Thankful (11 page)

After making sure Christina was as bundled as possible, he steeled himself. “Let's go. With the Lord's help we should get back home within the hour.”

“An hour's walk is nothing. A piece of cake,” she joked.

Then just as he was searching for the right words to try to alleviate her worries, she turned and started walking at a brisk pace. Leading the way.

And for the first time in recent memory, he was content to follow.

chapter nine

Oh, but those first few hours with James had been a delight! An awkward, nerve-racking, wonderful delight!

Bernie had stayed with them for a full two hours, helping Judith and Ben change James's diaper, feeding him a bottle, and setting him down for a nap.

Judith was amazed by the social worker's ability to offer a helping hand while blending into the background. She'd only offered suggestions to Judith and Ben when they needed it—like when they had looked at her with wide, scared eyes when James had started crying loudly and they had been sure they'd done something terribly wrong.

“Babies cry because they can't talk,” she said in her calm, easy way. “All you have to do is figure out what they want.”

“But I don't know what he wants,” Judith had whined.

“If he's just had a bottle, there's a good chance he needs to burp,” Bernie said, then proceeded to show her what to do. And sure enough, after a few good pats, the baby had burped and then had promptly fallen asleep. As Bernie demonstrated, Judith chided herself—of course she knew that babies needed to be burped! She was just so nervous she had forgotten!

Ben had been mighty impressed, though. “Bernie, that's amazing.”

“No, that's what babies do,” she teased.

Then, just as Judith was starting to think that she and Ben and James needed a little time alone, Bernie stood up.

“I need to be on my way now, but I'll be sure to stop over again tomorrow.”

“You don't mind?” Judith asked.

“Of course not! Seeing James happy here is going to be the best part of my day. Don't forget, you can call me tonight if you need something. But I have a feeling you three are going to do just fine.”

“Thank you, Bernie. Thank you for trusting us with James,” Judith said.

Bernie hugged her tight. “I never had any doubt you two would be just what this little guy needed,” she said before walking out the door.

Ben peeked out the front window and chuckled. “She's already on her cell phone again. She's sure a busy lady.”

“She's a
wonderful-gut
lady,” Judith said as she gazed at James. “Ben, at last we're alone with our little baby.”

“Our foster baby,” Ben gently corrected.

“
Jah
. Of course I meant that.”

For the next few hours, she and Ben hadn't done a single thing other than stare at James while he slept. The sight of the sweet baby in the crib in the corner of their bedroom had been a dream of hers for so long that enjoying the reality was a time too sweet to pass up.

Now, though, it was a different story. Judith's mother had just arrived, along with Gretta, Clara and Tim, and even Caleb and Rebecca. Only her father and Joshua were missing, since they were needed at the store.

And to Judith's dismay they were all staring at little James like he was a curiosity.

“I do wish all of you would stop looking at James like he's any different from us. Why don't all of you go sit down and have a cup of
kaffi
while I hold him?” It was amazing how her motherly instincts had come out full force. In just a few hours, no less!

“Just because I was surprised that his skin was dark doesn't mean I don't think he's adorable, Judith,” her mother chided. “You can't fault me for being surprised.”

Though they were reacting just as she had, Judith felt more than a bit defensive. “Bernie said the only thing foster babies need is love and to be cared for. Ben and I can do that as well as anyone.”

Her mother frowned. “We didn't say you couldn't, Judith.”

Her brother Caleb had the audacity to roll his eyes. “Once again, you are making something out of nothing, Judith. Don't be so sensitive.” And then he had the nerve to hold out his hands and say, “Now, pass me that baby. Rebecca and I want to hold him.”

To her shame, she hugged James a little bit tighter. “He might not want you holding him. He's nervous around strangers.”

“How do you know that?” Caleb asked. “You just met him yourself.”

“We've bonded already. He likes me.”

