A Hope for Hannah Read Online Free Page A

smile.
    Referring to the brother’s children and observing something in the faraway and pained look in his eyes, she asked, “Boy? Girl?”
    “Two…I mean, one each,” he said. “One boy, one girl.”
    “Are your parents gone?” she asked as she got up and took his plate to the sink.
    “I’m pretty old,” Mr. Brunson said as he laughed. “They died a long time ago. I was young—still in my twenties. Mom followed a year after Dad. They were great people.”
    “I’m sure they were,” Hannah said, touched by Mr. Brunson’s emotion. “I wouldn’t know what to do with both my parents gone.”
    “I suppose not,” Mr. Brunson agreed. “Just be thankful for what you have while you have it. It could all be gone so quickly.” Something in his voice made Hannah want to ask more, but she had already pried too much. She simply said, “God has been good to us. That’s what Dad always says.”
    “He’s a wise man,” Mr. Brunson said. “Now, thanks for the breakfast. I must be going. Tell Jake his wife is a great cook.”
    “You’re welcome,” Hannah said, glad for the praise. Then she said, “Mr. Brunson, maybe you could come for supper some night when Mom and Dad are here.”
    “Oh,” he said, seeming genuinely surprised, “I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
    “You wouldn’t be,” she assured him. “Dad would enjoy meeting you.”
    “Well,” he answered, pausing slightly. With a smile he continued and said, “Maybe I will.”
    “I’ll send Jake up, then—when I know which night. If you can’t come that night, maybe some other.”
    Mr. Brunson found his John Deere cap by the front door and fumbled slightly as he put it on. Hannah glanced up and noticed there was the hint of moisture in his eyes as he left.
    Hannah walked back to the kitchen and began to wash the breakfast plates. Out the window, the solid light of the risen sun was showcasing the slopes of the Cabinet Mountains.

Four
     
    Hannah began the work she had planned for the day. She started with the ears of corn that needed to be harvested from the garden and carried to the front yard. She estimated how much corn she could can that day and plucked enough ears for what she hoped would do the job.
    She tried to remember how her mother knew the right amount and wished she could consult her now, but that wasn’t possible. There was aunt Betty, but Hannah discarded that thought quickly. It was simply not practical because of the distance involved and the time such a buggy trip would take. No, she was on her own, and she’d just have to figure it out by herself.
    After adding wood to the kitchen stove, Hannah began husking the corn in the yard. She considered how difficult managing a wood stove could be compared to the gas range she was used to at home. But this was her home now, and she realized Montana was rougher than Indiana. Hannah was determined to make the best of things and knew being with Jake was worth whatever extra effort she’d have to make.
    As she worked the corn, she reminded herself of how Da Hah had brought both her and Jake here separately just so they could meet, eventually fall in love, and marry. The memory warmed her heart greatly and filled her with relief, knowing she had been spared from marrying Sam Knepp. It was, no doubt, a relief to Sam too. She had heard that Sam had married her old friend, Annie. So it was Annie, and not Hannah, who was now comfortably settled and married in Indiana. True, Annie might be hard at work on the farm Sam’s father had given him, but she was safe from bears. Hannah smiled. And Annie, no doubt had a gas range.
    She and Jake had been invited to Sam’s wedding. After some serious deliberating about how it would look, they went to the wedding, and nothing was said to anyone. It was almost as if that horrible day had already become ancient history to the people she knew. And that was good. Good for her and good for Sam and Annie. Everything had worked out so well. Annie had