Read Online A Hope for Hannah by Jerry S. Eicher - Free Book Online

woke only once, late in the night with the moon still full and bright in their bedroom window. She listened for strange sounds that might be the bear and, hearing none, slipped back into sleep.

Nine
     
    The next morning Jake prepared to drive to Libby and begin his job hunt right after breakfast.
    “The hardware store will be open by the time I get into town,” he told Hannah as he left for the barn to harness their driving horse.
    Moments later Hannah watched him steer the buggy toward the main road and felt forsaken, even though she was used to his absence each day. Perhaps it was the uncertainty of what he would find once he got to town she reasoned as she stepped outside to look at the Cabinet Mountains.
    Morning was when she especially enjoyed being outside. The ever-sharp freshness of this country invigorated her. Today, though, the mountains looked forbidding with their clouds still hanging heavy on the peaks.
    Well, she told herself, it’s just the weather. Jake will know what to do. But still the uneasiness wouldn’t leave.
    After Hannah started the breakfast dishes, she heard a truck approaching and knew at once it had to be Mr. Brunson. She went out to the driveway to meet him.
    He rolled down his window as she called, “Good morning! I hope you have some good news about the grizzly.”
    Mr. Brunson shook his head. “Sorry. The state isn’t going to be of much help.”
    Hannah’s face fell as she envisioned many more nights with the bear outside the cabin walls.
    “He said that with winter coming soon, the bear will hibernate. All bears do. He thinks its pattern might change in the spring.”
    “I guess we’ll have to live with it, then,” Hannah said, hopelessness in her voice.
    “Sorry. I’d shoot the thing, but you know how that would go.”
    Hannah nodded. She didn’t want to encourage breaking the law. Then she blurted out their news, the desire to share with someone else having become too great. “Jake lost his job last night. His boss stopped in after you left.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that, and with winter coming.” Mr. Brunson looked concerned. “Any prospects?”
    “He’s in town looking right now. He hopes the hardware store has an opening.”
    “Well, I hope he finds something. Jake’s a good man,” Mr. Brunson said as he put his gear shift in reverse.
    “Don’t forget about supper,” Hannah said. “Mom and Dad will be here in a few Sundays. They’re staying a whole week.”
    “To a good supper, then,” Mr. Brunson said. “I’ll look forward to that. It will be nice to meet your folks.” Then he backed out of the driveway and gave her a final wave as he drove toward the main road.
    Hannah felt the aloneness creep in again and wished it were Sunday already. She would see Betty or Bishop John’s wife then. There were others too, but Hannah was looking forward to the comforting hug Betty would give her when she told her aunt about Jake losing his job.
    While Hannah grew up, Betty had always seemed much older, almost ancient from a little girl’s perspective. Even during the summers when Hannah helped with the riding stable, she thought of Betty’s age that way. Of late, though, the distance between them had become much smaller. How that could be, Hannah wasn’t certain.
    Being ancient herself was not an attractive answer, but she began to think that maybe that was what was happening. I do feel kind of ancient all of a sudden — with the bear, the baby, and now Jake’s job loss.
    The baby. For the first time that morning, joy filled her. A child, her and Jake’s child, and she had not told her mother yet. Should she? This life inside of her. This new beginning. This great unknown. Is this the way all expectant mothers feel? I suppose so, but this feels very much like I am the very first woman to ever feel this way. What joy!
    How strange, she thought. I don’t even know whether this child is a boy or a girl, yet it doesn’t seem to matter. Is this how Mom felt