“Would you like a soda or a cup of tea, Mr. Leland?”
“Josh.”
“Josh,” she amended. “I have cola and iced tea as well as hot tea.”
“Cola would be fine.”
She poured the soda into a Mickey Mouse glass, then poured a glass of iced tea into a Cinderella glass. It didn’t look to Josh like any of the glasses in the cupboard matched. She handed the soda to him and led the way to the parlor.
This room was in a little better shape than the library. The wallpaper was still intact, and a newer rug covered the oak floor. A Candyland game was on a table near the fireplace, and he nearly tripped over a small fire truck.
Eden had just sat down when a wail from upstairs echoed down the hall. She stared at Josh with appraising eyes. “May I have Katie, please? I need to see to the other baby.”
Josh felt a stab of irritation. “I’m no baby thief, Eden. I want only what’s best for Katie. Go see to the other baby. Katie and I will be right here when you get back.”
She stared a moment longer. “Are you a Christian, Josh?”
At least she cared about such things. “Since I was ten.” He held up his hand. “And an Eagle Scout. I promise you can trust me.”
She nodded. “Excuse me a moment.” She hurried from the room, and he heard her tennis shoes tread lightly on the stairs.
Josh stared at his niece. This place was like Grand Central Station. There was not a moment’s peace. The sooner he got Katie to some quiet place, the better. Katie gave his nose one last pull, then slipped from his arms and went to play with the fire truck.
Josh watched her play until Eden came back down the stairs with an infant in her arms. The baby’s tuft of hair stood straight up on end, and it was sucking its thumb.
“This is Braden,” Eden said. “Could you hold him a minute while I fix lunch?” Without waiting for a reply, she plopped the baby in his arms and hurried from the room.
Josh stared into the baby’s blue eyes. He started to pucker, and Josh hurriedly stood. “There now, don’t cry. Er—your mama will be back in a minute.” He jiggled him, and Braden gave him a shy smile. The triumph Josh felt was all out of proportion to the smile, and he shook his head at his own reaction.
Slipping a hand under the baby to adjust how he carried him, he felt a suspicious wetness. “Uh, oh,” he said. He held him away from him. Dismay swept over him at the wet stain on his shirt. Now what was he supposed to do? Holding the baby away from him like a naughty puppy, he carried him to the kitchen.
“I think he needs changed,” he told Eden.
“The diapers are in the changing table in the bathroom across the hall,” she said.
“You expect me to change him?”
Eden stopped stirring the bowl of some kind of gluey-looking stuff, and he colored at the amusement in her green eyes. “Katie isn’t potty trained yet. If you expect to spend any time with her, you’d better learn to change diapers.”
“I’ve changed diapers before,” he said stiffly. She didn’t need to know it had been thirty years ago when Mandy was a baby and he was five.
“Good. There are wipes on the changing table as well.” She went back to stirring that tasteless-looking concoction.
Josh stared at her, then shrugged and found his way to the bathroom. He laid the baby on the changing table and rolled up his sleeves. Surely it must be like riding a bike. He could do this. Gingerly, he unsnapped Braden’s sleeper. Disposable diapers. That should be easy, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about sticking the little guy with a pin.
He loosened the tabs and pulled the diaper down. The odor that met his nose made him cringe. Great. It was a dirty one. With one hand on the baby, he flipped open the box of wipes and pulled one out. Braden cooed as Josh swiped his bottom. Still keeping one hand on Braden, Josh bent to grab a clean diaper when it happened. A pale yellow arc of urine hit him squarely in the face.
Eden stood in the doorway with Katie in her arms. Her green eyes sparkled with amusement. “I can see you’ve done this often,” she said.
Chapter 3
Braden sucked contentedly on his bottle while Josh played on the floor with Katie. She had her dollies displayed for his admiration, and he had Katie’s favorite, Bubbles, on his lap with a plastic bottle stuck in its mouth. Eden sneaked a peek and tried to hide her mirth.
