Carolyne Aarsen - Finally a Family

“Follow me.” The usher checked back to see if she was coming. What else could she do but follow in the wake of his helpfulness into the sanctuary?

A sense of twisted, divine humor assailed her as the usher finally stopped, indicating an empty spot right beside Ethan Westerveld.

Ethan was talking to a young woman beside him. A different one than the girl she’d seen with him in town. As Hannah plunked down beside him, he turned to look at her, but his welcoming expression froze and turned into a polite nod.

The minister greeted the congregation, urging them to rise and sing.

As the music started up, Hannah looked for the proper book. She felt an elbow nudge her and glanced sidelong to see Ethan holding out a book. “Here.”

Hannah took the book and, as she opened it, the young woman beside Ethan leaned forward, giving Hannah a once-over and a frown.

Okay, so her jeans and suede jacket over a T-shirt wasn’t the best outfit for church, but she hadn’t counted on being in the middle of the action. She wasn’t going to let this woman intimidate her. Hannah gave her a beatific smile then turned back to her songbook.

The woman pulled back and, though Ethan wasn’t looking at her, she caught a flash of a dimple on his cheek. So he thought this was funny?

Maybe another time it might be. But she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself in the community in which she was going to be spending the next six months.

Panic gripped her at the thought. Six months. One hundred and eighty-some days. And what about her apartment? Her stuff? Her clothes?

What if Dan said she had waited too long? Had she lost her chance?

Hannah gripped the book as her eyes scanned the music of the song, trying to focus her scattered thoughts.

“…the ripe fruits in the garden,” Hannah sang, and her mind immediately sprang to Sam and the farm and his garden.

Her garden now.

She repeated the words, cementing them in her mind. She knew she faced the objections of Ethan and the Westerveld family. With a shake of her head she dismissed the thought. Sam had willed her half of the farm. She would stay—had to stay, thanks to her two-faced friend.

“…the Lord God made them all.” She ignored Ethan’s sidelong glance as she finished the song and closed the book with a decisive snap.

The congregation settled back down as the minister began to speak about God and how He revealed Himself in nature.

The comment gave her pause as she thought about the changing seasons. How spring was slowly making itself known. She wondered what the farm would look like in a couple of weeks.

“…but what is most amazing, what truly calls us to stop and think is that the God who created this world and this vast universe in all its intricacies, wants to be in a relationship with us.” The minister’s voice rose, snagging Hannah’s wandering attention. “He wants to be a faithful father to us. To love us. That’s why He gave His only son. As a sacrifice to pay for our sins.”

His words, spoken with such stirring conviction, created a tingle in Hannah’s chest. Sam had once told her the story of how God was also the Jesus that came at Christmas and the shepherd from Psalm 23. This had gotten too confusing for Hannah and then her mother told Sam to stop putting fairy tales in Hannah’s head.

And slowly Hannah relegated the stories of Jesus and God to the realm of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Bambi. Nice stories, but just that. Stories.

And now this man, in all seriousness, talked about this same God, the creator of the world, as if He was a father?

Hannah never knew her biological father. Sam was the only father figure in her life. And he had left.

She tried not to fidget as the service went on and when they finally stood for what looked to be the last song, Hannah started looking around the congregation for Dan. She wanted to get this part of the deal over and done with.

“You looking for someone in particular?” Ethan’s deep voice pulled her attention to him.

She met his eyes and caught it again, the faintest glimmer of interest. And she felt it again. An answering glint of awareness.

Which was not what should be on her mind right now. Being attracted to a man, whom she might be forced to spend six months working with, was not an option.

And then she saw Dan coming down the aisle toward her and she put aside thoughts of Ethan. Hannah waited until Dan came alongside, then screwed up her courage and joined him in the aisle.

“Hannah. Good to see you here.” His enthusiasm made her feel like a fraud.

“I’ve made a decision.”

Dan looked over at his wife, Tilly, who seemed vitally interested in what they were saying. “Do you want to go somewhere private?”

“Not really.” People would find out soon enough what her decision was. She gave him a tight smile, hoping he wouldn’t catch the hint of desperation in her voice. “I’ve decided to stay.”

“There’s a set of clean sheets in the cupboard. Some towels there, as well. You can put your groceries in the fridge.” Ethan waited as Hannah glanced around the kitchen, two bags of groceries hanging from her hands. He struggled to keep his voice even, his tone neutral.

He was still processing the implications of Sam’s last decision, let alone having this woman staying on the farm. Last night he moved what stuff he could to the holiday trailer his dad kept parked on the yard for storage. He didn’t have much to pack up. As for the condition of the house…

Well, he hadn’t counted on a woman staying here. She would just have to take it as it is, he thought, forcing himself to ignore the stack of dirty dishes in the sink and the crumbs on the counter from his breakfast this morning.

“I feel bad that I’m kicking you out of your house,” Hannah said, setting the bags on the counter. “I can stay in the holiday trailer.”

“This is easier.” Besides, the condition of the trailer was even sketchier. No one had cleaned the trailer since his nieces and nephews stayed in it last summer.

“Okay.” Hannah looked around again. “This is a nice place.”

“It needs some cleaning.” Ethan scratched his head, wishing he could as easily dispel the low-level headache pressing behind his eyes. “So you going to be okay? Got enough food?” he felt compelled to ask. After all, she was a city girl unaccustomed to living in the country.

“I’ve got enough for a couple weeks, I think.” Her tight smile belied her breezy confidence. “Thanks for showing me around.”

“Next time I go to town, I’ll let you know. Now that you don’t have a car.”

He’d had to pick her up from the dealership where she had rented a vehicle. He wondered why she returned it and how she was going to last without a car way out here. “Uncle Dan recommended I give you a small allowance from the farm. Just to keep you in groceries and whatever else you might need. We can settle up for that in…” He let the sentence trail off.

“In six months,” Hannah finished for him.

He wasn’t going to think that far or notice how she looked around the place—as if mentally figuring out what she could get for it.

He couldn’t think about losing this farm. He’d poured too much time and money into it. This farm had been his refuge; his second home as long as he could remember. Though his parents, Morris and Dot, lived and worked in town, Ethan had come to the farm whenever he could. His first vivid memory was of riding with his grandfather on the tractor, pulling the seed drill. First his grandfather and then his uncle had promised him this farm. His father had told him to get something in writing, but he had trusted Uncle Sam.

He should have been more hard-nosed. More businesslike.