by Lois Richer
“I—ah—” Victoria was suddenly afraid, and the discomfort she was feeling didn’t help. She licked her lips, her gaze riveted to him.
“Did you get my email?” he asked softly. She shook her head then squeezed her eyes closed as a much stronger sensation gripped her. He was by her side in a moment. “What’s wrong, Victoria?”
“I’m very happy you’re home, Ben. You belong here whether or not you know it. I thank God for answering my prayer. He’s so trustworthy.” She sucked in her breath and began counting, but she didn’t get far before it started all over again. When his hand slid into hers, she grabbed it like a lifeline. “I’d love to sit and talk, my dear man, but I can’t.”
“You don’t have to talk. There’s just one thing I need to say.” Ben inhaled but his gaze never left hers. “I love you, Victoria. Without you in it, my life is dull and boring. There’s no fun left, no one to challenge me, to push me out of my rut.” His beloved smile grew even more tender as his hand smoothed her hair. “You are a gift from God, one I desperately need. One I never want to do without. I love you, Victoria. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” It was the only word she could utter.
“Really?” Ben blinked. “No discussion, no comment about my stupidity in realizing it. No—”
“Maybe later.” She stifled a groan as the pain increased. She huffed out a breath. “I love you, Ben. I promise I will say the vows you admire so much, the ones that promise I’ll always be there, no matter what.” She licked her lips, tried to smile. “But I have to do something else right now.”
“What?” he demanded, obviously disgruntled to have his proposal upstaged.
“Have a baby.” Victoria let out her breath as the cramp finally eased. “I love you very much, dear Ben. And I’m so glad you’re safe and at home, but we need to go to the hospital.”
“Now?”
Amused by the terror flooding his face, Victoria nodded.
“Right now. My bag is upstairs in my room. Would you get it, please? And hurry.” If she hadn’t been so busy practicing the breathing techniques she’d learned, she might have laughed at Ben’s speed in retrieving her suitcase. Then he swung her into his arms and carried her to the car, flung her bag in the back and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Your injury—” she protested.
“Is healed. Didn’t you say Darla was your coach?” he demanded as they sped toward town. “Better call her.”
“Good idea—oooh.” Victoria breathed through the contraction until it lessened enough for her to slide her phone from her pocket and call her friend. “It’s time,” she said and then dropped the phone as pain engulfed her.
“Not far now, sweetheart,” Ben soothed. After a sideways glance at her face, he pressed a little harder on the gas. “Keep breathing.”
“It’s kind of hard to stooooop,” she wailed, hugely glad they’d arrived at the hospital.
Ben swept her into his arms and carried her inside without waiting for help.
“She’s having a baby,” he yelled at the nurse who came running. “Do something.”
“Put her on this table,” the nurse said calmly, holding the curtain back. “And relax. Having a baby takes time.”
“I don’t think this little one knows that,” Victoria told her, clinging to Ben’s hand. “I’m pretty sure I have to push.” When he tried to lessen her grip, she fixed him with a glare. “You’re home now. You stay here,” she ordered.
Ben’s smile chased away all discomfort.
“I’m not going anywhere, darling Victoria. Not without you. This is where I belong, right by your side.”
*
By Victoria’s side was exactly where Ben remained while the nurse attended to her, relieved when the doctor arrived just in time to deliver a perfectly healthy little girl.
“Congratulations, Mommy,” the nurse said as she set the baby on Victoria’s chest. “What’s her name?”
“Grace.” Victoria smiled at Ben who thought she’d never looked more lovely. “Perfect, don’t you think, darling? Because of God’s grace to us.”
“Absolutely perfect,” he agreed right before he kissed her. That kiss went on and on until Darla burst into the room with Mikey and Garnet.
“Am I too late?” she gasped.
“You’re just in time to meet Grace.” Ben lifted up Mikey and then Garnet to see the new baby. “She’s going to be your sister,” he whispered to Mikey.
“How come, Unca Ben?” The boy looked at him so trustingly Ben’s heart almost burst with love. He looked at Victoria.
“Because Victoria and I are getting married,” he said, pausing just a moment to wait for her smile. “We’re going to be a family.”
“Oh.” Mikey’s little face screwed up as he struggled to puzzle it out. “So you’re gonna be Unca Ben an’ my dad?” he asked in confusion.
“I’ll always be your Uncle Ben, Mikey. But I’d like to be your dad, too. If you want me to.”
Victoria saw Ben’s trepidation but she didn’t worry. God had it all in hand.
“Yeah, I’d like to have a’ Unca Dad,” Mikey said with a huge grin.
Amid their laughter, Aunt Tillie stepped through the door followed by Aunt Margaret. They hugged Victoria then oohed and ahhed over little Grace, before embracing Ben. Tillie held out a box.
“You asked us to keep this for you, Ben. I think you probably want it now.”
