Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(39)

“Are we sure nobody else is trapped?” Hannah asked. “I know you said the Reverend told you people had checked the farm but nobody had been to Wilfred’s farm.”

“It was just beyond the gully and I said I would check it, also the others we checked”

“I didn’t know that. I didn’t mean to criticise you.”

“You’re very ....” Seth paused.

“Untrusting? Thoughtless? Stupid?”

“Sweet.”

“Sweet. I’ve never been called that before, well, except by my mother and I thought she was being soppy the times she said it. Now I.” She emphasised the I. “Think it was sweet of her to say it because I never have been sweet. I’ve taken everything for granted really.”

“I think I’ve taken everything for granted too, and your mother is right. You are sweet.”

“I’ll go and change,” Hannah said and felt rather self conscious after she had washed and put on Seth’s pajamas. She had to roll them up her legs because they were far too long and she felt embarrassed for him to see her. Leaving her clothes in a pile in the washroom she made her way out but he did not look at her when she came through and she dived under the covers when she reached the bed he had made up.

He took a little while in the wash room. While he was there she looked round. At the other end of the barn through a door were the horses which had settled down, and Seth had obviously cleared up because everything smelt sweet and clean. The poultry were in another shed, he had told her, and he liked to keep the animals inside at night, which included the cows in another division beyond the horses.

It was a huge barn and well cared for. He did the work himself, he had told her on the way to the barn, because he couldn’t afford to employ anyone. However, his friend Jason would come sometimes if there was something big to do and he would pay him. She could help him now, she had thought before the inevitable truth returned. She was not going to be his wife.

He walked through with the dress and hung it on a couple of hooks which were in a beam, with the petticoat beside it and her other undergarments hidden behind it out of sight. She shouldn’t have left them, she thought, but it was too late now. It wouldn’t get too cold, he told her, so everything should be dry in the morning.

He slid under his covers and Hannah noticed that he had a Book next to him. It was a Bible, he told her when she asked, and he wondered if she would like him to read to her. Or else she could read to him, he added. She would like him to read, she said, and the ground under them shook once again.

She huddled down under the covers. Could there be another earthquake and if there was could it bring the barn down around them and also Seth’s house? She mustn’t think of it and she mustn’t show the fear which sometimes seemed to engulf her. Twenty seven people had died and why should she be spared?

“It’s just the shaking that comes after an earthquake,” Seth said, looking across at her.

“Yes.” There was another shake which was a bit more violent than the first one. He rolled over in his bedclothes right next to her as he noticed her shivering and put his arms round her to hold her tightly.

“It will go away soon,” he said. “They’re not coming so often now.”

“No. I’m sorry. I’m being a baby.”

“You’re not a baby. You’re the bravest lady I know. Do you want me to hold you for a bit?”

“Yes, please.”

“What shall I read?”

“I don’t know the Bible very well,” Hannah said. “I don’t really know God very well either.”

“”When I was younger I didn’t bother too much about God,” Seth replied. “He was way down on my importance scale.”

“Importance scale?” Hannah smiled.

“Yes. Then a couple of years ago my mother became very ill and I was terrified she was going to die. I don’t see her that often but she has been the greatest mother out. My father died a few years ago and I missed him a lot. I prayed to God and told Him I would follow Him if he made my mother better and I started to read my Bible. I read in John chapter one verse twelve that to as many as received Jesus He gave the right to become children of God. So I received Him and told Him He must do what He wanted about my mother.”

“And she got better?”

“Yes. She got better.”

“I’ve never done that,” Hannah said. “I didn’t know you needed to. How do you do it?”

“You just pray and tell Jesus you receive Him. I’ve read the Bible quite a lot since and realised that we need our sins forgiven because sin separates us from God. Jesus died on the cross in punishment for our sins and He forgives us when we belong to Him.”

“I want to do that,” Hannah said. “I’ve done a lot of lying lately and I need Him to forgive me for that. I also left home without telling anyone, as I told you.”

“So have I. You’ve made me realise how wrong I’ve been.” Seth moved away from her a bit. “I have asked God to forgive me and I know He will. I read in Romans that He credits us with righteousness but I do want to do what He wants.”

“I’ll pray and ask for forgiveness and tell Jesus I want to receive Him,” Hannah said. “Shall I do it out loud?”