The Healer by Sharon Sala

nails scratching against the old wooden floor.
    As the mouse neared the door, Jonah squatted briefly and held out his hand. The mouse ran right into Jonah’s palm.
    Jonah knew the courage it took for the mouse to come out from hiding. For such a small animal, it had a very brave heart. The least he could do was give the little fellow a ride to the chicken house.
    “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said, and walked out with the mouse in his hand.
    Bridie glanced up at Luce. “Where do you reckon he’s going with that varmint?”
    Luce walked to the door, then out on the porch, watching this strange man as he walked toward Bridie’s chicken house.
    “It appears that he’s taking the mouse to the chicken house himself.”
    “And this is the man you want me to hire?” Bridie muttered.
    Luce turned to her, then smiled and shrugged. “At least you know you’ll have the best cared for critters on the mountain.” A twinkle came and went in Bridie’s eyes, but Luce knew her old friend was sold.
    “We’ll see,” Bridie said, waiting for Jonah to come back.
    A few minutes later, Jonah returned. He got as far as the front door and stopped. “Am I still welcome here?”
    “Luce said you’re looking for work,” Bridie said.
    Jonah glanced at Luce, saw the flush on her cheeks, then shifted his focus back to Bridie.
    “Yes, ma’am. I need a job. It’s getting too late in the year to stay on the road.”
    Bridie frowned. “Don’t you have any family?”
    “No.”
    “Not anywhere?”
    “No.”
    “Are you on the run from the law?”
    “No, ma’am.”
    “Are you lying to me?”
    “I don’t lie.”
    Bridie crossed her arms over her chest. “Can you milk a cow?”
    Jonah resisted the urge to grin. “Yes.”
    “I can’t pay you much, but you can board here for the winter if you don’t get in my way.”
    “There’s also the extra room where I’m staying,” Luce said, and then sighed. Why didn’t she just come right out and ask him to stay? She didn’t want to be alone.
    Jonah stared from one woman to the other. Obviously the decision was his to make. He knew that it would be easier to stay with Bridie, since the job would be here.
    But then there was Luce. She was afraid. He didn’t know why, but he knew she felt hunted, and he could certainly empathize with that.
    “I’ll take the job and gladly,” Jonah told Bridie.
    “But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll stay with Lucia.”
    Bridie nodded. It wasn’t a surprise. If she’d been Jonah, she would have chosen the younger woman, too.
    “Fine with me. I reckon I can manage a hundred dollars a week. If that’s not enough, you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
    “It’s fine,” Jonah said.
    Bridie stifled a grin. She would have paid fifty dollars more if he’d negotiated.
    “Molly needs to be milked no later than eight in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he said.
    “Do you have a driver’s license?” she asked.
    Jonah nodded.
    “Franklin’s old pickup truck is in the shed. If you’ll take Luce to work every morning before you come up here, I’ll let you use it.”
    “I can get myself to work just fine,” Luce said.
    Bridie rolled her eyes. “If you’d had a driver’s license, I would already have given it to you to use, and you know it.”
    Luce stood her ground, but there was no way to argue with the truth. She’d never learned to drive because she’d run away from home before she’d had a chance to get her license.
    Jonah stood quietly, watching the two women fuss and feeling the love that was between them. It felt good, even though it was a vicarious experience. His father had loved him like this once. He shoved a shaky hand through his hair, then looked away, gazing out into the yard and the forest beyond.
    The sky was gray. The clouds were few and stringy as the wind pushed them along. If he squinted his eyes as he looked into the tree-lined hills and the mountains around them, he could almost