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  Isaac had folded his arms, a scowl digging into his brow.

  Pearl addressed him. “You’re older and know better. Why didn’t you say something to one of us?”

  “You don’t care,” he cried in a voice filled with little-boy hurt. “No one cares what I do.”

  “That’s not true,” Pearl said. “We all do.”

  “Not my pa.”

  Amanda’s heart broke. That little boy needed so much love. Though Garrett gave him some attention, it wasn’t enough.

  “He’s searching all over for you,” Pearl pointed out.

  “Not here.” Isaac’s tough expression began to crack, and his lip quivered ever so slightly.

  “That’s because I asked him to search outside,” Pearl said.

  It all made sense to adults, but not to little boys.

  “He should have known I’d bring Sadie here. I was taking care of her. I’m in charge.”

  Amanda left the little girl after drying her tears, and knelt beside Isaac. “You were very smart to bring your sister somewhere safe. Just tell an adult next time, all right? We don’t always see everything that happens.” Such as when Sadie slipped out of the schoolhouse during the fire last month. Amanda would never forgive herself for that.

  Pearl indicated she was going to pass on the news to Garrett that the children had been found, and headed down the staircase. Isaac watched her leave, still with that scowl furrowing his eight-year-old brow.

  Now alone with his sister and Amanda, he gave one last complaint. “You’re too busy to pay attention to us.”

  Amanda caught her breath. Had she been too concerned with costumes and curtains and winning Garrett’s respect to notice what was happening with Isaac and Sadie?

  Amanda put an arm around each child. “You’re right, Isaac. I haven’t paid attention to the right things. I promise that both of you will come first from now on.”

  “No more silly play?” Isaac asked hopefully.

  “You don’t want to be part of portraying the Christmas story? It’s the most important story ever told. It could change people’s hearts.”

  “Will it make Papa get us a new mama?” Sadie asked.

  Now Amanda’s eyes were brimming. “I don’t know, dear one.” She hugged them both close. “I don’t know, but if anyone can do that, Jesus can.”

  As she kissed the children and held them tight, she knew exactly where in the nativity play that soft rabbit pelt belonged.

  * * *

  Once again Amanda Porter had lost track of his children. Garrett stormed up the stairs, determined to tell her that she was dismissed. Then he opened the door to find his two children clinging to her as she knelt on the floor.

  “Papa! Papa!” Sadie cried out, running to him.

  He scooped up the little girl. Isaac immediately pulled away from Amanda and stiffened, his expression taut, as if he was struggling to look like he hadn’t been upset enough to need a hug a moment ago. Garrett’s little boy was growing up.

  Amanda stood and touched Isaac lightly on his head. Seeing her comforting his children only made Garrett realize how much they were gravitating toward her and away from him. But what could he do? He had to spend all those hours at work in order to provide for them. Until Amanda Porter arrived in Singapore, they’d understood, but lately Isaac fought everything Garrett asked the boy to do.

  “What were you thinking, running off like that?” he demanded.

  Amanda flinched. She was too soft-hearted. A child needed to know when he’d done something wrong so he didn’t repeat the mistake and cause injury to himself or others.

  Isaac scowled. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “You left without telling any adults where you were going.”

  Isaac’s little jaw stuck out. “I brought Sadie someplace safe.”

  “Yes, you did,” Amanda said, again placing her hand on the boy. “Remember what we talked about. Next time you’ll do better.”

  Garrett tensed. She was undermining his authority. If he didn’t regain control, his children would have no respect for his rules and would end up injured—or worse. Garrett’s chest tightened at the thought of losing either one of them.

  He held his emotions in check. Barely. “Miss Porter is going to go home now. Say good-night to her.”

  Amanda looked surprised, but made no protest. She hugged Isaac, who squirmed out of her grasp, and accepted Sadie’s open arms, giving her a kiss.

  “Good night, Garrett.” Her violet eyes lifted to him, and he was struck again by their resemblance to Eva’s eye color. “Perhaps we can talk tomorrow about the play.”

  He didn’t want to talk about the nativity play or anything else with her. He needed time to think things through. The speculation pairing them in courtship, coupled with yet another of her inattentive moments, pointed to a single conclusion, but he knew better than to make a decision in the heat of the moment. By morning he would know if he must dismiss Amanda.

  Chapter Nine

  “I finished the curtains last night,” Amanda said to Pearl as they dressed the following morning. “After I get back from Garrett’s house tonight, I’ll start on the costumes.” She ran a hand over the soft rabbit fur. “I had an idea for the fur.”

  “Oh?” Pearl braided her hair in a single long plait, which she would then coil on top of her head.

  “Wouldn’t it make a beautiful blanket for the baby Jesus?”

  “I thought he was swaddled.”

  Amanda waited until Pearl finished pinning the coils atop her head. “But we won’t have a real baby, only Beth Wardman’s doll, and I thought the story might mean more to the children if we make the setting look more like right here.”

