A Time to Love Read Free Page A

wooden chairs.
    Jenny hadn't had much appetite for a long time, but her mouth watered when she smelled the bread baking and the coffee. Oh, the scent of the coffee!
    Her grandmother sliced a loaf that had just been pulled from the oven a few minutes before. She placed it on a plate, setting out a bowl of churned butter, wild blueberry preserves, and a dish of hard-boiled eggs.
    Jenny bent her head and gave thanks for the meal. When she looked up, Phoebe was smiling.
    "I'm glad that you still say your prayers."
    "Dad left the Amish, but he didn't forget God," Jenny told her. "We visited a lot of churches until he found the one he liked, but having a spiritual relationship with God was always important in our home."
    Phoebe patted her hand. "I know. He wrote me once that he did a year of missionary work in Haiti while you were in college. I just wasn't sure if you remembered God after you left home."
    "Oh, I surely did."
    As her grandmother turned to stir the soup pot already simmering on the stove, Jenny felt a pang of guilt, remembering how often lately she'd questioned God about what had happened to her—questioned Him about how He could let innocent children suffer as she'd witnessed so often in her work.
    There was a knock at the door. Phoebe crossed the room to answer it and greeted a tall man who looked about Jenny's age. The morning light coming in the kitchen window caught at his blond hair when he took off his wide-brimmed black hat and hung it on a wooden peg.
    When he removed his winter coat Jenny saw his plain shirt and pants that showed off his muscular physique. His blue eyes sparkled as he greeted her grandmother and then he glanced over at Jenny.
    She stared at him, searching her mind for his name when he continued to stare hard at her. He knew her. She could tell it from the way his expression looked hopeful, then disconcerted when she didn't immediately respond. Why can't I remember his name?
    "Jenny, this is Matthew," said Phoebe as she poured his coffee.
    She felt so awkward sitting there, painfully aware of the scar on her cheek, of her rumpled sweats.
    He pulled out a chair and sat at the table with the air of a guest who was frequent and welcome. His eyes were filled with a quiet, thoughtful intensity. "I thought you might need help this morning," he told Jenny.
    "My grandmother said you carried me inside last night. Thank you. But I could have walked."
    He smiled. "Perhaps. But you were sleeping so soundly."
    Jenny found herself staring at his large, strong hands as he cupped his mug and drank the coffee her grandmother had poured. When Phoebe pushed the plate of bread and preserves toward him, he grinned and took a slice, spreading it thickly with preserves. He bit into the bread with relish.
    "Nothing like your bread," he told her.
    "I have a loaf in the oven for you," she said.
    " Wunderbar. I'm going into town. Annie has her appointment. Do you need anything?"
    When she shook her head, Matthew turned to Jenny."You?"
    "A new back and hip," she wanted to say. But she didn't want to call attention to herself, didn't want to make her grandmother worry. She shifted in her chair, wishing she'd taken her detested pain pills to the kitchen with her. So she shook her head and thanked him again.
    "Ah, Matthew, I've thought of something," Phoebe said suddenly."I'll get the money."
    "No need to give me money—"
    But with her usual spryness, she'd already hurried upstairs for it.
    Jenny liked the sound of Matthew's voice. She watched as he took another slice of bread and spread it with more preserves.
    "You should try some," he said, pushing the jar toward her.
    There was something on the edge of her consciousness, something that tugged and tugged at her memory. The preserves . . . what was it about them that made her think there was a link between the man and her?
    She looked up and found him watching her with unusual intensity. It was almost as if he were trying to use telepathy to make her search her