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СКАЧАТЬ fiancés were real outdoorsmen,” Tillie agreed with a reminiscent smile.

      Victoria looked dumbfounded. Mikey glanced curiously from one woman to the other. Ben was intrigued.

      “Describe who you envision coming here,” he murmured.

      “Children like our four girls,” Tillie said with a smile at Victoria. “Kids who need to escape the lure of drugs or whatever evil they’re trapped in. Or perhaps they and their foster families simply need a break from each other, time to think.”

      “We’re still in touch with the foster system in Edmonton, you know,” Margaret added with a pointed look at her foster daughter. “They think it’s a wonderful idea.”

      “I’m sure they do.” Victoria chewed another cracker.

      “You think we’re too old, don’t you?” Tillie frowned. “Well, we’ll never be too old to answer when the Lord calls us.”

      “Are you sure He called you, Auntie?” Victoria’s normally musical voice had a frosty edge. “Or was it your friends in Social Services who made you think this was a good idea?”

      Ben watched the twins draw erect, their annoyance obvious.

      “We have thought and prayed about this decision for months, Victoria. We’ve conducted many inquiries into how the logistics would work, the cost, the need for helpers,” Margaret spoke clearly, her voice confident. “We have sought the Lord over and over to ascertain His will. We believe this is it.”

      “You’re going ahead with it.” The words carried resignation.

      “We’d like to.” Tillie took her hand. “On one condition.”

      “We’ve been praying that you’d be willing to help us,” Margaret finished.

      “Me?” Victoria’s dark head reared back, gray eyes wide. “How could I help?”

      “My dear, you are a fixer, a problem-solver for the hotel. You didn’t train for it. You trained to be a teacher. But when your school closed, you took the hotel job and mastered anticipating and resolving situations that frustrated others. You made things work. That’s what we want, someone who will enable our idea. Right, Maggie?” She looked to Margaret who nodded once.

      “But—but—” Victoria’s glance moved around the table, staring at each one of them. Ben felt her gaze rested on him longest.

      “May I ask something?” he said quickly, desperate to know if his trip had been in vain.

      “Please do.” Tillie inclined her head.

      “Does your new plan mean you’ll stop writing people in the military? That you won’t want them to come to The Haven anymore?”

      “We see the two meshing. Veterans who visit The Haven may be willing to interact with our guests, even become mentors.” Margaret’s words came crisp and clear. “We think they’d have much to offer.”

      “And that brings us to the reason you came to see us, doesn’t it?” Tillie’s smile warmed him, chased away the fear that had hatched inside him. “Let’s go to the study and talk about your situation, Ben. I’m sure Victoria and Mikey can find something to do until we’re finished.” She rose, linked her arm with her sister’s and beckoned him before they walked out.

      “Coming.” Ben rose and moved awkwardly toward the door. He paused by Victoria, touched by the confusion in her eyes. “Their plan upset you. Will you be all right?”

      “Eventually.” Her smile held more determination than mirth. “Go. Mikey and I will be fine.” She grimaced and jumped up. “Right after I’m sick.” She scurried from the room as if chased.

      “Is Vic okay, Unca Ben?” Mikey sounded worried he’d lose another adult from his world.

      Ben couldn’t respond because he’d time-traveled back to Neil’s, sitting in the kitchen, watching as his sister-in-law, Alice, turned green and then raced away.

       “Is she okay?” he’d asked his brother.

       “Alice is fine. Just pregnant.”

      Could Victoria be pregnant?

      Brain whirling, Ben ordered Mikey to stay put and hobbled out of the kitchen to answer Tillie’s impatient call.

      Was Victoria going to be a mom? A mental picture of her cradling a tiny baby in her arms stuck with Ben all through his conversation with the elderly sisters.

      Why was he so certain Victoria would be an amazing mother? It was obvious. She was kind and generous and obviously willing to put her own wants after the needs of her elderly aunts. And she was great with Mikey.

      But where was the baby’s father? Did she love him? Was she planning to marry soon? And why did that thought bug him?

      Ben had a hunch that Victoria was keeping the news from her aunts and probably her sisters also since none of them had offered congratulations. But why?

      All of these questions and hundreds more made Ben decide to question Victoria. Maybe she’d explain it as she’d explained about her aunts. He felt this intense need to know everything about her, though in truth, it wasn’t any of his business.

       Chapter Three

      With her stomach upset, her mind troubled by the aunts’ grandiose plans for The Haven and her heart even more bothered that Ben was considering letting Mikey be adopted, Victoria couldn’t sit still, so she did what she always did when she needed to think. She went for a long walk through the forest—with Mikey.

      “What’re those marks in the snow?” he wanted to know.

      “Rabbit tracks.” Kids, here at The Haven?

      “What’s that big block?”

      “Salt. Deer like to lick it.” Why not kids at The Haven? As Auntie said, we four sisters found plenty to do here.

      “Why is that tree black?”

      “Forest fire.” Victoria smiled at his worried look. “We don’t have forest fires in the winter, Mikey, and even if we did, there’s a lot more equipment to fight them now than there was when this one happened.”

      Safety—another reason why inviting kids out to the mountains wasn’t a great idea. They could get lost or injured.

      “I wish I could live here.” Mikey’s comment jerked her out of her thoughts.

      “You do?” Victoria hid a smile as he veered away from the panting dogs. “Even though Spot and Dot live at The Haven?” Mikey’s emphatic nod said a lot. “How come?”

      “There’s no bad men here,” he whispered. “They won’t get me an’ Unca Ben.”

      “No, they sure СКАЧАТЬ