“There you are,” Anna said, entering the garden.
He tossed the leek into a tin bucket, and then stood and hugged her. “How was work?”
“Gut,” she said, releasing him. “Dankefor digging up leeks.”
He nodded. “There aren’t many left. I’ll see what I can do to acquire more food.”
“We’ll manage. Come inside and I’ll—” Her eyes locked on his bloodied knuckles. “Your hands.”
“I forgot my gloves inside the house,” he said.
She carefully clasped his fingers and examined the cuts. “Your hands are shaking.”
“I’m cold,” he said, hoping to hide that his nerves were shot.
“Come with me, and I’ll tend to your wounds.”
He followed her to his room, which Max had slept in before moving to a cot in the workshop. She retrieved a basin of water and soap, and placed them on a washstand.
“Soak them,” she said.
He inserted his hands, numb from the cold, into the basin.
She cleansed his cuts with soap, turning the water red.
As the numbness began to subside, a prickly tingling ran through his fingers. He looked at her. “You’re beautiful.”
She shook her head. “I’m thin and ragged.”
“Not to me.”
“Danke,” she said, her eyes focused on his hands.
Piano music emanated from the living room.
“He’s playing earlier than usual,” Bruno said.
“Norbie sometimes talks Max into performing a few pieces before dinner.”
He nodded. “Perhaps we could go for a walk.”
“I’d like to,” she said, “but my legs are exhausted from training all day.”
His shoulder muscles tensed. “We haven’t spent much time together.”
“We will,” she said. “Tonight, after I transcribe for Max, we’ll sit in the living room and listen to music.”
He soaked his hands. “You’re with him a lot.”
“Of course,” she said. “I’m his trainer, and I’m boarding him in our home. We’re together most of the time.”
“How long will he be here?”
She retrieved a towel from the washstand. “A few more weeks, at least. Graduation is delayed due to the cold weather, and Fleck has not provided a date.”
A smidge of resentment smoldered inside him. “I was hoping we could create more time for us.”
“We will,” she said, a hesitance in her voice.