Eden didn’t know what to think about Josh. There was a gentleness about him in spite of his size. He seemed lonely to Eden, as though he searched for a place to call home. Of course, he’d been drifting all over the world for the past few years, so it was no wonder he seemed a bit lost.
Eden ventured another look. Katie looked a bit like him. It was in the shape of her mouth, that firm determination in her upper lip. Her eyes were shaped like his, though hers were blue. And Katie’s hands had his long fingers and well-shaped nails. She didn’t know what to do about him. He couldn’t take Katie, but he was not the kind of man to give up easily.
The bottle plopped out of Braden’s slack mouth, and Eden stood. “I’ll just pop this little fellow into his bed and be right back down.”
“I’d need to sleep too if you’d forced that concoction down my throat.”
Eden chuckled, then glanced at Katie. “You want a nap, Katie?”
Katie’s droopy eyes flew open. “No!” It was still her favorite word.
“Uncle Josh will read you a story.” Josh stood and held out his arms for Katie.
Uncle Josh. Eden frowned. He had not even asked if he might identify himself to Katie as her uncle. She would have to talk with him about what role he would be allowed to play in her young life. Suppressing a sigh, she led the way up the wide staircase. She pointed out Katie’s room to Josh then went farther down the hall and slipped Braden into his crib. He didn’t stir, so she backed out of the room and pulled the door partway shut behind her.
When she entered Katie’s room, she found Katie tucked into her bed with Josh sitting beside her. He was reading Green Eggs and Ham. Katie’s thumb was corked in her mouth, and she had one arm around her Pooh bear. Her eyes closed and didn’t open again.
“ ‘I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I Am.’ ”
Eden chuckled, and Josh looked up. His eyes, as dark as a buck’s, narrowed at her smile, but an answering one tugged at his own lips.
“She’s asleep,” Eden said.
He glanced down at his niece and nodded. Rising from the bed, he put the book on the bedside table, and they both tiptoed out of the room.
“Can we talk?” Josh asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs.
A prickle of unease ran up Eden’s spine at the somber tone. She nodded. “You want something else to drink?”
“No, I’m fine.”
His pacing made Eden’s pulse race. He was a formidable opponent, but he would soon see he couldn’t push her around. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. “Sit down, you’re giving me a headache.”
He shot her a curious look, then dropped into the worn leather armchair by the fireplace. “How are we going to work this out?”
“There’s nothing to work out. Katie is my daughter, legally and of the heart. I know this has been a shock to you. You thought you could waltz in here and take her with you, but that’s never going to happen. I’m willing to allow you to see her, though. I think it’s important for an adopted child to have access to her—her heritage.” Her voice broke, and she looked away.
He cocked his head and stared at her curiously. “Why did you say it like that?”
Eden bit her lip. “I was a foster kid myself, Josh. Somewhere out there, I have two sisters and a brother that I’ll probably never see again. I don’t want Katie to have the pain of knowing she has blood relatives she’s been ripped away from.”
“Then surely you can see she would be better off with me,” he began. He began to rummage in his briefcase. “Here, look at these financial figures.”
She held up her hand. “I
’m not interested, Josh. Katie is my daughter. I’m the one who nursed her through chicken pox and pneumonia. I’m the one she calls for in the night. She’s just a link to your sister for you. I’m not saying that’s bad—those links are important. But raising a little girl is not about remembering who her mother was; it’s more about finding out who she is and helping her to realize she’s special because God made her that way. It’s about listening to her dreams, teaching her she’s special in God’s eyes. It’s about seeing her go to school on that first day, then crying with her when her heart is broken by her first boyfriend.”
His face grew more sober as she spoke. “Was your foster mother like that?”
Eden clenched her fists as the traitorous tears flooded her eyes. “I had a succession of foster parents. None of them replaced my mother. She taught me all I needed to know about mothering in the eight years before she died. The last foster parents adopted me, but they never took the place of my own parents. I know what it’s like to be ripped away from the only life you’ve ever known, and I’ll not subject Katie to that.”
