style="font-size:15px;"> Ben swallowed and looked at the boys again. They glanced up at him, quiet as mice. “I’ll need to find them somewhere to live.”
“I wish I could help,” Mrs. Hubbard said. “But Timothy and I have more than we can manage now.”
“I understand.” Ben nodded. “I wouldn’t ask you to care for them, but is there anyone else you can think of?”
Mrs. Hubbard pursed her lips as she looked from one boy to the next. “I don’t know of a single family who could take the pair of them—and I don’t think they’d like to be separated.”
The boys locked hands even tighter than before.
Ben shook his head. “I would never separate them.”
Mrs. Hubbard sighed. “Then there’s only one thing to do.”
Ben watched her, waiting.
“Keep them yourself.”
Emmy’s eyebrows rose as she looked to Ben for his reaction. She didn’t doubt his capability—but was his life conducive to raising a family?
“What?” Ben asked.
“Widow Carver was by here last week,” Mrs. Hubbard said. “Since Stan passed, she’s been mighty lonesome in that house by herself. Her oldest daughter is expecting her first child come New Year’s, and Mrs. Carver plans to go to her—but she’s not needed until then. Perhaps she’d consider keeping house for you, until you can create a more permanent arrangement.”
Ben frowned, his eyes hooded as he studied the boys, deep in thought. “I visited Mrs. Carver a couple weeks ago and sensed she was lonely.” He took a step toward the boys and they looked up at him. They didn’t warm to his nearness, but they didn’t cower, either. It would take them some time to come to know and trust this unexpected guardian.
“I think I’ll visit with Mrs. Carver again and ask if she’d consider such a request.” Ben nodded, lifting his shoulders. “That might be just what we all need—for now.”
“If she’s willing, it will give you some time to think and plan for the future.” Mrs. Hubbard smiled at the boys. “Give you all time to pray.”
Ben continued to nod, as if he was trying to wrap his mind around this change of events. “Thank you for your advice, Pearl.”
“You’re always welcome.”
Emmy took a step forward, eager to meet the boys and try to put them at ease. “I’m Miss Wilkes, the new teacher,” she said in her kindest voice. “Have you been to school?”
The boys shook their heads, but it was the one with blond hair that spoke up. “I know all my numbers and letters, and I can spell Zeb’s name.”
Zeb smiled at his brother, admiration in his eyes. “Levi’s smart.”
“I’m sure you’re both smart.” Emmy bent to look them in the eyes. “I’d love to see you at school on Monday. We’ll have fun learning how to read and write. Would you like that?”
The boys looked at each other, and then Zeb glanced up at Ben, a question in his eyes.
“I think school’s a fine idea.” Ben put his cap back in place, his handsome brown eyes filled with appreciation. “We’ll see you first thing Monday morning.”
“Hopefully you’ll see me at church tomorrow first.” Emmy straightened and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’d be happy to sit with the boys during the service.”
Relief washed over his features as he put his hands on the boys’ shoulders. “We’ll plan on that.”
Ben said his goodbyes and then left with Zeb and Levi.
“Well, what do you think about that?” Mrs. Hubbard shook her head. “Ben Lahaye, raising a set of twin boys.”
“It is a strange turn of events,” Emmy conceded, wishing she could help the pastor in some way. “I imagine he’ll have a lot of adjusting to do in the coming weeks.”
“He’ll need help, that’s for sure.”
Emmy glanced out the window and watched Ben walk away with the boys. One slipped on the ice, but Ben reached out and grabbed him before he fell.
As she watched them, her heart tugged at the tender scene. If things had gone differently with her and William, perhaps they would have had children close to that age by now. Instead of Ben, she would be watching William walking in the snow with their children.
Tears threatened to gather in her eyes, but she forced them away, nibbling on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. It had been almost a year since she’d given up the melancholy of losing her fiancé. At that time, she’d set her mind to fulfilling their dreams, even if William was not there with her—and that’s what she was doing, she was living her life in the West. She just prayed it would be everything she’d always hoped and imagined.
On Monday morning, Ben trudged through the snow before the sun had crested the eastern horizon. His breath billowed out in a cloud of white as he turned and glanced at Zeb and Levi who followed behind, their mitted hands clasped together. Levi’s pants were about an inch too short, and a hole in Zeb’s pants showed his knobby knee. Ben wished he had found proper clothing for them before they started school, but there hadn’t been time. Sundays were always a busy day for him, and especially so with two little boys in tow. If Mrs. Carver came to live with them, he’d ask her to sew them a new set of clothes immediately.
The school was only three blocks up Main Street from Ben’s front door, but with the snowdrifts and the boys lagging, it took much longer than he’d anticipated.
“We’re almost there,” Ben said over his shoulder.
The boys didn’t respond. They had been quiet since their aunt had left them and they only spoke when spoken to. Ben had used every conceivable idea to draw them out and so had the ladies in the church. When Charlotte and Abram had invited them to lunch yesterday, the boys had sat in the kitchen with the grown-ups, while the Cooper children played in the other room.
More than anything, Ben wanted them to feel safe in his care—but he knew better than to expect too much, too soon. It had taken him months, years really, to get used to his life at the mission when Father left. And, as soon as he’d come to accept the Ayers as his guardians, there had been an ambush by the Dakota and the Ayers had fled for their lives, leaving Ben with the Chippewa missionary, John Johnson. He’d felt abandoned all over again, and it had led him to rebellion and the darkest moments of his life.
He shook off the memories as he spotted the schoolhouse just ahead. A lantern was lit within the white clapboard building and smoke puffed out of the chimney. He’d hoped to get to the school before Emmy to start the fire and haul in wood for the day, but he wasn’t surprised to find her already there.
A movement behind the school caught Ben’s eye. Emmy was wrapped in the scarf and cap he’d lent her, and she was filling her arms with
