Healing Autumn's Heart (Love Inspired)

by Andrews, Renee

  Matt walked beside Maura and watched the family greet each other. The scene touched his heart, and he studied every detail. Hannah, reaching out to her father and hugging him, Bo Taylor’s eyes pinching closed when he was in her embrace, the red-headed guy, obviously her sister’s husband, draping his arm protectively around his wife. And Autumn, smiling and taking it all in.

  Hannah’s sister moved a hand to her rounded stomach, looked up at her husband and smiled. “This is a perfect day,” she said to him, as Matt and Maura joined the group. Then to her father, “Thank you so much for coming, Daddy. Hannah said she thought you would be here today but, well, I guess I had to see for myself.”

  “Hannah was very persuasive,” Bo Taylor said.

  “I merely reminded him that he’s going to miss out on the entire family—” she reached out and touched her sister’s swollen belly “—being together at church every Sunday.”

  Bo Taylor nodded then looked toward Matt and Maura. “And I had a bit of encouragement from a new friend,” he said.

  Matt noticed Maura’s blushing smile toward the man and wondered what all had transpired in their conversation by the town square fountain.

  “You talked to my dad about going to church?” Hannah asked Maura.

  Maura lifted a shoulder. “He said that was what was on his mind, your request that he go back to church, and I told him that I hadn’t been in a while, either, and I missed it.”

  “You never told me that,” Matt said.

  “You didn’t ask,” she replied, then laughed. “It isn’t your fault. I could have said something, and I guess I should have. But in any case, Bo and I talked about it, and I suppose we both decided it was time.” Her emphasis on the last three words was unmistakable to Matt, but apparently the remainder of the group didn’t notice.

  “Well, I’m glad,” Hannah’s sister answered.

  Hannah had a large pink-and-green tote bag filled with what appeared to be tiny fishing poles and a bunch of other odd shaped items, and she pulled the strap up higher on her shoulder. “Well, it’s about time for me to start my class, but I want to introduce all of you before we head in. This is Mitch Gillespie, my brother-in-law, and my sister Jana.” She turned to Matt. “And this is Dr. Matt Graham and his mother-in-law, Maura.” She placed a hand on Autumn’s shoulder. “You’ve already met Autumn.”

  They shook hands and completed the introductions, then a white-haired man wearing a gray suit and navy tie stepped out from the building. “I’d like an introduction as well, Hannah,” he said, grinning. “And by the way, you did realize that other people were bringing food for the fellowship meal too, didn’t you?”

  “I just brought a few things,” Hannah said with a shrug.

  The man shook his head. “Your trunk was completely packed.” He looked to Bo. “Took three people to help her unload it.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me a bit,” Hannah’s father said, smiling with pride at his youngest daughter.

  “I knew I had invited a few people to stay, and I always try to bring enough for at least another family or two. Plus I didn’t want Jana to worry about cooking, so I told her I’d make enough for her also.”

  “Told her is right,” Jana said. “She didn’t give me a choice.”

  Hannah laughed and Autumn did, too, but Matt figured she didn’t really understand the gist of the sisters’ comments; she merely wanted to be included in the conversation, and he thought it was delightful. Not only was she conversing, but also interacting with others. This was truly a miracle.

  “Well, I’m hoping that huge yellow Crock-Pot I saw them tote in had your chicken and dumplings inside?” the man asked.

  “Wouldn’t be a real church fellowship meal without them, now would it?” Hannah asked with a wink. “I used Mama’s recipe, of course.” She picked up a blue bucket from behind her on the sidewalk and moved up the stairs toward the man. Then she introduced Matt, Maura and Autumn to Brother Henry who, as Matt suspected, was the preacher. Ushering them into the building, she pointed out the auditorium, where the adult classes were held, and then indicated the hallway that led to Autumn’s class.

  “We’re running a little behind, so I can let her walk to class with me, if y’all want to go on in the auditorium,” Hannah said.

  Matt squatted down to eye level with his little girl. “That okay with you, Autumn?”