He stood to his feet. “Then I suppose there is no more to say. But I’m not giving up, Eden. Katie belongs with me. My sister and my parents would expect her to be with me. I’ll be in touch.”
Disappointment sharpened her tone. “Make sure you call first. I can’t have you dropping by whenever you feel like it. Katie might begin to depend on you, and then you’ll go flitting off to the Middle East or somewhere else. I don’t want her hurt.”
His jaw tightened, and he nodded curtly. “I’ll call.” He slammed the door behind him.
Eden sighed. That had not gone well. But everything she said was true. She knew what it was like to cry at night from missing her family. Katie couldn’t be allowed to experience that heartache. Not while there was something Eden could do about it.
The next few days seemed particularly lonely to Eden for some reason. Twenty-four years since she’d seen her sisters and her brother. Where were they? The question never left her mind for long. With Mama sick so much, the children’s care had fallen to Eden as the oldest.
Her arms still ached to hold Crista, the baby of the family. She yearned to braid Angelina’s thick hair again, to see Timmy’s face when he smelled the chocolate chip cookies she and Mama used to bake. Did they remember her at all? They were so young. Little Crista had been only three when they were separated.
How could anyone do that to children? To rip them apart from one another and send them to different homes, to change their names so they couldn’t find each other. Not that she had tried very hard lately. The roadblocks bureaucracy had thrown in her way had left her feeling hopeless and alone. It wasn’t fair. But God had never promised life would be fair. She had to remind herself of that all the time. He had gone with her through every trial, every heartache.
But what if I never find them? The question rang in her head, and she hunched her shoulders and reached for her Bible. She couldn’t think thoughts like that. Someday she would find them. She knew this in her soul—if not here on this earth, in heaven. Their mother had prayed for them, and she had to believe her prayers had taken root. Those prayers had led her to Jesus, and she had to believe that Angelina, Timmy, and Crista had come to know Him as well. Without that hope, she couldn’t go on.
The front door slammed, and the older children rushed in from school. Samantha had her book bag slung over her shoulder, her ribbon missing and her braid half undone. Cory immediately sat at Eden’s feet. Amelia’s shoelaces were untied, and her new blouse was stained with ink. Eden sighed.
“Eden, we seen Mr. Leland outside. I invited him for supper, is that okay?” Samantha dropped her book bag and stared at her with hopeful eyes.
Great. Just what she didn’t want to have to deal with. And he hadn’t called first, in spite of her admonition. Before she could answer Samantha, the doorbell rang. Eden’s heart gave a funny hitch, and she frowned. She couldn’t be attracted to the man, could she? He was the enemy. She would do well to keep that in mind.
She would act as though their harsh words had never happened, she decided. It was best for Katie if they could get along. Josh would eventually come to realize this was for the best. She pinned her smile in place and went to the door and opened it.
Josh looked good this evening. Too good. He was impeccably dressed, as usual, and she caught the faint whiff of his cologne, a spicy, masculine scent that reminded her of the woods. He carried a laptop computer and a briefcase, and she felt a stab of alarm. Was he serving her with papers or something? But that was silly, the sheriff would be the one to serve papers.
He smiled faintly when she raised an eyebrow and glanced to the briefcase. “I won’t put you on the spot and demand supper. But I was invited.”
Eden chuckled and stepped out of the way. “Come in. If you like vegetable soup, there’s plenty to share.”
“With cabbage in it?”
“Lots of cabbage. It’s cheap,” she said, shutting the door behind him.
“I’ll stay.” He followed her to the parlor where Samantha sidled up to him and took his hand.
The little girl was quite smitten with him. Eden decided she might have to watch that. Samantha’s feelings were easily bruised, and she’d been through a lot in the past six months.
Josh sniffed. “Smells good.”