  Pearl’s hands dropped. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

  Amanda could practically see Pearl’s thoughts whirling as she paced around the small room.

  “Instead of palm trees, we could use branches or saplings.” Pearl’s words sped up with every statement. “Maybe some of that cotton could be snow. The stable could look like one of our stables, not something we imagine was in Bethlehem at the time. I think you’re right. That could make a big impact on people.”

  “Then you don’t need costumes?”

  Pearl stared off into space a moment before coming to a quick decision. “We’ll keep the robes. The children are looking forward to dressing up. But the setting can be like here. Maybe an animal or two like those around here.”

  “A seagull?”

  Pearl laughed. “I was thinking more of a squirrel and a bunny.”

  “Then you don’t want me to save the rabbit pelt for the baby Jesus?”

  Pearl’s eyes twinkled. “Why don’t you ask Garrett’s opinion? Sadie will be the one holding him, after all.”

  “I was going to ask him yesterday, but he told me to go home.”

  “Not that bluntly, I hope.”

  Amanda bowed her head. The look on his face had troubled her until late into the night. The morning’s snowfall had only echoed those icy thoughts. “He wasn’t happy. He could barely contain his anger.” Her hand trembled. “I failed again.”

  “You did nothing of the sort, and if Garrett sees it that way, then he does not deserve you.”

  That was easy for Pearl to say. She had found the man of her dreams in Roland. He doted on her and listened to every word she said. Garrett wouldn’t even let Amanda speak. Perhaps it wasn’t just her losing track of the children. Maybe it had begun with that disastrous evening at the concert. Garrett hadn’t said much to her on Sunday after services. The children had chattered away, but he’d stood behind them looking out the window of the church.

  “I’m afraid he’s going to dismiss me,” she whispered.

  “What would he do then? There’s not another soul
in Singapore who can take care of those children and clean the house.”

  “There’s Fiona,” Amanda pointed out.

  “Who already refused the job.”

  “Who might have reconsidered by now.”

  Even Pearl must see it. Amanda’s days in Garrett’s employment were numbered.

  “Then you have to fight,” Pearl stated emphatically. “Make Garrett see that no one else can do the job the way you can.”

  “But how?” With dread holding her in its icy grip, she couldn’t think, least of all imagine something so wonderful that Garrett would change his mind.

  Pearl glanced at the small watch Roland had given her, before pinning it to her dress. “We have time to come up with a plan.” She crossed the room and looked out the frosty window. Her eyes twinkled. “I have an idea.”

  * * *

  Garrett paced the length of the room, waiting for Amanda to arrive after school. Leaving work early had stung, but he’d make it up tomorrow. This was too important to leave until suppertime. So he’d left Sawyer in charge and headed home when school ended. Soon Amanda would appear, and he’d have to give her the news. The children wouldn’t like it, especially if she broke down in tears.

  He would send Isaac and Sadie outside for a few minutes. Once Amanda left, he’d tell them his new plan.

  Roland had not been pleased but had finally agreed.

  First, he’d scolded Garrett like a mother hen. “You’ll never find anyone who loves those children more.”

  “Except you and me.”

  “I can watch them for now,” Roland had pointed out, “but that’s not a lasting solution.”

  “I’ll get someone from Saugatuck if I have to. Mrs. Wardman is capable and respected.” He couldn’t help thinking of the rumors pairing him with Amanda. “It’s better for everyone if a married woman takes the job.”

  “How?”

  “I’m protecting Miss Porter’s reputation.”

  “By being bullheaded? Any lout who spreads gossip has to answer to me. And to you.” Roland pointed at him. “You would defend her, wouldn’t you?”

  Two days ago, Garrett would have, but the events of yesterday had changed everything.

  “She lost track of Sadie and Isaac. For the second time. Make that the third time. She left them alone the very first day. If she truly loved them, she would never leave their side.”

  Roland had grunted in disgust. “You’re forgetting that Amanda wasn’t the only adult there. I didn’t notice them leave and neither did Pearl, yet you’re not blaming either one of us.”

  “You weren’t in charge of them.”

  “In a manner of speaking, we were. Sadie and Isaac were in my store. That makes me responsible. So if I lost track of them then, what’s to say I wouldn’t lose track of them again?”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  Roland had refused to back down, and Garrett had stormed off rather than continue the argument. His brother had a way of confusing things. When Garrett was alone, he could think more clearly.

  Now, he was alone, and the decision was clear. Amanda Porter could not be entrusted with his children.

  Something hit the window, making Garrett jump. He glanced toward the open yellow curtains—Amanda’s curtains—and saw only snow plastered against the window. That was peculiar. The sun had been shining when he walked home. The weather must have picked up all of a sudden.