  His daughter’s brown eyes were alive with excitement, with happiness, true happiness, and Matt’s heart swelled at the vision.

  “Yes, Daddy.” She hugged him, the sweet smell of her shampoo enveloping him with her exuberant embrace. Matt swallowed, still relishing the sound of her saying his name and the sensation of seeing her happy again.

  “Our room has fishing nets around the door. It’s the only one that does, so it’s pretty easy to spot,” Hannah said to Matt. “Matter of fact, we’re going to do a little fishing in class today.” She indicated the blue bucket.

  Autumn peered inside and laughed. “Cute fish,” she said.

  “Thanks, I made them myself.” Hannah smiled at Matt.

  She had an amazing smile, and he found himself tamping down on the desire to ask her to dinner or a movie, anything to spend more time together. But he hadn’t lied to Maura earlier. He couldn’t go through the risk of losing another woman he loved to cancer. Which meant he couldn’t fall in love with Hannah Taylor.

  “Anyway, if you want to come get Autumn after class and see how she’s doing and all, our room is fairly easy to find.” Hannah gave him a meaningful look, and Matt knew that she was trying to convey that he could come and see for himself whether Autumn would interact with the other children. She cared so much about his little girl.

  “I’ll find it,” he promised.

  Then he watched the two of them head down the class hallway side by side, before he and Maura went into the auditorium with Mitch, Jana and Bo to listen to Brother Henry’s Bible study lesson.

  Hannah’s weekend had been wonderful, from working at the toy store with Autumn and Matt to having dinner at Mitch and Jana’s and seeing those amazing ultrasound photos of baby Dee. Hannah had literally started crying when she saw the detailed images of her niece. She could see everything, Dee’s eyes, her tiny nose, and her little fist, balled up against her chin while she sucked her thumb. She was already sucking her thumb! It was amazing, a miracle, for sure. She’d had a wonderful night with her family.

  Today at church they’d share even more time together, and it would definitely be a lasting memory, because Bo Taylor was gracing a church pew again for the first time in over a decade. And Autumn Graham was getting a chance to make new friends in class.

  Hannah stepped into the classroom with Autumn by her side. Maura obviously enjoyed dressing the little girl. Today she wore a crimson dress with a crisp black sash at the waist, white stockings and black leather Mary Jane shoes. Her shiny chocolate hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and topped with a crimson bow. The deep, rich color of the bow and dress seemed to make her eyes look even darker, her cheeks a little rosier.

  The first time Hannah had seen the little girl, she’d thought she looked similar to the fancy porcelain dolls Mr. Feazell kept in the toy store’s curio. But now Hannah thought she looked more like the American Girl dolls that were also on display in his store. The porcelain dolls were beautiful but didn’t look as real, didn’t actually show expression like the American Girl dolls. And Autumn had plenty of expression today.

  She looked joyful.

  “Everyone, this is Autumn,” Hannah said cheerfully to the kids already seated at the table and coloring.

  There were seven children seated, five boys and two girls, and all of them greeted Autumn before beginning a chorus of introducing themselves individually.

  “I’m Daniel,” one of the twins said.

  “I’m Matthew,” the other chimed in.

  “I’m Shenae,” one of the girls said with a giggle.

  The other kids followed suit, either stating the
ir name, or if they were too busy coloring, simply saying, “Hi.”

  Since Hannah had known she’d probably be arriving later than usual, she’d asked Jessica Martin to sit with the class until she got there. Jessica worked at a day care center in Claremont and was terrific with kids. Plus, her son Nathan was one of the most talkative, and subsequently one of the most enjoyable, kids in the class.

  “I went ahead and gave them their coloring pages,” Jessica said. “Here’s one for you, Autumn.” She placed the paper on the table in front of the chair next to Nathan’s. “Nathan, did you introduce yourself to Autumn?”

  Nathan had been so intent on coloring the boat on his paper that he hadn’t seemed to notice Hannah’s arrival. He’d joined in the whole group’s welcome mumble, but hadn’t personally greeted the newest visitor.

