A soldier who never wanted to fire a shot. A war that took his brothers in three different directions. A God he no longer trusts. Hans Korhonen carries all of it into Matters of the Heart, and you can listen to his story free right now on YouTube.
This scene never made it into the final book. I wove pieces of it into the story instead, but pulled out on its own, it drops you straight into Hans’s world in seconds.
Air escaped Hans’s nose in a huff. He’d been a fool to request a non-combat unit. How could he abide by taking life, human or animal, even if it meant freeing the slaves? He did not know his request would place him in a position to choose if these men lived or died by his hand. His role was futile. Even if they survived, they would never be the same—neither would he.
How many lives had been lost in this war between states, friends, and family? An image of his brothers flashed across his mind. Dried blood marked his face as he struggled to wipe the vision away. No word came from his three siblings. Johann and Otto had accepted orders to fight at the first opportunity. Gathering what guns, musket balls, and buckshot pellets they’d not needed to leave behind to keep the women safe on the farm in their absence, they’d gone for training before they had time for proper goodbyes.
The Union quickly found a place for his brother Franc to serve as a cook. Hans felt the beginning of an unfamiliar laugh before it turned into a cynical smirk. If Franc hadn’t killed anyone with his biscuits, the Army had likely ordered him to make more so they could use them for ammunition.
Hans is the youngest of the Finnish brothers introduced in Desire of My Heart. He builds a unique friendship with Thomas during the family’s stay in Shumard Oak Bend and gives the boy a carved gift that becomes one of my favorite threads in the book. Readers of Desire of My Heart will remember Gerta the toy cow and Thomas’s gift for spinning a tale.
Hans’s chapters were hard to write. War left marks on him that go deeper than the physical, and readers carrying similar wounds from combat or other trauma may recognize pieces of his struggle. He has a long road ahead before he can trust life, or God, again. Here’s a spoiler. God shows up. 😉
Katie deserves her own introduction. More on her soon.
“If Franc hadn’t killed anyone with his biscuits, the Army had likely ordered him to make more so they could use them for ammunition.”
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More of the Story Is Waiting
If Hans and Katie pull you in, the rest of the series is ready when you are. The first books, along with a 2.5 novella and an exclusive Christmas short film, are also free to watch on YouTube. Two more prequels live just behind the scenes. Before We Belong, a Christmas engagement story, and Deep in My Heart open up once you join my newsletter. Sign up and I’ll send you a code that unlocks both.
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