The Twins' Family Wish

Rick had mentioned his difficulty to his parents but they kept reassuring him that Gillian would be proud of him no matter what he did. Nice thought but it did nothing to appease the guilt nestled inside him. He was the twins’ guardian because Gillian trusted him to do his best for Katie and Kyle. Good enough wasn’t his best.

“This is where You step in, God,” he murmured. “I need help. Now that Greg’s out with that back operation I’ve got to keep the company running on my own. It isn’t easy to keep all our jobs going, let alone make time for the kids. Can’t You send someone to care for them as Gillian would have done, as a mother would?”

The company wasn’t behind but there was the job at Wranglers Ranch coming up and that had Rick worried. He needed to start building those cabins immediately or he’d miss their September first completion deadline. The one thing he and Greg had vowed when they’d started RG Construction was that they’d always keep their promises. The day he’d buried his sister, Rick had promised Gillian the same.

Boy, he missed her. If only...

With a sigh for what couldn’t be changed, Rick pulled into his yard and up to the front porch, grimacing when his headlights highlighted the unfinished projects littering his yard. He’d only had the place a few months before the kids arrived, just long enough to build a basketful of dreams and fill a notebook of plans. Paint the outbuildings, repair the pasture fences, buy some horses to breed, trim the long grass and cut the overgrown bushes—that was only the beginning of what needed doing. But he hadn’t started any of it because now his days were consumed with caring for Kyle and Katie, making sure they were safe and as happy as possible as they all adjusted to life without Gillian.

Actually, Rick wasn’t upset by the sidelining of his plans. He’d gladly do whatever it took to keep Katie and Kyle healthy and happy. He’d vowed that six months ago, the day he’d carried them out of their burning home, the day he’d failed to save Gillian.

Caring for Gillian’s kids was his duty and nothing would change that. Not the grief that almost consumed him every time he thought of his sister dying in that inferno. Not the urging of his former fiancée, Gina, who’d not only been repulsed by his scars but also determined not to burden her upcoming marriage with someone else’s children, which had ended their relationship. Certainly not the twins’ paternal grandparents, who were still deeply mourning the loss of their only son, who’d died last year on the mission field.

Rick carried the kids inside and tucked each into bed, loving their sleepy hugs and moist good-night kisses against his scarred cheek.

“Love you, Uncle Rick.”

“Love you, too,” he whispered, his throat closing with emotion.

Only when they were fast asleep did he retrieve the groceries from the truck. Once they were put away Rick sat on his porch, savoring the night’s cooler breezes that washed down the slopes of the Rincon Mountains. He resumed his earlier prayer.

“You know I’m committed to the kids. Only how am I supposed to do my job and care for them, Lord?” he murmured just before thunder rumbled in the distance.

No answer. How did you make sense of God when two little kids bawled because they wanted to be held by their mommy, and you could do nothing to stop their tears?

When lightning split the sky in a brilliant spear that hurt the eyes, Rick went inside. Katie might wake up afraid or Kyle might need a drink. He had to be there for them.

“I’m hanging on to my faith by a thread here,” he whispered as sheets of rain pelted the tired old ranch house. “I could use some help, something to show me that You care for us, have a plan in store for us, that something good is on the way. Please?”

He waited, not sure what he expected. But when the rain stopped and the moon came out, nothing had changed. Rick was still a single parent to two recently bereaved kids, with a major building contract scheduled to start in two days.

“Could you at least send me a nanny?” he prayed desperately. “Someone like that woman I met at the grocery store?”

Penny. Her face filled his mind—pretty, happy, fresh-faced and eager to embrace life. Her short, spiky blond hair tousled so it emphasized big blue eyes that glowed whenever she looked at the kids. She’d said she was a teacher so she’d know how to handle kids. And she was practical. Look at the way she’d organized his groceries and then pushed his cart.

“Yeah, somebody like her would be perfect. Can you send me someone like Penny? For the kids’ sake?”

It was a desperation prayer, unworthy of the faith his parents had instilled in him since he was Kyle’s age. But since this plea was for the twins’ sake Rick didn’t mind asking for the impossible.

He wasn’t sure what he expected but when nothing happened he rose with a weary sigh, prepared the breakfast bar for the morning meal and set the coffeepot to start automatically.

Then Rick dropped into bed and fell asleep to the memory of Penny’s musical voice saying, “Let me help you.”

Chapter Two (#u134dfa13-6ad3-5ed8-8ad7-97fc3f8b2db6)

“Do you think Wranglers Ranch Day Care has enough toys?”

