Healing Hearts

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Letter to Reader

Chapter One

“T essa? Tessa?”

Tessa Stanridge heard her name and turned on her knees to locate her visitor. The soft ground, still slightly damp in the early morning hours, gave her easy access to pivot. She’d been watching her turtle build a nest for her soon-to-be eggs in her little fenced-in area. She loved to spend mornings outside. And her friend knew that well. That was obviously why she’d come to the backyard. “Back here, Dr. McCade,” Tessa said.

She had taken quite nicely to the offbeat woman—a woman who reminded Tessa of herself in some ways. Except that she wasn’t a doctor like Susan “Freckles” McCade, nor was she married. She was simply a school-teacher working to eke out a living in the town of Hill Creek, Texas. A peaceful town, quiet, a place to heal and recover.

Freckles McCade came around the corner, hands curled in the pockets of her sweater which she held against her body to fight off the chill of the windy, late springlike weather they were experiencing. Her red curls bounced and her freckles—where she’d gotten her nickname from—stood out against her pale skin. A huge grin spread across her face when she spotted Tessa. “I’m so glad I found you. I just might have some information for you about a summer job.”

That was Freckles. She always spoke what was on her mind. Tessa smiled. “Good morning to you too, Susan.” After pushing herself up from the ground, Tessa stood and brushed off her hands. Her turtle would be all right for now. She’d check on her again later. “Come in and have some tea.”

Freckles chuckled, her cheeks turning pink. “Don’t mind if I do.”

Tessa started toward the back door. “Careful of your step,” she warned. “We don’t want you falling in your condition.”

Freckles sighed dramatically. “I’m only a few weeks pregnant, Tessa. And stop referring to my pregnancy,” she chided with a chuckle. “If you keep treating me differently, everyone is going to figure it out.”

Tessa hurried up the wooden steps and pulled open the creaking door. She shoved it back, giving Freckles time to catch it as she entered the kitchen. Crossing the dark wooden floor she paused to rinse her hands at the old-fashioned porcelain sink.

Sam the parrot waddled over, his toenails clicking, his green and red feathers flapping as he perched himself upon the nozzle of running water. Moving the parrot to the side, Tessa paused to give him fresh water and peel a banana for him. After cutting it up, she slipped it into the holder on the large wooden table that was set up with perches and ropes and all kinds of paraphernalia just for Sam.

She then put on water to boil. “I’m not treating you differently,” Tessa said lightly to Freckles.

Seeing Freckles attempting to warn off a rabbit that was insistent on nibbling at her toes where she sat, she chuckled. Going over, she seated herself at the rickety wooden table and nudged the rabbit’s chew toy toward it. The rabbit promptly gave up Freckles’s toes and happily went to work on his toy. “I treat all women in your condition the same.”

Freckles sighed loudly. “Okay, Tessa. You win.”

Tessa breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone knew how clumsy Freckles could be. The only one who would be surprised that Freckles was pregnant would be Freckles herself when she told everyone. It was obvious that Freckles carried a child. The woman glowed and her hand kept going to her abdomen. Her husband, Julian, walked around like the baby had already been born, pride shining off his face and his gaze constantly on his wife. And he was so careful with her it wasn’t even laughable. If he could get away with packing her away in a padded room for her entire pregnancy, Tessa wouldn’t doubt that Julian would do it.

Envy touched Tessa’s heart. How she wanted children. How she wanted to care for someone, to nurture, to love. But she never would have a tiny one to hold.

Freckles touched a letter lying on her table. “Another one from Stan?”

Tessa glanced down at the letter. “Yeah. He has sent me a card weekly since Christmas.”

“And you’re just friends?” Freckles asked, amused.

The sound of the whistle from the teapot turned Tessa’s attention to the stove. Tessa rose and crossed back to finish the tea. The echoing sound of her feet on the wooden floor made the room seem hollow and lonely. But that was how things were. She thought about Stan, how much he reminded her of someone else she’d known from her past. Just not really her type. “Yeah, just friends,” she murmured to Freckles.

