Twin Wishes. Kathryn Alexander

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СКАЧАТЬ think she’s okay?”

      “I hope so. Frank mentioned to me the other day that he’s worried about her getting too tired during her pregnancy. He thinks she’s working too hard at the center.”

      Julianne agreed. “She probably is. You know how Maggie is—she gives too much of herself to everything she does.”

      “I know. She even wants to watch the kids for me tomorrow so I can go to Minneapolis and get caught up on my work. Being rained out again on Thursday put me behind schedule.”

      Julianne’s own giving-too-much-of-herself-to-everything trait kicked into gear. “I could watch them for you. That would allow Maggie to rest, and you could still get your work done,” Julianne suggested. “I hadn’t planned to do anything special tomorrow.” The only activities she’d be giving up were cleaning the apartment and grocery shopping.

      “But you work with my kids five days a week, Julianne. I can’t ask you to keep them on your day off.”

      Julianne looked toward the two children sleeping safely in the back of the truck. “You’re not asking…I’m offering,” she replied, then returned her gaze to Luke’s uncertain expression.

      Luke hesitated. He needed to work tomorrow to stay on schedule. And the kids did seem to be crazy about Julianne. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be an imposition? I mean, you’ve just spent this entire holiday with them.”

      “I really like Nora and Todd. I’d enjoy having them for another day. That is, if it would be okay with you.” She tucked wispy blond hair behind an ear. Working at the center was one thing, but maybe Luke O’Hara wouldn’t trust her enough to leave his children with her alone, here at this tiny apartment with an ominous stairway for them to climb up…or to fall down. “I could take them over to the center, if you’d rather not leave them here—”

      “No, here would be fine,” Luke said. “But you’d need to be careful of the stairs. They’d both want to run up and down them.” He glanced toward the black steps and railing.

      Julianne smiled. She’d guessed his exact concern. “I will be. You don’t have to worry.”

      “Better yet, why don’t you watch them at my house? That way, they have their own toys and tapes, things to entertain them. And there’s a fair-size yard out back for them to play in.”

      “That might be better. What time would you need me there?”

      “Would seven o’clock be too early?”

      “No, that would be fine. I’ll see you then,” Julianne answered.

      Luke felt suddenly relieved. Maggie could rest, and the twins would still have someone they liked watching them. “Do you know where I live?”

      “You bought the Taylor house on Spring Street, didn’t you? Maggie mentioned it to me.”

      “Yes, that’s the one. We’ll see you at seven?”

      “See you then. Good night.” Julianne pushed the door shut and started for the stairway. She was up the steps and inside her apartment in a minute or less. Walking to the window that faced the street, she looked down to where Luke’s dark blue truck was parked as he waited for her signal. She waved. She’d made it inside safely…that was, everything except her heart. Foolishly, she’d allowed it to become endangered in an attraction to this man whose own heart was broken, and Julianne knew no special cure for his kind of pain.

      She watched Luke drive away and thought of Craig Johnson. Losing him had taken her a long time to get over, and that would be nothing compared to what Luke had lost. The woman he’d loved and chosen to spend his life with had been taken from him. He would need to heal slowly, from the inside out. It wasn’t something anyone else could help him with. Only God could be his refuge now. If Luke wouldn’t accept that, then the battle was his alone.

      “But I can help him with his kids,” Julianne said softly to herself. But, if she did, would she be setting herself up for more heartache? She groaned at the thought. Suddenly, that banana cream pie she’d saved for herself was starting to sound very good. Maybe she could drown her uncertainty in a slice. Or two.

      Chapter Three

      When the alarm sounded the next morning, Luke reached to shut it off quickly. Maybe the kids hadn’t heard it ring. If they’d sleep in this morning, they’d be in a better mood for Julianne that day, and if he could make her day better in some way, he wanted to do it. Having Julianne in the children’s lives was something for which Luke was beginning to feel very grateful. Even after only a few days, Nora and Todd seemed to have bonded with her in some very real, unexplainable way. But Luke wasn’t looking for any explanations. He was just glad about this bit of good luck his family had happened upon and, although the old habit of thanking God had briefly crossed his mind, he chose not to. It seemed pointless to thank someone that, at times, you weren’t even sure existed.

      The holiday yesterday had actually been a pleasant one, much to Luke’s surprise; the kids had been happy, content…not squabbling and wrangling with each other. Was it all because of Julianne Quinn? he wondered. It certainly seemed that way. He couldn’t think of any other logical explanation.

      Luke climbed out of bed and began to get ready for his day when it occurred to him that he hadn’t dreamed of Kimberly last night. Not as far as he could recall. That had been the first time in over a year. Placing his razor on the edge of the bathroom sink, he stared into the mirror. Was that change because of Julianne, too? Luke couldn’t answer that question, and he didn’t know how to feel. Grateful or guilty? He’d loved his wife for such a long time. He loved her still. It was too soon, far too soon, the way he saw it, to notice another woman—no matter how easy she was to talk to or how good she was with the children. It just didn’t feel right, and Luke was having trouble believing that it ever would.

      The front porch light was on when Julianne pulled her small green car into a parking spot in front of the O’Hara home. The house was an attractive two-story home, an older style with white railing all around the front porch and a wide wooden swing for lazy summer evenings. The siding was yellow, quite cheery looking in the daylight; but this morning it was bathed in only streetlights and the front porch lamp. Julianne approached the wide front steps and hurried up them. She rapped lightly on the door, not wanting to wake the children if they were still sleeping. Almost immediately, Luke pushed the screen door open. He’d been watching for her. She stepped inside where the smell of coffee enveloped her.

      “Hi,” she said rather meekly. It seemed so strange, all of a sudden, being here in the early morning hours like this. She felt barely awake yet.

      “Good morning. Want some coffee?” Luke asked.

      Julianne smiled and placed her small canvas handbag on a nearby end table. “Yes, thank you. It smells good.”

      Luke directed her toward the kitchen and reached for a second clean cup from inside the dishwasher. “I don’t like to empty this thing until I have to,” he admitted. He closed the door on the appliance. “I never thought I’d be someone who’d even know how to operate a dishwasher, let alone the idea of loading and unloading one on a regular basis.” He poured the coffee and handed it to the young woman who stood in his kitchen, a young woman about whom he really knew very little. So…why did he trust her as much as he did? “Cream or sugar?” he asked.

      “Both,” Julianne answered. “Drinking it black СКАЧАТЬ