“If he doesn't like me, I'll give him back,” Caleb said patiently. When she made no move to hand him the baby he glared, adding, “And don't you start telling me how we're not old enough to hold him. Rebecca's going to have our baby in just a few months' time.”

“You can't fault his reasoning, Judith,” Ben murmured. “Let Caleb hold James. You can't hold him all day and night, you know.”

“I know.” Carefully, she at last passed over James. “Don't forget about his head!”

Caleb said nothing, only raised his brows, then cuddled the baby closer and sat back down next to Rebecca. Within seconds, they were both cooing at James and he was looking back at them with a contented expression.

Judith wasn't sure if she was relieved that James was doing so well with them . . . or just a teeny bit jealous.

“It's going to be fine,” Ben murmured.

“I just don't want to do anything wrong.”

After gazing at her for a long minute, Ben said, “Would you men mind helping me look at one of the wheels on our buggy? It felt a little loose yesterday.”

Looking relieved Tim and Caleb gathered their coats and tromped outside into the snow. Before leaving the room, Caleb passed James to their mother.

When it was only the women Gretta started giggling.

“What's so funny?”

“You are, Judith,” Rebecca teased. “At the moment, I'm almost afraid of ya.”

“I'm not that bad. . . .”

“Yes you are!” Gretta exclaimed. “My dear sister, you are a force to be reckoned with, for sure and for certain! I knew you would be a fierce mother hen, but you are even tougher than I thought you'd be.”

Judith felt her cheeks heat. “Am I that bad?”

Clara looked at Rebecca, then said, “In a word? Yes.”

“I'm sorry. I guess I'm just nervous.”

“You wouldn't be my Judith if you weren't nervous.” Her mother laughed. “Now, please sit down and relax, dear. We want to hear all about what your social worker said.”

She sat on the edge of the couch. “All right. But, um, James might need his diaper changed. Or he might get hungry. . . .”

“If he does, we'll take care of it. Now please, dear, relax. Don't you see? Everything is okay.”

In a burst of surprise, Judith realized her mother was right. Everything
was
okay. She needed to stop worrying and planning and fretting and take time to enjoy the moment. God was with them, and so was Ben and her family. And Bernie was only a phone call away. Why, there was practically a whole army of helping hands and hearts.

All she had to do was trust them. And maybe learn to trust herself a little bit, too.

“Well, first of all, Bernie said that James was born just a few days before Christmas. He's a Christmas baby!”

“A true miracle, to be sure,” her mother murmured.

With a sigh, Judith finally relaxed and started chatting, letting all her enthusiasm show and all her worries fade to the wayside.

Everything was just fine. Why, it was obvious that she and James were meant to be together. Forever.

J
ana was so glad Pippa had convinced her to take most of the afternoon and evening off. “I live just two blocks away,” Pippa had reminded her. “If the snow gets worse, I'll simply close early and walk home.”

“Okay. But if something goes wrong—”

“It won't.”

“Don't forget, I'm just a phone call away if you need anything.”

“I remember that. But I won't be calling you. I'll be fine.” Playfully shaking a finger at her, Pippa said, “You better not call me, either.”

“I'll try not to.” Jana knew that wasn't the answer Pippa had wanted, but it was the best she could do. It was becoming apparent that it was going to take a bit of practice to learn how to relax.

For the past hour she'd attempted to read the same two pages of a novel, halfheartedly tried to organize the linen closet, and stared at the inside of a near-empty refrigerator. Annoyed with herself, she slipped on boots, mittens, and her cozy wool coat.

There was nothing like a walk in the snow to lift her spirits. And there was nowhere she'd rather walk to than the Grabers' store. She loved that place. It was the closest thing to an emporium in the area, and she never failed to find something interesting.

For the first time in, well, forever, she was actually going to have time to look at everything, too. The moment she entered the store and smelled the tantalizing combination of fresh balsam and cinnamon, she knew there was no better place to spend her free time.

Until she realized that she seemed to be the only contented person in the building. Three policemen were there, and Mr. Graber himself was standing by the door with an extremely put-upon expression on his face.

