Not Until Christmas Morning (Hope Springs Book 5)

by Valerie M. Bodden

  “Ms. Zelner? I’m sorry to rush you, but if you can’t take Jackson, I’ll need to make other arrangements for him.”

  Leah wrapped her arms around herself. What was she thinking? Was she really going to give up her chance to make a difference in a kid’s life because she didn’t have time to get a cake?

  “Yes, of course, I’m available right now.” A thrill zipped up her spine. After months of going through the licensing process and then waiting for a child, she was suddenly going to be a mother. Or, a foster mother, more precisely. But that didn’t matter. She’d love the child as her own.

  She knew she would.

  As she hung up, Leah pulled in a long breath of the sharp air, sending up a quick prayer for wisdom.

  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” she reminded herself.

  Then she hurried back into the restaurant to grab her purse and jacket and offer a hasty explanation to Robert. She was pretty sure she left him with the impression that she was crazy, but she couldn’t worry about that right now.

  She sped out of the restaurant and jumped into her car, following the winding streets through downtown Hope Springs toward the Child Welfare office, tucked along a residential street near her church. She hadn’t known the office was there until she’d started researching foster care after watching her brother go through the process of adopting his wife’s baby. Something in Leah had shifted as she’d seen her younger brother become a dad. She may be content without a husband, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want a family. And if she could improve the life of a child who might otherwise be without hope in the process, all the better.

  As she pulled up to a stop sign, she reached for her phone and dialed Jade. Her sister-in-law answered immediately.

  “Why are you calling me while you’re on a date?” Jade demanded.

  “I’m not on a date, I’m―”

  “Leah.” Jade’s exasperated voice interrupted. “Tell me you did not cancel on poor Robert.”

  “I didn’t cancel. I went, but―”

  “You ditched him? That’s even worse. Hope, not so loud.” In the background, Leah could hear her eight-month-old niece pounding on something―probably one of the toy pots and pans Leah had gotten her.

  “I didn’t ditch him. I mean, I did, but―”

  “Seriously, Leah. Why do you―”

  “Jade.” Leah raised her voice, and Jade must have sensed the urgency in her tone because she stopped scolding.

  “What?”

  “Child Welfare called. They need me to come pick up a kid tonight. Right now.”

  “Oh my goodness. Wow.” Jade took a breath. “That’s great. Do you want us to come along? Dan is over at church, but I can go get him, and I can rally the others too if you want.”

  Leah took a second to consider how she wanted this to go. She’d been so sure that a big party was the way to welcome a kid home. But if things had been as rough for Jackson as the caseworker had implied, maybe it’d be better to keep it low-key. “You know what, I think I’ll go alone. And then maybe I can introduce him―Jackson―to all of you tomorrow night at dinner.”

  “Jackson. That sounds exactly like the name I’d picture your kid having.” Jade’s voice held the smile Leah was sure she was wearing. “Do you want to move dinner here? It’s no trouble. I can throw together some pizzas or something.”

  Leah had to swallow the lump of emotion at Jade’s enthusiasm.

  “That’s okay. I think maybe it will be good to have everyone over to my house. Let Jackson get settled in before I drag him around to everyone else’s places.”

  Jade squealed, then laughed as Hope joined in from the background. “Sorry. I’m just so excited for you. I know how much you’ve wanted this.”

  “I have.” Leah squealed too as she hung up. Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers. Please help me be the mother this child needs right now.

  She finished the prayer as she drove into the parking lot of the Child Welfare office. She should be nervous. She should be freaked out. She was about to take responsibility for a child, for goodness’ sake.

  But she wasn’t.

  She was absolutely confident this was what she was supposed to be doing. And she was ready for it.

  Chapter 3

  Two hours later, with Jackson hunched into the passenger seat next to her, Leah was less confident.

  If she’d thought making conversation with Robert at dinner was difficult, talking to Jackson was impossible. Every time she asked a question―What do you like to do? What’s your favorite food? Do you have any homework tonight?―she was answered with a nearly inaudible grunt.

  After what she’d learned from the caseworker, she probably shouldn’t be surprised. When he was only six, Jackson’s mother had died of an opioid overdose―and he’d been the one to find her. The thought of it twisted Leah’s insides into such tight knots that she wasn’t sure they’d ever loosen. According to the caseworker, Jackson had been placed with nine different foster families in the past six years, and his last placement had lasted only three weeks. If he weren’t in the car with her right now, she’d probably break down into tears over what the poor child had already faced, being passed around as if he were nothing more than a piece of clothing that didn’t fit anymore.

  But that ended now.

  She was going to make things better for him, give him a forever home and a forever family.

  “So―” She tried a new conversation. “You’ll be able to keep going to Hope Springs Middle School, so that’s good.” Although she wasn’t one hundred percent sure that was true. According to the caseworker, in the three weeks he’d been enrolled at the middle school, Jackson had received four detentions and one in-school suspension.

  Another grunt from next to her.

  “Anyway―” She kept talking as if he’d answered. “I was thinking, we’ll have to figure out what you should call me. I feel like Ms. Zelner is too formal.” It’s what the caseworker had suggested so that she could establish authority, but Leah hated it.

