A Season of Love by Kim Watters

Author:Kim Watters
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2013-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Ethan’s first Thanksgiving back on American soil was turning out to be a good one—aside from the mention of Afghanistan over dinner. Great food, great company, and his favorite football team had won by scoring a field goal in overtime. Kristen’s family had come up with solutions to some of his needs at the sanctuary, and something had shifted between him and Holly. God was on his team.

Winded from the physical activity of playing football with the guys, he leaned over, placed his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. He smiled at Holly as she looked at him through the kitchen window. Her serious expression put him on edge. He broke the contact and glanced in Cameron’s direction and saw her son approaching with a basketball. Everything was good there. A quick surveillance of the rest of the yard reassured him that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Something was wrong, but he had no clue as to its origins. Sometimes he just couldn’t figure women out.

“Can I ask you something, Mr. P.?” Cameron motioned him away from the other people in the backyard.

“Sure.” He glanced at the window again, but Holly had disappeared. Ethan righted himself and they headed toward the shed, where Tony had hung a basketball hoop.

Cameron took a shot, but the ball hit the backboard and dropped to the ground. Ethan retrieved the ball and bounced it between his two hands before he lobbed it into the air. The sensation felt strange at first, but he realized he didn’t need all his fingers to shoot a basket. The ball rimmed the hoop and dropped in.

Cameron retrieved the ball, took another shot and missed.

Ethan knew what he was going to do with the open spot next to the barn where the cement had already been laid. “Next time you’re at the farm, I’ll teach you how to shoot. I don’t think we have time today.”

Cameron missed another basket.

Ethan retrieved the ball again and lobbed it back to Cameron. “You’re not concentrating. What’s bugging you?”

“I don’t know.” He dribbled the ball with more force than necessary. “School. Everything. My mom.”

At the mention of Holly, the Thanksgiving meal became lead in his stomach. She had been rather distracted lately, and even today her attention had wandered during the meal. Her serious expression a few minutes ago bothered him more than it should. Was there something else wrong? “What’s up with your mom?”

“I know she’s lonely. She doesn’t laugh anymore, and all she does is work. I wish she’d be happy again. Like she used to be.”

“What do you mean?” Ethan lunged for the ball before it slipped past him. Cameron’s aim needed work. This time, instead of giving the ball back to Holly’s son, he dribbled it himself, the steady beat keeping rhythm with his heart.

“She was always singing and laughing, and she told the most amazing jokes. She was always smiling and cooking and there for me—it’s just different now. I want my old mom back.

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