“Is he still threatening to come out here one day and sweep you off on a date?”

Pouring two cups of tea, she listened as Freckles paused to talk to the horned toad in a cage near the kitchen table.

While Tessa added sugar to the tea, the parrot, Sam, came to examine what she was doing before returning to his perch. “He tells me that every three or four weeks.”

“He just doesn’t let go, does he?” Freckles asked, then chuckled.

Carrying the two cups, Tessa went to the table and seated herself, handing a cup to Freckles. “Evidently not. But Freckles, no ideas of romanticism, please. He seems like a nice person but I’m just not interested in dating anyone. Now, how can I help you?” Freckles thought everyone should be married since she’d married. She was a matchmaker. Tessa didn’t have the courage to tell Freckles she had been engaged to someone like Stan a long time ago, before the earthquake, before the accident… She was still healing emotionally from that.

Freckles took a slow sip of tea. “This herbal blend is wonderful,” she said. Closing her eyes, she smiled and inhaled the scent before taking another sip. Finally, she set her cup aside and met Tessa’s gaze.

“I like my herbal teas,” Tessa murmured dryly, knowing the townsfolk couldn’t understand her desire for herbal tea and the fact that she didn’t eat meat. Except for Freckles. Freckles had never questioned her eating habits or drinking habits—or lack thereof. Freckles was a dear friend she could trust with almost anything.

“I like your herbal teas now—especially now! Now, about that job.”

Tessa listened. She had no choice. She was desperate for a job though no one except Freckles and maybe her past friends from California knew—those that still knew she was on this earth, that was. She hadn’t told Leah about it, though. And Leah was one of her closest friends here in Hill Creek. Fellow teacher at the local elementary school, she and Leah both taught the children during the year and found other work during the summer. Usually they held tutoring jobs.

“Have you found anything major yet to help your situation?”

“I have one or two people that are interested in hiring me to work with their children.”

Freckles shook her head. “They wouldn’t bring in enough for you to survive. You are way in debt from moving out here. You need cash and you need it fast to save this house. And I think I’ve found the answer.”

Tessa perked up. Money to save the house? Just this morning, watching her turtles out back, Tessa was sure that by August she would be moving back to California where she could find a better-paying job. Old friends had offered several times to find her a job back in California if she ever came back. But God had led her here for a reason and she really didn’t want to go back. For several reasons, including there were too many earthquakes, too many people and too many dark memories. She was happy here—except for the massive medical bills she had. It had gotten to the point that if she didn’t get more money soon, she was going to lose everything. She wouldn’t allow that, which meant moving back to where she knew there was a job waiting for her—a well-paying job.

Anything would be better right now than considering that. “Go on, Freckles, I’m listening.”

Freckles grinned at Tessa. Then she sobered. “There is a man that needs tutoring. It’s a rather private thing. His family doesn’t want the town to know about his reading problem.”

Tessa nodded. She well understood male pride and illiteracy. “What made him come to you?” she asked, curious.

The wind ruffled the bright yellow curtains, bringing in the morning smell of dew and lilacs. The parrot squawked and moved closer to the window, bobbing at the curtains. Absently, Tessa snapped her fingers and motioned for Sam to settle back on his perch.

Missy, her cat, wandered in and wove in and out of Tessa’s legs before jumping into her lap and stretching. Tessa shifted, adjusting herself so Missy had the room she sought. Stretching her paws, she finally settled into Tessa’s lap.

“He didn’t come to me, actually. He’s a patient and he’s currently in occupational therapy.”

“Therapy?”

Tessa stroked Missy, tapping her nose when she eyed the parrot. The cat objected by flexing her claws in Tessa’s leg then relaxed for petting.

“He’s had symptoms that indicate he has had a minor cerebral hemorrhage.”