“Thanks.” Eden didn’t know what to say to him. Why had he come back, again without calling? And how long did he intend to hang around Wabash?
She went to the fireplace and lit her Yankee candle. She never had the money for such frivolous things, but her secret sister at church had bought it for her. The spicy aroma would soothe her frazzled nerves.
“Want me to make a fire?” he asked.
“You know how?” He didn’t strike her as the outdoorsy type. Too urbane and sophisticated.
“You forget I’m an Eagle Scout. I live for my times in the woods.”
He kept surprising her. “Be my guest.”
He went to the fireplace and found the kindling. Within moments he had coaxed a flame and then piled three logs on the grate. He put the screen in front of the grate and went to the sofa. “I have some things to show you,” he said.
Eden swallowed hard. She was afraid to see what he had in his briefcase. She had a feeling it might change her life.
Chapter 4
Josh found it hard to think with Eden’s green eyes on him. They were darkened with trepidation as though she didn’t quite know how to take him. And how did he know if his suggestion would be welcome or not? Maybe she didn’t want to know. Some people didn’t. Possible rejection was hard to handle.
He cleared his throat and opened his computer. “Where’s a jack I can plug into?”
“Right beside you. The phone has a place in the back of it.”
He snapped the connector into place while the computer booted up, then clicked on the Internet icon. The computer dialed up and took him to the site he’d looked at earlier in the day. He thought Eden would be impressed.
He patted the space beside him on the sofa. “Sit here so you can see.”
Her eyes widened but she didn’t object, just moved from the rocker and sat beside him. She smelled sweet, like vanilla maybe. Her gaze focused on the screen. He heard her slight intake of breath but was almost afraid to look at her. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. But his uncertainty vanished at the sight of her eyes widened in delight.
“I’ve heard of these adoption bulletin boards, but I’ve never been able to afford a computer to check them out. And with two babies, the library was out of the question.” She moved closer and peered at the screen.
It was all Josh could do to drag his gaze from her animated face with that delightful dimple flashing in her cheek. “I would need to know all the information you have about your family. Do you know your family name?”
“Richmond. I was eight when Daddy left me at the preacher’s so I remember quite a lot. My parents were John an
d Anna Richmond, and we lived in Covington, Kentucky.”
“Kentucky, huh? You’re not so far from your roots. Have you ever gone back there?” He tapped at the keys.
She shook her head. “There’s never been the money for it. I called and talked to a woman at the state office, but she said my sisters and brother were sent out of state and wouldn’t tell me more than that.”
“Let’s go to the Kentucky site first and see what their laws say.” He selected the state and peered at the screen as the information scrolled up.
“This says siblings can petition the court to search for each other!” Eden grasped his arm in her excitement.
Josh glanced at her small hand on his arm and was shocked at his own desire to take it and hold it in his own. These inappropriate feelings toward his niece’s caretaker had to stop. He cleared his throat. “As long as you’re all over eighteen,” he pointed out.
“We are. I’m the oldest, and Crista is the baby. She’s five years younger than me, so that would make her about twenty-nine.” Her voice grew dreamy. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they were looking for me, too?”
Eden was thirty-four then. She had a freshness to her skin and eyes that had made him guess her to be still in her twenties. He dragged his gaze from the petal-softness of her cheeks and began to read the screen again.
He could sense Eden’s excitement, and he felt a bit uneasy. What if he’d raised her hopes for nothing? His plan could backfire on him. If she failed to find her siblings, she might cling even tighter to Katie. He couldn’t allow that; he had to find them.
“I’ll call and request a form to begin the search,” he said. “Now let’s go to the bulletin board and post the information. Tell me everything you know.”
“John and Anna Richmond. Four of us kids. Mama died of cancer.” Eden’s voice trembled, and she bit her lip. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she blinked several times. “I loved my daddy, but he changed when Mama died. Then he lost his job and left us with Mama’s preacher.”
“How long were you with him?”
Heart Full of Love Page 2