  Hannah grinned. Nathan was dear to her heart because he absorbed everything she said each week and was the first to spout out what he had learned to Brother Henry after class. Then again, that may have had more to do with Brother Henry giving the boy a peppermint each time he listened to the lesson.

  “Nathan, this is Autumn,” Hannah said.

  He looked up, those inquisitive eyes found Autumn, and he grinned. “Hey, it’s you.” His s had a bit of a slur due to lost teeth. Then he told Hannah with a shrug, “She knows me.”

  That got a small chuckle from Jessica. “Mr. Personality, that one,” she said, running a hand over her son’s sandy curls.

  Hannah asked, “Do you know Nathan, Autumn?”

  “He’s in my class,” she said. “At school. We’re in Mrs. Johnson’s class.”

  Nathan dropped his blue crayon, his eyes growing wide. “Mom, did you hear that?” His smile claimed his entire face and showcased three gaps from those lost teeth. “Wow! He must have said yes. I’m gonna have to tell Brother Henry.” He gave her a crooked smile. “Might even get two peppermints.”

  Jessica shrugged and mouthed to Hannah, “I have no idea.” Then she looked at her son, while Autumn sat in the chair next to Nathan and grabbed a pink crayon from the plastic box in the center of the table. “Nathan, you have to tell Brother Henry what, exactly?” Jessica asked.

  “That God said yes. Don’t you remember, Mom? I prayed to Him to let her talk, lots of words instead of a little bit, because sometimes—” he looked up at the ceiling and chewed on his lower lip while he tried to decide what to say “—sometimes Mrs. Johnson gets mad at her, not a whole lot mad, you know, but a little mad, I think. ’Cause she won’t talk. But I knew she probably could talk more and maybe just needed God’s help. Remember when we needed God’s help for Daddy to find us?”

  Jessica nodded, and blinked several times.

  “So I asked Him to help her, and He must have said yes.”

  Hannah watched Jessica’s mouth open in slight surprise. Nathan never failed to amaze them with his perception and with his incredibly kind heart. He’d led some of the most precious little boy prayers in Hannah’s classroom that she’d ever heard, thanking God for everything from the fact that God brought him his daddy to the fact that his grandpa fixed the tree swing to the fact that he had a new little sister named Lainey.

  “Nathan, that’s wonderful and very thoughtful that you prayed for Autumn,” Hannah said, having a time finding her own voice with his action deeply touching her soul.

  “Brother Henry told me that sometimes He says no, sometimes He says yes. This time, He said yes.” Nathan handed Autumn a blue crayon. “You should make your water blue. But you can make your boat pink if you want. I guess a boat could be pink, but I’m making my boat green.”

  Autumn took the crayon.

  “You know my name?” Nathan asked.

  Autumn smiled. “Nathan.”

  “Cool!” Nathan said, and of course, all of the other kids started asking Autumn if she knew their names, which took a few minutes, and Hannah walked to the door with Jessica.

  “Thanks for watching the class,” she said.

  “You’re welcome.” Jessica looked at Autumn, repeating each name she was told, while Nathan smiled and nodded as though he had something to do with her entire speech process.

  Then again, maybe he did.

  “You have a special little boy there,” Hannah said.

  “I didn’t realize she’s the little girl he’s been praying for each night. He said she’s always sad.” Jessica’s brows lifted. “She looks happy now.”

  “I know,” Hannah said. “Isn’t it great when God says yes?”

  Jessica laughed. “Yes, it is. I’m heading to class. Let me know anytime you want me to sub for you. This is a great group, isn’t it?”

  Hannah observed the kids, all chattering about their different-colored boats. And Autumn in the center of it all, smiling. “Yes, definitely a great group.”

  Jessica left the classroom, and Hannah sat at the end of the table and talked to the kids about their coloring pages, eventually making her way from marveling at their artistic talents to teaching them the Bible lesson, how Jesus asked Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow Him. The series of lessons for the fall revolved around Jesus teaching his disciples to be fishers of men, and Hannah truly enjoyed working the fishing theme into the lessons.

