He put a stray ribbon in the book of signs to mark his place, which was still woefully near the beginning. He tried to learn on his own, but it made little sense until someone showed it to him. With Barbara’s arrival that afternoon, there had been no time for another lesson, so… He darted a glance at the little cot where Elsie slept, a chubby arm curled around her rag doll. An image to make him smile. And the smile just kept on going when the door opened and Cora stepped in with a gust of cold air. He pushed himself up to greet her properly. She returned his smile and his kiss, and nestled into his arms…but tension rode her shoulders and knotted her back, more than it had any other night since Marietta insisted on her resting every day. “Something wrong, honey?” Cora gave him a squeeze and pressed her face to his chest. “No. Not really.” But she held him tighter still. “I ran into Mr. Dev today is all, and it shook me up some. I had Elsie with me.” His breath eased out.
