Page 47 of Left Behind

Wiley put the phone back in his pocket, and when Ava glanced up at him, he winked. The thought went through his head that this might complicate matters with Linette, but he’d never be able to live with himself if he let this child go.

When he winked, Ava looked startled and ducked her head, and then a few moments later looked up again. He was still smiling. Maybe he wasn’t going to yell.

“That’s a pretty good doughnut, isn’t it? It came from a bakery here in town. Our aunt Annie owns and runs it. She’s a really good baker. We have lots of family here. Do you have family back in Conway?”

She shook her head.

“Not anyone?” Wiley asked.

She ducked her head.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Corina only likes men. I’m a mistake.”

The smile slid off Wiley’s so fast that Ava froze. She was waiting for an explosion of rage that never came.

“Nobody is a mistake,” Wiley said. “If you had a wish, where would you wish to live forever?”

Her eyes widened and, for the first time, welled with tears. “Where nobody yelled. Where I had a bed and a pillow.”

Now Wiley’s eyes were full of tears. “And who would you live with in this wonderful place?”

“With someone who wanted me.”

“What if I wanted you?” Wiley asked.

Ava’s lips parted, but all she could do was stare.

“I know we don’t know each other yet, but I might be your brother, and if I am, then so are Aaron, and Sean, and B.J., my other brothers. You could live with me, and we would learn to be friends, and then maybe one day you would learn to love me…to love all of us.”

“Do you have a wife?” Ava asked.

He thought of Linette. “Almost.”

“Does she live with you?”

“Not all the time. But she stays at my house a lot. You would like her. She’s a nurse at the hospital in Jubilee.”

“Then who would take care of me when you’re not there?”

“Who takes care of you now?” he asked.

“Miss Mattie, only she dropped dead. Other people do sometimes, but I stay quiet so they forget that I’m there.”

“Well, that’s not happening anymore,” Wiley muttered. “You’d be in school part of the day, and I’ll find you the best babysitter in the world for when I’m at work, and it would be your home forever.”

Her eyes got wider. “With a bed and a pillow? I’ve never had a bed and a pillow.”

“Yes, and so much more, and I’ll read you bedtime stories and cook your favorite foods and—”

“Do you yell?” she whispered.

He shook his head. “Never. I promise.”

She sighed. “Corina’s going to work on a big boat.”

Awesome. “Are you finished with your milk?”

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