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  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Thank you, but I’d really rather think about anything other than Hannah’s problems right now. Tell me about you.”

  Cole’s brown eyes filled with humor. “Well . . . we had kind of a crazy morning. My older brother was here, working on this, so it was just me and my two younger brothers at home.” He sighed, then blurted, “We broke a window.”

  “What?”

  “Jasper and John decided to play catch in the front yard, and Jasper, well, he ain’t too good of a ball player.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Six.”

  It was almost hard to remember when she and Ben had been so young and getting into mischief. “So, he broke a window . . .”

  “Nee, it was more of a group effort. John was tossing to him, Jasper was trying to catch . . . and I was attempting to teach them both.”

  “That was sweet of you.”

  “It was . . . but unfortunately, throwing and catching balls ain’t my strong suit, neither. After a couple of tries, John threw the baseball just like I showed him, Jasper raised his hands to catch it just like I taught him, and the ball flew right into the front window.” With a grunt, he said, “We really shouldn’t have been tossing baseballs so close to the house.”

  “I’m thinking your parents weren’t happy.”

  “You would be right. Mamm was not pleased,” he said with a grin. “Neither was the cat, I have to say. The ball landed right close to where she was napping.”

  Jenny giggled. “At least it didn’t hit your cat.”

  “John mentioned that, too. Anyway, after we cleaned up all the glass, found someone to replace it today, and weeded my mother’s garden—our punishment for playing ball so close to the house—I came out here.”

  Jenny grinned. “That’s the best story I’ve heard in ages.”

  “I hope not. Like I said, I’m pretty embarrassed about the whole thing. Most boys are better coordinated than me.” He pushed up his glasses again. “And, of course, my brothers aren’t going to keep it a secret—so before long, everyone is going to know what we did.”

  “It was just an accident, Cole. No one is going to think anything about it.”

  “You really mean that, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. If you want to know the truth, I’m kind of surprised such a little thing upset you so much.”

  “Usually, it wouldn’t. But, well, a man likes to think he can do most things other men can do, you know?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t understand that. Not really. But maybe it’s because when I see you, I really just think about how smart you are. And nice. Those things count for a lot. At least they do to me.”

  Smiling at her, he unwrapped his sandwich at last. “Good to know.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Saturday, August 20

  Hannah’s mother leaned back, her head against her kitchen chair, and sighed. “Oh, Hannah.”

  For the majority of her twenty years, Hannah had heard a dozen variations of the same sentiment. She’d heard Oh, Hannah when she’d lost the house keys. Honestly, Hannah when she’d gotten in trouble at school for talking too much.

  Again, Hannah? when she’d accidentally burned cookies in the oven or when she broke the latch in their horse’s stall.

  Just as her mother often pressed her hands on Hannah’s shoulders, rested her chin on the top of her kapp, and gave her encouragement, she uttered her name with a sigh whenever she didn’t know what to do with her eldest daughter.

  Oftentimes, Hannah didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry when she heard her name spoken around a sigh. It seemed no matter how old she got, she found the familiarity of her mother’s actions a comfort in a way.

  As much as her world and situation changed, her mother’s habits and reactions were steady and unchanging.

  However, all she felt at the moment was hurt and irritation. After all, none of this was her fault. More importantly, she was standing up for herself. That was something to be proud of. “Mamm, Trent coming to Kentucky was not my fault. I did nothing to encourage this.”

  “I know that, child. But still, I thought we were going to get a reprieve at last.” Before Hannah could point out that the arrival of the flowers and the note meant this latest occurrence was inevitable, her father intervened.

  “May, after we got that envelope, we all knew it was just a matter of time before something else was going to happen.”

  Her mother looked surprised. “You thought that?”

  “I did. It made sense to figure that Trent was going to show up sooner or later. I’m just glad that Hannah has Isaac here to help her.”

  Isaac, who had been sitting quietly while she’d shared the news, said, “I’m glad to help in any way I can. I want to help her, too. But I don’t have the skills to make Trent stay far away from Hannah. That’s why I think the sheriff’s recommendations are so good.”

  Her father nodded. “Jah. Sheriff Brewer does sound like a good sort, indeed.” Looking at Hannah, he said, “I’m glad he is taking you so seriously.”

  “I am, too,” she agreed.

  Shifting in his chair, he added, “I think Sheriff Brewer made a good point about you always being with someone when you leave the house. I’m also glad he is actively looking for Trent right now, too. But I want to tell you that I’ve been doing some thinking and planning myself.”

  “What about?”

  “I think it’s time I stopped trying to do everything myself. I need help. We need help.”

  Her father was making this pronouncement as if he was the one who had gone to the sheriff’s office that day. “I’m glad you feel that way, Daed.”

  “I’m going to help as much as I can,” Isaac interjected. “My parents and siblings are, too.”

  “We are grateful for their help, to be sure. But something more needs to be done, I think.” Sharing a look with her mother, her father said, “I think we need to ask the whole community for help.”

  Hannah blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “Trent likes keeping you on edge. He is counting on you not wanting everyone to know about him. Let’s ask everyone to help us catch him.”

