Touched By Angels

by Debbie Macomber

  The man looked vaguely familiar, but then it wasn’t uncommon for Hannah to see someone she thought she knew. Working in the family-owned, kosher-style deli, she met literally hundreds of people on a daily basis.

  His eyes were a deep, rich shade of coffee brown. They sparkled with delight as he looked down at her. He had a kind face, appealing but not particularly handsome. His hair needed to be trimmed, but that gave him a rumble-tumble look that she found endearing. It was apparent he was some kind of businessman; she could tell that much from the way he dressed and the way he stood. Besides, if he frequented her parents’ deli, then chances were he worked in one of the office buildings close by.

  “Do I know you?” he asked, frowning slightly.

  “I’m Hannah Morganstern,” she said. “Most people recognize me from my parents’ deli.”

  “Of course. Your father serves the best pastrami in town.” He held out his hand to her. “I’m Joshua Shadduck.”

  “Hello, Joshua.” The noise level made it difficult to carry on a conversation.

  They shook hands, and Hannah glanced over her shoulder, looking for Carl. He wasn’t there. She scanned the crowd once more, certain he wouldn’t have left her intentionally. Carl would never do that, yet he was nowhere in sight. Anxious now, she stood on her tiptoes and looked around.

  “Oh, dear,” she whispered, and bit into her lower lip.

  “Is something wrong?” Joshua lowered his head close to her so she could hear him.

  “My friend. I’m afraid we’ve gotten separated.”

  “That happens in crowds like these.”

  “I know, but . . .” She continued to study the huge throng. The crowd was moving, milling about. “I didn’t mean to leave him behind.” Carl would be worried and flustered. If she ever hoped to talk him into attending another parade, he’d be sure to remind her of this.

  “I’ll help you look,” Joshua offered.

  “You don’t need to do that.” She was the one to blame. If she hadn’t been so impatient to see what was ahead, she wouldn’t have lost Carl.

  “Tell me what he looks like,” Joshua suggested. Since he was head and shoulders taller than she, his chances of finding Carl were far better than her own.

  “Let me think,” she mumbled. She went with the most obvious: his clothing. “He had on a black wool overcoat.”

  Joshua leveled his eyes on her, amusement bracketing the sides of his mouth. “Hannah, every man here has on a black wool overcoat.”

  “Yes . . . I know. He’s five ten or so, and . . . he’s probably frowning. He only came because I wanted to see the parade, and he’s probably annoyed with me for disappearing like this.”

  “A frowning man, five ten, in a black wool overcoat.”

  Their eyes met once more, and for no reason Hannah could explain, they both started laughing.

  “He’s probably given up on me and left,” she conceded, and glanced longingly over her shoulder, not wanting to miss the rest of the parade. “I should probably go back myself,” she said with regret.

  “Why? Your friend can find his own way home, can’t he?”

  “Yes, but . . .”

  “Stay,” he urged. His hand cupped her elbow, his touch light and encouraging. His eyes smiled with warmth and pleasure, something she’d found sadly lacking in Carl. Her friend had only tolerated the merriment. Macy’s parade was one more thing Carl considered frivolous and impractical. He often mentioned the overwhelming cost of such a production. To Carl’s way of thinking, this money would be better spent feeding the hungry or aiding the homeless.

  Hannah had no argument to offer. The parade would go on no matter how wasteful Carl found it to be, and she could see no reason not to enjoy it.

  “Oh, look,” she said, pointing down the street at the oncoming float. She glanced at Joshua and discovered that he viewed the winter festival creation with the same keen enjoyment and wonder that she did.

  One lazy snowflake drifted down from the lead gray sky. Another soon followed.

  “Snow!” Delighted, Hannah held up her hand to catch a fluffy flake. It melted in the palm of her hand.

  “It’s a perfect conclusion to the parade, don’t you think?” Joshua asked. Pressed against him as she was, Hannah couldn’t help noticing how warm and close he was.

  “Is it over? Already?” She didn’t want it to be.

