Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

And Matt...
Hannah's stomach churned as she folded the letter, placed it back in the envelope, and returned it to its
place in Tom's Bible. Then she spent the rest of the day waiting for Matt to come home, praying he'd
forgive her.
She went to him the minute he walked through the door. When he saw her, he set his briefcase down in the
entryway, and his eyes told her she had nothing to worry about. He forgave her even before she asked.
That was the kind of man he was.
"I'm sorry." Hannah took his hands in hers and stood so their toes were touching. Her voice was thick with
pain over what she'd done. "I've...I've been awful."
His arms intertwined with hers and he hugged her for a long while. "It's no one's fault, Hannah." His
words were a sad whisper, and he pulled back so he could see her face. "Anger is contagious." He
lowered his chin, their eyes locked. "When I left here earlier, I felt just like you. Mad at the state, mad at
Grace's grandmother." He gave her a sad smile. "Mad at you for being mad at me."
Hannah's insides melted. How could she have been angry at
214 Matt? When all he'd ever done was try to help her? She bit the inside of her lower lip, then let her
mouth hang open for a moment, searching for the words. "I took your advice."
He raised an eyebrow, and she giggled, breaking the tension
of the moment. "You.. .Hannah Bronzan...took my advice?
Should I call the press?"
She spread her hand on his chest and pushed him with her
fingertips. "Stop. I'm serious."
"Okay" His smile faded, but the light in his eyes remained.
"What advice?"
"I found Tom's Bible and read the letter, the one from Sgt.
Miller."
"With Tom's message, right?" Matt's voice lacked any element
of smugness. "About forgiveness?"
"Right." She hung her head for a minute and then looked at
him again. "You were right about all of it. There's no one to be mad
at, just a-" tears burned at the corners of her eyes-'just a great
big hole where that little girl still lives." She nuzzled her face
against his neck. "I miss her so much, Matt."
"I know." He worked his fingers into her back and stroked his
hand over her hair. "We all miss her."
Hannah sniffed and a single chuckle came from her throat.
"I'm tired of crying all the time."
Matt shifted his head and brought his lips to hers. "I'm tired
of it, too."
She kissed him then, savoring the feel of his body against
hers. She hadn't felt this alive since the day Grace left. When the
kiss ended, Hannah whispered against Matt's cheek. "What are we
supposed to do? Where do we go from here?"
Their noses brushed against each other and Matt caught her
gaze once more, his face masked in peace. "We take Tom's advice.
We forgive and we move on."
212
"So, you forgive me?"