Read Online When Tomorrow Comes by Janette Oke - Free Book Online Page B

manners.
    There’s a lady present.”
    Laray shot him a glance. “You told me she was your kid sister.”
    “She is. My kid sister.”
    “She’s hardly a kid.”
    “I also told you she was to be Amber’s maid of honor— didn’t I?”
    Laray shook his head. “I don’t recall anything being said about the maid of honor.”
    “Well, then—meet the maid of honor.”
    At Laray’s look of surprise, Christine remembered that he was the one to be Henry’s best man. It seemed they would be seeing more of one another.
    For a moment Laray appeared at a loss for words. He flushed slightly, then recovered with a wisecrack. “At least I’ll be able to escort you on my good arm.”
    Christine felt her own face flushing.
    “Hey,” said Henry as though suddenly thinking of something. “We’re having supper with Amber tonight to go over wedding plans. How about joining us, Laray?”
    Laray shifted his feet. “I think you’d better check that out with the little lady first.”
    “Amber won’t mind. I’ll give her a call as soon as I get back to the office.”
    “I wasn’t talking about Amber,” mumbled Laray, giving Christine a sideways glance.
    Henry turned to Christine, a frown creasing his forehead. It was clear he thought of no reason for her to object.
    “Fine,” she said with a lift of her shoulders. “If it’s okay with Amber, it sounds fine with me.”
    Christine walked over to Amber’s barbershop that afternoon to offer to help with the supper preparations. On the way to Amber’s home, they stopped at her folks’ to pick up Danny. He lost little time in expressing his feelings over the coming marriage.
    “Mama says you will be my new auntie,” he said, skipping alongside Christine.
    “That’s right.”
    “And I get another grandpa and grandma too.”
    “You do.”
    “Did you know my dad got dead?”
    She hardly knew how to respond. Apparently Amber had thought it important to tell Danny the truth about his father’s logging accident and death. Christine nodded.
    “I don’t remember him . . . but if he was still alive, he’d remember me.”
    “I’m sure he would.”
    “But he’s not—so I’m gonna get a new dad.”
    “Yes, I know.”
    “He’s real nice. Mom and I like him. Lots. That’s why we’re gonna marry him. I’m gonna be ring—ring what, Mom?” He stopped abruptly in front of his mother.
    “Ring bearer.”
    “Ring bear,” he repeated, picking up the pace again. “That’s a funny name. It just means I carry a ring on a pillow. Ring bear. I saw a bear one time. It was sorta black and sorta brown. It ran into the trees. Mom said it was scared. I couldn’t hurt a bear. It’s too big.”
    Christine couldn’t help but smile. She wondered if Danny was always as excited and talkative, or if the coming wedding was making him extra energetic.
    “Did you know there’s a war someplace? They’re fighting over there. With real guns. Teacher showed us on the map.”
    Oh my, thought Christine. Why would a teacher inflict that news on her students? Little children shouldn’t have to face such tragedies. . . .
    “Two people have gone from here,” Danny was explaining, gesturing with his hands. “Sam somebody and—and I don’t know his name. They were cowboys, but they have gone to the war. But they aren’t over in that place yet. They still have to learn how to be soldiers. To shoot their guns and things. When they learn all that stuff—then they will go to war.”
    Christine inwardly cringed. Was there no way to get away from it? Did even the young have to be dragged into it? It didn’t seem right that a child had to learn so much about the wickedness of war at such a young age.
    Amber must have been thinking the same thoughts. “Mrs. Wilbur told you all this?”
    “Na-uh,” he said shaking his head. “Tommy did. Tommy told all us kids about it. Rebecca was so scared she started to cry. I think she thought the war was going to come here, so Mrs. Wilbur showed us