A Time to Heal(60)

"Sweetheart, I love you, too, but we shouldn't stand out here kissing like this," he said as she continued to kiss him.It was torture, but he tried to pull away. He was trying hard to fit into the community and such passionate displays of affection—even between those who were engaged—was considered unseemly. He didn't want to get in bad graces with the bishop.

"Please, darling, I—"

There were giggles. It sounded like more than one person.He opened his eyes and stared up into pink rubbery lips, a big wet tongue, and breath that smelled like it could knock a tree over.

Daisy!

Not only did she look like she was feeling better, she was giving him big, sloppy, horsey kisses as Hannah and Phoebe looked on and laughed uproariously.

Chris struggled to sit up on the hay bale and carefully pushed Daisy away. "Well, look who's feeling better," he said, feeling his cheeks redden.

"Who were you talking to?" Hannah asked, trying but failing to look innocent.

Chris couldn't help it. He shook his head and then gave in and laughed with them.





14





There's something different about you today," Jenny said to Hannah the next day.

Hannah bobbled the plate in her hands but managed not to drop it. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"No?" Jenny grinned. "It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain young man by the name of Chris, would it?"

She'd spent a lot of time thinking about that night he'd kissed her, and when he'd been talking in his sleep about kissing her.

"He's passing through," she reminded Jenny. "You haven't forgotten that, have you? He came for vacation, and he's stayed to help Matthew. That's all."

"I don't know," Jenny said slowly, glancing out the kitchen window as they got dinner on the table. "He seems happy here.He looks more peaceful than when he first came."

"But he—" Hannah stopped, appalled that she'd nearly mentioned Chris's episode of sleepwalking.

She didn't know much about sleepwalking—she'd only heard of someone doing that once here in her community, and that was Leroy Esh who'd done it after he'd had a traumatic experience.

"He what?"

"Nothing."

It didn't feel right to tell Jenny about it. She cast about for something to say to change the subject. But the only thing she could think of was to tell Jenny about her grandmother, and that didn't feel right either. She knew Phoebe didn't want anyone fussing over her and so far, there wasn't enough reason to do so.

"I think there IS something."

Hannah gave her a look. "Now you're trying to interrogate me."

Jenny laughed. "Old habits die hard." She shook her head and her smile faded. "You can't deny you're attracted to him.And I've never seen that happen with any man from this community."

Going to the refrigerator for the pitcher of iced tea, Hannah thought about how to maneuver Jenny away from the topic.When Jenny wanted to know about something, she was like a bulldog. She returned to the table with the pitcher and began pouring its contents into glasses, setting one before Jenny.

"We've talked about how I'm not interested in anyone

"I remember how you disappeared during my wedding reception when it came to the courtship games," Jenny said with a nod. "And there's something you're not considering.I stayed, remember? How do we know Chris isn't thinking about doing that?"

Hannah blinked. "He's said nothing about that to me. Has he talked to you or Matthew about it?"

Jenny shook her head. "But it's not outside of the realm of possibilities."

"I thought you wrote nonfiction, not fiction."

Laughing, Jenny got out a bowl for the vegetables.

Hannah finished pouring the tea and set the pitcher on the table. Trying to act casual, she looked at Jenny. "I know you said you met Chris at the veteran's hospital and you had a lot in common. But what do you really know about him?"

"Not much," she said as she started slicing a loaf of bread."Well, this turned out very nice if I do say so myself," she said, looking at the bread.

She couldn't help it. Hannah started laughing and couldn't seem to stop.

"What's so funny?" Jenny demanded.

" 'If I do say so myself,'" Hannah said, wiping away a tear."I'm sorry, you said it again, just like that time you cooked artichokes."

"Hey, I did everything I was supposed to do," Jenny insisted, looking indignant. "I even cooked them a little longer than the recipe called for."

"So you sat there and when you realized they were barely edible, you could have just told us that they weren't fit to eat.But you just smacked your lips and said, 'Oh, these are very good if I do say so myself.' And the kinner and Matthew just chimed in with, 'And you do say so yourself!' "