  Jackson turned toward her and opened his mouth. Leah held her breath. Was he actually going to say something?

  “How about―” His lips twisted into a smirk as he suggested a curse word that nearly made her gasp out loud.

  She blinked and worked to keep her face neutral, telling herself he was only trying to shock her. And he’d done a pretty good job of it.

  His satisfied sneer told her she’d utterly failed at hiding her reaction.

  She made herself count to ten, then, keeping her voice flat, said, “How about Leah for now? Maybe someday, you’ll call me Mom. If you’re comfortable.”

  Jackson stared out the windshield, his face a complete blank.

  “Hey.” Leah slowed to turn onto her street. “I don’t know if the caseworker told you, but my hope is that this will work out and that I’ll be able to adopt you eventually.” She glanced toward Jackson.

  The boy was still staring out the window, but his hands were fisted in his lap, and his jaw was clenched.

  “If you want me to,” she added.

  Jackson’s jaw twitched. “You’ll get rid of me long before that.”

  Leah shook her head. It was going to take a long time to get through to this kid. “Of course I won’t―”

  But she broke off as she pulled into her driveway and her eyes fell on her neighbor’s house. Miranda had left for a year-long mission trip a few weeks ago. So why were the lights on in her house? And why was a strange truck parked in the driveway?

  She threw her own car into park and opened her door. “Stay here a minute,” she ordered Jackson. “I’ll be right back.”

  It didn’t occur to her to be scared until she was standing on the porch, hand poised to knock. Then she realized that it could be an intruder in there. Or a squatter.

  But she’d promised Miranda she would keep an eye on things.

  She gave the door a sharp triple rap, then stood back, glancing over her shoulder to
check on Jackson. But he was still sitting in the car’s passenger seat, still staring straight ahead.

  She turned back to the house. It wasn’t a huge place. Surely whoever was in there should have opened the door by now.

  She lifted her hand to knock again, but before she could, the clatter of a lock turning had her scrambling backward. She drew in a sharp breath as the door opened, praying she hadn’t just made the dumbest mistake of her life.

  Beads of sweat prickled Austin’s forehead, and he cleared them with a hasty swipe.

  It’s just someone at the door.

  Nothing to get all bent out of shape about. Certainly nothing to send his heart rate ratcheting to pre-mission levels.

  Night had fallen since he’d arrived, and he searched the bank of light switches near the door, flipping one after another until he found one that turned on the porch light.

  It illuminated a petite blond woman, arms crossed in front of her, mouth pulled into a frown.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

  And here Austin had worried the people of Hope Springs would be too friendly for his taste.

  “Excuse me?” His voice was hard and unyielding, and the woman took half a step back, her expression a cross between fear and indignation.

  Her frown deepened, and she uncrossed her arms to gesture to the doorway he stood in. “This isn’t your house. So what are you doing in it?” Her eyes flashed, blue-green swirls snapping at him.

  “I’m renting it.” Austin chopped each word short. He had no desire to continue this conversation. “I made arrangements with the owner this morning.”

  “You talked to the owner?” The woman’s hands tightened into fists, and Austin smirked. Did she plan to physically remove him from the place?

  “Yes.” Austin kept his answers as clipped as hers.

  “You talked to the owner?” The woman repeated. “In Croatia.”

  Austin shrugged. This morning he’d been talking to his brother in Afghanistan, so was it really so hard to believe he’d talked to someone in Croatia too? “I don’t know where she was. I just know I talked to her.”

  The woman shook her head. “If Miranda had rented the house out, she would have told me.”

  Austin grabbed the door, closing it halfway. “I don’t know what to tell you. I rented this house, and this is where I’m staying.”

  The woman’s mouth opened wide, and Austin braced himself for whatever she was going to say next, but the sound of a car door closing drew her attention.

  “Jackson!” Her shout was loud but uncertain, and Austin peered over her shoulder into the dark.

  A car was parked in the driveway next door, and a smallish form trundled away from it. It was tough to tell in the dark, but Austin guessed the kid was about eleven or twelve.

  The same age as Isaad.

  He shoved the thought aside. Another person he couldn’t think about. Isaad. Tanner. The list was too long, his capacity for forgetting too short.

  “Jackson, come here.” The woman’s call was even less certain this time. Again, the kid ignored her, quickening his steps toward the sidewalk.

  The woman threw one last look at Austin, then sprinted off his porch.

  “Well, if that was all,” Austin said wryly as he closed the door, but the woman was already halfway across his yard.

  Chapter 4

  Where on earth did Jackson think he was going?

  Wherever it was, fortunately he didn’t seem to be in a hurry, and Leah was able to catch up with him before he’d gotten halfway down the block.

  She slowed her sprint to fall into step next to him. Her instinct was to grab his arm and pull him toward her house, but something told her if she did that, the boy would take off. Instead, she walked silently next to him for a few steps.

