The Soldier's Newfound Family. Kathryn Springer

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СКАЧАТЬ the tape on the package with his pocketknife.

      “Did you send this?” Carter stared at the small, leather-bound book swaddled in tissue paper. “Because I already have one.”

      Not that he’d cracked it open for a few years.

      “What is it?” Maddie whispered.

      “A Bible.”

      “Is there a note inside?”

      Carter thumbed through the delicate, gold-tipped pages and found a piece of paper. “How did you know?”

      “Because someone sent a Bible to me and Gray. And to Violet and Jack.”

      Carter quickly skimmed the contents of the letter and then read it out loud.

      “‘I’m sorry for what I did to you and your family. I hope you and your siblings can find it in your hearts to forgive me.’”

      It wasn’t signed.

      “What is this about? Who sent it?”

      “We don’t know,” Maddie admitted. “At first we assumed it was a mistake because whoever wrote the other letters specifically mentioned a twin. But Gray thinks it might have something to do with the reason we were separated.”

      “Maybe it has something to do with Dad’s disappearance.” Carter read through the words a second time, trying to make sense of the cryptic message. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

      “We didn’t think you’d—” Maddie stopped.

      “Get one.” Carter filled in the blanks.

      Because at the moment, he was the only one in the Wallace-Colby puzzle who actually knew where he fit. Which, the irony wasn’t lost on Carter, made him the odd man out. Again.

      “I’m sorry, Carter.” Maddie sounded on the verge of tears now. “Gray will want to see the letter and compare the handwriting, but it has to be from the same person. Maybe if we put all of them together, we’ll find something that we missed.”

      Carter held back a sigh.

      “I’m on my way.”

      * * *

      “I have to admit I’m not happy with the numbers I’m seeing this morning.”

      Savannah felt a stab of fear as Dr. Yardley set the paperwork down on the desk and took a seat across from her in the examining room.

      “Is there something wrong with the baby?”

      “The baby seems to be fine. It’s you I’m worried about,” the doctor said bluntly. “Your blood pressure is elevated, and you’ve actually lost weight since your last appointment.”

      “I’m feeling fine,” Savannah protested. “A little tired, that’s all.”

      “Mmm.” Dr. Yardley looked skeptical. “How many hours did you work at the diner last week?”

      Savannah silently tallied them up. “Between twenty-five and thirty.” Give or take a few. She’d volunteered to cover for one of the waitresses who was standing up in a friend’s wedding so she would have money to cover the security deposit on a new apartment.

      The apartment she still hadn’t found.

      After being on her feet all day, she just couldn’t seem to summon the energy to search for a new place to live. Savannah assumed it was normal to feel this way but the concern in the doctor’s eyes told her otherwise.

      “That’s what I thought.” Dr. Yardley shook her head. “I want you to cut back to half that amount. Effective when you walk out of this office today.”

      “But I promised my boss that I could fill in on weekends and evenings when I wasn’t working my regular shift.” Savannah stared at her obstetrician in dismay. “It was the only reason he hired me.”

      “You’ve been under a tremendous amount of stress throughout this pregnancy, Savannah, and you still have three months to go. If you end up on complete bed rest, you won’t be able to work at all.” The doctor’s stern words were tempered with a smile. “You need more rest and a little TLC. Two things that I’m afraid modern medicine hasn’t figured out how to put in a pill yet.”

      Savannah laced her fingers together in her lap to stop them from shaking. “I’ll talk to him.” Although Bruce didn’t exactly have a reputation for his easygoing disposition.

      The doctor gave her a shrewd look. “Is there anything else going on that I should know about?”

      “I’ve been looking for a new apartment,” Savannah admitted. “But I’m sure that I’ll find something in the next few days.”

      Dr. Yardley’s pen tapped the clipboard. “Isn’t there a family member you can stay with until the baby is born?”

      “I don’t have any family.” One of the reasons she’d been so quick to fall for Rob’s charm.

      “All right, then. How about a friend?” the physician persisted.

      Even as Savannah was shaking her head, an image of Carter Wallace’s face flashed through her mind.

      No. Way.

      She didn’t want to accept his help. Carter had been stunned when she’d told him that Rob had left her. Savannah hadn’t really expected him to believe her word over Rob’s—but still, it had hurt. Why, she wasn’t sure.

      She wasn’t sure why Carter had offered her a place to stay on his sister’s ranch near Grasslands, either. The sergeant had been Rob’s friend. She, on the other hand, was simply an obligation. One he had probably been relieved to cross off his list. There was no way she was going to show up on his doorstep like an orphan puppy in search of a home.

      She’d viewed Rob as a knight in shining armor, swooping in to rescue her, and look where she was now. A single mother on the verge of being homeless.

      God, I know that I’m not alone. I know that You’re with me. Show me what I’m supposed to do.

      “I know things are difficult right now, but you have to do what’s best for you and the baby,” Dr. Yardley was saying. “If I could, I’d write you a prescription for a change of scenery. I think that’s what you need more than anything right now.”

      A change of scenery can give you a change in perspective.

      The words chased through her mind, stirring the memory of someone else who had said the same thing.

      Savannah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because even though she’d just asked God to show her what to do, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge that Carter Wallace just might be the answer to her prayer.

      * * *

      “Earth to Carter. Come in, Carter.”

      Maddie’s teasing voice yanked Carter back to the СКАЧАТЬ