Heart Full of Love (3 page)

Eden clenched her fists as the traitorous tears flooded her eyes. “I had a succession of foster parents. None of them replaced my mother. She taught me all I needed to know about mothering in the eight years before she died. The last foster parents adopted me, but they never took the place of my own parents. I know what it’s like to be ripped away from the only life you’ve ever known, and I’ll not subject Katie to that.”

He stood to his feet. “Then I suppose there is no more to say. But I’m not giving up, Eden. Katie belongs with me. My sister and my parents would expect her to be with me. I’ll be in touch.”

Disappointment sharpened her tone. “Make sure you call first. I can’t have you dropping by whenever you feel like it. Katie might begin to depend on you, and then you’ll go flitting off to the Middle East or somewhere else. I don’t want her hurt.”

His jaw tightened, and he nodded curtly. “I’ll call.” He slammed the door behind him.

Eden sighed. That had not gone well. But everything she said was true. She knew what it was like to cry at night from missing her family. Katie couldn’t be allowed to experience that heartache. Not while there was something Eden could do about it.

The next few days seemed particularly lonely to Eden for some reason. Twenty-four years since she’d seen her sisters and her brother. Where were they? The question never left her mind for long. With Mama sick so much, the children’s care had fallen to Eden as the oldest.

Her arms still ached to hold Crista, the baby of the family. She yearned to braid Angelina’s thick hair again, to see Timmy’s face when he smelled the chocolate chip cookies she and Mama used to bake. Did they remember her at all? They were so young. Little Crista had been only three when they were separated.

How could anyone do that to children? To rip them apart from one another and send them to different homes, to change their names so they couldn’t find each other. Not that she had tried very hard lately. The roadblocks bureaucracy had thrown in her way had left her feeling hopeless and alone. It wasn’t fair. But God had never promised life would be fair. She had to remind herself of that all the time. He had gone with her through every trial, every heartache.

But what if I never find them?
The question rang in her head, and she hunched her shoulders and reached for her Bible. She couldn’t think thoughts like that. Someday she would find them. She knew this in her soul—if not here on this earth, in heaven. Their mother had prayed for them, and she had to believe her prayers had taken root. Those prayers had led her to Jesus, and she had to believe that Angelina, Timmy, and Crista had come to know Him as well. Without that hope, she couldn’t go on.

The front door slammed, and the older children rushed in from school. Samantha had her book bag slung over her shoulder, her ribbon missing and her braid half undone. Cory immediately sat at Eden’s feet. Amelia’s shoelaces were untied, and her new blouse was stained with ink. Eden sighed.

“Eden, we seen Mr. Leland outside. I invited him for supper, is that okay?” Samantha dropped her book bag and stared at her with hopeful eyes.

Great. Just what she didn’t want to have to deal with. And he hadn’t called first, in spite of her admonition. Before she could answer Samantha, the doorbell rang. Eden’s heart gave a funny hitch, and she frowned. She couldn’t be attracted to the man, could she? He was the enemy. She would do well to keep that in mind.

She would act as though their harsh words had never happened, she decided. It was best for Katie if they could get along. Josh would eventually come to realize this was for the best. She pinned her smile in place and went to the door and opened it.

Josh looked good this evening. Too good. He was impeccably dressed, as usual, and she caught the faint whiff of his cologne, a spicy, masculine scent that reminded her of the woods. He carried a laptop computer and a briefcase, and she felt a stab of alarm. Was he serving her with papers or something? But that was silly, the sheriff would be the one to serve papers.

He smiled faintly when she raised an eyebrow and glanced to the briefcase. “I won’t put you on the spot and demand supper. But I
was
invited.”

Eden chuckled and stepped out of the way. “Come in. If you like vegetable soup, there’s plenty to share.”

“With cabbage in it?”

“Lots of cabbage. It’s cheap,” she said, shutting the door behind him.

“I’ll stay.” He followed her to the parlor where Samantha sidled up to him and took his hand.

The little girl was quite smitten with him. Eden decided she might have to watch that. Samantha’s feelings were easily bruised, and she’d been through a lot in the past six months.