  “Do you have to hurry back?” Joshua asked. “We could take a short stroll in Central Park and enjoy the snow.”

  It went without saying that she shouldn’t. Her family would be waiting for her. They assumed she was with Carl, not some strange man she barely recognized. Her father had always been protective of her. She was his jewel. Hannah remembered how pleased her parents had been when she’d first started dating Carl. The fact that he was a rabbi’s son added to their endorsement of the young man.

  “A stroll in Central Park,” she repeated, and then before she could change her mind, she nodded. Her willingness to spend time with him, a man who was little more than a stranger, would be frowned upon by everyone concerned.

  “Goodness,” Gabriel warned, “don’t even think about it.”

  “About what?” The fact that the archangel was traveling with her had cramped her style considerably.

  “I know what you’ve got up your sleeve.”

  “What?” Archangels knew so little about romance; what else was she to do? Gabriel thought Carl Rabinsky was the perfect husband for Hannah. Anyone with half a brain could see how ill suited the young couple was. Carl was a determined man, sincere in his faith. Unfortunately he’d fallen into a common trap. He was big on religion and weak on faith.

  “I can see what you’re thinking and I’m telling you right now, it isn’t going to work,” Gabriel continued, disapproval beaming from his piercing eyes. “Joshua Shadduck is an important attorney. The two have nothing in common.”

  “Joshua is Jewish, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, but that has nothing to do with the issues here. Goodness, listen to me. You’re stirring up a hornets’ nest if you continue in this vein. I absolutely forbid it, do you understand?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “There’re no buts about it.” Gabriel’s brow was knit with a thick frown. He opened his mouth and Goodness was convinced he was about to argue further with her when a breathless but elated Shirley arrived.

  “I found Brynn Cassidy,” the other angel announced gleefully. “She’s with Suzie Chang, one of the girls from her class.”

  “We’re discussing something important here,” Goodness said. She refused to let Shirley interrupt her now. Not when she was about to make an important point. She glared at the archangel. “Didn’t you notice Joshua and Hannah together? It’s as plain as the wings on your back that they’re right for each other.” Anyone with eyes would recognize how lonely Joshua was. Success wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It seemed to her that he’d come to this realization himself recently. As far as Goodness could tell, Hannah Morganstern complemented his life, and she wasn’t about to let Gabriel tell her otherwise.

  “What I’m saying,” Gabriel insisted, “is that you must leave well enough alone. You think I didn’t notice the way you manipulated Hannah and Joshua? I’m not blind. You practically steered her right into him.”

  Goodness released a pent-up sigh. Dealing with Gabriel often required persistence. “I realize you find this difficult to believe, but I’m something of an expert in matters involving the heart. Remember last year?”

  “I’m not likely to forget it,” the archangel muttered. “I was nearly sent back to singing with the choir because of you three.”

  Goodness ignored his comment, which she was sure was a gross exaggeration.

  “Promise me you’ll keep your hands off of Hannah and Joshua,” Gabriel warned, “otherwise I’ll have you restringing harps for the rest of your days.”

  The threat was an empty one, and Goodness knew it.

  “Did anyone hear me?” Shirle
y asked excitedly. “I actually located Brynn Cassidy. Don’t you realize what a miracle that was in this crowd?”

  “I heard you,” Gabriel told her with a sour look. “Miracle or not, you won’t be working with Brynn Cassidy. The schoolteacher needs far more help than you can offer. You can’t work with Brynn and those kids from the high school. I have another assignment waiting for you,” Gabriel insisted with a hard edge to his voice.

  “But—”

  “It’s a take-it-or-leave-it situation.”

  Goodness feared that Shirley was about to blow it. She was relieved when the other angel snapped her mouth closed. At times, Shirley could be downright argumentative. If Shirley made the mistake of debating this Brynn Cassidy issue, the archangel just might pull all three of them out of New York City. Goodness didn’t want that to happen just when matters were beginning to look promising.