  She tried to add something fun to the end of every Bible class, and today was no different. She’d told Mr. Feazell about her fall lesson theme, and he’d given her ten plastic toy fishing rods as yet another bonus to her regular pay. Hannah had tied a magnet to the end of each line and then had glued magnets to colorful, plastic fish for the kids to “catch.” The fish were in a deep minnow bucket that Hannah had borrowed from her father, and each one had a Bible fisherman’s name written on it, either Peter, Andrew, James or John. Hannah explained to the kids that the object of the game was to try to catch all four of the fishing apostles.

  The game got a little loud, especially when the boys had their turns, with squeals, giggles, claps and shouts as each kid fished for a win. Nathan, who fished quite often with his father and grandfather, was determined that he would be the first to gather all four, but his first three attempts all yielded Andrew.

  “I’m beginning to wonder if I even like Andrew,” he mumbled on his fourth attempt, which sent Hannah, Autumn and the other two girls in the room into a fit of giggles.

  Hannah and Autumn laughed so hard when he pulled out yet another Andrew that Hannah had laugh tears streaking down her cheeks and Autumn held a hand to her side.

  And that’s where Matt found them.

  Brother Henry’s Bible class had focused on a verse in Nahum about God being a refuge in times of struggle. More than once, Matt had met Maura’s gaze, and he believed he knew what the smart woman was thinking. When they’d gone through the struggles of the last two years, they hadn’t asked for God’s help. In fact, they had actually turned from Him.

  Now Matt was rethinking that decision, and he believed his mother-in-law was, too. His entire being felt startlingly at peace after the short lesson, and he looked forward to the main worship service, where he would have Autumn by his side for what he anticipated would be another meaningful, straight-to-the-heart lesson. God was speaking to him today, and Matt wanted his little girl beside him as it happened.

  Walking to the classroom, he realized that he wanted someone else beside him, too. Hannah Taylor. Maura’s comments before church had replayed in the back of his mind ever since, and more than once Matt found himself wondering what it would be like to have a woman in his life again. No, he corrected, he wasn’t thinking about having a woman in his life. He was thinking about having Hannah Taylor in his life.

  Truly she made him smile, not only because of her undeniable beauty, but with her genuineness and her love of life, her love of God, shining through. But he hadn’t lied to Maura when he told her that he wouldn’t pursue a relationship with the fascinating woman. The bottom line was that Hannah Taylor was in remission, and sometimes cancer came back.

  Matt couldn’t go through that again. Could
n’t put Autumn through that possibility again.

  With a heavy heart over that realization, he saw the fishnet-covered classroom door and stepped closer. Then, as quickly as his heart had been burdened, his spirits lifted at the vision before him: Hannah, wiping tears from her eyes, her full-bodied laughter ringing down the hall and blending with the giggles of his little girl, who hugged her gorgeous teacher and pointed at a blond-haired little boy whose evident frustration must have had something to do with a plastic red fish on the end of his line.

  “I’m telling you, it’s not funny,” he said with a glare at all of the females in the room.

  “Oh, Nathan,” Hannah said, now moving a hand to her mouth as she laughed. “It really is.” Which seemed to cause the laughter in the room to grow even louder.

  A couple approached and peered in the doorway beside Matt. The man held a pretty toddler with curls so blond they were nearly white. She pointed to the frustrated boy.

  “Bubba mad?”

  The woman laughed. “No, Lainey, your brother isn’t mad. Are you, Nathan?”

  The boy tilted his head as though he had to think about it, but then forced a smile. “No, Mom, I’m not mad. I guess.”

  More laughter abounded, and Matt moved to the side as a few parents ushered in to pick up their kids and thanked Hannah for teaching the lesson.

  Still wiping her tears, Hannah spoke to each family and made sure each child had their take-home papers before heading to “big church” for Brother Henry’s lesson.

  Autumn had moved to the blue fishing bucket and was rummaging through the plastic fish apparently searching for something. She withdrew a purple fish, then a yellow one, and continued searching.

  “You ready, Autumn?” Matt asked.

  “Not yet.” She kept picking up fish, looking at them then putting them back in.