Read Online Mittman, Stephanie by A Taste of Honey - Free Book Online
Authors: A Taste of Honey
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brothers and sisters when
you were just a baby yourself. And Ethan, the way he talks about your cooking,
and the way you made the house a home. I just couldn't wait to meet you. I knew
just what I was going to say."
But
then he'd seen her and it had taken his words away. Admiration had given way to
awe. And affection was giving way to something he was afraid he wouldn't be
able to control.
"I
meant to tell you how much I admired you, and how I sure would like your help
and advice from time to time, and when they talked about you I got this picture
in my head of this angel..."
"And
then you saw me," she said flatly, as if she expected that he would have
been disappointed. Her eyes searched his and seemed to be surprised by what
they found.
"And
then I saw you," he said finally, his smile broadening as though just
seeing her had made him happy. "And you were ... you are—"
"Mr.
Eastman? You down there, Mr. Eastman?" a voice called out from the top of
the ridge.
"Damn."
He turned from her and shouted back up toward the hill, "I'm here!"
"Hannah
with you?" the voice yelled back.
Annie
looked around them. There was no sign of his little girl.
CHAPTER 4
Annie
followed Noah up the steepparched slope, taking two steps for each one
of his, the breeze whipping her skirts around her and impeding her progress. He
looked back for a moment as if he thought perhaps he should wait for her, but
she waved him on with her hand. By the time she caught up to him he was
surrounded by several people all talking at once.
Peter
Gibbs seemed to be in charge. Noah had left the girls with him and Della when
he'd gone looking for Annie. Now Della, blond and beautiful in her
apricot-colored shirtwaist, stood with Julia in her arms, the little girl's
face streaked with tears.
"One
minute Hannah was here," Peter said, running his fingers through his
well-kept brown hair, "and the next she was gone. Mrs. Lutefoot said she
saw her go off toward the ridge, so I checked there. No one over there has seen
her."
Noah
was listening to Peter without looking at him. Chin raised, he was searching
over the tops of everyone's heads, scanning the field for traces of a little
girl dressed in pink. Annie knew well the fear he felt, the knot in his stomach
that tightened with every breath as he thought of Hannah alone.
The
sky was a deep clear blue. At least they didn't have to worry about the
weather. She went over possibilities in her mind. Devil's Lake was at least a
mile away, too far for Hannah to walk, by Annie's reckoning. While her
heartbeat grew faster and faster she thought of one awful possibility after
another. Snakes? She couldn't remember the last time anyone was bitten. Wild
animals? An occasional fox, a small coyote, nothing that would threaten an
adult. But Hannah was just a child. How far could she have gotten on those two
chubby little legs in just a few minutes?
"Where
could she be?"
"Whatever
would possess a child to simply walk off like that?"
"What
if she gets lost?"
From
the crowd's tone it was easy enough for Julia to sense that her sister might be
in danger, and the poor baby sobbed and stretched her arms out to her father.
For a moment she commanded all his attention. "Shh, now," he told
her. "Everything's all right, honey. Daddy'll find Hannah."
It
reminded Annie of the time Ethan had been missing. He couldn't have been more
than four or five. He'd scared the daylights out of the whole family, but no
one as much as Annie, who had a gift for imagining the worst. Despite that, or
because of it, she fought now to stay calm.
"Mr.
Eastman," she said. "What was Hannah talking about before you
left?"
"What?"
He was organizing searchers, sending some in one direction, some in another,
all the men fanning out from the meadow while the women minded the children
with more than the usual care.
"Before
you came down to the trees, what was the last thing Hannah said to you?"
His
eyebrows came down close to his eyes, leaving several
you were just a baby yourself. And Ethan, the way he talks about your cooking,
and the way you made the house a home. I just couldn't wait to meet you. I knew
just what I was going to say."
But
then he'd seen her and it had taken his words away. Admiration had given way to
awe. And affection was giving way to something he was afraid he wouldn't be
able to control.
"I
meant to tell you how much I admired you, and how I sure would like your help
and advice from time to time, and when they talked about you I got this picture
in my head of this angel..."
"And
then you saw me," she said flatly, as if she expected that he would have
been disappointed. Her eyes searched his and seemed to be surprised by what
they found.
"And
then I saw you," he said finally, his smile broadening as though just
seeing her had made him happy. "And you were ... you are—"
"Mr.
Eastman? You down there, Mr. Eastman?" a voice called out from the top of
the ridge.
"Damn."
He turned from her and shouted back up toward the hill, "I'm here!"
"Hannah
with you?" the voice yelled back.
Annie
looked around them. There was no sign of his little girl.
CHAPTER 4
Annie
followed Noah up the steepparched slope, taking two steps for each one
of his, the breeze whipping her skirts around her and impeding her progress. He
looked back for a moment as if he thought perhaps he should wait for her, but
she waved him on with her hand. By the time she caught up to him he was
surrounded by several people all talking at once.
Peter
Gibbs seemed to be in charge. Noah had left the girls with him and Della when
he'd gone looking for Annie. Now Della, blond and beautiful in her
apricot-colored shirtwaist, stood with Julia in her arms, the little girl's
face streaked with tears.
"One
minute Hannah was here," Peter said, running his fingers through his
well-kept brown hair, "and the next she was gone. Mrs. Lutefoot said she
saw her go off toward the ridge, so I checked there. No one over there has seen
her."
Noah
was listening to Peter without looking at him. Chin raised, he was searching
over the tops of everyone's heads, scanning the field for traces of a little
girl dressed in pink. Annie knew well the fear he felt, the knot in his stomach
that tightened with every breath as he thought of Hannah alone.
The
sky was a deep clear blue. At least they didn't have to worry about the
weather. She went over possibilities in her mind. Devil's Lake was at least a
mile away, too far for Hannah to walk, by Annie's reckoning. While her
heartbeat grew faster and faster she thought of one awful possibility after
another. Snakes? She couldn't remember the last time anyone was bitten. Wild
animals? An occasional fox, a small coyote, nothing that would threaten an
adult. But Hannah was just a child. How far could she have gotten on those two
chubby little legs in just a few minutes?
"Where
could she be?"
"Whatever
would possess a child to simply walk off like that?"
"What
if she gets lost?"
From
the crowd's tone it was easy enough for Julia to sense that her sister might be
in danger, and the poor baby sobbed and stretched her arms out to her father.
For a moment she commanded all his attention. "Shh, now," he told
her. "Everything's all right, honey. Daddy'll find Hannah."
It
reminded Annie of the time Ethan had been missing. He couldn't have been more
than four or five. He'd scared the daylights out of the whole family, but no
one as much as Annie, who had a gift for imagining the worst. Despite that, or
because of it, she fought now to stay calm.
"Mr.
Eastman," she said. "What was Hannah talking about before you
left?"
"What?"
He was organizing searchers, sending some in one direction, some in another,
all the men fanning out from the meadow while the women minded the children
with more than the usual care.
"Before
you came down to the trees, what was the last thing Hannah said to you?"
His
eyebrows came down close to his eyes, leaving several
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