Josh sniffed. “Smells good.”

“Thanks.” Eden didn’t know what to say to him. Why had he come back, again without calling? And how long did he intend to hang around Wabash?

She went to the fireplace and lit her Yankee candle. She never had the money for such frivolous things, but her secret sister at church had bought it for her. The spicy aroma would soothe her frazzled nerves.

“Want me to make a fire?” he asked.

“You know how?” He didn’t strike her as the outdoorsy type. Too urbane and sophisticated.

“You forget I’m an Eagle Scout. I live for my times in the woods.”

He kept surprising her. “Be my guest.”

He went to the fireplace and found the kindling. Within moments he had coaxed a flame and then piled three logs on the grate. He put the screen in front of the grate and went to the sofa. “I have some things to show you,” he said.

Eden swallowed hard. She was afraid to see what he had in his briefcase. She had a feeling it might change her life.

Josh found it hard to think with Eden’s green eyes on him. They were darkened with trepidation as though she didn’t quite know how to take him. And how did he know if his suggestion would be welcome or not? Maybe she didn’t want to know. Some people didn’t. Possible rejection was hard to handle.

He cleared his throat and opened his computer. “Where’s a jack I can plug into?”

“Right beside you. The phone has a place in the back of it.”

He snapped the connector into place while the computer booted up, then clicked on the Internet icon. The computer dialed up and took him to the site he’d looked at earlier in the day. He thought Eden would be impressed.

He patted the space beside him on the sofa. “Sit here so you can see.”

Her eyes widened but she didn’t object, just moved from the rocker and sat beside him. She smelled sweet, like vanilla maybe. Her gaze focused on the screen. He heard her slight intake of breath but was almost afraid to look at her. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. But his uncertainty vanished at the sight of her eyes widened in delight.

“I’ve heard of these adoption bulletin boards, but I’ve never been able to afford a computer to check them out. And with two babies, the library was out of the question.” She moved closer and peered at the screen.

It was all Josh could do to drag his gaze from her animated face with that delightful dimple flashing in her cheek. “I would need to know all the information you have about your family. Do you know your family name?”

“Richmond. I was eight when Daddy left me at the preacher’s so I remember quite a lot. My parents were John and Anna Richmond, and we lived in Covington, Kentucky.”

“Kentucky, huh? You’re not so far from your roots. Have you ever gone back there?” He tapped at the keys.

She shook her head. “There’s never been the money for it. I called and talked to a woman at the state office, but she said my sisters and brother were sent out of state and wouldn’t tell me more than that.”

“Let’s go to the Kentucky site first and see what their laws say.” He selected the state and peered at the screen as the information scrolled up.

“This says siblings can petition the court to search for each other!” Eden grasped his arm in her excitement.

Josh glanced at her small hand on his arm and was shocked at his own desire to take it and hold it in his own. These inappropriate feelings toward his niece’s caretaker had to stop. He cleared his throat. “As long as you’re all over eighteen,” he pointed out.

“We are. I’m the oldest, and Crista is the baby. She’s five years younger than me, so that would make her about twenty-nine.” Her voice grew dreamy. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they were looking for me, too?”

Eden was thirty-four then. She had a freshness to her skin and eyes that had made him guess her to be still in her twenties. He dragged his gaze from the petal-softness of her cheeks and began to read the screen again.

He could sense Eden’s excitement, and he felt a bit uneasy. What if he’d raised her hopes for nothing? His plan could backfire on him. If she failed to find her siblings, she might cling even tighter to Katie. He couldn’t allow that; he had to find them.

“I’ll call and request a form to begin the search,” he said. “Now let’s go to the bulletin board and post the information. Tell me everything you know.”

“John and Anna Richmond. Four of us kids. Mama died of cancer.” Eden’s voice trembled, and she bit her lip. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she blinked several times. “I loved my daddy, but he changed when Mama died. Then he lost his job and left us with Mama’s preacher.”

“How long were you with him?”

“A few months. Word came back that Daddy had died. I’m not sure what happened, I suppose I was too young to hear the full story. Anyway, his sister, our aunt Selma, came to see us. But she was a widow with no inclination to try to handle four kids who were still grieving for their parents. She kept Timmy and sent the rest of us to foster care.”

