Hank escorted Cassie Lynn to Reverend Harper’s home, then headed back to his own place. These past few days had shown him that Cassie Lynn was going to make a very good wife. He came home every afternoon to a delicious meal, a warm, clean house and kids who seemed content. She was making their costumes for the Christmas pageant, and she was earnestly working on her sign-language skills.
So why wasn’t he happier? Walking her home in the evening was more of a duty than a pleasure. Other than a few updates about the children or questions about household matters, the two of them really had nothing in common to discuss. He was never tempted to touch her arm or linger on her doorstep.
Though Janell had told him Cassie Lynn was twenty years old, he still saw her as an adolescent, a mature adolescent, but an adolescent nonetheless.
Could he really go through with marrying her?
His thoughts turned to Janell and the joy he’d seen in her face when she first caught sight of her sister this afternoon. The siblings obviously shared a strong bond—it made him more curious than ever as to why she’d stayed away from her family for so long. All his protective urges came to the fore as he contemplated possible reasons.
He wished she would trust him enough to share her past with him.
* * *
Janell glanced at the clock. It was thirty minutes until the school day ended. She’d spent most of the day wondering how Lizzie and her family were getting along and now she was considering sending the students home early.
But before she could decide, the door opened and a familiar face peeked inside.
“Hello,” Lizzie said with an impish smile on her face. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but I bring treats.” She held out a large box tied with a string. If Janell wasn’t mistaken, that box came from Eve’s sweet shop.
It appeared, based on the number of students bouncing in their seats, that several of the children recognized the box as well.
“Class, I’d like you to meet Mrs. Elizabeth Hastings. Better known as my sister, Lizzie.”
Lizzie joined Janell at the front of the classroom. “Hello, everyone. I made a visit to a wonderful little sweet shop today and I thought perhaps I’d share some of what I found there. Would someone like to pass these out for me?”
Several hands shot up and Lizzie selected Peggy Richards, one of the girls in the second row. While Peggy began her important task, Alex raised his hand. When Janell indicated he could speak, he turned to Lizzie. “Is it true that you’re deaf, just like my sister?”
Lily, as usual, was making sure she did her best to help Chloe understand what was going on. She used a combination of signing, gesticulations and writing on the slate. Chloe had sat up taller and was looking from Lily to Lizzie with intense interest.
Lizzie nodded. “It is.” She signed as she spoke.
“Then how come you can tell what I’m saying without me using sign language?”
“Because I can read your lips.” Again she signed her response.
That elicited a lot of excited reaction from the class with several of the students speaking out at once. Lizzie finally held up her hand for silence and the room quieted. “Because I can’t study all of you at the same time, lipreading doesn’t work well when a lot of people are talking to me at once.”
Janell addressed the class. “Now, if you all will take your treats, and thank Mrs. Hastings, I think it is close enough to dismissal time to let you go home. Those of you who are waiting for someone to walk you home may wait on the playground.”
As the students began gathering their things to leave, she made one more announcement. “And don’t forget, even though there is no class next week, we will have practice for the Christmas Eve program on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at eleven o’clock.”
“A Christmas Eve program,” Lizzie said. “That sounds like fun. Do you remember the plays we used to do for Mother and Father?”
Janell smiled at the memory, but before she could respond, Chloe stepped up. “Is learning to read lips hard?”
Lizzie moved to the blackboard to write her response as she spoke it aloud. “It’s more difficult than signing, and it’s not perfect, but with a lot of time and patience, it can be learned.”
“Can you teach me?”
“I would be glad to help you get started and to work with your uncle so he can help you after I leave.”
Chloe cut a quick glance Janell’s way. “Could you work with Miss Whitman, too, so she can help me?”
Lizzie gave her a smile. “Of course.”
Cassie Lynn showed up just then to fetch Alex and Chloe, and Janell made the introductions.
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Cassie Lynn said. “The whole town is happy that your sister moved here to be with us, but I imagine you all back in her hometown do miss her.”
“That we do. But I’m glad she’s found a new home among such fine, caring people as I’ve met here in Turnabout.”
Cassie Lynn took each child by the hand. “Time for us to be getting home. But don’t worry—we’ll be seeing them again real soon.”
Once they’d gone, Lizzie turned to her. “Is that the woman Hank is currently courting?”
Courting was definitely not the word she’d use. “It’s not my place to speak of Hank’s personal business,” she said primly. “I probably shouldn’t have said as much as I did already.”
Then she changed the subject. “What did you think of Chloe and Alex?”
“They seemed like sweet children. Alex is protective of his sister, as you mentioned in your letters. But Chloe doesn’t seem quite as rebellious as I’d expected based on your letters.”
“She’s softened some since she arrived. Now she’s more resigned than outright belligerent.”
“I see she’s made a friend—I’m certain that’s helped.”
“Lily’s a sweet girl and she’s really taken a liking to Chloe.”
Lizzie linked arms with Janell as they moved to the door. “So tell me more about this ‘indoor picnic’ you have planned for tomorrow. Exactly what activities, other than eating, did you have in mind for us?”
As they stood in the school yard together, watching over the remaining children and discussing plans for Saturday, Janell found herself dwelling on thoughts of Cassie Lynn and her upcoming marriage to Hank.
How could she bear to stand aside and watch that happen?
* * *
Janell sat off to one side of the dining room, happily playing with little Olivia while Lizzie stood in the middle of the room, directing her husband and a frazzled-looking hotel manager on how to rearrange the tables so that everyone could sit together.
Hank, accompanied by the children and Cassie Lynn, arrived before things were arranged to her sister’s satisfaction, and he quickly made the introductions then rolled up his sleeves to help the men do Lizzie’s bidding.
By the time the matter of the tables was settled, it was time to eat.
The meal became a large, loud affair, the kind Janell remembered with such longing from her childhood. The children sat with the adults, the food and conversation flowed freely and stories were exchanged. Janell made sure Chloe sat across from Lizzie so that she could observe how this other deaf individual lived with such exuberance.
Wilfred and even Elliott could sign as easily as they spoke, and they instinctively spoke in a manner that facilitated the reading of their lips.
Once the meal was over Lizzie stood to get everyone’s attention. “Nelly and I have a surprise for you. When we were children, one of our favorite things to do during the days leading up to Christmas was build gingerbread houses. And we used to compete to see who could build the prettiest and fanciest.”
“Who won?” Alex asked.
“My mama,” Elliott said with supreme confidence. “She makes one for me every year and they’re the best.”
Janell smiled. “She does make very colorful houses.”
Lizzie ignored their side conversations. “Today we’re going to build our houses together for the first time in a very long while. And we want you children to help us. What do you think?”
The children immediately voiced their support for the project.
Janell took up the announcement. “Lizzie and I already baked the gingerbread this morning, and we also stopped at the mercantile yesterday and picked up gumdrops, licorice whips, candy canes and other candies we can use for decorations.”
Alex was practically bouncing in his seat in excitement.
Lizzie tapped a finger against her chin. “I think I should like Chloe and Elliott to be my helpers.”
“Then I shall have Alex and Cassie Lynn,” Janell said quickly.
“And what about us menfolk?” Hank asked.
Janell spread her hands. “We only have enough gingerbread for two houses, but you two can be our judges if you like.”
“Now, that sounds like a thorny proposition if I ever heard one.” Wilfred glanced Hank’s way. “Why don’t the two of us see if there’s more of that apple pecan pie in the kitchen.”
Hank gave Janell a wink as he got up to follow Wilfred.
Now, what in the world was she supposed to make of that?