Meant-To-Be Baby

“Are you all right?” His dark blue eyes inspected her face.

“I’m fine.” She turned away to make some toast. “The fresh air up here always does wonders for me.”

“Uh-huh.” Something in the way he said that made her twist to look at him. Disliking the speculative look on his face, she quickly changed the subject. “Mikey saw lots of interesting things.”

Thankfully that sent the boy into a long-winded explanation of the sights and sounds around The Haven, leaving Victoria, who was suddenly ravenous, to munch on toast and peanut butter between sips of well-creamed coffee.

“What do you have planned today?” Ben asked when she finally rose to put her dishes in the dishwasher.

“Well, since Olivia and Adele are gone, I suppose lunch will be up to me. Unless—” She checked the fridge and then pumped her fist. “Yes! My dear sister left us a huge pot of soup which means I don’t have to cook.”

“I can cook if you need help,” Ben offered.

“That’s nice of you, though I can cook. Tillie and Margaret would never have allowed us girls to leave The Haven without knowing how to care for ourselves.” She wrinkled her nose as she set a coloring book and crayons in front of Mikey. “It’s just that cooking’s not my favorite activity.”

“What is?” Ben accepted a refill of coffee before leaning back in his chair and waiting.

“Almost any kind of sport. Or anything to do with kids or animals.” She glanced from him to Mikey before asking, “Were you able to discuss—things, while we were walking?”

“Yes.” He studied his nephew with a frown. “The ladies are writing a few letters. This afternoon they’re going to town to mail them and—er—check into some possibilities.”

“Ben, are you sure about this?”

“Pretty sure.” His mouth tightened in a grim line. “I can’t think of any other way.”

Victoria studied Mikey. “It’s just—”

“What do you think of Tillie and Margaret’s idea for The Haven’s newest outreach?” Now he was trying to change the subject.

“Over the top.” Victoria grimaced. “But that’s par for the course for them.”

“I think it’s amazing.” Ben’s face blazed with interest. “Think of the possibilities. What kid wouldn’t want to come here?”

“If only it were that easy,” she muttered.

“You mean your aunts don’t have the qualifications or certifications or whatever they need?”

“I’m pretty sure they do. Tillie and Margaret took all the necessary courses to foster long before they brought us here. And they’re diligent about keeping up with the foster system, constantly adding to their knowledge.” She tapped her finger against her mug. “But more importantly, they have good contacts.”

“In Jasper, you mean?” Ben looked confused.

“Jasper, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto. You name the place and I can almost guarantee my aunts know someone there who knows someone who knows someone.” Victoria grinned at his visible skepticism. “It’s true. How do you think they got to know so many people?”

“Tell me.” His shrug made her chuckle.

“Their colonel, of course.” Victoria shrugged back at him. “When vets the aunts had written to came for a visit here at The Haven, they told the ladies about the appalling situations they and some of their buddy veterans now lived in. Of course, the aunties had to do something. They enlisted the colonel and his colonel and general buddies to petition the government to spend more on those who’d given their service to this country. Because of the huge support, government response was enacted.”

“Good for them,” Ben said.

“Yes, but more importantly, as folks learned of Tillie and Margaret’s original letter-writing, they began asking the aunts to write to their deployed family members. My dear aunties’ letter-writing ministry grew.” She smiled. “They always include a word about God and invite everyone to visit. Many come to thank them or seek their advice. My aunties have led a lot of people to Jesus and thus continues their missionary work,” she said proudly.

“Now they want to extend it to foster kids. Judging by their past success, I’d say their idea has a good chance of success,” he mused quietly.

“Of course it does,” Victoria said crisply.

“But you don’t want it to?” The words had barely left Ben’s lips when he recanted. “No, that’s not right. You love these ladies. Naturally you want them to succeed. So what’s your stumbling block?” He watched her closely.

“The amount of work. They can take a rest from letter-writing if they need to, but running this place as a retreat will be nonstop. They’re seventy-five, Ben.”

“They seem younger.”

“They can’t run the kind of place they’re describing alone. They’ll need employees, payroll, insurance, programs, knowledge of regulations and, I’m sure, renovations,” Victoria sighed. “There will be a ton of stuff involved.”

“You don’t want to help? Because you’re afraid of the work or...? Say, what do you do again?” he asked suddenly.

“I am—was, a fixer for a hotel chain.”

“A—huh?” Ben’s confusion made her smile.

“A fixer. Solver of problems. If hotel rooms are empty too often, I figure out why and devise strategies so they’ll be booked. If a hotel restaurant isn’t working to capacity, they send me to figure it out. If clients are complaining about something too frequently, or we’re not getting enough repeat business—actually any problems the hotel couldn’t solve on its own were my problem. My job was to fix them. And I did.”

“Sounds interesting and challenging.” Ben’s blue eyes stretched wide.

“It was. But it meant a lot of traveling, and I’m tired of that. I’m a Big Sister to several preteen girls in Edmonton whom I dearly love. So much travel made it difficult to interact with them as much as they need.” She grimaced. “I guess I haven’t made things better by coming here either, though I tried to explain.”

“How do you train for a job like that?” Curiosity filled Ben’s question.

“I didn’t. I trained as a teacher. I loved it, but my salary couldn’t cover all the things I wanted to do with my Little Sisters, so I started as a part-time host on the hotel’s main desk.” She shrugged. “Stuff came up and I handled it. Then my school closed and I was laid off. I couldn’t get on anywhere else. The hotel manager offered me full-time hours.” No need to tell Ben about Derek. “After the first year, head office noticed our hotel didn’t have the volume of complaints others in the chain did. Somebody decided I was the reason and things kind of took off from there.”

“Good for you.” Ben’s stare seemed riveted on her.

“Thanks. I loved my job, but I need a break, so I’ve taken a leave.” She shifted uncomfortably, answering Mikey’s question about the right color to use for the stone house he was drawing while trying to think of a way to ignore questions she knew Ben would ask.

“You could do the same sort of thing here, with your aunts’ ideas,” he mused. “But you want to go back to the city.”

“No.” Victoria’s emphatic denial startled him. “I’m happy to bend over backward if the aunts ask me to. I just don’t want them doing it.” She could see he still didn’t get it. “They should be retired, enjoying life.”

“They’re not enjoying life now?” He chuckled. “Could have fooled me. I’ve only been here a day but it looks as if those two ladies are having the times of their lives.”

“I mean I want them to slow down, not take on even more. They’ve already got their fingers in so many pies.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “Missionary society, teaching quilting to high school girls, programs at the seniors’ center, not to mention their letter-writing and tons of stuff at their church.” She bit her lip before lowering her voice. “Tillie and Margaret are my family, Ben. I don’t want them worn out or tired. Inviting kids, keeping them busy, handling the seesaw of teen emotions and staff issues—I don’t want them upset by that.”

“Because you love them.” Ben nodded in empathy. “And maybe you’re afraid of losing them?”

Victoria jerked her head up to glare at him. Then she wearily nodded. It was an unspoken truth she’d never dared voice.

“I get all that, believe me. You’re a good daughter and you want the best for them.” Ben held her gaze. “But Tilly and Margaret aren’t the type to be content sitting in their chairs, watching television or playing cards. You must know that, Victoria.”

“Yes.” Slightly annoyed that he was so perceptive, she was also relieved to have her thoughts challenged. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m here.”