  Before Hannah could respond, her mother stood up and walked to her father’s side. “I think that’s a fine idea,” she said.

  “You do?” Hannah felt kind of numb. Also a bit like she’d just stepped into another family’s kitchen.

  “Jah. You see, we made another big decision when we were at the doctor’s office today.”

  Hannah watch her mother look over and smile at her father.

  “We decided that Daed is going to begin chemotherapy.”

  “You changed your mind?”

  “We did,” her mother said.

  “The Lord did the most amazing thing, Hannah,” Daed added, turning more animated. “He put Phillip in my life today. You see, I met Phillip when I was first diagnosed in Millersburg. But while I elected not to fight the cancer, Phillip elected to go on chemotherapy immediately.”

  “We saw him today,” her mother said, excitement in her voice. “Phillip was so happy, he was beaming.”

  “Beaming like he was helping the sun shine,” Daed added with a nod. “He’d just received a CT scan and discovered that the treatment was working. Though nothing is guaranteed, of course, his doctors feel like he has turned the corner. He is going to survive.”

  “Can you follow his treatment?”

  Daed shrugged. “I don’t know. Phillip and me are very different people. He is English, I am Amish. He also has a different kind of cancer than I do. There are different medicines for different types of disease, you see.”

  He lifted his chin. “But he has also had one thing that I have not, and that is hope. From the moment he was diagnosed, he only looked at this as a short period of inconvenience in his life. While I, well, while I decided that my life was near the end.”

  “You are going to fight.” Tears filled Hannah’s eyes as she
contemplated what that meant to their family. “Father, this is the best news I’ve heard in ages. I’m so glad you aren’t going to give up.”

  He nodded. “I’m ashamed that it took me seeing Phillip in the flesh to change my way of thinking. Here, I’ve been living my whole life coaching others to develop the strong faith that I had, when it seemed I was as much in need of tangible proof as anyone.”

  “You are being a bit hard on yourself,” her mother said. “You were hoping for the Lord to heal you.”

  “I was. But I had kept my eyes blinded to all the evidence God had placed right in front of me. He gave me doctors and nurses who were trained to help me, medicine to help me fight my battle, and even a new friend to commiserate with.”

  Looking even more regretful, he continued. “But instead of being grateful for those gifts, I pushed them all away. It was as if I wanted to prove to Him that I was just as strong.”

  His words hit a chord with Hannah. “I think I was doing that very same thing, to some extent, with Trent.” Looking at Isaac, she said, “When I first met Isaac, he called me the recluse. It really hurt my feelings. But now I realize that was what I had been doing. I had pushed away nearly everyone who could help me.”

  “And we weren’t any help, either,” Mamm said with a frown. “Instead of trying harder to fight Trent, we let him win.” With a wince, she said, “We ran from Ohio, settled in here, and pretended that Trent’s abuse couldn’t have been fought. We somehow thought his treatment of you was something for us to be ashamed of.”

  Daed continued. “Instead of reaching out to others and asking for help, we ran. Furthermore, we let Jenny and Ben believe that you were the sole reason we moved when in fact we had our own private reasons, too. We let them blame you instead of opting to share our burden.”

  Hearing their confessions made tears well in Hannah’s eyes. She’d never wanted to have Trent in her life again. But if one of the consequences of his reappearance was that her parents were finally becoming more open and honest, Hannah knew she should count that as a blessing.

  Looking very tentative, her mother whispered, “I am so sorry for everything. Will you ever be able to forgive us, Hannah?”

  “There isn’t anything to forgive,” she said softly. “I love you and want you both in my life.”

  When her father held out a hand to clasp Hannah’s, she took it gratefully. “Maybe we needed to start over here in Kentucky. For whatever reason, we all seem to have been refreshed.”

  Looking at Isaac fondly, her mother said, “Or maybe it’s the company we’ve been keeping.”

  Hannah giggled when Isaac turned bright red. “Maybe so.”

  “For the record, I am not proud of the way I behaved,” Isaac blurted. “I never should have called Hannah names. I have apologized for it. Several times.”

  Just as Hannah was about to explain that she’d brought it up to illustrate her mistakes, not highlight Isaac’s, her father laughed.

  “I doubt any of us knows what the future holds for us, Isaac, but if I may give you one piece of advice . . . ?”

  “Of course,” Isaac answered. “I’d be happy to hear it.”

  “Your female is always right.”

  Isaac blinked before his gaze warmed. “Always, Mr. Hilty?”

  Sounding more at ease than he had in months, her father tilted his head back and laughed. “Oh, for sure and for certain. You see, once a man gets his head around that, the future is as good as gold.” He winked. “It’s a far sight more peaceful, too.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Saturday, August 20

  I feel a little old-fashioned,” Hannah admitted when she took a seat next to Isaac on her house’s front porch swing. “We are much too old to be sitting here under my parents’ watchful eyes.” Feeling more than a little awkward, she added, “We can do something else, if you’d rather.”

  “I don’t. I was just wondering if I should be thinking that we were much too young to be sitting here,” Isaac replied. “My parents sit on our front porch all the time. My grandparents did, too.

  That made her smile. “Perhaps front porch swings are good for people of any age.”

