Free Sarah's Gift by Marta Perry Page A

daughter-in-law, unwelcome advice would be it.
    “I’m sorry, but—”
    “Have you seen any sign of her forgetting things?” Jonas leaned on the sink, looking into her face. “Sarah, it has me worried.”
    She tried to smile. Jonas had become a boy who was worried about his mother, not a man who was trying to make decisions for her.
    “Only once or twice since I’ve been here,” she said. “Just little things, like mistaking the day. And when someone lives alone, that’s not unusual.”
    “You think she’s all right, then?”
    She put her hand over his. “Will it make you feel better if I promise to keep my eyes open for any problems? If there are any, maybe I can find a way of getting her to the doctor.”
    He blew out a breath. “Ja, that would be a relief. Maybe it’s gut that you’ve komm after all.”
    He didn’t sound totally convinced, but that might be too much to hope for. She smiled and patted his hand. “I’ll look after her. I promise.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    S arah heard the sounds of hammering early the next morning. Obviously the Miller brothers were hard at work after their disappearance the previous day.
    She hesitated for a moment. There was something she wanted to discuss with Aaron about the storage areas. Legitimate as that concern was, she was reluctant to press him into a discussion that involved the purpose to which the rooms would be put.
    That was foolish, wasn’t it? She’d prayed for the wisdom to deal with Aaron. Staying away from him wasn’t dealing with him—it was hiding. Pulling her shawl around her shoulders, she opened the door to the addition.
    All three brothers worked today—maybe with the idea of making up for missing yesterday. Aaron looked up at the sound of the door opening, his face unreadable.
    “Sarah.” He nodded in greeting.
    “You are making progress.” The uprights had been replaced and the framing was finished. “Already it is warmer to work out here, with the wind cut off.”
    “It will be even better when we have the insulation installed.” Nathan’s relaxed smile accompanied the words. In the face of Aaron’s apparent disapproval of her and Benjamin’s teenage sulkiness, Nathan seemed most ready to be friends.
    “You won’t freeze your fingers when you work, then.” She’d noticed that while the two younger boys wore work gloves, Aaron seemed to prefer touching the wood with his hands as he cut and hammered. Even now his hand caressed the board he handled as if it were a living creature.
    “Ja, that’s for sure,” Nathan said. At a look from Aaron, he turned back to his cutting.
    She’d like to believe that Aaron was only concerned with his brother giving his attention to the job, but she suspected his reaction was more personal than that. She rejected the temptation to escape back into the house and forced herself to approach him.
    When she stood next to him, he kept his gaze on his hand for a long moment. Then he turned to her.
    “Is there something you need, Sarah?”
    “I’d like to discuss the storage areas with you. If you can come into the examining room with me for just a moment—”
    “Not now.” The words were curt enough to be insulting. He seemed to realize that, and he gave a twitch of his firm lips that might have been meant for a smile. “It’s best we finish what we’re doing at the moment, so we can get on with the insulation this afternoon.” He turned to Benjamin, seeming to dismiss her. “You can start cutting the insulation now, so it will be ready.”
    Benjamin seemed to freeze, and even she could read the guilt in his face.
    “Well?” Aaron’s voice was sharp. “Was ist letz? What’s wrong?”
    “I . . . I forgot to put the cutter in.” Benjamin’s embarrassment was probably doubled because she was here.
    “Forgot it?” Aaron’s face tightened even more, if that was possible. “How are we to cut the insulation without it?”
    Benjamin’s guilt turned to a pout, and he looked so like her own