A Time to Heal(61)

Jenny put her hands on her hips and glared at Hannah."I'm so glad I provide you with such a source of amusement! When are you people going to stop ragging on me about my cooking?"

Hannah wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law and hugged her. "I'm sorry, it's just that you do so many other things well!"

"Well, that's not true," Jenny said, but when Hannah released her and she stood back, she shrugged her shoulders. "It's taking so much longer to get good at cooking. And the Bontrager family is so interested in filling their stomachs."

"That we are," Matthew said, walking into the kitchen. He sniffed. "What are we having for dinner?"

"Oh, you!" Jenny waved her potholder at him. "Your mind is always on your stomach!"

"Not always," he said with a smile and they exchanged a look that was so warm and intimate that Hannah glanced away.

"I'll go wash my hands," he said and left the room.

"Hannah?"

"Ya?"

"What's on your mind?"

Jenny walked over to touch Hannah's arm and looked into her face with such concern that Hannah sighed. "We've talked about how this time of year I get a little moody."

Now it was Jenny's turn to wrap her arm around Hannah."I know. It's not easy to watch so many of your friends and cousins getting married and you're thinking it's not going to happen. I thought that myself a number of times, especially after I was such a mess from being hit by the car bomb."

She shuddered at the memory. "But I found when I came here that Matthew was the man God set aside for me, and I couldn't be happier."

"There were those who said it wouldn't work."

"I know. I can't blame them. Matthew and I came from two different worlds. But when God plans something, He works everything out."

He'd have a lot to work out, thought Hannah. There was no denying she was very attracted to Chris. And she knew he was attracted to her.

But that's all it was—attraction.





Chris became aware that someone was staring at him.

He looked up and saw that Joshua was standing a few feet away, studying him with that quiet intense air that reminded him of the boy's father.

"Hi."

"Hi. What are you reading?"

Chris showed him the cover of the book.

"Do you like to read about soldiers?"

"A friend told me it was a good book."

"Is it?"

"Yeah."

"Can I read it after you?"

"I don't think so."

"I'm a really good reader."

Chris realized that he'd offended him. "It's not that," he said carefully. "I'm not sure your father would want you to read it.Since it's about being a soldier and war and all."

"But I like to know stuff."

Nodding, Chris marked his place in the book. "Me too. Tell you what. I'll ask your father and if he says it's okay, you can read it after I'm finished."

Joshua's face cleared. "Okay. See you at supper."

Annie opened the front door after his knock. "Chris is here! Chris is here!"

"I hear," Jenny said dryly as Chris walked into the kitchen."I told you that you don't need to walk around the house to come inside, Chris."

He shrugged. "Doesn't feel right to come waltzing into your home through that connecting door," he said, indicating the door to his space with a wave of his hand. "That's for family."

She gave him what Chris could only describe as "the look," the one women brought out when they wanted to make a point. In this case, it meant, "don't be foolish." His mother had been particularly good at the look. Jenny was pretty good at it.Hannah hadn't given many of them. Maybe it was something you learned when you were a mom, he reflected.

He knew Amish families were pretty traditional and the husband and father made the decisions. But he was certain, having been around Jenny, that she would have some say in whether Joshua read the book.

While Joshua's solemn and friendly personality reminded Chris of Matthew, his inquisitiveness was obviously learned from Jenny.

"More meatloaf?"

Chris took the platter from Matthew. "I'll miss these meals."

Jenny smiled. "So nice to hear that you like my cooking."She slanted a look at her husband.

"Hey, I love your cooking," Matthew told her.

"You and Hannah are always teasing me about it. Even the children tease me."

He patted her hand. "Hannah learned to cook at our mamm's knee from the time she was little. You didn't. But you've done a fine job catching up." He studied her for a long moment. "Are we making you feel badly? We'll stop if it bothers you."

She smiled and shook her head. "No. It's okay. I know you're all just teasing."