Healing Autumn's Heart (Love Inspired)

by Andrews, Renee

  “Because she’s like Mommy,” Autumn said. “I saw her ribbon, and I knew. And I have to talk, or she’ll go to Heaven, too.”

  The impact of her words was like a fist squeezing Hannah’s heart. “Oh, sweetie, I love it that you talk to me, but I am better. You don’t need to worry about that.”

  “But—I love you,” Autumn said.

  “I love you too,” Hannah said, meaning every word. “And I’m glad that you wanted to talk to me, that you wanted to keep me from getting sicker, too.” Hannah struggled for the right words. Thankfully, Matt took over.

  “Precious, I’m so sorry. I had no idea that you thought Mommy got sicker because you stopped talking. That wasn’t it, baby. I promise. God was just ready for your mommy to go to Heaven, and He’s taking good care of her there. She didn’t go away because you stopped talking. It was because she was so sick that no doctor could make her better.” He kissed her head. “Do you understand, precious? It was not your fault.”

  “And Autumn, you don’t have to talk around me just to keep me from getting sick again,” Hannah said. “But I would hope that you would talk around me anyway, because I love listening to you talk. And you know what?”

  “What?” Autumn said, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

  “Everyone else likes listening to you talk, too. Did you see all of those boys and girls listening to your story? They liked hearing you talk, too, especially Nathan.”

  “He’s my friend,” Autumn acknowledged.

  “He’s a very good friend,” Hannah said. “And I think it’d mean a lot to him, to Mrs. Johnson and everyone if you would talk whenever you wanted, like you used to, before your mommy got sick. It makes people happy when they hear you talk.”

  “And it has nothing to do with whether someone is sick or not, whether you talk to them,” Matt said. “All of that is up to God. And He has His reasons for taking some people to Heaven early. Obviously, He knew your mommy was special and wanted to take good care of her when she got so sick.”

  “Nathan says that sometimes God says no, and sometimes God says yes,” Autumn said.

  Matt laughed. “Yes, and we all know that Nathan is a smart boy.”

  “So we’re okay to talk again, to everyone?” Hannah asked.

  “I guess so,” Autumn whispered.

  “Okay, well, go get your lunch things,” Matt said, “and we’ll walk you to the cafeteria.”

  Autumn moved to a cubby with her name on it and withdrew a pink Barbie lunchbox from her backpack. Then the three of them walked to the cafeteria, with Autumn pointing out the classroom flags that she liked best along the way.

  Matt and Hannah waited until she was seated near Nathan and several other children, then they said goodbye to Autumn, her classmates and Mrs. Johnson before heading back toward the exit.

  Outside, they walked to their cars before saying a word. Then Matt leaned against the side of his, placed his hand at the bridge of his nose then spread his fingers across his eyes. “That was nearly more than I could take. I’m—very grateful that you were here with me.”

  “I’m grateful, too. God had a reason for us coming to story time today. He wanted you to know what was locking her inside, and He wanted to help us find a way to set her free again.”

  “I prayed about it,” he admitted.

  “I did too,” she said with a smile. “And sometimes, God says yes.”

  Matt laughed at that then he reached for Hannah and drew her into his embrace. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, God…for saying yes.”

  Hannah found herself pressed against him, and she noticed that he didn’t release her. In fact, he held her there, close against him. Then, while her heart raced so prominently she was certain he could feel it, Matt gently placed a finger at her temple then brushed it along her cheek, down her jaw, sending a trickle of excitement across her skin with his touch. He eased it beneath her chin, then gently tilted her face toward his. “We’re still going on that date Friday?” he asked, his words feathering across her lips.

  “Yes,” she whispered, losing herself in his clear blue eyes.

  He edged his mouth even closer to hers, then kissed her sweetly, tenderly, until Hannah nearly forgot that they were in the school parking lot. Nearly, that is, until the loud brakes of a garbage truck screeched through the parking lot, and Matt ended the kiss with a laugh.

  “Thank you,” she said, and then, when he laughed again, she was embarrassed that she’d just thanked him for a kiss. She grinned. “Sorry, I guess I’m out of practice.”

