A Time To Heal by Barbara Cameron Read Free Book Online

shrugged and felt a little embarrassed at Jenny's praise. After all, she needed to do the same when Amelia, Matthew's first wife, had died.
    “I enjoyed helping Matthew with the haus and the kinner. And I'll be happy to help in any way while you're gone.”
    She turned to them. “Starting now. Isn't it time to leave for schul?”
    The children got up, took their plates to the sink, and then swarmed Jenny with kisses and hugs.
    Hannah's heart warmed as she watched Jenny fight back tears while hugging them close.
    “I'll be back in no time,” she said. “I promise.”
    “We know,” said Annie, and she gave Jenny a big smacking kiss on the cheek. “Bye!”
    A quick scurry of feet, and the three children raced out the door. It slammed behind them and left utter silence.
    “What a wonderful sound,” Matthew said, grinning. He sighed and took a last sip of his coffee. “Let's get you off and I can have a nice, quiet house all to myself for a while,” he told Jenny.
    “Well!” she pretended to huff. “Maybe I'll just stay there a few extra days.”
    “Maybe I'll come after you if you do,” he responded and her smile faded.
    “That would be so awesome,” she breathed. “Do you mean it? Just the two of us?”
    “I can't manage it right now, during the harvest. But we can go away for a few days this winter.”
    “How would we manage that—” She broke off and looked at Hannah. “Do I sense a plot here?”
    Hannah smiled. “See, I can keep a secret.”
    Jenny rushed to Hannah's side and threw her arms around her. “Well, I guess I won't mind this once.” She sighed. “I feel like we're sisters, not just sisters-in-law.”
    The two women smiled at each other, and Jenny started clearing the table.
    “Let us do that,” Chris said, standing and picking up several plates to take to the sink.
    “But you're a guest,” Jenny protested.
    “I'm used to doing chores,” he told her. “I grew up on a farm.” He returned to the table to gather up the silverware.“Besides, you need to get going, right?”
    “Thanks, Chris.” Jenny stood and looked at her husband.“Can you help me with my suitcase?”
    He jumped up. “ Ya, of course.”
    They hurried up the stairs, and the bedroom door shut with a click.
    Hannah watched Chris glance down the hall. She was sure he'd seen the same suitcase by the front door she had when she'd come over this morning.
    When he turned back, Hannah caught his look and smiled.
    “They still act like newlyweds,” she said with a reluctant smile.
    “It's good to see her looking so different from the way she was at the hospital.” Running water in the sink, he squirted in dishwashing liquid.
    “It was a hard time for her,” Hannah said, picking up a dishcloth and joining him at the sink. “Matthew told me that Jenny was injured when a car bomber targeted her because of her news reporting. He said they didn't want the truth to get out about how civil war had harmed the children there.”
    He rinsed a plate and handed it to her.
    “Why were you in the hospital? What happened to you?”
    “Enemy with a bomb,” he said shortly.
    “So the two of you have a lot in common.”
    She'd made it a comment, not a question. So she didn't feel any surprise when he nodded and stayed silent. But when he handed her another plate to dry, he looked into her eyes and he sighed.
    “Yes.” He handed her a cup, then pulled the plug and let the water drain from the sink. “That's it. Are you ready to go?”
    Hannah knew when someone didn't want to talk. Obviously this man who'd been so free to talk to the kinner and Jenny and Matthew a few minutes ago didn't want to talk to her.
    Well, he didn't want to talk to her about whatever had caused those awful burn scars on his back. It had always seemed to her that most people liked to talk about their physical problems.Emotional ones too. But this man was a mystery.
    She loved mysteries. Okay, so maybe she was a little bit nosy. But there was nothing