Free The Memory Jar by Tricia Goyer Page B

igniting the wood.
    “There.” Jathan sat back on his heels. “That should knock off a bit of the chill.”
    “Too bad we don’t have a steak to cook over that fire. I’m starved.”
    “I have half of Hope’s sandwich and an apple from Eve if yer hungry.”
    “Famished … but I’ll only eat if we share.”
    Jathan nodded, and they divided what was left of their food. They shared the half of sandwich, and she ate the apple while he finished off her last cookie.
    When the food was gone, Jathan’s stomach growled.
It must take a lot of food to fill up such a big man
, Sarah thought.
    He rubbed his stomach. “I should have thought to bring more supplies. These are the mountains of Montana, not a local park.”
    “It’s not that you knew.”
    “Yer right. I’ve never been in the mountains before. I should have been more prepared.” He lowered his head.
    She stood and moved closer to the fire, kneeling before it and opening her hands in front of the flames to absorb the warmth. “You didn’t know I’d get lost and we’d have to stay overnight.”
    “
Ja
. I thought I’d have some months to get used to these forests before I had to find my way through them.” He chuckled. “Somethin’ to write home about fer sure.”
    “Do you have forests like this back in Ohio?” she asked, even though she had a feeling she knew the answer.
    “There are wide-open spaces, and it’s very hilly where I live in Berlin. But there are no high peaks or mountain ranges that expand as far as the eye can see. Not like this. Not at all.”
    She fiddled with the string of her
kapp
, a thousand needles pricking her skin at his closeness. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember one thing she liked about Amos at all. But Jathan — he was someone special.
    What had Patty told her? To show someone you care, ask about his life. Listen to his dreams.
    “Why don’t you tell me about Berlin? I’d love to hear about it. I have an aunt who lives there, my mother’s sister. It’ll make the time pass faster.”
    He cocked one eyebrow. “I suppose … I mean, if it’ll help pass the time.”
    “
Ach
, I didn’t mean fer it to sound like that. I’m interested too. Really I am.”
    He smiled and focused on her. The glow from the campfire danced over his face and Sarah tilted her head. How handsome he was. Again, how had she not noticed that before?
    She also thought about how easy it was to talk to him. Here she was lost, in pain, cold, and hungry, and they were chatting as easily as if they were sitting in the restaurant of the West Kootenai Kraft and Grocery.
    “Berlin is a beautiful place. Expansive fields and roadways lined with flower beds of tulips. We have
gut
fishin’ rivers, and in the fall, the trees turn all colors of yellow and orange.” Jathan looked around. “The trees aren’t the same. We don’t have forests of pine like here. We have black cherry, sugar maple, black walnut, white ash, and red oak. The oaks, as a group, are the most common forest tree species and are predominant. My favorite is the maple though.”
    “Maple is pretty wood.”
    Jathan chuckled. “Oh, I like the maple fer its syrup most. There’s nothing like pure maple syrup over buckwheat pancakes. And I have the recipe fer the best maple nut twist rolls.”
    “You have the recipe?” Sarah straightened, intrigued.
    He glanced to the left and shook his head. “Uh, no. I meant my
Mem
. She has so many
wunderbaar
recipes. I’ve never seen anyone who found such joy in the kitchen …” He dared to glance over and look into her face. “Well, other than you.”
    Sarah fanned her face, not because she was hot, but because she hoped to distract him from the embarrassment that was surely tingeing her cheeks. She wasn’t used to someone being so bold with his compliments.
    Jathan cleared his throat. “But that’s getting off the subject now, isn’t it? Before I tell you more about where I came from, there’s something else I need to tell you