Free A Baby for Hannah by Jerry S. Eicher Page A

without dessert tonight.”
    “I have some pie. Maybe we can cut it into small pieces,” Hannah said, smiling through her tears. “I’d like to save one piece for Jake’s lunch tomorrow.”
    “I’m sorry for what happened today,” Steve said, nodding toward Hannah. “I was just telling Jake that I think everything will be handled correctly. I have a lot of confidence in Bishop John.”
    “I hope so,” Hannah said, her smile shaky. Steve obviously hadn’t been told about Jake’s advice to Bishop John, and she wasn’t about to tell him. Steve would only say something that would likely contribute to Jake’s unease.
    “Let’s get this warmed up a bit,” Betty said, taking the covers off her pan of meatballs and leading the way into Hannah’s kitchen. “It shouldn’t take much.”
    “My casserole should be about done,” Hannah said, opening the oven door to check and then placing the casserole on the top rack. “It’ll stay warm here until yours is done.”
    Betty set the table while Hannah sliced the bread.
    Fifteen minutes later Betty called into the living room, “Come and get it!”
    Jake and Steve came at once, Jake motioning for Steve to sit down first. When they were seated, Jake led out in prayer, his voice strong. It sounded gut to hear him pray like that, especially after what he had been through in church.
    “Now for a solution to our big problem,” Betty said, passing her meatballs around.
    “Like what?” Jake said. “We already talked about the church problems we’re having.”
    “That’s not what I meant,” Betty said. “I’m talking about Miriam coming. It’s next week, isn’t it? How are we going to keep her away from Will’s brother? The more I think about what Hannah told me, the more certain I am that she will fall head over heels in love with him. I can feel it deep in my bones. We can’t just stand by and do nothing.”
    “Hannah told you?” Jake asked, raising his eyebrows.
    “I just thought of the possibility,” Hannah said, meeting his eyes. “Maybe it will never happen.”
    “Like you two are going to stop love,” Steve said with a laugh.
    “That’s what I was thinking,” Jake said.
    “That’s not a very good thing for a preacher to be saying,” Betty said. “And Miriam’s your sister-in-law.”
    “I faintly remember that,” Jake said, and Steve laughed again.
    “This is not a laughing matter,” Betty said. “It’s very serious.”
    “I agree,” Hannah said. “And what can we do about it?”
    “We have to come up with a plan,” Betty said. “Some way of keeping Miriam away from Dennis.”
    Jake cleared his throat and glanced at Hannah.
    “What?” Hannah asked him. “Did I say something wrong?”
    “No,” Jake shook his head. “I was just thinking about how Betty’s plans for you went awry when we were dating.”
    “Jake,” Hannah said, “Betty was trying to help. And I didn’t do much to help her either. We all did things wrong.”
    “That’s right,” Betty said. “And this time we must be smarter in our planning.”
    “I think you’d better not do any planning,” Steve said. “Things can get a little out of control when you women start planning. I expect the more you tell Miriam not to notice Dennis, the more she’s going to notice him.”
    “I agree,” Jake said.
    “Of course you would,” Betty said. “You’re thinking like men.”
    “That’s the best way, isn’t it?” Jake said. Steve laughed heartily.
    “You are a smart aleck, you know that?” Betty asked, joining in the laughter. “But something has to be done about this situation. We can’t have Hannah’s sister falling in love with someone as unstable as Dennis Riley.”
    Jake and Steve shook their heads as Hannah brought the pie over from the counter.

Ten
     
    Hannah drove the buggy toward Libby, urging Mosey to move faster as he plodded along. She shouldn’t have spent those last twenty minutes weeding in the garden, but it had simply been too