Jingle Bell Babies

A memory stirred in Lori’s mind but she immediately pushed it aside. It bounced back.

Not a good sign.

The day after the tornado, she’d been called in early to cover another nurse’s shift. Everyone was shaken by the news of the devastation, and with tears in her eyes, one of the nurses whispered to Lori that she’d heard Marie Logan had died.

Lori knew the triplets had no comprehension that their lives had been irrevocably changed, but she’d gone to them immediately. And while she sat next to the crib and sang to the girls, she’d felt someone’s presence in the room.

Jesse stood in the doorway, watching her.

She’d wanted to comfort him—to tell him she was praying for him—but the hard look in his eyes warned her that he wouldn’t welcome any sympathy.

As Lori slipped out of the room, she’d asked God to let her know if there was a way she could help the Logan family.

Had He waited five months to give her an answer?

Chapter Two

Discouragement gnawed at Jesse as he paused to survey the barren landscape. The frontline winds that had spawned the funnel cloud in July had left their mark on this end of the property, too.

“Jess—wait a second.”

Jesse glanced back and saw Clay dismount and reach for something in the brush.

Jesse’s heart kicked against his chest. Ever since the tornado, he’d been searching for the heirloom engagement ring Marie had left on the kitchen table that day. He’d found the soggy remains of the note and her wedding band in the rubble, but there’d been no sign of the diamond.

Several times a week for the past five months, Maya faithfully checked the community Lost and Found to see if anyone had turned it in. Reverend Garrison had even made a special announcement during one of the community meetings to let everyone know how much the ring meant to the Logan family. One weekend, he’d even brought his teenage niece, Avery, and a small volunteer crew from the youth group out to the ranch to comb a section of the property for missing items.

“I can’t believe how far a twister can carry little things like this,” Clay remarked, examining something in his palm.

“What is it?” If Clay had found the ring, he’d have told Jesse right away. Silently, Jesse berated himself for giving hope a temporary foothold.

Hadn’t he learned that particular lesson already?

“A key chain…with a whistle on it.”

Jesse was at his brother’s side in two strides. “Let me see that.”

Clay’s eyebrow shot up. “It’s yours?”

Jesse stared at the piece of plastic cradled in his brother’s palm. “It’s Tommy’s.”

“The tornado dropped it this far from town?”

The tornado. Or Tommy.

On a hunch, Jesse raised the whistle to his lips and blew.

Clay winced. “Making sure it still works?”

“Shh.” For a moment, Jesse thought he’d imagined the faint cry woven into the wind. But Clay’s sharp inhale told Jesse he’d heard it, too.

“Uncle J-Jesse?” The roots of an overturned tree moved and a familiar freckled face poked out.

When Tommy saw the two men standing there, he scrambled out of his hiding spot and barreled toward them.

Jesse swung the boy up into his arms and Tommy burst into tears.

As Clay radioed the good news to the deputy in charge of the search, Jesse settled Tommy in the saddle in front of him and buttoned him into his coat. The boy’s ragged sigh shook his thin frame and went straight through Jesse.

He still couldn’t believe that Tommy had managed to stumble upon the collapsed cave.

When the tornado had chewed its way across the property, it upended the tree that had once marked the cave’s location, but created an opening large enough for a six-year-old boy to squeeze into. Sheltering him not only from the elements but from any predators lurking in the area.

Clay had murmured something about answered prayer. Jesse hadn’t argued the point. Maybe God had stopped listening to him, but at least He had heard Maya. At the moment, Jesse could be grateful for that.

“Are you sure Mom…Maya…and G-Greg aren’t mad at me?” The words were muffled but Jesse could hear the undercurrent of worry in Tommy’s voice.

Jesse frowned. Tommy had been calling Maya and his brother-in-law “Mom and Dad” for the past few months.

“I’m sure. They’ve been worried about you….” His throat tightened. They’d all been worried about him. “And they’re going to be happy to know that you’re okay.”

“Even if I did sumpthin’ bad?”

“What do you mean?”

“I made Layla cry. Not on purpose,” Tommy added quickly. “But I don’t think they believed me. And then I heard Maya tell you there’s a problem with the ’doption. I know what that means. There’s a problem with me.”

Jesse sucked in a breath. No one could figure out why Tommy had run away from home, but now it all made sense. He’d overheard part of a conversation Jesse had had with Maya.

“Believe me, Tommy, that’s not what she meant. Everyone loves you—you’re part of the family.”

“For real?” Tommy’s chin tilted toward Jesse and the dirt-smudged face brightened.

“For real. The problem with the adoption isn’t you, champ. The problem is that it isn’t going as fast as Maya and Greg would like it to,” Jesse explained. “Trust me. They can’t wait for you to be their little boy.”

Tommy snuggled against him. “We better get back so she isn’t worried anymore. I’m glad you came, Uncle Jesse. I was getting kinda cold. And I ran out of—” he battled a yawn “—peanut butter.”

“They found him.” Nicki picked up Kasey and twirled her around in the middle of the room, much to the toddler’s delight. “Clay just called my cell phone. Tommy is fine. Tired and hungry, but fine. Maya and Greg are meeting Jesse at home.”

Lori closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer of thanks.

“I’m going to sneak into the service and tell Reverend Garrison so he can announce the good news.” Nicki spun one more wobbly pirouette as she glided toward the doorway with Kasey in her arms. “Thanks for staying to help, Lori. I’m sure you had other plans for the evening. Plans that didn’t include total chaos!”

Lori smiled but didn’t confess that total chaos was a welcome change from her silent apartment, a bowl of pretzels and the latest cozy mystery she’d picked up at the grocery store checkout.

While Nicki entertained Kasey and the other children throughout the evening, Lori devoted her attention to the triplets.

Brooke and Madison had taken their bottles and had eventually fallen asleep, but Sasha was clearly a night owl. The baby remained wide-awake, content to cuddle in Lori’s lap as they put several miles on the rocking chair.