Thankful (15 page)

“Mamm never does listen when we say that we've had enough.”

Treva shrugged. “It's her way. We all know that. Now tell me what really happened between you and Aden.”

Christina was tempted. She really was. But Treva couldn't always be counted on to keep a secret. And this was a pretty important one. “Nothing happened.”

“If nothing happened, how did your hand become clasped in his?”

“Treva, don't be so silly. We were only walking together in the snow. I'm sure you've held Aden's hand a time or two.”

“No, I don't think I have.”

“Well, you saw how much it was snowing,” Christina improvised, hoping this new tack would be more believable. “And I didn't have on good boots. Aden was merely making sure that I didn't fall.”

“Oh.” She sighed, a wistful, somewhat disappointed expression etched on her face. “That's too bad. I was really hoping it meant something else.”

“What in the world could it have meant?”

“That the two of you have finally come to your senses.”

Christina couldn't have been more shocked if, well, her whole family had been watching Aden kiss her. “Treva, what are you talking about?”

“Come now, Christina. Don't play dumb. You know as well as I do that Aden has always been fond of you.”

“You think so?”

“We all know so!”

“I disagree. I mean, I would have noticed for sure.”

“If you haven't noticed his regard, then you haven't been looking. Ever since we were all small, Aden has only had eyes for you.”

“He cares about all of us.”

“I think he does. But with you, he's different.” Treva's lips curved up slightly. “He's a little more tender, a little more gentle. You're the first person he looks at when he sits down to supper—and usually the very last person he says good-bye to when he leaves the
haus
. He's smitten. He's
been
smitten for years.”

“You're exaggerating.”

“Maybe, but I doubt it.” Waving a hand, Treva said, “I'm not sure why it bothers you. It's always seemed to me that the two of you were meant to be together.” She lowered her voice. “Why, I'll never forget the way he acted, the way he looked, when he brought you home from the ice that day.”

“That was a long time ago. . . .”

“It was ten years ago, but that doesn't mean I don't remember it clear as day. Or that it didn't happen.” Lowering her voice, her sister said, “He was devastated, Christina.”

“I don't know what you want me to say to that.”

“Oh, you. You've always been more closemouthed than the rest of us combined.” She got to her feet. “If you're not going to share how you really feel, I'm going to leave you in peace.”

“Danke.”

Looking even more irritated, Treva glared at her, then marched to the bed and snatched up the embroidery project, too. “I'm going to take this with me. You're going to completely ruin it if you so much as touch it again.”

“If you think taking that off my hands hurts my feelings, you're in for a big surprise.”

“You, sister, are incorrigible,” she said as she headed to the door. “I'm happy to take care of this for you. But let me tell you something. If you don't want Aden, that's your choice. But if you think you do, I suggest you actually do something about it. The sooner the better.”

She truly didn't care for being bossed around by her little sister. “Or?”

“Or you're going to miss your chance, that's what. Nothing stays the same, Christina. Not even infatuation,” her sister warned before opening the door and closing it not too lightly behind her.

Realizing she was once again sitting all alone—and no closer to figuring out what to do about Aden—Christina rested her forehead on the cold window and gazed out.

And started praying.

I
f it's Thursday, it means we've almost made it to the end of the week,” Erik commented to Aden as they walked in one of the patients' rooms to retrieve a gurney and a portable medical cart.

“Almost,” Aden replied with a smile, though he, for one, would have been happy for the week to continue forever. He was supposed to be off this weekend, and that meant he would have to spend even more time in the Kempf household.

Two days had now passed since he'd given in to temptation and kissed Christina in that snowstorm. But if the way things were at home were any indication, it might as well have been only a couple of hours. Everyone in the house—with the exception of himself and Christina—couldn't seem to stop talking about their long walk home.

Now to hear it, he and Christy had braved frigid temperatures, blizzard conditions, and a pack of roving wolves by the time they'd made it safely to the front door.

And that was nothing compared to the amount of speculation that revolved around the way he'd held Christina's hand. No matter where he turned, yet another family member was wanting to know the real story about what had happened that night.

No matter how many times he stated that nothing had happened between them, all he got was a knowing wink or a sly smile from the boys, a glare from Treva, or increasingly irritated grunts from her parents. Even twelve-year-old Leanna had stated that she'd thought she could lie better than he did.

Smart people, those Kempfs.

After maneuvering the gurney out of the room, he guided it to the end of the hall and stripped it of all the sheets. He tossed them into the laundry bin, then made his way to the basement. Janice, one of the supervising nurses on his floor, had asked him to help inventory some new heart monitors. They were bulky instruments and required someone with a little muscle to maneuver them around.

So Janice had claimed.

“Hi, Aden,” she said with a cheery smile when he entered the large storage room. “You're right on time.”

“I try to be on time.”

She laughed, the light, pretty noise making him smile. Janice was one year older than him and one of his favorite people to work with. She was easy to get along with and had a patient demeanor spiced with just enough salt and pepper to keep things interesting.

She was a Mennonite nurse and midwife by practice, but she was currently volunteering in a mentoring and training program at the hospital in hope of a raise.

It was because of this and the fact that he was the hospital's newest hire that they continued to be in each other's company so much. Apparently he needed a lot of mentoring.

“Now, what did you need me to inventory?”

With a frown, she pointed to a group of at least two dozen heart monitors. “These.”

“What's wrong with counting these? It looks easy enough.”

“Oh, it would be a simple job if the person who unpacked them did what he was supposed to and put all the cords and batteries with them like he was supposed to.”

Now noticing a pile of forlorn-looking black rubber cords, Aden raised his brows. “It looks like these are our cords?”

