Gift of Wonder by Lenora Worth Page A

told, that’s why my kids don’t come to visit much. No room and too depressing.” Then she looked over at him, her eyes misty. “Mister, if you’re here to rebuild, I say more power to you. I might not be able to afford one of your houses, but I’d sure love to see some of these young families in good, solid homes. It’s too late for me, I reckon, but they deserve better.”
    Jonah’s heart beat with renewed commitment. Hetouched his hand to Betty Nell’s. “I’ll explain everything at the town meeting, but just between you and me, Miss Betty Nell, I’m about to make you a promise.”
    She looked both hopeful and doubtful. “What’s that, son?”
    â€œI promise you’ll be in one of my houses by this time next year.”
    â€œYou can’t make that kind of promise,” she said, tears springing up in her eyes. “No one can.”
    Jonah picked up his briefcase. “I just did and when I make a promise, I don’t forget it.” He reached out to shake her hand. “Do you believe me?”
    Betty Nell took his hand and he felt the tremors in her grip. “I’d like to believe you. But I can’t afford to go along on false hope.”
    She sounded a lot like Alice. This town needed real hope. Jonah prayed to that end that he might be the one to offer it. And it occurred to him that it had been a long time since he’d sent up an earnest prayer. But this one was earnest and urgent. He wanted it to happen.
    â€œI won’t let you down,” he said, smiling over at her. “Just wait and see.”
    She watched him as he headed for the door, her old eyes bright and misty. “I’ll see you around, then.”
    â€œI’ll be back to check out some more history books,” he said, waving goodbye.
    After the door shut, Betty Nell finished picking up the books off the table, then called out to her last customer. “You can come out now, Alice. He’s gone.”
    Alice slinked around a stout bookshelf and stared across the tidy room at Betty Nell. “Do you believe him?”
    Betty Nell shrugged. “I’ve gone about as low as a person can go and still have hope, honey. So yes, I think I do believe him. I’m gonna try to believe him because I’ve prayed for some sort of new beginning. And that’s not easy for an old lady. But God doesn’t always allow the easy way out. When we walk the hard road, we usually find our way home. And it’s all the more sweet because of the journey.”
    Alice pushed at her curls, thinking Betty Nell should have been a writer instead of a librarian. She had such a way with being philosophical and smart. Alice had always considered herself to be a professional, but apparently she could only come up with odd and alarming ways to get her stories these days.
    She’d been sneaky and secretive with this particular subject, eavesdropping behind a bookshelf. But it had happened by accident. She’d come hopping through the shortcut from her office to the library, taking the back entrance just as she’d done a hundred times before, only to look up the hallway and see Jonah sitting there absorbed in a big history book.
    And she’d panicked. Yes, she was supposed to be shadowing the man, but he hadn’t called today and she hadn’t found the courage to call him since their lunch had ended so abruptly yesterday. So she’d taken care of some other business around the office and set up times to interview other sources for the story. It wasn’t her fault that he’d been sitting there in the library and hadn’t noticed her in the dark back hallway. She’d done the only thing she could—she’d hidden behind one of the shelves and put a finger to her lips to warn Betty Nell away.
    Not so she could eavesdrop, but just so she could find what she needed and leave, quietly and quickly, before she got into another round