Conversation between the three others at the table swirled around her while she tried to eat what she’d taken, but her appetite had long since fled. A touch on her arm drew her attention from the food she was pushing around on her plate. She looked down at Caden, waiting for him to begin to sign something.
Instead, he left his hand on her arm, his eyes asking all his questions. From very young, he’d learned how to decipher her expressions and body language. With it just being the two of them so much, he’d always been able to pick up on her moods. And right then, she knew he sensed her unease…her fear.
He lifted his hand from her arm and signed to her. Why scared, Mama?
Underlying the question in his eyes was a bit of anxiety as well. She hadn’t wanted that for him. She had to do a better job of keeping her emotions tamped down. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and then tried to ease his worries. Not scared, baby. Just thinking about something. But you don’t need to worry. Mama will take care of it.
She could tell he still wasn’t totally convinced but eventually, after a quick glance at the man sitting on his other side, Caden turned his attention back to his food.
“Everything okay, Alana?”
“Everything’s great.” Alana gave her friend a quick smile. “You’re such a great cook, Beth.”
A tense silence fell over the table, and Alana knew she wasn’t the only one responsible for it. She shot a glance at Justin and saw that as Beth had promised, he had polished off a whole lot of the roast. But now he set his knife and fork across the empty plate and turned his gaze to his sister.
“What’s going on, Beth?” When she didn’t answer right away, Alana saw Justin shift his attention to his brother-in-law. “Dan?”
The other man cleared his throat and took a drink of water before looking at Justin. Alana held her breath, knowing what was to come. She wanted to move Caden away from Justin, uncertain of how the large, muscular man was going to react.
“Someone tell me what’s going on.” The firm tone of Justin’s voice brooked no further delays.
He glanced at her as if she would be the one to tell him. At the sight of the barely contained frustration in his gaze, Alana felt a vice tighten around her throat. Would the frustration flash into anger and then into violence? Right then all those emotions seemed to be rolling off him in waves.
“Uh, a few months ago Beth and I noticed something about Genevieve—”
“Something’s wrong with Genevieve?”
Since her gaze was already on him, Alana saw the momentary panic on Justin’s face.
“Yes.” This time it was Beth who spoke. “She’s experiencing hearing loss.”
“Hearing loss?” Alana saw Justin’s gaze shoot to Caden then back to Beth. “She’s deaf?”
She slipped her arm around Caden’s shoulders. When she looked down at him, she could see the confusion on his face. She’d already explained to Caden about Genevieve’s diagnosis, so when she signed that they were telling Justin about it, he understood immediately what was going on.
Both Beth and Daniel nodded in response to Justin’s question, but it was Daniel who gave him more information. “We’d been noticing over the last several months that she wasn’t responding as she should to noises…sounds. When we took her in for her two-year appointment, we mentioned it to the doctor. Since then, we’ve been taking her for a variety of different tests.”
Justin crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Alana could see emotion swirling in his eyes, but his face looked like it had been carved from granite. She noticed that he still hadn’t looked at Genevieve. Was he going to reject the little girl over this?
Beth lifted her chin. “We wanted to have some answers before we told you. There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing any of us can do at this point beyond accepting the diagnosis and adjusting to the new normal of our life.”
Justin’s lips thinned as his brows drew together. “Why did she go deaf? She wasn’t born that way.”
“They don’t know. We’ve gone through genetic testing and all kinds of other tests for her and still don’t have a definite answer to that,” Daniel explained. His jaw tightened, and Alana knew he was trying to keep his emotions in check.
She’d come to know Daniel and Beth well during the past few weeks. Beth had seen her at church signing in the service and then later with Caden and had approached her. She still remembered seeing the weary, sad and confused look on Beth’s face when she’d asked her about Caden’s deafness. Alana had offered to come and talk with them both about her experiences parenting a deaf child.
Of course, she hadn’t known then that Beth had a brother who would trigger memories she’d rather not have.
“I can’t accept that. They must have some explanation. A child doesn’t just go deaf for no apparent reason.”
Beth laid her hand on his arm. “We’re still looking for answers, trying to figure out what has happened to her. But in the meantime, we’re doing what we can to make sure we can still communicate with her and help her communicate with us.”
Justin’s gaze landed on Alana with such force her lungs constricted, holding the air there captive. He stared at her then looked at Caden before turning his attention back to Beth.
“Alana knows sign language. You might have seen her signing during the services at church. We’ve asked her to help us learn it and to also begin to teach Genevieve.” Beth hesitated then said, “I’d like you to learn as well.”
He shot another look at her, and Alana found herself hoping he’d say no.
“I want a second opinion. If it’s money, I can—“
“No.” Daniel spoke softly but firmly. “We’ve had second and third opinions, Justin. And money won’t fix this. Nothing will.”
Justin pushed back from the table and got to his feet. “I need to go.”
“Justin, please,” Beth pleaded as she and Daniel also stood. “Don’t leave. Talk to me.”
“I have to go.” Justin turned and disappeared through the doorway.
Beth’s shoulders slumped as she looked at her husband. “Well, that went about as well as I expected.”
Daniel put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Alana felt a flash of envy at the gentle way he gathered Beth into his arms and stroked her hair, whispering to her. She wondered what it would be like to have that kind of tenderness in a relationship.
There was a sudden movement in the doorway, and Justin stepped back into the room. He wore his leather jacket again and had the duffle bag he’d arrived with in his hand. With a grim set to his features, he walked to where Genevieve sat and dropped into a crouch next to her high chair. The little girl smiled at him, and Alana saw pain flash across his face as he leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead.
Then he went to where his sister and brother-in-law stood and rested his free hand on Daniel’s shoulder as he bent to kiss the top of Beth’s head. “I’ll call you.”
And then he was gone.
For the first time since Justin had walked into the house and dominated it with his presence, Alana felt the tightness in her chest ease, allowing her to take a deep breath. Somehow she was going to have to tell Beth there was no way she could help her brother learn sign language.
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Availabl
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by Kimberly Rae Jordan
(Christian Romances)
~*~ The McKinleys ~*~
This Time with Love
Forever My Love
When There Is Love
~*~ Home to Collingsworth ~*~
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Home Away From Home
Love Makes a House a Home
The Long Road Home
Her Heart, His Home
Coming Home
~*~ Those Karlsson Boys ~*~
Waiting for Rachel
Worth the Wait
The Waiting Heart
Marrying Kate
Faith, Hope & Love
A Little Bit of Love:
A Collection of Christian Romance Short Stories
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Guarding Her Heart: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 1) Page 25