his peace. “What about Alex? Surely it would be good for him to go? It doesn’t seem right for him to be constantly looking out for his sister the way he does.”
“I agree—you absolutely do need to separate the two, for Alex’s good as well as Chloe’s. Alex can’t make worrying about his sister his whole world the way he’s trying to right now.”
He sensed there was a but coming.
“But he is worried about her and he does feel a sense of responsibility for her.”
He sighed.
“You can’t just tell him to let it go and expect it to happen,” she continued. “Alex needs some kind of assurance that Chloe will be okay without having him constantly by her side before he can focus on class work and on just being a little boy. If we do our job right, I’m hoping he’ll be ready by midweek.”
He supposed he should be happy that at least they agreed on the need to separate the children. “Just what does doing our job right entail?” She had yet to describe exactly how she planned to help Chloe.
“It means we prove to Alex that we have Chloe’s best interest at heart, that even though she won’t necessarily be happy with her situation, we are doing whatever we can to make it better for her.”
She continued to say we, as if she didn’t plan to just give him the necessary tools and leave but actually planned to help him wield them. It gave him hope that perhaps he could convince her to make her involvement with the children more permanent.
But now wasn’t the time to bring that up. “We keep talking around the main question. Again, how do we help Chloe?”
“We’ve already started. You’re doing what you can to give both of them the stability of a home. But you need to take the next step.” She looked at him diffidently, as if she wasn’t sure if she should say whatever was on her mind.
“And just what is that next step?” he asked.
“You must show them that you’re not only willing to make a home for them here, but that you are pleased to do so, that you don’t resent their presence in your life.”
He shrugged. “That’s no problem because I don’t resent them.” Not exactly, anyway.
“Don’t you?”
Who did she think she was to judge him? “No. But what I do resent, Miss Whitman, are the circumstances that put us all in this position. I resent that some careless yahoo, who was more worried about his schedule than the safety of innocent folk, drove a load of explosives through town instead of going the long way around to the mine like he was supposed to. I resent that my sister died much too young and I will never, ever see her again. And I resent that she will never get the chance to see her children grow up or hold her grandbabies in her arms.” He took a deep breath. “And I especially resent that those kids are stuck with me rather than the parents they should have had.”
There was a soft sympathy in her gaze now and it made him shift uncomfortably.
He’d said way too much.
Janell was surprised by Mr. Chandler’s bitter outburst. He’d always seemed so unruffled by his circumstances. It was an eye-opener to realize he did indeed have deeper, more passionate feelings. “I’m so sorry for all you’ve gone through,” she said, touching his arm briefly. “That’s a terrible loss for anyone to bear. And I have no doubt that you truly care for your niece and nephew.”
She meant what she’d said, but he needed to understand the impact on the children. “The problem is, that’s not what Chloe and Alex are seeing.”
His jaw tightened. “I shouldn’t have said all that. And I don’t see how it’ll serve any good purpose for me to let the kids know how I feel. I need to be strong for them.”
His earnestness was touching. “You misunderstand. Of course you don’t want to display anger or bitterness.”
She saw him stiffen at that. Perhaps she should have been more tactful. “On the other hand,” she continued quickly, “I think it would be good for them to see how deeply you mourn the loss of your sister and brother-in-law. And even more importantly, you should let them see that you love them and are prepared to take on the role of parent.”
“I can’t take the place of their parents.” There was a suspicious gruffness in his voice, but he’d turned to put away a bowl so she couldn’t see his face.
“You’re correct. No one can replace their parents.”
The look he shot her was one of surprise.
“At least not in the sense you mean,” she said to clarify. “But you can be a parent figure, someone to care about them, raise them, guide them, just as a loving parent would. Surely you know that to children, especially young children, parents are the most important people in their lives. Parents are the foundation that grounds them and gives them the confidence to try new things, knowing there is a safe haven to return to.”
He turned to face her and she could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced. “I’m sorry if I keep coming back to this, but it’s very important that Alex and Chloe feel both welcomed and loved here.”
“Miss Whitman, I am not a demonstrative man. If it’s hugs and kisses you’re referring to—”
She made a dismissive motion with her hand. “There are other ways of showing love. And like it or not, you have no choice. You can’t just say the words—you must show it in your actions as well.” She tried to lighten her tone. “But I’m sure you’ll work that part out in your own way.”
His lips pinched in a thin, rebellious line. “I appreciate your suggestions. But this doesn’t address how to help Chloe.”
His words had a hard edge to them. It was what she’d meant about how he talked to the children. But he obviously wasn’t open to discussing that right now.
“For instance,” he continued, “is writing on a slate how you communicated with your sister?”
She nodded as she placed another plate in the wash water. “We did at first, but as I said, it’s a clumsy method at best. My father was determined to do all he could to help Lizzie, though, so we called on the best doctors and teachers who worked with the deaf. With their help we eventually found better ways to communicate.”
He raised a brow. “Such as?”
“Teaching her to read lips. And the use of sign language.”
He paused a moment. “Sign language—I thought that was a tool for the mute.”
“The mute learn to sign in order to communicate what they have to say. But it only works if those around them can read the language. For the deaf it’s just the opposite. Those around them must learn to sign and the affected person must learn to understand the signs.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”
“Which means, of course,
