A Hope Springs Christmas by Patricia Davids Read Free Book Online Page A

with the delicious smell of the cooking meal. He held the bar close to his nose. It smelled like Sarah, clean, fresh, springlike.
    He put the soap down and quickly rinsed his hands. He dried them on a soft white towel hanging from a rod on the end of the counter. It didn’t feel right using her things.
    When he turned around, Sarah was staring at him. She asked, “You do understand, don’t you?”
    He hadn’t been listening. “What?”
    “Why I told the twins they couldn’t eat here.”
    “Sure.”
    She waited, as if she expected him to say something else. Nothing occurred to him. He slipped his hands in the front pockets of his pants. Could he feel more awkward? Not likely.
    Nodding, she said, “ Goot. Sit.”
    She indicated the chair at the head of the table. Jonas’s place. Okay, that was going to feel more awkward.
    Levi pulled his hands from his pockets and took a seat. Sarah moved around the kitchen, gathering plates and silverware. He rubbed his hands on the tops of his thighs. He was hungry, but he hadn’t realized how intimate it would feel eating alone with Sarah. They weren’t doing anything wrong. He knew that, but being this close to her set his nerve endings buzzing like angry bees.
    Even sitting in this chair felt wrong. It was Jonas’s chair. It didn’t matter that Jonas was gone. It didn’t seem right to take the place that was once his. Memories of their last hours together poured into Levi’s mind.
    He could hear Jonas’s hoarse whisper as plainly as if they were back in the upstairs bedroom before his death.
    “Watch over Sarah when I’m gone, Levi. Promise me you’ll watch over her until she decides to remarry.”
    “You’ll get better.”
    “ Nee, my time is up, my friend. God calls me home. I want Sarah to find happiness with someone again, though I pray she doesn’t remarry in haste. I know women who have and regretted their decision.”
    “Sarah was wise enough to choose you in the first place. She’ll be fine.”
    “You know my Sarah well. I’d rest easier knowing she loved someone strong, from a good family, with a fine farm or business. Promise me you’ll watch over her until she meets him, Levi. Promise me this. It’s all I ask of you.”
    Sarah set a glass of fresh milk on the table, jarring Levi’s mind out of the past. He picked up the glass and took a long drink. Her gaze remained focused on his arm.
    He stopped drinking. “What?”
    “I can mend that rip in your sleeve right quick if you’ll slip your shirt off.”
    He turned his arm trying to see what she was talking about and splashed milk out of his glass in the process. Embarrassed, he looked for something to clean it up with. She was quicker, placing a kitchen towel over the puddle and trying hard not to laugh. Why was he so clumsy when she was around?
    “Sorry,” he muttered.
    “Don’t worry about it. Accidents happen. Shall I fix your sleeve?”
    He didn’t care if his entire arm was hanging out of his clothes. He wasn’t about to take his shirt off in front of her. He muttered, “Grace will fix it later.”
    “All right.” Sarah then carried a steaming black kettle to the table and placed it in front of him. She returned a few seconds later with a plate of freshly sliced home-baked bread and a tub of butter, setting them within his reach. She took her seat and bowed her head.
    Levi did the same and silently said the prayers he dutifully prayed before every meal. When he was finished, he looked up and waited. Sarah kept her eyes closed, her hands clasped. He cleared his throat. She took it as the sign the prayer was finished. Looking up, she smiled at him and began ladling steaming pieces of chicken and vegetables into his bowl.
    She was so pretty when she smiled. It did funny things to his insides.
    She said, “I hope you like this. It was one of Jonas’s favorites. The recipe belonged to his mother.”
    Levi suddenly found his appetite had fled. He laid his spoon down
    Sarah’s eyes filled