LITMIR.BIZ

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one sounds plausible.” Relieved she hadn’t brushed off the orphaned child, he asked, “Are you going to apply for her guardianship?”

      “Me?” She gaped at him. “What do I know about kids? I was thinking more along the lines of bringing Alexa here for a visit. I’ve been watching the kids who come. They all seem to have a wonderful time.”

      “Yes.” Jake had hoped for more, hoped for Gemma to interact with the child. Maybe if her focus wasn’t on what she’d forgotten...

      “You want me to weed?” Gemma stood at the fenced entrance to the garden, surveying it.

      “Do you want to?” He smothered a laugh at her eager nod.

      “Yes! I love weeding.” As soon as the words were out, her forehead pleated. Her expression faltered. “Don’t I?” she asked hesitantly.

      “You did.” He handed her a pair of work gloves she’d left behind long ago, and grinned as she slid them onto her slender fingers. “You’ve loved weeding ever since the first time the aunts sent you out to weed as punishment for some misdeed. You were supposed to work an hour. You were here for three and I didn’t have to do it again for a week. You used to beg them to send you out to weed.” He chuckled. “I often wondered if you sometimes broke a rule or misbehaved just so you could get your fingers in the dirt.”

      “Sounds like I was a brat.” Gemma knelt and with a touch born of long experience, eased a thistle out of the ground from between tender carrot shoots. “Was that why I eloped, do you think, to break a rule?”

      “I don’t know the answer to that, Gem. You never said.” Jake sank to his knees in the next row and began extricating the unwanted green invaders from around his beans.

      Silence stretched between them, a comfortable peace The Haven always seemed to engender in him. At least it had until Gem’s return. For some reason Jake now felt like he had to keep up his guard, had to keep reminding himself of his vow to Lily.

      “There’s something wonderful about weeding,” Gemma murmured more to herself than him. “It’s exciting, like you’re preparing the way for something. You can’t see exactly what’s happening, but you know the end result will be so good. We’ll have carrots.” She said it almost triumphantly.

      “And peas and beans and...” Jake let it trail away, amused by the satisfaction filling her face.

      “I remember once when I was in Italy—” Gemma stopped, blinked and stared at him. “I remember something!”

      “Good. What is it?” He kept on weeding, waiting to hear whatever thought was emerging. Listening to Gemma speak about her travels had always fascinated him.

      “I was in a garden there.” She leaned back on her heels, her gaze on some far distant place. “There were the most massive tomatoes and I was picking the best.” She stopped and grinned at him. “To make sauce for lasagna. Or rather, Mamma Francesca was teaching me how to make it. Those tomatoes were so delicious.”

      “Cool,” he murmured, watching the wash of sun light up her face. Gemma was gorgeous. Then shadows filled her eyes.

      “I don’t know what else happened,” she murmured. “I can’t—”

      “Remember,” he finished for her and winked.

      “Exactly!” Gemma exclaimed. She burst out laughing and the tense lines dissipated.

      They worked together for a while in a genial silence that required no speaking. Jake had a hunch she was remembering more, but he remained quiet, loathe to interrupt.

      “I must have been to Italy several times,” she eventually murmured. “In my mind I can see the Coliseum, the tower of Pisa and a spot on a mountain where there was an eruption.”

      “Vesuvius,” Jake offered.

      “No. Mt. Etna. Three days after Kurt and I left, there was an eruption. It was a big tour group and we were so glad we hadn’t delayed...” Gemma blinked several times, then twisted her head to look at him. “Why can’t I remember my husband, Jake?”

      “You will. But you have a lot of memories tucked in that lovely head. I guess they can’t all come at once.” He kept working.

      “What am I supposed to do until I do remember?” A hint of bitterness colored her voice. “That’s part of what bothers me with the whole Alexa thing. What do I have to offer her? I don’t remember how to lead a tour anymore, but even if I did, how could I travel and care for a child? Or am I supposed to stay here and freeload off the aunts until I remember my life? If I ever do, that is.”

      “Gemma,” Jake scolded. “Last year your sister was injured while rock climbing. Nobody thought she was freeloading when she stayed in bed to let her leg heal. Olivia happily took over her job.”

      “Victoria always did love scaling the most treacherous places,” Gemma muttered, apparently unaware that she’d identified which sister without any prompting. “But this is different. I don’t work here.”

      “Maybe you could for a while,” he suggested.

      “Doing what?” she asked, eyebrows arched. “Showing people around? Kind of hard since I don’t know my own way around the place.”

      “You’ll figure it out. Give it some thought. I’m sure you’ll find a niche in The Haven’s ministry that only you can fill.” He paused before asking, “What will you do about Alexa?”

      Gemma rose. She studied the group of kids playing dodgeball nearby in a grassy meadow. Then she considered the circle of stones they’d gathered around last evening to roast marshmallows. Lastly she surveyed the play equipment her sisters used for their own children. She remained silent for some time. When she did speak there was a hesitancy to her words that told Jake she was struggling to sort out her emotions.

      “I think I’ll ask Victoria to find out if Alexa can come here for a visit.”

      “That’s a great idea.” Jake hoped she wouldn’t change her mind. A lonely child could be exactly what Gemma needed to take her mind off her own problems.

      “We can get to know each other. I don’t want to abandon this child whom my husband apparently cared for so deeply,” she murmured, forehead pleated. “But what if—?”

      “I’ll help you,” he interrupted, wondering why he was doing this when he’d spent the past six years basically isolating himself at The Haven. Now he was going to help with some orphaned little girl he didn’t even know? Yes.

      “Thank you, Jake.” Gemma’s smile somehow made it all make sense. “What will we do with her?”

      “Help her join in the activities with all the other kids,” he said, glancing over her head at a group of kids now flying kites. “There’s always something to do here.”

      “I suppose.” The way Gemma dragged out the word proved he’d missed the intent of her question. “I actually meant what will I do with her? What kind of things would help me get to know Alexa?”

      “You were always good with kids, Gem. You’ll think of something. And you do have Kurt in common. But I’m not sure you need to plan it all out ahead of time,” he cautioned. “Maybe you wait, watch to see what she enjoys and build on that.”

      “How did you get to be so smart about kids, Jake?” Gemma moved farther down the row, annihilating weeds as if driven.

      “I’m not smart about kids,” he denied as the familiar surge of loss bloomed inside. I didn’t get that chance. Don’t go there. “Hey,” he challenged, desperate to change the subject. “Are you doing the corn rows or am I?”

      “You take forever. I’ll do it.” She shot him a cheeky grin. “You always baby the seedlings too much. Once they’re out of your greenhouse and in the ground, they’ll toughen up. You have to be strong to live in the foothills

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