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And the Heart is Brave

Chapter 14

"Allie, finish up there, supper's almost ready," Nathan Grant informed his niece at dinnertime that day. Supper was almost ready. Just beans mostly, and some potatoes and biscuits. But only half-burned biscuits today, Nathan thought ruefully, and half-burned was better than all-burned which was the normal state of his cooking.

"What is it you're working on?" Nathan came to the table to look over Allie's shoulder as she sat at the table, working on some paper in front of her. "School work?" he asked.

"No," Allie shook her head, finishing up a few lines before lifting the page in the air to show him. "It's an invitation for Mrs. Thornton," she announced proudly.

"An invitation?" Nathan asked. "For what?" he gulped, wondering what Allie was inviting Elizabeth to.

"To dinner here. All the kids are doing it," she told him. And all the kids were. Taking turns inviting the teacher around to dinner at their house. It was a real coup to have the teacher over and Allie wanted to do it too. To be like her friends. To fit in and be like them.

"Allie," Nathan cleared his throat. "Allie, I don't think that's such a good idea," he said, knowing he and Elizabeth were still on the outs and she would not be inclined to come to his house anytime soon.

"Why not?" Allie asked, her eyes down on the invitation in front on her as she began to draw a decorative edge on it. "If you're worried about the cooking, I'll help you," she offered, knowing her uncle wasn't a very good cook.

"It's not that," Nathan said. "I just think Mrs. Thornton is a very busy lady and she won't want to come," he said, trying to let Allie down gently. "So I'd like it if you didn't invite her," he told her, refusing her permission to do so.

"But why? Is it...is it because we're not a real family?" Allie asked, turning to look at him, hesitancy in her eyes. She knew the other kids' families were different. Most of them had a mom and a dad, and brothers and sisters. Some of them just had a mom or just a dad but even still Allie knew that she and Uncle Nathan were a little different. There was just the two of them, and he wasn't her dad, just her uncle.

"Allie! Why would you say that?" Nathan asked in surprise. "Allie, of course we're a real family!" he told her emphatically.

"Then why can't I...?"

"Allie, I said no!" Nathan said, more sharply than he wanted, immediately regretting his words and his tone.

As Allie nodded and obediently put the paper aside, something like hurt in her eyes, Nathan gritted his teeth in pain. Oh, he didn't like this. That he'd hurt her. He'd always tried to be gentle with her, tender and loving, never harsh, never the way of his own upbringing and it pained him that he'd failed.

Nathan set the dinner on the table, then took his spot opposite Allie. He lay his arms straight out on the table, reaching both hands across it to her. "Come on," he gently prodded, motioning with his fingers. Obediently Allie leaned forward to place her hands in his and they both lowered their heads.

"Dear Lord, we ask you to bless this food before us," Nathan began the prayer. "We thank you for your abundance, even though it's just beans and Allie doesn't like them," he said, feeling Allie suppress a smirk across the way. "Dear Lord, I ask you to please let Allie know I'm sorry I was brusque with her. Please let her know I love her and I am thankful she puts up with me and my terrible jokes." Allie was having difficulty suppressing the smirk and she bit her lip trying to contain it. "Lord, we ask your safekeeping over us and your guidance to follow your path. In Jesus name. Amen," Nathan finished up the prayer to Allie's accompanying Amen.

Nathan looked up, meeting Allie's eyes with tenderness in his own, a small smile on his face. As Allie gave a small smile and nod back, Nathan squeezed one of her hands before letting go. "Now get to eating those beans!" he commanded playfully. "You know I don't like it when they get cold!"