A Time to Heal(78)

"Why don't you let me drive us back home?"

He helped her climb into the buggy, and she handed him the reins when he sat beside her.

He leaned over, and she leaned away from him.

"I just want another kiss."

She glanced around. "Not here!"

"Yeah, here." He grinned at her and started to reach for her then stopped. "I'm afraid of hurting you."

"You'll only hurt me if you don't hold me," she whispered, leaning closer. "I'm so glad you came here."

"I'm not entirely sure I know why I came here," he said slowly, caressing her cheek. "I thought it was because I wanted to talk to Jenny about Malcolm and how I felt like my life would never be the same. We didn't know each other long, but I felt like we really connected at the hospital—" he hesitated— "as friends," he said firmly.

"Go on."

"I knew she'd had to make a lot of adjustments to life after she came home from overseas. We wrote each other a few times, and she seemed so happy here. Then one day, I was sitting in the hospital, watching TV, and this show came on about the area and I just felt compelled to come here."

He looked out at the farmland surrounding them. "I felt something settle inside me the moment I got to Paradise. And even though things were anything but peaceful when I met you, well, I couldn't help being attracted to you."

"We have this expression," she said, smiling at him. "People kept saying it to me: 'There's a man God set aside for you.' But I got to doubting that when time passed."

A car approached from behind them and slowed beside the buggy. It was the police officer again. She glanced inside the buggy, grinned when she saw how closely they were sitting— Chris's arms around Hannah—and then she sped off.

Hannah watched the car until it went around the bend in the road.

"I want to talk to you about not pressing charges against Kraft," Chris said.

She stiffened. "I'm not changing my mind."

"I'm not asking you to. I want you to help me understand. I talked to Matthew and I'm trying to understand."

"I'll try," she told him. "Just not today. All right?"

"No. Not today."

"Let's go home and tell everyone our news."

Chris spoke to Daisy and she made a U-turn in the road.

"Very impressive," Hannah told him.

He shot her a grin. "Ya," he said. "You'd think I had grown up Amish, wouldn't you? Say, do you need a driver's license for these things?"

Her laughter floated in the air as they made their way home.

The End