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He shook his head but kept his mouth closed. Thank goodness, almost no one was paying attention… except, he realized, Hannah. She appeared to have seen everything.
Did she know he wished he could’ve sat next to her at the blessing? That she, not Allison, was the kind of woman he’d like to invite to dinner with his mother? The kind of woman he’d like to actually spend time with. She was strong, yet tender-hearted, kind, confident, and incredibly brave.
But he had given Prairie Valley enough to talk about for one afternoon. When he left with his mother, he peeked into the kitchen, but she was nowhere in sight.
After dropping off his mom, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer. He went home and wrote a letter.
Maggie greeted him warmly as she opened the door to the farmhouse.
He stood on her front porch, hoping that Maggie would have some compassion for a guy who had made so many mistakes when it came to people’s hearts.
“I apologize for coming unannounced, but I was hoping you could give this to Hannah.” He handed over the letter, then removed his hat and held it in both hands.
Maggie took it and opened the door wider. “Would you like to come in for some tea?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to impose. I was just hoping that you could give that to her the next time she comes around.”
Maggie smiled and winked. “Sure will, Jake.”
Maybe he’d read her completely wrong. Maybe the letter was a bad idea. Maybe he was a selfish jerk like Allison said, but he had to try.
“Thanks, Maggie, I really appreciate it.”
* * *
The paper was expensive, thick and heavy. He’d folded it carefully into thirds, and the writing looked like it had been done with a fountain pen.
“This is so romantic!” Olivia said, looking over Hannah’s shoulder, eating a bowl of cereal as she stood there in a business suit. Her practice had been picking up, and she had Hannah on all week.
“He’s a real nice guy,” Jesse said from the table, scooping up yogurt for baby Mae. “He’s been doing a fabulous job on Sam’s barn. Hard worker.”
“He was with his girlfriend at church the other day,” she reminded them.
“This is a confession of love!” Olivia grabbed the letter from Hannah’s hand. “I haven’t stopped thinking of you… I think you’re amazing… I want to know if this is real!”
Hannah couldn’t believe it herself. The words were poetic, yet very blunt, which made her blush and feel uncomfortable. Especially with the whole house reading over her shoulder before she knew what the letter contained.
“Something must be wrong with him.” Hannah grabbed the paper and folded it back into the envelope. She heard light feet running toward the house. “Not a word in front of Emma,” she warned Olivia.
Olivia made an x over her chest. “But you should totally go for it.”
“Enough, Liv,” she warned, as Emma and Maggie returned from the barn.
“You ready for school?” Hannah asked. Emma had started taking the bus and coming home again straight to the farm on days when Hannah watched Mae.
“Yes,” she said. “We’re just getting some treats for Midnight.” The horse was Emma’s favorite.
Maggie pulled a big bag of carrots out of the fridge. “Let’s cut some of these up for him and the rest of the horses before the bus gets here.”
Hannah stuffed the letter in her back pocket and took in the scene before her. Everything was coming together. Sure, things were still tight, but she’d been able to cover the rent and late fee. Olivia and Jesse paid her well, she was earning more than she had made at Hooley’s. Emma was ecstatic to be able to spend so much time at the farm, and if Hannah was honest, so was she.
Someday, she promised herself, she would have a place like this to call home.
The letter burned in her back pocket for the rest of the morning, and even more so when it was just her and Mae at the farm. She pictured Jake just down the road, on the porch with Millie. She still couldn’t believe that he could possibly be honest about what he’d written to her.
Around lunchtime, she gave in and plopped Mae into the stroller, heading toward his place. Mae babbled contentedly, stretching out her arm to let her fingertips brush the nodding tops of the grasses alongside the road.
The smell of ferns and dewed stalks of grass permeated the air around her. A buzz of insects sang in the background as she swung up the driveway and looked out at the white farmhouse. Two dormers adorned the second story. They needed window boxes filled with bright colored petunias, she thought.