“Yep.” She held up an oversized plastic tub. “And these are our battery packs. Aden, we're going to need to open each monitor, find a matching cord and battery pack, and then make sure it all works together. Then charge the things.”

She looked so irritated, he had to hide a smile. “If you show me what to do, I'll work on them by myself.”

Her eyes widened. “But it could take you hours to inventory these all by yourself.”

“That's fine. I know you'd rather be doing anything else than be stuck here in a back room checking instruments.”

“That is true. This is the type of task that makes me want to pull my hair out. But aren't you supposed to get out of here in forty-five minutes?”

“I can stay late.”

“You sure about that?”

“Positive. The van picks up until eight.” Besides, the longer he was at work, the less time the Kempfs would have to interrogate him.

Janice stared at him for a long moment. Then, to his surprise, she bit her lip and looked almost shy. “It would be a shame to make you take a van home so late at night.”

“Janice, I'm not one of your fresh-faced nurses,” he joked. “I don't have a problem riding in a van in the dark.”

“I wasn't worried.”

“Good, because there was no need to be.” He made a shooing motion with his hands. “Now, why don't you let me worry about these contraptions so you can go do one of the hundred things that's always on your to-do list?”

She laughed. “You know me pretty well.”

“I know that you have a lot to do,” he corrected, starting to feel a little bit awkward. He might have eyes for only Christina Kempf, but even he knew when a woman was gently flirting with him.

“You know, my shift ends at eight. Why don't you let me drive you home?”

Hmm. A new undercurrent floated between them that he wasn't quite sure what to do with.

But if he had a choice between taking a hired van and riding in Janice's car, there was no choice. “Janice, if you don't mind giving me a ride home, I'd surely appreciate that. It will be a nice change for me.”

She smiled. “Great. I mean, that's great.” She turned away, obviously ready to run to her next duty . . . then turned back around and met his gaze. “What about supper?”

“Excuse me?” This conversation was turning into a minefield.

“Are you hungry? Would you like to get something to eat on the way home?” She shrugged. “I mean, we've both got to eat.”

He couldn't deny that. He was already hungry and he'd just volunteered to stay another three hours. And even though he was feeling a little awkward, he decided not to read anything into the offer. At the moment, it was simply dinner and a ride home from a coworker. “Supper sounds
gut
.”

“I'm so glad you said that.” Now her cheeks flushed and her eyes brightened. She looked younger. More feminine.

And he was realizing that there was nothing “simple” about what he was about to do at all.

“I'll meet you at the entrance to the staff parking lot in a couple of hours. Thanks, Aden.”

“It's nothing. I mean, thank you.” As he watched her walk away he knew it was time to stop lying to himself. In a few hours he was going to be leaving work with Janice and sharing supper with her. If it wasn't exactly a date, it was certainly close to being one.

And though he knew he wasn't all that sharp when it came to reading the female mind, he was enough of a man to understand what a blush and a shy smile meant. Janice was pleased about spending time with him.

Though a part of him wanted to scurry down the hall and tell Janice that he'd changed his mind, the rest of him recalled exactly how very good it had felt to hold Christina's hand. To hold her in his arms. To finally, after nearly ten years of longing and imagining and yearning, kiss her.

It had felt perfect. Exactly right.

And because of that? So very wrong.

No, it was a far better thing to concentrate on Janice. Besides, he'd already told Christina that he was seeing an English lady from the hospital.

Now he could hold his head up and be pleased that he hadn't lied. It was really too bad that it didn't give him even a moment of satisfaction.

chapter fourteen

As usual, Bernie showed up right on time.

As Judith stood in the doorway, watching the social worker park the car, then pull out her phone and affix it to her ear, she whispered into James's ear.

“We could set our day by Bernie's schedule, don'tcha think, James? She always shows up on time, listens to her messages, writes down a slew of notes, and then bounds out of her vehicle a scant five minutes later.” Pointing to the car again, she said, “Look! Here she goes, writing down notes again.”

James, of course, did nothing but stare up at Judith with his big brown eyes, melting her heart.

Unable to help herself, Judith bent her head and brushed yet another set of kisses on his forehead. He was adorable, and kissing and cuddling him was her new favorite pastime.

When his lips formed a soft oval and then broke into a happy smile, she felt as if she'd really done something special.

In the driveway, Bernie alighted from her car, her purse and an oversized tote bag resting on one of her arms. “You two look pretty as a picture,” she called out with a smile.

“I feel like I should be in a picture,” Judith replied. “Everything has been so perfect.”

When Bernie got to the stoop, she reached out and brushed a finger over James's soft cheek. “I'm guessing that means that the last two days have been going well?”

“Better than that. They've been
wunderbaar
.” Leading the way inside, she glanced over her shoulder. “Where would you like to sit?”

“I'm easy. I'll sit wherever you do.”

“How about the kitchen? It's almost time for James to have his bottle.”

“I'll follow you, then.”

Only then did Judith realize that Bernie didn't seem to be acting quite like her regular self. Her smile wasn't as ready, her posture seemed a little stiff.

And she was still holding her tote as if her livelihood rested inside it. The last two times she'd visited she hadn't even brought it inside.

A thread of foreboding settled in. “Is something wrong?” Judith asked.

Bernie opened her mouth, shut it. Then held out her hands. “We do need to talk about something. Is Ben here?”

“No. He, um, went to our family's store to work for a few hours. Do you need him?”

“Not exactly.”

“What does that mean? Is there a problem?”

“We'll talk about that in a few minutes. But first, how about I hold this sweet boy while you prepare his bottle?”

“All right. I mean, yes. Yes, of course.” But when she handed James to Bernie she couldn't help but hold him a second longer than necessary. Almost as if she couldn't bear to part with him.