Startled, Penny whirled around. Rick Granger stood in the doorway, a twin on either side. The three of them gaped in disbelief at the big room bulging with every conceivable plaything a child could dream of.

“Please come in.” Penny chuckled at the astonished expressions. “Almost enough,” she teased.

“Almost? You couldn’t get any more toys onto those shelves,” Rick said with a shake of his head.

“You might be surprised. Hi, Katie. I love your dress.” Penny hid her shock at seeing Katie’s shorn hair stuck up in odd places and managed to return the little girl’s grin before turning to her brother. “And you’re Kyle. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Penny.” She smiled at him. “Would you two like to play with the blocks on that table while your uncle and I have a chat?”

One glance at the toys and the kids took off, leaving Rick and Penny alone.

“The toys are Sophie’s fault,” Penny explained with a laugh. Then she frowned. “You know Sophie, right?”

“Sophie Johns, wife of Tanner, owners of Wranglers Ranch.” Rick nodded. “Tanner is a good friend of mine, and now he’s also a client.”

“Okay, good. So anyway, Sophie said that buying so much helped her convince herself that her dream was actually going to happen.” Penny glanced around, pleased with what they’d accomplished. “She’s dreamed of starting an on-site daycare for Wranglers employees since baby Carter was born.” She noted his wide-eyed look and tongue in cheek asked, “Is it too much?”

“For anyone else, maybe.” Rick looked at her with a straight face but his dark eyes were twinkling. “In Sophie’s case, it’s probably restrained.”

“You do know her.” Penny burst out laughing.

“She said you wanted to talk to me.” He checked his watch as if he had a hundred things to do and was mentally preparing to tick this one off his list.

“Yes, I do. I’d tell you to have a seat but—” Embarrassed, she swallowed the rest of her comment.

“I wouldn’t fit?” Rick’s brown eyes crinkled at the corners with his grin. “No, I wouldn’t. So I’ll sit here.” He sank onto the floor and crossed his legs in front of him, one knee poking through the rip in his jeans. He set his Stetson beside him then smiled at her. “Nice to see you again, Penny.”

“You, too, Rick.” Penny cleared her throat and assumed her most businesslike tone, refusing to let her gaze stray to the scar on his cheek. “Sophie asked if I might be able to help you with caring for the twins until Wranglers Ranch Day Care opens. Then she said that they will attend here.”

“That’s what she told me, too.” Rick blinked at her in surprise before he glanced around once more. “She also said this place will open July first.”

“That’s the goal.” Penny arched one eyebrow. “So before I know if I can help you I’d like to know about a regular day in your life and what you need for the twins.”

“Sorry if I look a little surprised. I had no idea Sophie was going to ask you to help.” He frowned then swallowed. “So my partner and I own a construction company. Since he’s out with medical issues, I’ve had to take on running all three of our crews. I don’t want to lay off any of my men but the pace of running so many jobs on my own is hectic.” Rick stole a quick glance at the giggling twins. “Six months ago the twins lost their mother, my sister, G-Gillian, in a house fire.”

“Oh, no.” Her heart crimped with sympathy when he stumbled over her name. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks.” Rick paused then continued in a stronger tone. “I’m the twins’ guardian so I need to do everything I can to provide them with a good home, which I’m trying to do. But I can’t be with them all the time. Even though I want to.”

“Of course you can’t, but good for you for wanting to,” she said and meant it.

“So I need some help. The thing is—” Rick cleared his throat then looked directly at her “—I’m not very knowledgeable about the whole fatherhood thing but I feel like the twins need stability and I don’t feel I’m providing that because my hours are so long. Most daycare hours don’t coordinate with my schedule, and nannies—well, let’s say they haven’t worked that well for us.” He lowered his gaze to his hands. “The twins are a bit—” He paused, obviously searching for the right descriptive.

“Mischievous?” Penny supplied and chuckled when he nodded, his look dour.

“Exactly. I hired a very experienced woman named Helga to watch them. One day when she fell asleep Katie tied her shoelaces together. In knots. Helga quit.” He sighed as if her resignation had been unpleasant. “Next I hired a younger person to work with the kids, a guy who had a lot of energy and a list of impressive credentials. He kept the twins busy but he had some, er, unusual ideas about the kind of stories they needed to fuel their imaginations. His vampire tales caused the kids some sleepless nights and neither they nor I could handle all his zombie talk.”

“Oh, dear.” Rick’s fed-up expression forced Penny to stifle her amusement.

“Someone suggested I try a student who was looking for a summer job so I hired my neighbor’s daughter to babysit.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Penny murmured encouragingly.