LITMIR.BIZ

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both here made Christmas especially wonderful.”

      Ben’s smile went a long way in convincing Rebecca that he meant what he said. Then he bent down, tipped Rebecca’s chin up and looked her in the eyes. “Please...let yourself enjoy being with your family again. And don’t for a minute worry about what the boarders think. We’re all very happy to have you and Jenny here. You’ve been through a lot, trying to raise your daughter by yourself. Some women would have given up their children for—”

      “Oh! I could never have given Jenny up. Having her is what gave me reason to keep going.” She stopped herself from saying more.

      How much did Ben know about her past? Her mother had told her that all most of them knew was that she’d been found after having been missing for over four years—except perhaps for Kathleen and Luke Patterson, who’d been responsible for finding her.

      “It’s your story to tell, Rebecca dear,” her mother had said. “If you decide you need to, when and to whom is your choice. As for your brother and I, we’re overjoyed to have you back in our lives.”

      The Lord had more than answered Rebecca’s deepest prayers in sending Kathleen to her apartment as a liaison for the Ladies’ Aid Society. Because of her, Rebecca had faced her past and been reunited with her loved ones—but she wasn’t sure she’d ever share that past with anyone else.

      The door opened and boarders Julia Olsen and Millicent Faircloud came in. They’d barely removed their outer wraps when Mathew Sterling, another of her mother’s boarders, entered. Greeting each one, Rebecca had no chance to say more to Ben alone. Everyone rushed upstairs or down to get ready for dinner, but as Ben turned to go down to the men’s quarters, Rebecca reached out and touched his arm. “I...thank you again for catching Jenny.”

      “You’re welcome. I doubt she’ll be sliding downstairs anytime soon.” Ben reached out and covered her hand with his.

      Rebecca was a bit disturbed by the way her pulse raced with the touch of his hand on hers and she quickly slipped hers out from under his. “I’d better go find out if Jenny is getting in the way in the kitchen.”

      “And I need to go wash up. See you in a bit.”

      Rebecca nodded and smiled. She headed toward the dining room, trying to tell herself her racing pulse had nothing at all to do with Ben and everything to do with seeing her daughter sail down the banister. Still, her reaction to his touch unsettled her. She hadn’t reacted quite like that in years and she was determined to tamp down the fluttery feeling inside. She would not—could not—let herself become attracted to another man. She’d been through enough heartbreak to last a lifetime and she wasn’t going there again.

      She hurried to the kitchen to give a huge hug to the only worthwhile thing to come out of her time of rebellion and reprimand her one more time about ever trying to slide down the banister again. Then she sent up a silent prayer of thankfulness that Ben had been there to catch her precious daughter.

      * * *

      When Ben entered the dining room a short while later, he was glad Rebecca and her mother seemed to have recovered from Jenny’s near tragedy. Rebecca must have been terrified when Jenny began her slide down—he’d been quite alarmed himself in trying to get to her in time. The little girl was a bit quieter than normal, but she gave him a sweet smile as he held out a chair for Rebecca and then took his own seat across from her.

      He smiled back. Jenny had her mother’s beautiful blue eyes, but her hair was blonder with no red in it. Rebecca had just enough red in her hair to make him finally realize what strawberry blonde looked like. She was very pretty, petite and delicate to look at, but she was also a strong woman. She had to be, to have lived in the tenements and raised a child by herself.

      He knew little about the circumstances that had taken Rebecca away from her family or kept them from finding her, but he admired her for the simple fact that she’d kept her child and tried to do the best she could by her. Jenny was a happy little girl and Ben was certain her mother deserved the credit for it.

      His heart went out to women raising children alone. Always had. His own mother had abandoned him when he was a baby, dropped him off at an orphanage, leaving him to grow up wondering why she’d left him and what had been wrong with him to cause her to...desert him.

      He was thankful for Mrs. Butler, the director of the orphanage, who’d taken him in and been there for him all those years. And he’d been blessed in having an anonymous benefactor who’d paid for his education. Because of the generosity afforded him, Ben had made a vow to help other orphans in whatever way he could. He visited the orphanage often and mentored the young people who were of an age to go out on their own. Still, the thought that his mother had deserted him—

      Ben swallowed around the tightness in his throat and turned his attention back to his fellow boarders.

      With Kathleen and Luke Patterson married and starting their life together a couple of blocks away, and Elizabeth and John Talbot doing the same thing several blocks in the opposite direction, the table seemed very empty. Two couples—four boarders—had moved out within a few months of each other. If not for Rebecca and Jenny moving into Heaton House, it would only be him and Matt, Millicent and Julia left as boarders.

      The four of them had wondered what would happen next. Would Mrs. Heaton close her boardinghouse now that her daughter and granddaughter had moved in? Or would she take in more boarders? There was room for at least two more men downstairs and several more female boarders upstairs, if Mrs. Heaton utilized a room or two on the third floor. They might be a bit smaller on that floor, but still larger than many rooms to let in the city, and he had no doubt they’d be filled quickly if his landlady decided to rent them out.

      He hoped she did. For some reason, the upcoming changes in boarders left him feeling odd, longing for something more and he wasn’t even sure what that was.

      Ben looked at Jenny, who was staring at him. He smiled and she grinned at him—right before she ducked her head, touching his heart. He looked up and found her mother’s gaze on him. Something stirred inside as their eyes met.

      “I’ve been thinking,” Mrs. Heaton said from the head of the table. “Before I put in an advertisement for new boarders, I want to tell you all what I’d like to do and hear what you think about it.”

      “What is it, Mrs. Heaton?” Matt asked from the other end of the table.

      “Well, even gaining Rebecca and Jenny, this place has begun to feel a little empty with our married couples moved out.”

      “That’s for sure,” Julia Olsen said. “I’m certainly glad Rebecca and Jenny moved in. We barely have enough to play a good game of charades as it is.”

      “I’m more than thrilled my girls are here,” Mrs. Heaton said. “And I’d like us to have a full table again, but I want to do a little remodeling first. I’d like to change things up a bit on the third floor.” She lowered her voice. “I want to give Gretchen and Maida a small sitting room between their rooms and then redo several more rooms for more possible boarders, making sure I keep at least two for emergency arrivals. It’s going to be a bit of an inconvenience for a few weeks, but the work will be done while you’re all out for the day and—”

      “Mrs. Heaton, this is your home. Whatever you want to do is fine with me,” Julia said. “If you need me to move into another room, I’ll be glad to. I’m just happy to be here and glad there’ll be more boarders coming in.”

      “So am I,” Millicent said. “I’ll be happy with anything you choose to do.”

      Everyone chimed in, telling her she had their support, including Ben. “Will you be changing the downstairs, as well?” he asked.

      “Not right away. You men are fairly safe for the time being.”

      “I feared you might decide to close Heaton House to boarders now that—” Millicent clapped a hand over her mouth.

      “Rebecca and Jenny are here?” Mrs. Heaton asked. “I did

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