dinnerââ
âI want one!â Emma stepped forward. âDat, just a half a sandwich, ple-e-ease.â
Hope smiled and turned back to the counter. âWe can share one.â
âEmma.â Jonas sighed. âWe came to bring Hope these cookies and thank her for today, not to cause more work for her.â
âAs if making a sandwich is a lot of work. Itâs no trouble at all,â she shot back before remembering they had an audience. Mem, Dat, and her four sisters all sat in silence, watching the exchange. Feeling the tension of their presence, Hope sliced two pieces of bread and spread them with peanut butter.
Hope called over her shoulder. âJonas, would you like some?â
Jonas cleared his throat again, and he took the plate of cookies from Emmaâs hands and placed it on the counter. âActually, that does sound good. If itâs not too much trouble.â
âOf course itâs not. I hope peanut butter and jelly is fine.â
âMy favorite!â Emma called out.
Jonas smiled. â Ja , thatâs fine.â
âWhy donât you three take it out back?â Mem bustled to the back door, opening it wide. âI bet Emma would love to see the flowers youâve planted, Hope.â
Heat rose up the back of Hopeâs neck again, only this time it wasnât from the sun. âOh, theyâre really not much, Mem.â
âIâd like to see them,â Jonasâs words came quick. She didnât turn to look, but she wondered if he was still watching her. Was the same glimmer of interest evident in his eyes as it had been earlier today?
Hopeâs heartbeat clattered. âIf thatâs what you want.â She smeared the jelly onto the bread and sliced the sandwiches into triangles.
âI should say⦠Iâd like to see them if you donât mind.â He stepped forward to help her with the sandwiches, placing them on a paper plate.
âOf course not.â
Donât look at him. Donât look for the same look in his eyes that you saw earlier. The Sutters are just being neighborlyâthatâs all.
Jonas moved toward the back door, and Emma skipped beside him as if being in the Millerâs home was the most natural thing in the world. When Hope had been Emmaâs age, sheâd been too timid to act natural around strangers. Then again, who was she fooling? She still was.
Thankfully, sheâd found a few good friends in Pinecraft, and they liked to go to the beach together. They didnât have to talk much. Instead, they just enjoyed the simple pleasure of lifting up their skirts a bit and walking in the waves.
But sheâd never had a male friend, or even a child as a real friend for that matter. But as she joined the young father on the back porch Hope couldnât help but be thankful that theyâd stopped by.
They took a brief tour of Hopeâs flower garden before they took their plates over near the swing and chairs. Hope sat in thechair and motioned for them to take the swing, which could fit two people.
âDat says heâs going to teach me to swim when we get back to Kentucky,â Emma said. She plopped onto the white porch swing that Dat had made for Mem as a Christmas gift.
âThatâs not for a few months yet.â Jonas sat next to his daughter, and then he pulled a sandwich off the plate and took a big bite. âWeâre going to be in Pinecraft for a while, remember.â
âYou have to stay. Youâre the new schoolteacher.â The words shot out of Hopeâs mouth before she realized what she was saying. âBut, of course, you know that.â
â Ja .â Jonas nodded. âItâs not something Iâve ever done before, but I told my sister that if she was open to my unconventional ways Iâd take her place.â
âTake her place?â
â Ja , itâs Ruth Annâs classroom that Iâm taking over. Her