A Time to Heal(58)

Joshua had begged to go along too. He worried that he'd done something wrong when he helped Chris take care of her the night before she'd fallen sick. Matthew pointed out to his son that people and animals often got sick while those around them didn't.

Chris went over and over what he'd done to feed and water her but there hadn't been anything out of the ordinary. And the other horses were healthy, so he suspected she'd just eaten something when she'd been out in the pasture.

He dressed, pulled on sneakers, and let himself out of the house.

As he walked the distance between the two farms, he thought about how nice it was that the two families lived so close together. He wondered if it was a case of Jenny falling in love with the boy next door all those years ago.

Funny thing, Hannah was the girl next door right now. She was so different from the girls he'd dated before he went into the Army: outspoken, unaffected, loving.

And so not someone even remotely in his league.

He pushed open the barn door, and she turned around and looked at him. The lantern light cast a soft glow on her as she sat on the old chair near Daisy.

She touched her forefinger to her lips as he approached."She's sleeping. I think she's doing a little better," she said quietly.

He approached and looked down at the horse. She did look a little better.

"The vet stopped by on his way home and he gave her a shot," Hannah told him. "Phoebe was worried, so I told her I'd stay up with Daisy for a little while."

Chris pulled a bale of hay over and sat on it. "Mind if I keep you company for a little while?"

He saw her eyes shift to the barn door.

"Problem?"

She shrugged. "Single men and women aren't supposed to be alone together like this."

"Sorry, I didn't realize," he said. "Should I open the barn door for propriety's sake?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No, of course not! How could you think that?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "I suppose it sounds . . . quaint to you."

"Hannah, I wouldn't dream of being critical of you or anyone here," he said quietly. "Everyone's been very welcoming to me."

"Except for Josiah."

"Well, yeah, except for Josiah," he acknowledged. "Do you want me to open the barn door?"

She sighed. "No, it's all right."

It was quiet for a long time except for the soft noises of horses shifting in their stalls and settling in to rest for the night.

Chris glanced at Hannah and she blushed and looked away.A few moments later, when she thought he wasn't looking, he saw her glancing at him.

Neither of them mentioned the kiss the night before.

Then Chris broke the silence by telling Hannah about Annie's adventure at school that day.

"That Annie," she said, laughing and shaking her head. "She has such a colorful way of telling a story, doesn't she? I have no doubt she'll be a writer just like her mamm."

"They make quite a family, don't they?" he mused. "Jenny talked about how she was engaged to Matthew and going to be a stepmother when we met at the veteran's hospital. "

"Kinner respond to love," Hannah said simply. "They can tell Jenny truly loves them."

An easy silence fell between them for a time.

"Why did you become a soldier?"

His eyes widened. "Where did that come from?"

She shrugged. "Just wondered."

"It's a tradition in our family," he told her slowly. "Goes back to my great-grandfather's time. The men volunteer for a tour of duty. My parents actually met when my mother was a nurse in the veteran's hospital where he was sent."

"Was he injured the same way as you?"

"No, thank goodness."

Chris fell silent for a moment. Then again, if his father had experienced the same things he had in his military service, he might have understood what Chris had gone through. Nothing about his duty or his injuries had been within the scope of his father's understanding.

But he wouldn't wish that on anyone anyway. Even if it made for better rapport.

"Did they come to see you in the hospital?"

"Sure."

She nodded. "That's what families do."

He stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankles."Well, that's what a lot of families do, but not all. There were a lot of patients there who never got a visit. Sometimes it was because their families were too far away, but sometimes it was because they didn't get along."

"People aren't perfect. Families aren't perfect—even here."

"You're right. I've been around you and your family and none of you pretend to be perfect, or to be saints."

She laughed and Daisy moved her head and snorted in her sleep. Clapping her hand over her mouth, Hannah's eyes danced above her hand as she waited for the horse to settle again.