She raised her hand to ring the bell, but the door opened and he was there.â¦
Andi walked insideÂand into his arms. No words were spoken, none needed. Her face was buried against his shoulder and neck, his cheek against her hair.
So this is what itâs like to come home to Keith.
She had no idea how long they remained like that. It was she who finally forced herself to draw away as his hands moved slowly down her arms, taking her hands in his.
How could I have let this happen? What have I done?
âIâm sorryâ¦â She didnât want to look into his beautiful brown eyes, which could show such tenderness.
He lifted her chin with one finger. âLook at me, sweetheart. Pleaseâ¦Itâs all right. Donât be afraid.â
Itâs not you I donât trust. I had no idea that in one short week I could fall in love! With a man whom thereâs no chance of my marrying!
And Iâve been so completely dishonest with you!
has been writing for many years, mostly childrenâs stories and poetry when her daughter and two sons were small, before having hundreds of other manuscripts published. She had been happy growing up on a farm, then living for a time in two major American cities, but feels blessed to continue living in the same north-central Pennsylvania town, Hughesville, where she and her husband, Bob, raised their now-grown children.
She is active in writing circles as speaker, teacher, board member, panelist, conference director and contest coordinator, but is especially grateful for the West Branch Christian Writers, the wonderful critique/support group without which she says she might never have got even the first of her six novels published.
Andrea Barker lowered the hood of her secondhand car, hoping sheâd followed the mechanicâs instructions correctly. She knew little about motors, and her intention was not to fix this one but to make it break down.
She was limping more than usual, but should have expected that; sheâd not tried driving long distances since the accident.
The trip from Chicago had been taxing, even though she stayed overnight in Ohio and stopped every few hours to walk a while. Now, getting back in the car, she massaged her right knee and leg before pulling the door shut, fastening the seat belt, and turning the ignition key.
The engine started, and Andi smiled. She was here in Pennsylvania. She took a moment to check her appearance in the rearview mirror before pulling out onto the highwayÂand resisted the urge to run a comb through her below-shoulder-length auburn hair or to apply color to her fairly full lips. The blue eyes looking back at her sparkled with anticipation.
There was a strange grinding sound, but the car handled fine, as the man who cared for their vehicles had promised.
Hurdle number one taken care of!
If only the rest would go this smoothly! Dad, though apparently understanding her concerns, had argued against her âharebrained scheme,â but sheâd been adamant. âI really want to meet my cousinsÂget to know them. I realize thereâs been an estrangement ever since your mother left when still in her teens, butâ¦â
âThey treated her very badly, Andi.â
âBut that was a previous generation. Hopefully this oneâs better.â
âI donât want you hurt like your grandmother was.â
âWell, someoneâs got to find out about themÂat least how they handle what money they have now and what theyâd likely do with a windfall, that sort of thing.â
âYou think they wonât be on their best behavior with you there?â His heavy brows came almost together in that way that used to make her fidget before she learned to recognize the difference between frowns of concentration and those of disapproval.
âTheyâll have no reason to be suspicious.â
He sat there shaking his head. âYouâve always liked fantasies, romances, and other not-for-real stuff. Iâm afraid, my dear, that what youâre proposing falls into one of those categories. You expect to invade the town of Sylvan Falls, observe our relatives, win their confidence, and determine within a few days if giving them a large sum of money is a sound idea?â
When put like that, it did sound like an ambitious undertaking. âI donât expect to accomplish it in a couple of days.â That had been months after the death of JonÂJonathan William Bascomb IIIÂand she was still on crutches, emotionally as well as physically. Theyâd grown up together and had been in the same grade from preschool through ninthÂuntil his grandparents had enrolled him at Madison Academy to prepare for an Ivy League education.