  “Actually, I wanted to thank you, Hannah.”

  Her mind raced. Why was he thanking her? “For helping Autumn?”

  He gave her another brief kiss that left her lips tingling. Then he smiled. “For saying yes.”

  Chapter Nine

  Hannah couldn’t miss the difference in Maura when she brought Autumn to the toy store Wednesday afternoon. Obviously in high spirits, she smiled ear to ear and laughed as they entered the display area.

  “I hear story time today was a big hit,” she said. “Autumn told me all about it on the ride over!”

  Autumn grinned shyly, and Hannah knew exactly why Maura seemed so joyful. She was communicating with her granddaughter again, really communicating. “GiGi’s excited,” Autumn said, looking at her grandmother.

  “Well, it was a very special story time,” Hannah said.

  “I started to come.” Maura sat on the visitor’s bench. “But I didn’t know if me being there might, well, mess things up.”

  Autumn shook her head. “You could’ve come, GiGi. All parents and grandparents can come.” She looked at Hannah. “And very special people can come too.”

  Hannah winked at her. “Thanks.”

  Maura smiled even wider. “I know, honey, and you better believe me, next time, I’ll be there with bells on.”

  “Bells?” Autumn asked. “What kind of bells?”

  Maura tossed a hand to her chest and laughed. “Not real bells, sweetie. It’s a saying. It means I can’t wait for the next story time.”

  Autumn nodded. “Oh.” Then she turned toward Hannah. “Daddy called us after we left school. He was finishing up at work, but he said he’ll be here soon.”

  Hannah grinned. He’d called her, too, told her he’d be late and also told her how much today had meant to him. “I’m glad.” And truly, she was. She couldn’t wait to see Matt again. She’d worked on the dollhouses all afternoon, but her mind had been on one thing: that amazing kiss. Well, two things. Autumn shining in front of everyone in that classroom and finally telling Matt and Hannah why she’d stopped talking for so long and that amazing kiss.

  Maura still seemed unable to control her smile as she fiddled with the furry scarf around her neck and gazed at her granddaughter with undeniable adoration. Meanwhile, Autumn had already started entertaining herself by resituating the tiny geese they’d put around the fountain and making hysterical squawking noises in an attempt to mimic the noisy birds.

  “Oh, Autumn, you’re too funny,” Maura said.

  Autumn grinned. “You be this one, GiGi.” She held up the biggest of the birds, and Maura didn’t bat an eye before starting a squawk that outdid all of Autumn’s attempts. Autumn couldn’t keep up her own end of the noisy banter; she was too lost in laughing at her grandmother.

  Hannah was thrilled to see Maura like this, happiness practically spilling over. She was even dressed cheerfully this afternoon. Every other time Hannah had seen the lady, she’d worn typical fall colors, dark maroon, forest green, deep gold. All were pretty, of course, but not nearly as vivid as the cheery red top she wore today that she complemented with that fun multi-colored scarf. Even her makeup looked a little brighter, with a bit of champagne sparkle on her brows, a hint of blush on her cheeks and a rosy red lipstick that exactly matched her blouse.

  “I love your outfit,” Hannah finally said when she figured it was obvious she was staring. “You look so, well, happy.”

>   “I am happy,” Maura said, laughing, and she leaned forward and ran a hand down Autumn’s long curls. “For the first time in years, I am very, very happy.”

  “Me, too!” Autumn said, which made Maura laugh even more.

  The curtain shifted, and Matt stepped through grinning at all of them. “I attempted to wave to you through the window, but you were all too busy laughing to notice.”

  “Sorry about that,” Hannah said, grinning, because like Autumn and Maura, she was also happier than she’d been in a very long time, and all because of the man looking at her now.

  “Don’t apologize,” he said, blue eyes finding hers and holding her gaze. “It’s perfect.”

  “I agree,” Maura said, still stroking Autumn’s curls. “It is perfect, absolutely perfect.” Then something caught her attention and she looked out the display window and grinned. “There’s Bo.”

  Hannah turned to see her father, smiling, and walking toward the store. He saw them looking and held up something small and silver for them to see. “What’s he got?” Hannah asked.