  When he didn’t acknowledge her presence, she took a deep breath and tried for a light tone. “Our house is actually the one we parked in the driveway of. So unless you’re taking the long way to get inside . . .”

  Jackson kept walking, giving no indication he’d heard her.

  Apparently she’d have to try a different tactic. She worked to sound stern. “Mind telling me where you’re going?”

  Jackson didn’t look toward her. “Got bored waiting for you to stop talking to your boyfriend. So I decided to go find something to eat.”

  Leah’s back stiffened. “I don’t even know that man. I was trying to figure out―” She broke off. This wasn’t about her or the man who claimed to be renting her neighbor’s house. Which she still had her doubts about. But that would have to wait.

  One problem at a time.

  “Let’s go home, and I’ll make us some dinner.”

  She set a tentative hand on Jackson’s arm, wincing at his cold skin. The kid only had on a t-shirt, but when she’d asked at the Child Welfare office if he wanted to put on his coat, he’d shrugged and picked up a duffel bag that looked too light to contain a winter jacket. She made a note to herself to buy one tomorrow.

  Jackson pulled out of her grasp but turned around and walked next to her as they retraced their steps to her driveway. She led him up the narrow cobblestone path to the house’s small porch.

  When she’d unlocked the door, she pushed it open and reached to flip on the lights, then stood aside and gestured for Jackson to enter.

  She followed him inside, trying to gauge his reaction from his posture, since she couldn’t see his face.

  “I can see why you’re fostering.” Jackson strode through the living room and toward the back of the house. “Where’s my room? Or am I sleeping on the floor?”

  “I’ll show you your room in a second. Why don’t you come take your shoes off first?” Leah slid her feet out of her own shoes and tucked them into the front closet. “We keep shoes in here.”

  Jackson rolled his eyes as he turned back to her and dragged his feet toward the front door.

  “What do you mean you can see why I’m fostering?” She kept her gaze on him, though he hadn’t looked at her once since they’d met.

  Jackson scraped his shoes off without untying them and kicked them into the closet, where they bounced off the wall before landing on top of Leah’s favorite work shoes. She resisted the urge to straighten them.

  “Obviously you need the money.” Jackson gestured at her house, wrinkling his nose as if it were decrepit and falling apart. Which couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Her house may not scream luxury, but it was cozy and welcoming.

  “Actually, I have a successful catering company.” She shrugged off her jacket and hung it in the front closet. “The money I get for fostering is to buy things for you. Like a winter jacket, for starters. Is there anything else you need?”

  Jackson turned away from her. “Where’s my room?”

  Leah swallowed the sigh that almost escaped. Maybe she should have taken Jade up on her offer to get everyone together. This alone time with Jackson wasn’t going so well.

  But she stepped past him with a smile. “It’s this way. I didn’t know if I’d be fostering a boy or a girl, so I tried to make it kind of neutral.” She stopped at the end of the hallway. “I hope you like it.” She stepped aside to reveal the cream colored walls and navy quilt she’d chosen. “There are some books and some art supplies over there. And you can unpack your stuff in the dresser and―”

  But Jackson launched his duffel bag across the room, and it hit the far wall with a thud. Before she could react, he’d closed the door in her face. She scrunched her eyes shut, willing the emotion back. So this wasn’t going how she’d imagined. That didn’t mean she couldn’t salvage the night.

  “I’ll go make us some dinner,” she called through the closed door. “I hope you like chicken.”

  She waited a few seconds, half hoping there would be an answer from the other side of the door but knowing there wouldn’t be.

  As she shuffled to the kitchen, she pulled out her phone to check the time. It was almost seven o’clock, which meant s
he’d have to make one of her quicker chicken dishes so she could get Jackson to bed at a reasonable time.

  What even was a reasonable time for a twelve-year-old to go to bed?

  She was about to Google the question, but an email notification from her neighbor popped onto the screen. She should warn Miranda about the guy next door while she was thinking about it. Find out what her neighbor wanted her to do about it.

  But the moment she opened the email, her mouth fell open. Apparently the guy had been telling the truth. Miranda was emailing to let her know she’d rented the house out and not to be alarmed if there was someone staying there.

  A little late for that.

  She scanned the rest of the email, grimacing at Miranda’s PS: He sounds cute. And he’ll be right next door. Just saying.

  Leah clicked the phone off, setting it on the counter harder than she meant to in her exasperation. Would no one ever get it through their heads that she didn’t need―or want―to be set up with anyone?

  And anyway, the guy next door may have sounded cute from 3,000 miles away. But in person he was rude and stubborn and condescending and . . .

  Leah forced herself to stop. It wasn’t like she’d exactly been the picture of a warm welcome, yelling at him like that. She rubbed at her temples. At some point, she’d have to apologize.

  But for now, she had bigger problems.

  Like the preteen boy sulking in his bedroom waiting for some food. She pulled the chicken out of the refrigerator and got to work.

  Half an hour later, she knocked on the door of Jackson’s room to call him to dinner.

  She’d thrown together a quick stir fry, and it smelled so enticing―if she did say so herself―that she was surprised he hadn’t come wandering out on his own already.