Ben smiled his thanks, opened the box and held up the robe he’d purchased for Victoria so long ago. “I bought this for you before Valentine’s Day but was scared to give it to you.”
“Did ya hear, Garnet? Unca Ben, uh, Dad, was scared.”
Victoria fingered the delicate fabric then cupped her hand against his cheek.
“Thank you, darling.” She suddenly realized they were alone. “I’d admired it in that window for days before our library trip with Thea. I wanted to buy it but thought it was too pretty for me. Then one day it wasn’t in the window. I wondered who bought it.”
“It’s not quite pretty enough for you.” Ben kissed her again. “I love you, Victoria Archer. When can we get married?”
She kissed him back with a laugh. “Can we wait a day? I’m a little tired.”
“We can wait as long as you want,” Ben said gallantly. “But not too long, okay? I want to be your husband.”
“And I want to be your wife. But we have another group coming to The Haven the day after tomorrow, and then school starts. After that we’ll be tied up with the weekend groups.” Victoria frowned. “I’m not sure when—”
“I am.” He grinned. “God will work it out. ‘All things work together—’”
“‘—for those who love God,’” Victoria finished. “We’re going to have a wonderful life together building The Haven and watching God change lives. Aren’t we, Ben?”
“Yep.” After another kiss, Ben began to tell her his latest plans to develop The Haven so even more foster kids could find refuge and comfort.
When he realized Victoria and Grace had both fallen asleep, he simply smiled and began making notes on the back of his plane ticket until the nurse came in and demanded he move his rental car.
“Would you mind asking someone else to do that?” Ben said. “It took me a long time to get home and now that I’m here, I’m not leaving.” He glanced down at his family. “I’ve got a lot of responsibilities to attend to.”
And he could hardly wait to get started.
With God’s help.
*
If you enjoyed this story,
pick up these other books from Lois Richer:
THE RANCHER’S FAMILY WISH
HER CHRISTMAS FAMILY WISH
THE COWBOY’S EASTER FAMILY WISH
THE TWINS’ FAMILY WISH
A DAD FOR HER TWINS
RANCHER DADDY
GIFT-WRAPPED FAMILY
ACCIDENTAL DAD
Available now from Love Inspired!
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Keep reading for an excerpt from THE DEPUTY’S UNEXPECTED FAMILY by Patricia Johns.
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Dear Reader,
Hi there! Welcome to The Haven, where God works things together to help His children. I love the Canadian Rockies. There’s something about those craggy peaks and teal-blue lakes that reminds me that God is far bigger and more powerful than I can imagine.
Victoria needed to return to The Haven to recover her faith and trust in God—and in love. It wasn’t easy, until she accepted that God loved her. Period. Not because she earned it but because God is love. Ben, too, struggled with acceptance of himself and his past failures. He feared parenting his nephew because he might fail again. It took him some time to realize that’s why God’s in charge.
I hope you’ll return to The Haven for Adele’s story. This good-natured chef wants a perfect family, but maybe perfect isn’t part of God’s plan for her life at all.
Blessings,
Lois Richer
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The Deputy’s Unexpected Family
by Patricia Johns
Chapter One
Harper Kemp stood in the center of her disheveled shop, Blessings Bridal, gaping at the mess. She had arrived two hours before any of the other shops on Sycamore Avenue opened for the day, hoping to get a little paperwork done, but had walked into this.
The front display window was edged in the sharp lace of broken glass and a chill autumn wind whisked into the shop. The cash register hung open, empty, and several voluminous gowns clung to the mannequins in tatters. Whoever had done this had slashed through the delicate material, leaving the floor littered with beads. The front display case had been smashed, and the velvet nests that once held tiaras, clasps, bejeweled belts and the like now lay vacant, peppered with glittering glass.
Her heart slammed in her chest, and she pulled her ginger curls away from her face as she took it all in. Why hadn’t the alarm gone off when this happened?
Comfort Creek was a small town with an inordinate number of cops roaming the streets due to a county-run sensitivity training course based in the town. It was supposed to be the safest community in Colorado due to their overabundance of officers patrolling the town while they completed their sensitivity training. Tell that to whomever had robbed her.
“Oh, Lord…” It was a prayer, but she was still too stunned to know what to even ask for. She pulled her tortoiseshell glasses off her face and glanced down at her phone. She’d just called the police and given the pertinent information. They’d be here soon, she was assured. She ran a hand through her fiery curls. A few months ago, Harper got custody of her four-year-old goddaughter, Zoey, when her best friend, Andrea, died in a car accident, and she felt like she’d just found her footing again with a daughter to raise…now this.
Harper stepped over the broken glass, already mentally tallying up the loss. Insurance would cover most of it…except Heidi’s dress! The thought struck and her stomach dropped. Her younger sister’s wedding dress was a family heirloom, and no amount of insurance money would cover the sentimental value of that dress.
Harper dashed into the back room and spotted the untouched box high on a shelf. She breathed a prayer of thanks. God must have put His hand over that dress…and she was grateful. Everything else could be replaced. How was that for some perspective?