  “Oh, he bought one!” Maura said. “He told me that he’d get one for our scrapbooking class, but I didn’t know it’d be this soon.”

  “Get what?” Hannah asked, but Maura didn’t have to answer. Bo Taylor had already entered the store and pulled back the curtain.

  “Everybody look natural,” he said, holding the silver camera out and then snapping a photo. “I’m still getting used to the features, but this thing is amazing. Isn’t it something how far they’ve come since the girls were little? I had no idea.”

  “Bo wanted a nice camera to take photos for our scrapbooking class,” Maura explained. “That one looks great. I need to get a new one, too.”

  “I talked to Mandy Carter over at the photography shop to see what she recommended,” Bo said. “She suggested this—” he held up the camera again “—and I love it. I can take you to look at the different models and see what you like,” he offered. “This one comes in pink, but I didn’t think that was my best color.”

  Maura laughed. “That sounds great. I’d love to shop for one. So, what all can this one do?”

  Matt looked at the two of them, checking out Bo’s camera, then glanced at Hannah and grinned.

  Hannah smiled, too. Apparently last night’s scrapbooking class had been a huge success, not only with the scrapbooking, but also in developing Maura and Bo’s friendship.

  “I thought we could go over to Diane Marsh’s store today and check out those supplies she was talking about last night in class,” Bo said to Maura.

  “I’d like that,” she said, standing, and again fiddling with her scarf. “I wanted to see those new three-dimensional stickers she talked about.”

  “Yeah, me too. I’m pretty sure I saw some track stickers, and both of my girls ran track in high school. I’ll need some of those.”

  Hannah blinked. “You’re doing scrapbooks for me and Jana? For our high school years?” Her father had taken lots of photos back then, and he’d rarely missed one of their track meets. But there had always been an underlying sadness to everything they accomplished because of their mother’s absence.

  His hands gripped the camera, and he gave Hannah an apologetic look. “I didn’t do anything like that back then, but those years were important. I mean, I saw some of the sample scrapbooks there at the class last night, and well, you and Jana did a lot in school. You should have something special like that to show for it. I thought I’d work on that for your Christmas presents, if that’s okay.”

  Hannah was certain her mother would have probably done scrapbooks for them if she’d have still been alive at the time, but Hannah had never thought anything about not having one. Now though, the fact that her dad thought of the sweet sentiment and was planning to do something so special touched her immensely. “It’s definitely okay, Daddy.”

  “Well, I can’t take total credit. Maura saw those high school examples last night and asked if you and Jana had anything like that. After I realized you didn’t, I decided to make an effort to remedy that. And Maura offered to help me.” He looked at Maura. “Thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome.” Maura smiled at him, then at Hannah. “He was going to try to surprise you both for Christmas, but then we realized that he’ll have to get a lot of the photos and such from you two, so there was no way to keep it a total secret…”

  “But you can’t actually see it until Christmas,” Bo completed. “So that will be the surprise part.”

  Hannah was seated on the floor to work on the display, but she stood, moved to her father and hugged him. “Thank you, Daddy.”

  He patted her back. “Well then, Maura and I have to get over to Scraps and Crafts before they close and let Diane show us the new stuff.”

  “I’m ready,” Maura said then looked to Matt. “I’ll see you at home in a little bit. Dinner is ready, and I hope you don’t mind, I asked Bo if he wanted to eat with us before church. We are going to the Wednesday service tonight, aren’t we?”

  “Of course, and that’s fine for Bo to come over for dinner,” Matt said.

  “Hannah, we’d love for you to come, too,” Maura said. “I made plenty. We’re having Mrs. Jolaine’s chicken fingers, Maddie Farmer’s broccoli salad and Mrs. Collins’ blueberry yum-yum for dessert.”

  Hannah laughed. “When did you get all of those recipes from the church ladies?”

  “Last night at our scrapbooking class,” Maura said. “So, will you come to dinner?”

  “Sure,” Hannah said. “It sounds great.”

  Autumn looked up from playing with the geese. “Miss Hannah, will you be my teacher again tonight at church?”

  “I sure will. And we’ll be learning some more about those fishermen in the Bible.”

