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Authors: Barbara Cameron
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hair stroked, to have someone care for her like this. She'd always been the strong one, looking out for the needs of others.
“So why are you thinking about him?” Phoebe asked after a long moment had passed.
“I'm not sure I can put it into words. There's something about him that draws me.”
She raised her head and her eyes searched Phoebe's for understanding. “I sense that he's a man who cares about people.You saw what he did last night to keep Mary from being burned. What you didn't see is how he kept me from falling from the loft ladder earlier that day. He could have fallen himself.”
“No, I didn't hear all the details,” Phoebe said, her mouth curving into a smile. Hannah felt her cheeks grow warm. She told Phoebe the story but left out the part where her eyes had met Chris's and she'd felt a connection deep in her soul.
Chris bent to scoop up a handful of the earth at his feet.He studied its rich brown color, squeezed it to see how it held moisture, and sniffed at it.
“Taking home a souvenir?”
Turning, he looked at his host, and then he laughed, shook his head, and opened his hand, letting the soil drift to the ground.
“No, we have dirt back home. It's a little different color and smell from this. Yours seems richer.”
“Crop rotation.”
Matthew walked over to where Chris stood near the fence that separated the front yard from the road. He leaned his forearms on it like Chris and propped his boot on the lower rung of the fence. They studied the nearby field, efficiently harvested and ready for its winter rest.
“Had a lot of arguments with my dad about crop rotation,” Chris said after a long moment. “He owned the place so he won the arguments. My brother tells me he only listened the last few years while I served overseas.”
“When's the last time you saw the place?”
“I headed there as soon as I got out of the hospital. Saw the family. Hung out with some friends. Then I decided to take a little time for myself and travel.”
“Jenny's sorry she couldn't show you around,” Matthew said, turning to look at him.
“I should have written or called and asked, not just come and hoped to find she had the time. But I haven't had much control over my life this past year. I just wanted to move when I wanted to move.”
He stopped, surprised that he'd said so much.
“What?” Matthew asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You looked like you started to say something, then stopped.”
“I was just thinking about something Hannah said.”
Matthew winced. “I'm afraid to ask. Hannah speaks her mind.”
Chris laughed. “I'll say. She said getting me to talk felt like pulling teeth.”
Matthew laughed. “That's Hannah.” He paused. “Actually, the same could be said about Jenny. She says she's naturally inquisitive because of her background as a reporter. But I think all women want us men to talk more.”
“And listen more.”
“ Ya.”
“And be more sensitive.”
Matthew stared at him, aghast. “ Englisch women say that?”
“Jenny hasn't?”
“ Nee. No.”
“Maybe you've been more sensitive than me.”
Their eyes met and Chris felt like they took the measure of each other. Then Matthew shocked him by laughing.
“I don't think anyone can accuse me of that,” Matthew told him.
He didn't seem like the kind of man Chris had thought he'd be: stern, authoritarian, overbearing.
On the other hand, even though Chris didn't know Jenny all that well, he couldn't have visualized her married to such a man as that. He imagined few Englisch women would want a man to control them, especially a woman like Jenny who had traveled around the world.
Of course, sometimes the kind of men some of the women he knew picked surprised him.
“Chris?”
He realized he'd been lost in his thoughts. “Sorry, just thinking of something.”
“How long do you plan to stay?”
“I hadn't thought about it. Maybe a week. I didn't make any firm plans when I set out.”
“You have no
“So why are you thinking about him?” Phoebe asked after a long moment had passed.
“I'm not sure I can put it into words. There's something about him that draws me.”
She raised her head and her eyes searched Phoebe's for understanding. “I sense that he's a man who cares about people.You saw what he did last night to keep Mary from being burned. What you didn't see is how he kept me from falling from the loft ladder earlier that day. He could have fallen himself.”
“No, I didn't hear all the details,” Phoebe said, her mouth curving into a smile. Hannah felt her cheeks grow warm. She told Phoebe the story but left out the part where her eyes had met Chris's and she'd felt a connection deep in her soul.
Chris bent to scoop up a handful of the earth at his feet.He studied its rich brown color, squeezed it to see how it held moisture, and sniffed at it.
“Taking home a souvenir?”
Turning, he looked at his host, and then he laughed, shook his head, and opened his hand, letting the soil drift to the ground.
“No, we have dirt back home. It's a little different color and smell from this. Yours seems richer.”
“Crop rotation.”
Matthew walked over to where Chris stood near the fence that separated the front yard from the road. He leaned his forearms on it like Chris and propped his boot on the lower rung of the fence. They studied the nearby field, efficiently harvested and ready for its winter rest.
“Had a lot of arguments with my dad about crop rotation,” Chris said after a long moment. “He owned the place so he won the arguments. My brother tells me he only listened the last few years while I served overseas.”
“When's the last time you saw the place?”
“I headed there as soon as I got out of the hospital. Saw the family. Hung out with some friends. Then I decided to take a little time for myself and travel.”
“Jenny's sorry she couldn't show you around,” Matthew said, turning to look at him.
“I should have written or called and asked, not just come and hoped to find she had the time. But I haven't had much control over my life this past year. I just wanted to move when I wanted to move.”
He stopped, surprised that he'd said so much.
“What?” Matthew asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You looked like you started to say something, then stopped.”
“I was just thinking about something Hannah said.”
Matthew winced. “I'm afraid to ask. Hannah speaks her mind.”
Chris laughed. “I'll say. She said getting me to talk felt like pulling teeth.”
Matthew laughed. “That's Hannah.” He paused. “Actually, the same could be said about Jenny. She says she's naturally inquisitive because of her background as a reporter. But I think all women want us men to talk more.”
“And listen more.”
“ Ya.”
“And be more sensitive.”
Matthew stared at him, aghast. “ Englisch women say that?”
“Jenny hasn't?”
“ Nee. No.”
“Maybe you've been more sensitive than me.”
Their eyes met and Chris felt like they took the measure of each other. Then Matthew shocked him by laughing.
“I don't think anyone can accuse me of that,” Matthew told him.
He didn't seem like the kind of man Chris had thought he'd be: stern, authoritarian, overbearing.
On the other hand, even though Chris didn't know Jenny all that well, he couldn't have visualized her married to such a man as that. He imagined few Englisch women would want a man to control them, especially a woman like Jenny who had traveled around the world.
Of course, sometimes the kind of men some of the women he knew picked surprised him.
“Chris?”
He realized he'd been lost in his thoughts. “Sorry, just thinking of something.”
“How long do you plan to stay?”
“I hadn't thought about it. Maybe a week. I didn't make any firm plans when I set out.”
“You have no
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