Summer's Promise. Irene Brand

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ I do understand your position. As a matter of fact, I’m pleased with my life the way it is now. I don’t want to change, either.”

      She glanced at David quickly. If he felt that way, maybe she wasn’t as selfish as she thought she was. “Then you’re willing to refuse their requests?” she asked eagerly.

      “Maybe. Since I wasn’t consulted about being the executor, nor either of us about their other requests, I don’t feel we’re obligated. But if I’d told them I’d do these things, I wouldn’t back out.”

      David breathed deeply, looked at her with troubled eyes, and spoke in a resigned, yet compassionate, tone. “But I can’t make this decision on what is legally right or wrong. Love for my brother motivates me more than legalities. If the situation were reversed, and Timmy and Nicole were my kids, would I want Bert to abandon them? It’s not an easy decision, Summer.”

      The time had come to be honest or live a lie the rest of her life. She leaned against the latticed divider between her kitchen and living area, and after a long pause, Summer looked him squarely in the eyes and said, “It’s not that simple for me. I promised Spring I’d take care of her children.”

      David stared at her, and despite the stress of the moment, she was slightly amused to see his surprise. He was usually on top of every situation.

      “In the hospital before you came, Spring asked me to look after her kids, and she was so insistent and troubled, I finally agreed.”

      “Why didn’t you say so when we were at the farm discussing guardianship of the kids?”

      “I intended to, but when you mentioned that they’d probably made wills, I hoped that Spring hadn’t been rational when she made the request and that they’d made different arrangements for the children. That’s the reason I left and came back to New York as soon as I decently could. Every time I looked at Timmy and Nicole, I felt like bolting. I know absolutely nothing about rearing children. I’m not sure I even like children—I haven’t been around them enough to find out. David, I can’t do it, and if I don’t, it will torment me the rest of my life.”

      She sat down again, leaned her head on the arm of the sofa and burst into tears. David hadn’t had any experience with crying women, so he didn’t know what he should do. He went to the kitchen and rummaged around in the cabinets. Everything was marked and in place, as he should have known it would be. He heated hot water, poured it into a cup and dangled a bag of a spiced tea blend in it.

      He placed the cup on the coffee table and went to the bathroom and dampened a washcloth. He sat beside Summer and touched her shoulder. “Stop crying,” he encouraged. “I’ll help you through this.”

      “But I don’t want my family to hate me!” she wailed.

      “Wipe your face and drink your tea. We’ll figure out something.”

      While Summer alternately sniffed and drank the tea, he tried to formulate a plan of action. How could he advise her when he didn’t know what to do?

      “You’re not the only one who’s troubled about this situation,” he said at last. “I’ve got my life ordered the way I want it, and I’ve had a few bitter thoughts about a brother who would write such a will and not even mention it to me. I’m not good at administration, but the thing that bothers me more than anything else is that I’m not spiritually competent to take on Bert’s job.”

      “I don’t understand.”

      “You know the kind of school they operated, don’t you?”

      “Of course. It’s a school for underprivileged and troubled teenagers.”

      “But it’s also a Christian school, and while I was a practicing Christian when I was a boy, I’m not now. I haven’t read the Bible for years. I can’t be an administrator at a Christian school without a solid spiritual commitment. What about your faith? Are you qualified for this kind of work?”

      Summer leaned back and rested her head on the couch. “My folks didn’t take us to church, so I have very little knowledge of Christianity. Spring became a Christian when she met Bert, and Autumn and Nathan are active in church affairs. I’ve always been the oddball in the family, and it’s the same with spiritual matters. I’d have no idea how to work with teenagers in a mission school.”

      “And that may be our way out of this situation,” David said. “Just because Bert and Spring wanted us to take over their school doesn’t mean we can. They were serving under a mission board, and I doubt very much that the board members would allow us to take over the school even if we wanted to.”

      Summer brightened, and then her spirits drooped again. “But we’d still be stuck with the kids.” She gasped and covered her face with her hands. “What a terrible thing to say! Don’t I have any compassion at all?”

      David sympathized with Summer. When he’d been around the Weaver family, he’d gathered that Summer hadn’t received as much attention as the other two daughters. When she’d been a quiet child, it was easy for her to escape notice.

      “I haven’t told your parents or mine about the contents of the wills, but I’d like to go to North Carolina and look over the situation before I turn thumbs down on it. Will you go with me? What we find there may make our decision easier.”

      Summer sighed. “When I’ve just gotten that good job at the bank, I hate to ask for any more time off. But I suppose you’re right. Hopefully, my employers will be patient a little longer.”

      “Let’s take a plane to North Carolina, rent a car and drive up in the mountains where the school is located. I’ve already established contact with the school’s supervisor, and after we talk to her, she may make the decision for us. I’ll cancel my flight for tomorrow, and we can leave on Monday.”

      “That might take care of the school problem, but that won’t solve the guardianship of the children.”

      He moved closer to her and stretched his arm around her shoulders. She welcomed his touch as he said sympathetically, “I won’t tell anyone what Spring asked you to do. If you decide you can’t take on the care of Nicole and Timmy, no one will ever know about your promise.”

      “I will,” she said drearily. “So I’ll make arrangements to go to North Carolina Monday morning.” She drained the last of her tepid tea and lifted the cup. “Bon voyage.”

      On Monday morning when they landed at the Winston-Salem Airport, David arranged for a rental car, and they headed westward on Interstate 40.

      “From what I gathered by reading Spring’s letters, this school is located in the boondocks,” Summer said.

      “Yes, that’s true. I’ve seen pictures of the place. There are two schools in the compound that’s located near Mountain Glen, a little town in a remote area of Madison County. An elementary school that’s been operating fifty years or so, and The Crossroads, the school Bert and Spring started. Edna Stollard, the woman I talked to, supervises both schools. The mission board that supported Bert and Spring while they were in Bolivia wanted to establish a facility for troubled teenagers, and they asked Bert and Spring to assume the responsibility. It took them almost a year to erect buildings and get the school in operation. I don’t think they have many students yet.”

      As they approached the Blue Ridge Mountains, Summer delighted in the awesome scenery and СКАЧАТЬ