Page 26 of Mail-Order Bride Secret
She sent Wally a desperate, help-me look.
His eyelids flickered and he rose. “Someone is tired. Good night to all and thanks for the meal.”
Madeline added her thanks wondering if anyone heard her over Jonathan.
Wally guided Madeline from the room and called the twins to join them. They crossed the yard to their house, Jonathan sobbing quietly against her shoulder.
“You tend to him. I’ll get these two to bed.”
“Thank you.” Without Wally’s help, she’d be forced to leave the twins to go to bed on their own which they were quite capable of doing but it seemed they should be tucked in by an adult. Just as sheremembered her parents did for her when she was a child.
Here in this peaceful home, she could offer all the children love and stability. She could say their prayers at bedtime, sing them lullabies, and teach them to read and write.
Wally would be a good father.
And a good husband she had no doubt.
But could Madeline give him what he needed, wanted, and deserved?
Wally kneltby Otis’s bed, a twin on either side of him, his arm around their shoulders. Warmth bubbled up in his chest at the strength of his feelings for this pair. Orphaned and displaced just as he’d been.Lord, I’ll do my best for them and for Madeline and Jonny. I’ll give them a home, love, and security.
“Who wants to go first?”
Otis stiffened, lifting Wally’s arm. “I ain’t gonna pray out loud.”
“Oh. Why is that?”
“Cause.”
Ivy supplied the answer. “He don’t see any reason to pray.”
“Aunt Maddie didn’t expect us to.”
Maddie? Wally liked that. Maddie had hinted at herdoubts.I believe in God. I believe He made the universe. I’m not convinced He cares about my problems.
He’d written that God doesn’t just bring trials into our lives, He brings us through them, stronger on the other side. He’d shared a little about how distant God felt when he was struggling on his own.But the Shannons taught me, but even more, they showed me, that God is faithful and good.
One thing he’d learned from Mrs. Shannon—God was big enough, loving enough, and faithful enough to handle doubts.
“You don’t have to pray out loud.” It would be foolish to insist. A prayer must be sincere. He listened to Ivy’s sweet petition then he pulled the covers up and tucked them in. Something he remembered his mother doing for him. He whispered good night and left the room.
He’d been aware of Jonny fussing as he took care of the twins and the soothing tone of Maddie’s voice as she tried to calm him. About the time he seemed to settle, he would again raise a protest. Poor little one was overtired and unsettled in his new surroundings.
He went to the door and called softly. “Can I do anything to help?”
“He won’t let me put him down. I’ll have to sleep with him again tonight.”
“I understand.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to be.” In his room—their room—he prepared for the night, Jonny’s fussing an accompaniment to his actions. He stretched his weary body on the bed, closed his eyes, and assessed his life. He’d dreamed of his own family for years. Hadn’t thought it possible until the Shannon boys got themselves mail-order brides. Now he had children and a wife of his own. It would take time for them all to fit into their roles and he was all right with that. He’d do everything he would to speed up the process, but he wouldn’t push.
Morning tiptoed in silently.Wally lay motionless in his bed and listened. Not a sound apart from a rooster announcing his intention of starting the day. He dressed and slipped from the room. Moving as quietly as possible, he stirred the embers and got a fire going then put on the coffee.
Otis came from their room, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Wally signaled him to be quiet and did the same to Ivy as she followed her brother.