Eden bit her lip and shivered. Josh had to fight to keep himself from putting his arm around her. She’d gone through so much, he could understand why family was so important to her.

“Crista was the first to go. When I heard that the state was allowing her to be adopted, I threw up, then cried for three days. Angelina was next. By then, I was numb. Too old to be appealing to childless couples, I was shunted from one foster home to another. But I never forgot my brother and sisters. And I never will. They’re out there somewhere—I know it.”

A lump formed in Josh’s throat. There was a steadfast integrity about Eden that drew him. He cleared his throat and looked back to his computer screen. “Let’s get this posted. Read this and see what you think.”

Seeking Richmond siblings.

Parents, John and Anna Richmond, died in 1975. Eden, the eldest, seeks three younger siblings,

born in Covington, Kentucky.

Last known names: Timothy Richmond,

Angelina Richmond, and Crista Richmond.

Eden touched the screen with a trembling hand. “Do you really think this might work, Josh? And why do you care? Why are you doing this?”

Josh tried to ignore the questions. “What’s your address and phone number?” He typed in the information she gave him. When he looked up from the screen, Eden’s green eyes were focused on him.

“Why are you doing this, Josh?”

How could he tell her his motives were so selfish when she gazed at him with such trust in her eyes? He felt dirty and longed to escape from the piercing light of goodness in Eden’s face. Looking away, he shrugged. “At least they’re still alive,” he said.

Eden’s face softened even more. “I understand,” she said softly.

What a jerk he was! Leading her to believe he was doing this for altruistic motives. Josh had never felt so low. He would find her siblings and tell her the truth as soon as possible. He didn’t feel good about misleading Eden; she was so innocent and had been hurt by so many. He cringed inside at how she would feel if she knew his true motives.

He clicked the Send button, then shut his computer down. “It will probably be a few days before we get any response.”

Eden’s eager smile faded. “If we get a response. They may not even remember or care.”

“They would care about finding a sister like you.” His gaze locked with Eden’s. He almost felt as though their souls touched in that moment. Hastily dropping his gaze, he got to his feet. “Where’s that vegetable soup with cabbage I was promised?”

Was that disappointment in Eden’s eyes? Had she felt a special something that had stretched between them like a physical touch?

She stood and went toward the kitchen. “I’ll put it on the table. Would you get Katie up from her nap?”

“You sure she won’t be frightened?”

Eden put her hands on her hips and laughed. “Josh Leland, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how you’ve stolen the hearts of my children!” She shook her head. “She won’t be frightened of her uncle Josh.”

Uncle Josh. The sound gave him a warm fuzzy feeling. He grinned. “I’ll get her.”

“And change her diaper before you bring her down,” Eden called.

Uh-oh, another diaper. But this was on a girl, and it was less dangerous. Josh took the steps two at a time and strode down the hall to Katie’s room.

Lying on her back with her bare feet kicking the foot of her crib, she smiled when she saw him. She quickly scrambled to her feet and held up her arms for him to take her.

“Well, you are rather angelic, just as your mama said,” he told her.

She corked her thumb in her mouth and regarded him soberly.

He felt her diaper. Rats! It was wet. But at least it was only wet. He laid her on the changing table and managed to change her without a hitch. Her diaper drooped slightly, but not so badly as Braden’s had yesterday. He must be getting a handle on this diaper business.

He started down the hall, then heard noises from Braden’s room. Josh peeked inside, and the baby began to bounce excitedly at the sight of Josh and Katie.

“I guess you’re awake.” How did he handle two of them at once? How did Eden do it? He put Katie on one hip, then scooped Braden up in the other arm and balanced him on the other hip. It seemed much more awkward than the way he’d seen Eden do it. And there was no way he was going to attempt to change Braden, too.

Biting his lip in concentration, he managed to get down the steps without a mishap. Katie gripped his ear with one chubby hand while Braden inspected Josh’s teeth. There was more to this parenting business than he’d thought. But he would learn. He was not giving up Katie to anyone. Not even Eden.