“Hiya, Jana.”

“What's going on, Mr. Graber?”

“We've been robbed.” Pointing to the three policemen wandering up and down the aisles with his son, Mr. Graber said, “I walked in this morning to find the front window broken, glass all over the floor, and all sorts of things missing . . . including four quilts.”

She was shocked by the thought of such a crime happening in Sugarcreek. “This is terrible.”

“
Jah
. We've had the store a
verra
long time. And in all these years, nothing like this ever occurred.” He slumped a bit. “I have to admit that I'm a little bit at a loss of what to do. The police were gone, but now they're back.” He rolled his eyes. “Still looking for clues or some such.”

He looked so blue. “What can I do to help?”

“
Danke
, but there's nothing you can do. Unless you have any idea of who would do such a thing?”

“I'm sorry, I don't.”

Mr. Graber slumped. “I figured as much. I guess we'll just have to clean up, then wait and see what happens. And hope the policemen here do their jobs.”

“They will. We've got a great police department here.”

“You're right about that. Well, I'd better go help our customers. Snow always means good business, you know.”

Wondering how she could help, Jana glanced over at Adam Canfield, the chief of police. She knew him fairly well, thanks to his help when a couple of kids had decided to try their hand at dining and ditching.

Adam was about the age of her eldest son, Nick, and was even-tempered and unflappable. He was a good man, and ever since he'd given those teenagers a good talking-to, he'd become a frequent visitor to the Sugarcreek Inn with his wife and young son.

Adam was currently talking to Joshua Graber. But the other police officer was looking at her curiously. She figured the time was as right as any to introduce herself. “Hi. I'm Jana Kent. I own the Sugarcreek Inn. It's a restaurant just down the street.”

The officer glanced at her like she'd interrupted his business. “Can I help you?”

“Maybe.” She tried to smile. “I, ah, was just wondering if you had any idea who did this.”

“Not yet.” The expression in his eyes looked like it warred between impatience and amusement. “Usually it takes a bit longer than a couple of hours to solve a case.”

His words, combined with the intense way he was looking at her, made her feel a little flustered—and wish that she'd thought to put on some lipstick. “No, I mean, is this the first robbery like this in Sugarcreek?”

“It's the first that I've heard about. I'll double-check with the other businesses on the street, though. Sometimes little things happen that no one takes the trouble to report.”

“Thanks. That would be really nice of you.”

“Anytime.” He smiled politely, obviously ready for her to move on.

And she knew she should. But there was something about him that made her stand there just a little bit longer. “I don't think we've met. . . . Are you new?” When his brows rose, she rephrased her question. “I mean, are you new to Sugarcreek? I haven't seen you around before.”

“I moved here two months ago. After putting in twenty years with the Akron P.D., I took a part-time job here.” Somewhat dryly he added, “I'm supposedly transitioning into retirement.”

Adam Canfield joined them. “Hey, Jana. Looks like you've met our new rookie?”

She laughed. “I'm bothering him, it's more like.”

Officer Canfield smiled at the new officer, who looked old enough to be his father—or at least his uncle. “Jana, please meet Ross Capshaw. Ross, this is Jana Kent, owner of one of the best restaurants in town, the Sugarcreek Inn.”

She waited for Ross to tell her friend that they'd just been talking. But instead, he held out his hand formally. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Kent.”

“Please, call me Jana. I'm not married.” Immediately, she felt her cheeks heat. Why had she just said that? “Uh, I mean, I've been a widow for a long time now.”

Officer Canfield's smile widened. Just fractionally, but enough to make Jana painfully aware that she was practically making a play for Sugarcreek's newest policeman right there in the middle of a robbery investigation.

Gosh, was that what she was doing?

Eager to sound more like she was making a friend than flirting, she said, “If you like pie, I hope you'll stop by.” With a wink at Officer Canfield, she added, “Pie for police officers is always on the house. For their wives, too.”