryde," Samantha said. She kissed Mr. Pryde on the cheek, causing his cigarette to fall from his lips. "You've been so wonderful to us. Isn't there anything I can do to repay you?"
"You can stop that crying for starters," Mr. Pryde said. "Everything's going to be all right. The sheriff and I go way back. He won't touch you long as you let me do the talking."
Samantha wiped her eyes and nose, biting down on her lip to keep from crying any more. Part of her worried this might be some kind of trick, but she didn't think Mr. Pryde capable of such deception. Not after all he'd done for them already.
When she returned to New Beginnings Antiques, she found a fat, bald man in a dark blue uniform talking with the shopkeeper. Sheriff McCovey turned away from the woman at Mr. Pryde's approach, his red face brightening with a smile. "You caught our runaway, eh, Judah? Hate to tell you, but there ain't no reward on this one yet."
"She ain't no runaway, Rick," Mr. Pryde said. "She and her cousins been staying with me the past couple days."
"That a fact?" Sheriff McCovey asked. He turned to Samantha, his voice rising as if talking to a small child. "What's your name, honey?"
"Samantha Young."
"How do you and your cousins know old Judah here?"