The bell from the front door jingled, and she heard the tramping of heavy feet.
“Miss Kemp?” a deep male voice reverberated through the store, and Harper turned back toward the retail space. The police had arrived.
“I’m here,” she said, stepping back out. “Thanks for—”
The words evaporated on her tongue. The officer standing in the middle of the mess was tall, muscled and had the same direct gray gaze she remembered from years ago when they were teenagers dreaming of their futures in this town… It was Gabe Banks.
“Hey—” His tone softened. “Long time.”
“Very long time,” she agreed, then smiled feebly. “What are you doing here?”
“You reported a robbery.” He raised one eyebrow.
“I mean in Comfort Creek. I thought you were in Fort Collins.” One possibility bloomed in her mind—that he had somehow found out about four-year-old Zoey. There were enough people in this town who would have pieced it together…
Gabe’s expression grew more guarded, then he shrugged. “Sensitivity training. What else? Comfort Creek has me for two weeks.”
“Oh.” That was reasonable. Comfort Creek saw a constant influx of officers doing sensitivity training. What had Gabe done to garner this honor?
“So…” Gabe pulled out a pad of paper. “What happened here?”
“I have no idea,” she said. “I just arrived, found it like this and called 911.”
“Any idea how much was taken?” he asked.
“Not yet. I’m still kind of in shock.”
He took a few notes, poked his head back outside the door and appeared to be doing his job for a few minutes while Harper stood where he’d left her, feeling in the way in her own shop.
“I heard about Andrea’s passing,” he said as he came back inside. “I’m sorry. She was…special. And I know how close you two were.”
Special. That’s how Gabe referred to a woman he’d dated for a year? Maybe he didn’t feel like he had a right to sympathy for the passing of his ex-girlfriend he hadn’t seen or spoken to in the last five years. And maybe he was right about that.
“We really were,” she said. “I miss her. So does Zoey.”
“That’s her daughter?” Gabe clarified.
Harper nodded. “Zoey’s four. I’m her guardian now.”
Gabe shot her a sympathetic smile, then glanced away. Andrea had never told Gabe the truth about Zoey.
“Did anyone tell you about the father?” she asked cautiously.
“My grandmother said that she was on the rebound after me,” he replied. “Grandma was a little more judgmental than that, but that was the gist of it.”
A flat-out lie, but it was the story Andrea had put around.
“Well, Zoey is a sweetheart,” Harper said. “We’re doing all right, but it’s hard with Andrea gone.”
“Yeah, I can imagine.” A couple of beats passed between them—an awkward pause.
“Anyway,” Harper said, clearing her throat. “Back to the robbery.”
“When did you find this?” he asked, professional reserve back in place.
“This morning when I came in. Ten minutes ago,” she replied. “With all the patrol on these streets, I’m surprised no one noticed it earlier.” She paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her. Gabe was here on disciplinary action—how much authority did he really have? She wa
s tired, had a lot to deal with today, obviously, and didn’t have time to waste.
“Are you supposed to be taking cases?” she asked with a slight frown. “I mean, will I have to repeat this all over again with another officer?”
Gabe shot her a flat look. “Yes, I can take cases. Dispatch assigned me. You want to take that up with the chief? Get a less ornery officer, or something? I’m not here because I’m bad at my job. I’m here for being mouthy with my boss.”
She smiled wanly. “I was just checking.”
“So, we’re okay here, then?” he said, tucking a thumb in his belt. “Because if you’d rather have some other cop take over, I’m sure I can go patrol the school zones or something.”
She heard the sarcasm in that gravelly tone, and she felt heat in her cheeks. He’d always been like this—brash, opinionated and stubborn as all get-out.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she said. It might be time to let some old resentments go. “It’s been a rough day so far, so maybe cut me some slack.”
He eyed her for a moment, then scanned the scene. “We’ll take fingerprints. I’m not expecting to get too much, though. I noticed both the phone and alarm lines were cut outside.”
“That would explain why my alarm didn’t go off.”
“This was no smash and grab,” Gabe confirmed. “This was planned.”
“In the best-patrolled town in Colorado,” she said.
Gabe didn’t answer. His boots crunched over broken glass as he headed toward the display case. “We’ll need a complete list of anything missing. Descriptions would be good, pictures if you have them. We’ll be watching pawn shops and online sale sites. Whatever they took, they’ll be selling.”
Harper felt her eyes mist. The immensity of the damage and the work ahead of her to clean up was just starting to sink in. She’d have to call her dad—the owner of the store—and tell him what happened, too…
“How much cash was in the register?” Gabe asked.
“Just change—I made the deposit last night,” she replied. “There was about a hundred and sixty dollars in the drawer.”
“Approximately how much was the merchandise worth in the case?” he asked.
“Five or six thousand. Those were all Swarovski crystals.”
