Finally A Bride

“Okay, then—” Gavin ran a palm across the top of Eli’s head “—you should go get your shower and get ready for bed now.”

“You’ll come read some more to us before we go to bed, Mr. Gavin?”

“I always do.” Gavin reached out and ruffled Eli’s hair as he walked away. The boy grinned back at the man who undeniably held a special spot in his world.

Regardless of his gruffness, he had such a soft spot for that child.

“I should start getting the guys moving toward bed,” he said, nodding his goodbye and then turning to follow Eli toward the cabin.

But Haley couldn’t end her day without knowing what happened to that poor child. “Wait!”

* * *

Gavin didn’t need this, not today. But he’d seen the moment Haley Calhoun had noticed Eli’s hands and he’d prayed she wouldn’t want to discuss it.

But his heart had told him that she would.

Why hadn’t she asked Savvy or Brodie? And why hadn’t he made it to his cabin before she’d called out to stop his retreat from the attractive—and unnerving—woman?

Bracing himself as her footsteps approached, he stopped and turned to face her. “Yes?”

She glanced behind her toward Brodie and Savvy, now standing in front of their cabin speaking to several of the teen boys. “Can we talk in private for a moment?”

No. That was what he wanted to say. Not only because there weren’t a whole lot of private places to talk at Willow’s Haven—it was always saturated with kids and counselors, one of the things Gavin liked about working there—but also because he didn’t want to be anywhere private with Haley Calhoun.

Or any other woman, for that matter.

However, he also didn’t want to explain that, nor did he want to appear rude, when she was clearly concerned for Eli.

“We can sit at the fire pit for a moment,” he conceded. “But I’ll need to get my cabin ready for bed soon.” Without waiting for a response, he started toward the circle of wooden benches and stumps surrounding the devotion area. She walked in silence beside him, but in spite of the lack of communication, he could sense the tension, the undeniable anxiety in the way she moved, and he dreaded the upcoming conversation. Eli had hit his own heart hard, and it’d be difficult explaining the boy’s past without enlightening her to his own.

But he also knew she wouldn’t leave without knowing. That was the way women were. They cared too much. Needed to know too much. Pulled at a man’s heartstrings...too much.

Instead of taking a seat on one of the benches, which might have caused her to sit beside him, he selected one of the larger stumps. He watched as she took a bench nearby, sitting slowly and then rubbing her hands down the sides of her jeans.

Gavin waited for her to say something. But she merely sat there, looking nervous and like...she might cry.

No, God. I can’t handle this today and You know it. Help me out here, Lord. Let her say whatever she needs to say, learn whatever she needs to learn...and let me be.

He cleared his throat. “What did you need, Dr. Calhoun?” The abrupt tone returned, but he couldn’t help it. Maybe that would cause this conversation to end quickly.

She shivered, even though there wasn’t any sign of a chill in the air. “What...happened to Eli?” Her hands flattened over her knees, fingers tightening as though visibly steadying herself for his answer.

Gavin thought of the boy, so loving and trusting, regardless of every letdown in his past. He’d known what she would ask, but that didn’t make telling her any easier. He inhaled, let it out.

“He was at home with his parents, a little over a year ago, and they were all sleeping when their house caught fire.” His mind painted a picture of Eli amid those burning flames.

One of her hands moved to her throat and the other to her stomach. “They—didn’t make it out? His parents didn’t make it?”

He shook his head. “Neighbors called 9-1-1. The firemen were able to get to Eli, but the house started caving in and they couldn’t get to his parents.” He ran a hand across his mouth, hating the truth of Eli’s past. “From what we know, he somehow got free of his rescuers and ran back to the house, trying to get inside and save them.”

“That’s what happened to his hands?” Her voice was thick and raspy, filled with the same emotion Gavin experienced every time he thought about what Eli had been through at merely six years old. “He burned his hands trying to save his parents?”

He nodded, cleared his throat again and stood. “Eli needs that puppy to be okay. He can’t lose someone else he was trying to save.”

Gavin turned away before he saw her response. He hadn’t wanted to hear the soft sob that tore from her throat. But he did. She was hurting for Eli and he understood why. However, it wasn’t his place to comfort Haley Calhoun. Or any other female.

He couldn’t go there.

Not today.

Not ever.

Chapter Four (#u51fd3d63-d875-5c85-b65b-75e5d634af57)

“We’d like you to head up the Adopt-an-Animal program, Gavin.” Brodie glanced up from the sheet of notes he held in front of his breakfast plate. “It makes sense, with you already establishing a rapport with Dr. Calhoun.”

Gavin had thought this morning’s staff planning breakfast would be like any other: going over the week’s activities, conveying issues concerning the children in their care and discussing current projects at Willow’s Haven.

Which, of course, was what Brodie was doing now. Gavin simply hadn’t realized he was on today’s agenda.

He swallowed the bite of scrambled eggs that had tasted good a moment ago but now moved past his throat in a thick lump.

“I don’t know that I’ve established a good rapport, necessarily.” He didn’t want to let Brodie and Savvy down if they’d selected him to run the program, but there had to be some other program he could run instead.

Unfortunately he couldn’t think of a decent alternative to recommend.

Brodie grabbed a corner of toast and pointed it toward Gavin. “Now that you have those daily visits with Eli lined up, to take care of the puppy and all, we thought you might as well go ahead and meet with Dr. Calhoun about the program. Be her key point of contact for the activities and keep us aware of what she has planned for us at Willow’s Haven, as well as at the Cutter farm.”

“She’d mentioned the kids going to the Cutter Ranch to hike and spend time with the horses there as part of the program,” Savvy added, “in addition to her bringing animals here for the children, and we think that’s a great idea.”

Obviously they’d put a lot of thought into this and Gavin should be happy to lead one of the programs. As a matter of fact, at last week’s staff breakfast meeting, he’d asked for more responsibility at the children’s home.

Now he was getting it.

But that meant spending additional time with Haley Calhoun.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Mark mumbled beside him. His grin said he didn’t mind Gavin’s discomfort with the notion.

Gavin leaned toward his fellow counselor. “Did you tell them they should put me in charge of this?”

Mark popped a couple of red grapes into his mouth, smiling as he chewed. “Not me—” he held up his hands, palms forward “—but it does seem like a good idea, given your good rapport with the pretty vet and all.”

“I don’t have a good—”

“Gavin? Can you do this for us?” Brodie said from the other end of the dining table, Savvy smiling reassuringly beside her husband.

As reluctant as he was to team up with Haley, Gavin couldn’t deny that he wanted to do whatever he could to help them succeed in their goals for the kids.