  “Maybe Nathan will catch more fish tonight,” Autumn said. “I’ll say a prayer for that.” She closed her eyes, and her lips moved slightly for a few moments, then she opened them again. “Okay, now we’ll just need to see if God said yes.”

  “That’s right,” Hannah said, while Matt chuckled.

  Bo slid the curtain aside for Maura then paused. “Hannah, did you ever hear back from the doctor?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “But I forgot to call and ask, too.”

  His brows furrowed a little. “Will you call today?”

  “Yes, I will, in just a minute. And I’m sure everything is fine.”

  He nodded. “Well, let me know what you learn.”

  “I will, Daddy.”

  “We’ll see all of you in a little while,” he said.

  Maura started to go, but then turned and kissed Autumn’s forehead before leaving. “Love you, sweetie,” she said.

  “Love you, GiGi.”

  Hannah watched Bo and Maura walk across the square toward Diane Marsh’s shop and noticed that they never stopped chatting, with her father holding up the camera occasionally and both of their heads tilted together as they looked at its gadgets. “Looks like we aren’t the only ones who are having a good day,” she said.

  Matt sat on the floor beside Hannah and looked toward the window, where they could see Bo opening the door for Maura to enter the craft store.

  “I kept thinking that she looked a little different today, and I thought it was because of Autumn’s story time,” Hannah said. “But I’m thinking there’s more to it than that.”

  He nodded. “I believe my mother-in-law may be trying to impress someone.”

  Hannah thought of Maura’s pretty outfit and smiled. Maybe her cheery selection had been made with Hannah’s father in mind. “Well, I’m happy for both of them.”

  “Happy for who?” Autumn asked.

  “Mr. Bo and GiGi,” Matt answered. “We’re glad they’re having fun.”

  “Me, too,” she said, grinning. “GiGi is very happy today.”

  “We all are,” Matt said, smiling at Hannah. “Very happy.” He looked at Autumn, absorbed in arranging tiny flowers in one of the beds ar
ound the faux oak trees. “What doctor are you supposed to call?” he asked quietly.

  Hannah should have known he’d ask. “It’s nothing to worry about. I had my three month cancer screening last Thursday and am waiting for the results.”

  “Do they normally take this long to give you the results?” His voice had altered a bit to what Hannah suspected was his doctor-to-patient tone. Soothing, yet depicting concern.

  “I usually get them in a couple of days, but I didn’t have my appointment until last Thursday. They probably will call before the day is over.”

  “I could tell your dad’s eager to hear that you’re okay. Why don’t you go ahead and give the doctor a call? Then you can let him know that everything is fine.” He smiled. “And I’d like to hear that everything is fine, too.”

  “You’re right,” Hannah said, fishing her phone out of her jeans pocket. She dialed the doctor’s office.

  “Dr. Patterson’s after-hours answering service,” the voice on the other end said.

  “After hours?” Hannah questioned. “I thought Dr. Patterson’s office stayed open until 5:00.”

  “They close at noon on Wednesdays, ma’am, but they will be back in tomorrow morning at 9:00. Is this an emergency?”

  “No,” Hannah said. “No emergency. I’ll call back in the morning. Thank you.” She disconnected the phone and looked at Matt. “They close at half day on Wednesdays.”

  He nodded. “I know a few doctors who do that. But I want you to call first thing tomorrow morning, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “And after you call your dad and let him know that everything is okay, I want you to call me and let me know the same thing.” He smiled, and she did, too.

  “I will.”

  Throughout the next couple of hours, Matt participated way more than Hannah had ever expected, getting down on the floor and situating the tiny fixtures within the dollhouses, painting, gluing, cutting and accessorizing as though he’d been playing with dollhouses for years. Hannah knew better, of course. He was a typical guy and had probably never touched a dollhouse accessory before this week, but this week had been a special one for sure. First of all, he’d gotten his little girl back, and he wanted to spend as much bonding time as possible with Autumn even if that meant crawling around in a display window and playing with dollhouses. And second of all, he and Hannah had definitely found “something” together, and every time he looked at her now, smiled at her, she could sense that the more they were together, the closer they got. And they hadn’t even been on an official date yet.