Jenny's Choice (Apple Creek Dreams #3) by Patrick E. Craig Page A

paper. When he turned it over, Jenny could see that it was a photograh, wrinkled and stained. A young Japanese soldier stood at attention in full dress uniform. Seated next to him was a beautiful Japanese woman with a small child in her lap. She was looking up at the man with love and admiration in her eyes. A tiny smile on her face broke the formality of the photo.
    “I took this off the body of the sniper after we shot him. I’ve had it with me every day since then. It reminds me always that Jesus was right when He said killing is wrong. This young wife never saw her husband again, and the little boy grew up without a father. I carried a lot of guilt for many years—until I found out that Jesus would carry the guilt for me. But it still doesn’t make what I did right.”
    Reuben looked down at the photo again. Jenny watched as a shadow passed over her papa’s face. Jerusha came in from the kitchen and put her arm on her husband’s shoulder.
    “I think that’s enough for tonight, Jenny. Your papa wants to help you, but I know that in all of us there are some wounds that never quite heal. He will talk to you again, but not tonight.”
    Reuben looked up gratefully and pulled a handkerchief from his shirt pocket. He blew his nose and then got up and walked into the kitchen. Jenny heard him clinking some cups around in the cupboard.
    “Is there any coffee made, Jerusha?”
    Jenny went into the kitchen and came up behind her daed and slipped her arms around his waist.
    “Thank you, Papa. I know that was hard for you, and I won’t ask you any more about it.”
    Reuben turned and took Jenny’s face in his hands. Jenny could see the strong emotion working in his face.
    “No, Jenny, I want you to know what happened. I’ve never told anyone about that last battle, and I need to put it to rest. You and your mother and I will sit down soon, and I’ll tell you all about it. Just not tonight.”
    Jenny nodded. “Thank you for helping me, Papa. I think it will be a good story, and I’m praying that it may help others who went through some of the things our family did.”
    “Then you will need to write the story of you and Jonathan too, dochter .”
    “Maybe someday, Papa. But I don’t think I’m quite ready to tell it yet. It’s too soon.”
    “Well, I hope you don’t keep your pain locked up as long as I have, Jenny.”
    Jenny picked up her pad and paper and went to her room to type up her notes. She sat at her desk and looked at what she had written. She thought about what it would be like to tell Jonathan’s story. Then she put her head down on the desk and cried.

C HAPTER F OURTEEN
    Uncovering

    J ENNY AND J EREMY SAT AT their table in the back of the small coffee shop around the corner from the Wooster library. Jenny’s latest chapter was spread out in front of Jeremy, who was going over it with the dreaded red pen. Jenny sat and sipped her coffee and thought about the friendship that was developing between Jeremy and her. Over the weeks, as they worked on the book, they had created a neutral territory where they could spend time together without any complications. But the growing closeness of their relationship was troubling to Jenny. In a way she felt as if she were being an unfaithful wife. But then…
    Someday I have to come to grips with the fact that I’m not a wife anymore.
    She tried to look at the positive side of their relationship. Jeremy was handsome, engaging, and very solicitous of Jenny, yet when it came to writing, he was a consummate expert and uncompromising editor. So as far as she could see, their relationship was strictly a professional one. But he was a man and she was a woman…
    Don’t even go there, Jenny Hershberger!
    She waited anxiously while he finished looking at the last pages.
    “Well, how am I doing?” she asked when he looked up from his editing.
    “You’ve got a good chapter here, but it needs more meat. I think the whole idea of an Amish man who goes to war is