  Without being obvious, she scanned the dispersing crowds, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hannah and Joshua. She found them strolling through Central Park, deep in conversation. The two were oblivious of everything around them. They made a striking couple, she mused, immeasurably pleased with herself. Archangels might be high-and-mighty creatures, but they knew little of dealing with humans and love. When it came to affairs of the heart, Goodness was far more knowledgeable than Gabriel. The problem, and admittedly it was a big one, was convincing him of that.

  Joshua wasn’t sure what had happened to him. He’d suggested this walk in the park with Hannah for purely selfish reasons. The Thanksgiving Day parade had been enjoyable, but it hadn’t been nearly as much fun until Hannah had joined him.

  He remembered her with a clarity that surprised him. She was the daughter of the deli owner. When he’d claimed her father made the best pastrami in town, he hadn’t been exaggerating. Over the last few years he’d visited the deli a number of times, but generally he had his lunch delivered. Hannah might well have been to his office.

  Hannah was a delicate creature, beautiful in ways that struck a man’s soul. She wasn’t like the crisp, business professionals he knew and worked with on a daily basis. She inspired him with her gentle goodness. Although he’d never met the man she was with—Carl, if he remembered his name correctly—already he found he didn’t much like him. If Joshua had become separated from Hannah in a crowd, it would have taken a lot more than a little congestion for him to stop searching for her. Hannah hadn’t said a lot, but it was obvious Carl didn’t enjoy parades.

  Joshua had taken Hannah’s hand while strolling through the park. The snow had long since stopped, but the afternoon remained crisp and cold. A perfect winter day.

  The moment their hands linked, Joshua experienced a faint stirring of emotion. Faint stirring, nothing, he mused with a bleak smile. It felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach with a pipe iron.

  He wondered if this was the woman he’d been searching for all these months. He certainly hadn’t expected her to be the daughter of a deli owner. It didn’t matter, he decided. Who was he to question fate? They’d met, and being with her, laughing, joking, talking, had felt instinctively right. Never had he been more comfortable with anyone.

  It embarrassed him, the way he couldn’t stop staring at her. She had such beautiful eyes, but then everything about Hannah was beautiful. She was guileless and genuine, and when she looked up and blinked, Josh swore he could see all the way to her soul.

  “We’ve been talking all this time and I never asked where you work,” Hannah commented.

  “I’m an attorney.” He would have mentioned the name of the law firm, one of the most prestigious in Manhattan, but he didn’t want to sound as though he were bragging. Knowing Hannah, he doubted that it would impress her. More than likely she wouldn’t recognize the name of the firm.

  “A lawyer.” She said this as if the information distressed her.

  “You don’t like attorneys?”

  “No, it’s not that. I think there are some wonderful attorneys, only . . .”

  “Yes,” he prodded.

  “My parents were recently involved in a frivolous lawsuit, and my dad’s convinced the real culprits in the case were the lawyers. I’m afraid he’s developed something of a prejudice, but I don’t think that will last long.”

  “Good. I’d hate to get off on the wrong foot with your family.”

  At the mention of her parents, Hannah looked at her watch. “Oh, dear,” she said anxiously. “I didn’t realize how late it was.” She took several steps backward. “Thank you for a wonderful time. I’m sorry to rush off like this.”

  She’d turned and was speed-walking away from him before he’d had time to react. “Hannah,” he called.

  She spun around.

  “I’d like to see you again.”

  Her eyes were wide, and she seemed to hesitate. Joshua decided it was best not to press her.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll stop in at the deli and we can talk about it then.”

  She nodded abruptly, and it was plain she was in a hurry to get away.

  “If it’ll reassure you, I’ll avoid mentioning I’m an attorney.”

  Her beautiful eyes brightened with a soft smile before she hurried out of the park. Josh buried his hands in his pockets and ambled along the walkway toward Cherry Hill Fountain. He kicked lazily at burnt orange-colored leaves.