  He shrugged. “Well, at least courting couples.” Laying out his arm along the back of the seat, he said, “Come a little closer, Hannah. If we’re going to be sitting on this swing together, we might as well enjoy it.”

  She did as he asked, though to be fair, she was still wrapping her mind around the fact that they actually were a courting couple.

  When had that happened?

  When they’d first met, Isaac was a stranger she didn’t trust. Later, he’d been the man who’d hurt her feelings by calling her names. Days after that, they’d become friends. Soon after, they’d become so much more than that. He was her protector, too.

  But now? She supposed he was, indeed, her boyfriend. Or at least something very close to that. She knew what he meant to her. But what about him? “Isaac, have you done a lot of porch-swing courting?”

  Isaac laughed. “Maybe once or twice.”

  “Don’t leave me hanging like that! I want to hear about it.”

  “You do, do ya?” Using his foot to coax their swing into motion, he continued. “Well, let’s see. The first time I sat like this was in sixth grade.”

  She almost choked on the iced tea she was sipping. “Sixth grade?”

  “Uh-huh. I had a terrible crush on Rebecca, who sat behind me at school. I went over to her house to get some homework and ended up swinging by her side.”

  “You were a wily one, Isaac Troyer.”

  “Nah. Just determined.”

  She was enjoying the amusement in his eyes and the lighthearted conversation. “Did you put your arm up behind her, too?”

  “Not at all! I actually didn’t perfect that move until I was sitting beside Emilie.”

  “And that was when?”

  “Fourteen.”

  She noticed that he didn’t sound apologetic in the slightest. “Oh, brother,” she teased. “I’m starting to see that I’m just one of many girls who have swung with you.”

  Leaning closer, Isaac wrapped the palm of his hand around the cusp of her shoulder. “That ain’t true, Hannah. You are different, I promise. You just, well . . . you happen to be reaping the benefits of my youthful enthusiasm.”

  Hannah was about to tease him about how his hand was now resting on her shoulder, but she was afraid he’d move it if she did. Instead, she simply relaxed against him and enjoyed the moment.

  She felt him inhale, then shift so he was holding her closer. Now much of her side rested against him. After a couple of more swings back and forth, she gave into temptation and rested her head on his arm.

  It had been such a long day. First, the early morning sandwich making, followed by the Trent sighting, the sheriff’s visit, and finally the illuminating conversation with her parents. She was exhausted and so glad that she had a shoulder to lean on.

  “You doing okay?” he murmured after a few minutes had passed.

  “Jah. I was just thinking about our day. It was a busy one.”

  “One of the hardest days ever,” he said.

  “Really? It was that way for you, too?”

  “Jah. I hate that there is something bothering you that I can’t fix.”

  “I think that’s where you are wrong. Isaac, you took me to the sheriff and talked to Ben and Jenny, and also my parents. I’m grateful for that.”

  “Are you still afraid?”

  “I don’t think so.” Then, considering it, she said, “I might feel afraid tomorrow. Maybe even later tonight. But right now, I only feel relaxed and happy.”

  “So I don’t have to leave just yet?”

  “Please don’t.”

  “If you aren’t ready for me to leave, then I won’t.” He ran a finger along her shoulder, playing with the fabric of her dress as much as anything. The simple, sweet movement relaxed her even further. And, because she completely trusted him, she closed her eyes
and simply allowed herself to just be.

  Now that the sun was setting, the temperature had cooled, and crickets were starting to chirp. Mockingbirds and orioles sang out, decorating the air with their joyful sounds.

  The combination of Isaac’s soothing presence, the lulling background noise, and the exhaustion from the day took its toll. The last thing she remembered thinking was that she should have probably encouraged Isaac to leave after all.

  ISAAC KNEW THE moment Hannah fell asleep. One minute, she was snuggled beside him. The next, she’d been completely relaxed, her body a warm burden against his frame. He shifted slightly so he could support her better, wanting her to stay in his arms for as long as she or her parents would allow. He had a feeling if things were up to him, he’d stay that way for hours.

  He’d been charmed by Hannah tonight. Until they’d sat out on this porch, he’d thought he’d already witnessed all of her moods. He thought he’d seen all she had to offer, but he realized very quickly that he couldn’t have been more mistaken.

  Tonight, he’d seen a fun and flirty side of her. A part of her that wasn’t afraid. Maybe even a glimpse of the girl she’d been before a man had made it his goal to disturb everything she valued. What was funny to him was that he hadn’t realized he had been missing this component. He’d thought she was perfect before.

  A wave of protectiveness ran through him when she shifted. Instinctively, he moved to make her more comfortable. This was so different than how he’d felt when they were at the high school. Now he wasn’t trying to protect her from danger. Instead, he was simply hoping to protect her happiness.

  Which drew him up short. He had known he’d liked her very much. He had known he was drawn to her and wanted to make her happy. But tonight, for the first time, he realized why.

  In spite of everything that had been going on around them, he’d been falling in love.

  CHAPTER 26

  Monday, August 22

  Still worn out from the busy weekend, Hannah slept late on Monday morning. When she looked at the clock on her bedside table and learned that it was after nine, she leaned back on her pillows and sighed.