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and he knew the truth. The baby she carried was certainly not his.
    But that knowledge didn’t make the whole truth any easier—there was no way she could ever tell who the father was.
    Surely no one would ever believe her if she did tell. But even knowing that didn’t make what had happened any easier to forget.
    “Jenna, are you ready for hot cocoa?”
    Jerking to her feet, Jenna pulled open the door. “Yes, Mary. Danke. I’ll be right there.” Closing the door behind her, she left the open suitcase and letter behind her.
    At least for the time being.

Chapter Five
    M attie knew she had no choice. From the moment she’d refused Graham’s offer to talk with her privately, she’d been besieged by guilt. She might not understand what had happened, she might feel sad about him being with Jenna, but he didn’t deserve her cold shoulder. He certainly hadn’t deserved to be snubbed in front of just about everyone at the lunch after church.
    She’d meant to see him on Monday, but she’d promised her mother that she’d help clean one of the cupboards in their kitchen, sort out old towels, and make fudge. All of that took far longer than she’d anticipated.
    But that busy work led to lots of time to let her mind wander. And as she replayed the conversation with Graham in her mind, the awkwardness between them became amplified.
    She’d known this morning that the only right thing to do was to visit him and try to smooth things over.
    With a determined step, she walked the well-worn path to his house. In the spring and summer, the path was glorious. Vines and other growth decorated the sides, bringing with it the sweet smell of honeysuckle and jasmine.
    Now, as winter quickly approached, patches of dirty snow kept company with patches of black dirt and clumps of leftover fallen leaves. The mixture crunched under her boots.
    As she passed the snarled vines of the berry patch, she contemplated what to say to Graham. Over and over she practiced various ways to apologize for her rudeness. But even to her mind, all of it seemed far too light and rang of falseness.
    They were too good of friends to gloss over past indiscretions.
    She was still wondering how to go about saying what was in her heart, all while preparing to hear about his kindled relationship with Jenna when she arrived at his doorstep.
    Warily, she knocked on the door and waited.
    His little sister Katie opened the door. “Hi, Mattie. Whatcha doing here?”
    Obviously, there was going to be no getting away from the truth. “I thought I’d come over and see Graham. Is he here?”
    Katie nodded. “Uh-huh. He’s over in the barn, looking at the rabbits.”
    Though she was a bundle of nerves, Mattie smiled. Everyone knew how much Katie was fascinated by their never-ending rabbit population. It was something of an aggravation for Graham—it always fell to him to explain why they had so many bunnies. And why they couldn’t keep them all.
    “I’ll go out there and see him, then.”
    “I could go with you—” Katie suggested, just as Lucy stepped forward and held her tiny sister-in-law back.
    “No, you could not,” she said gently. “You are going to stay here and help me make a potato casserole. Go on, now.” When Katie turned and walked back into the kitchen, Lucy lowered her voice. “A word of warning—Graham’s not too happy. Not happy with the world . . . or you.”
    “I expected that. I’ll be fine.”
    “I hope so. I wish—” The scrape of a chair behind her interrupted her thoughts. “I’ve got to go. But we should talk soon.”
    “All right.” As Lucy closed the door, Mattie made her way toward the barn, picking her steps carefully over the gray gravel and frozen sections of mud.
    When she entered the large barn, she spotted Graham immediately. He was kneeling in front of the hutch, an aggravated expression on his face. In the hutch were a black-and-white mother rabbit and three or four bunnies. Normally, she would have knelt down