  Josh found himself smiling broadly. His patience had paid off. For nearly thirty years he’d been waiting to meet a woman like Hannah Morganstern. To think all this time she’d been right under his nose. He threw back his head and laughed. The sound of his delight echoed through the park.

  Hannah hurried into the apartment on top of the family deli, stripping the blue scarf from her neck.

  “I’m home.”

  “Thank heaven you’re home; I was worried, you’re so late,” her mother said, planting her hand over her heart as she stepped out of the kitchen. “Your father and I didn’t know what to think when Carl phoned and asked if you’d returned safely.”

  “The parade was wonderful,” Hannah said.

  “What happened with Carl?” Her father stood with the morning paper clenched in his hands. He studied her over the top of his spectacles.

  “I don’t know,” Hannah told them, walking into the kitchen. The smells of turkey and sage, pumpkin pie and applesauce, that greeted her caused her to pause and inhale deeply. Her stomach growled, reminding her how hungry she was.

  “Carl claims you disappeared into the crowd.”

  “I wanted to get a closer look at the floats,” Hannah explained as she lifted the lid off a cast-iron kettle. Broth simmered with a mixture of savory herbs floating on the slowly churning surface.

  “There’s nothing to worry about now that you’re back safe and sound,” her father muttered, studying his daughter as though he expected something of her. Hannah knew exactly what her family was hoping. They wanted Carl to ask for her hand in marriage.

  “Carl said he’d be by later,” Ruth Morganstern said, and shared a secret look with her husband of many years. The exchange confirmed Hannah’s suspicions.

  “We both think the world of Carl,” her father told Hannah unnecessarily. “He’s a good man.”

  “Dependable,” her mother added.

  “Honorable.”

  “A righteous man.” Her mother nodded for emphasis.

  Hannah offered them both a shaky smile and headed toward her bedroom. She didn’t want to discuss Carl, not when her head was spinning from her time with another man. “I’m going to change my shoes and then I’ll be back to help you with dinner.”

  Her father looped his arms around Ruth’s shoulders. “Take your time,” her mother called out after her. “Dinner won’t be ready for some time yet.”

  Inside her bedroom, Hannah slumped on the edge of her mattress. It would be impossible to tell them about meeting Joshua now. He was the man who caused her heart to sing. She couldn’t disappoint them. Not with her family extolling Carl’s virtues.

&n
bsp; Hannah had only briefly discussed marriage with Carl. Their parents had been the ones who frequently spoke of the two entering into an agreement. As far as Carl’s family was concerned, the marriage was a foregone conclusion. Her parents seemed to feel the same way.

  Hannah lay back and stared up at the bedroom ceiling. Carl was a wonderful man. He was everything her parents had said and much more. Someday she probably would marry Carl.

  She closed her eyes and thought about what their lives would be like together. She liked Carl, enjoyed his company. When he kissed her it was something sweet and gentle. But try as she might, Hannah couldn’t imagine Carl ever being passionate. A smile cracked her lips, and she chided herself silently.

  In her mind’s eye she thought about the children she might have with Carl. But instead of conjuring up babies, her mind filled with Joshua Shadduck.

  She shook her head in an effort to dispel the image. If only he wasn’t an attorney. If only she’d met him last year at this time. If only . . .

  “Hannah.”

  Guiltily she bolted off the bed. “Yes, Mama.”

  “Carl’s on the phone. He wants to know what took you so long. He’s been worried. You should have phoned him first thing.”

  Hurriedly Hannah reached for her shoes. “Tell him I’ll be right there.”

  “Hannah will marry Carl,” Gabriel said as if he needed to convince himself.

  Goodness was wise enough to say nothing. She’d learned the hard way that it was often more advantageous to hold one’s tongue with the archangel.

  “You understand this, don’t you?” Gabriel asked pointedly.

  “I’m sure you’re right,” the prayer ambassador answered without emotion. It demanded everything she had to hide her true feelings.

  Gabriel studied her with a weary look. “You’re sure you can handle this case?”

  “Positive.” She beamed him her brightest, most innocent smile.