The Nanny Bargain. Glynna Kaye

When he moved to town to work with me at the Outpost, he met Vanessa Selby—Therese and Ray’s youngest daughter—who was fifteen years his junior. She’d spent most of her adult life on a mission field in South America. Never married. No children, but still young enough to have them and—” he chuckled, still marveling at how excited Dad had been when Vanessa announced she was pregnant “—lo and behold, that’s exactly what Anderson and Vanessa Banks did.”

      “How old was your dad when the twins were born?”

      “Fifty-three.”

      “Brave man.”

      “That’s my dad, alright. But after he’d lived alone for so many years, I could hardly begrudge him a little happiness.”

      “It’s a shame it was short-lived.”

      “Yeah. It is.” More than anyone knew.

      “There are so many things I can’t pretend to understand,” she said softly, “and this is one of them.”

      He didn’t understand it either. Oh, he understood the free-will part, that he’d used his to mess up and there had been deadly consequences. But just as when his mother died from a series of strokes when he was eleven, where was God when Dad arrived home to find the house on fire? Where was He when Dad got the boys out, but couldn’t save Vanessa, too?

      A muscle tightened in his throat. No, he didn’t understand it at all.

      “I’m sorry if I’ve stirred sad memories.”

      She’d picked up on that, had she?

      As they approached the Selbys’ place and the boys raced ahead, the porch light softly illuminated Tori’s face, her compassion-filled eyes. She halted at the edge of the yard. “You lost your father like your little brothers did.”

      “But I had him for a lot of years,” he reminded her quietly. “I have real memories of the greatest mom and dad in the world. Memories my younger brothers will never have.”

      “No, but you can make your memories of him come alive for them, can’t you? Teach them about the man their daddy was? You can show them by example the way he lived and how he’d want them to live, too.”

      That sounded nice, but he hadn’t lived the way his father had. Not by a long shot.

      Before he could respond, an approaching car slowed and turned into the driveway, headlights briefly flashing over them. The Selbys were back, and they probably weren’t overjoyed to see him standing in the shadows with Tori.

      “Thank you for walking us home, Sawyer.”

      “Anytime.”

      As their grandparents exited the vehicle, the boys dashed off the porch and into their open arms.

      Sawyer caught Ray’s pointed stare in his direction. No doubt the boys’ grandfather would be having a heart-to-heart with Tori tonight.

      Warning her to keep her distance.