  Then another clump of snow hit the window, followed by giggling and laughter. Someone was throwing snow at his windows. Who had the nerve? Garrett flung open the door, ready to box the ears of the troublemakers, only to find his two children hopping around and laughing.

  “Not the window,” Amanda said, as she bent over to scoop up a handful of snow in her woolen mittens, “the door.”

  She tossed the snowball. It struck him on the shoulder and sprayed all over his face.

  He heard her gasp as he wiped the melting snow from his eyes.

  “Oh, Garrett. Mr. Decker. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were inside the house. I didn’t see the door open. Oh, dear.” She attempted to brush the snow off his flannel shirt. “I never would have thrown it if I’d seen you.”

  He shrugged off her attentions and was about to rebuke her, but her frantic pleas were drowned out by his children’s squeals of laughter. First Sadie and then Isaac ran up to him, their faces red from the cold air and the excitement.

  “Papa. Papa. Miss Mana says...” They talked over each other in their rush to tell him something.

  He hadn’t seen them this excited since before Eva died. Even Cocoa the kitten’s arrival hadn’t generated this much enthusiasm.

  Bits and pieces of their excited chatter dropped into his consciousness: afternoon, dunes, sled, together. What?

  “Whoa now,” he said, attempting to hold his son in place, “slow down. One of you tell me what’s going on.”

  Naturally, the children began to speak at the same time again. Isaac was louder, but Sadie tugged on his shirt with surprising strength.

  “One at a time,” Amanda said, bringing the chatter to a stop. “Isaac, why don’t you tell your father our plan?”

  Plan? Garrett didn’t like the sound of that.

  Isaac stood straight and proper, as if addressing the classroom, but his eyes danced with excitement. “Miss Porter suggested we go sledding this afternoon, since the snow from last night is still on the ground.”

  “I’m sorry, son, but we don’t own a sled,” Garrett pointed out.

  Isaac had an answer. “Roger Bailey said they take their mama’s skillet up to the top of the dunes and slide down all the time. Can we, Papa?”

  “We only have one skillet,” Garrett stated.

  Amanda’s eyes sparkled. “If everyone will wait right here one moment, I have a surprise.”

  She hurried off with a lilt in her step. If Garrett wasn’t mistaken, she was just as excited as the children. Funny. He’d never figured Amanda Porter as someone who would want to ride downhill in a skillet. She seemed delicate and fancy, like Eva. His late wife would never have done such an undignified thing.

  “Did you go sledding when you were little, Papa?” Sadie asked.

  “I did.” Garrett stomped his feet. He hadn’t worn his coat or hat when he stepped outside. Though the late afternoon sun had a little warmth to it, he was cold.

  “In a skillet?” asked Isaac.

  “On a sled.”

  “A real sled?” Isaac’s eyes were wide. “Did you go fast?”

  “The fastest in the neighborhood.”

  “Faster than Uncle Roland?”

  “Much faster. Let me fetch my coat and hat.” Garrett opened the door and reached inside for the garments. Before he’d shut the door again, his son cried out.

  “Wow!”

  Garrett followed the direction of the boy’s rapt gaze and saw Amanda pulling a wooden sled big enough for two or three to ride together.

  “A sled! A sled!” Isaac raced off to meet Amanda.

  He and his sister danced around the sled while she drew near.

  “Where did you get that?” Garrett asked Amanda.

  “Mr. Calloway had it in the garden shed. He said it was about time someone used it.”

  Garrett looked down at those fancy boots of hers, covered in snow and sand. Likewise, the hem of her dress was coated in sandy snow and ice. Yet her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes sparkled with such delight that he couldn’t help but agree to the outing.

  “Only until the sun reaches the horizon,” he conceded. “We’ll climb the first dune. It has good snow on this side of it.”

  “Me first,” Isaac cried out, already running down the street in that direction.

  Sadie was a little more cautious, extending her hands for him to p
ick her up. As Garrett stood up with his precious daughter in his arms, his heart swelled with gratitude. Somehow Amanda had managed to turn everything upside down. His son, who had shot defiance at him yesterday, now called out for him to hurry. Sadie clung to his side, begging for a ride on the sled.

  It was all Amanda’s doing.

  * * *

  Amanda watched Garrett take the children down the hill on the sled and then pull it back up with both of them aboard. He was a strong man, a loving father. And he was laughing with his children.

  “Thank you, Pearl,” she whispered.

  Her friend’s suggestion had been a perfect way to bring the family together. Even if Garrett dismissed her at the end of the day, Amanda could rest in the knowledge that the children had their father back.

  She bit her half-numb lip and fought back tears. If only she could be part of that family, too. But Garrett’s anger yesterday had made it clear that he could never trust her.

  “Someone needs to get off the sled,” Garrett huffed as he neared the top of the dune.

  The children rolled off, giggling.

  Garrett pulled the empty sled to Amanda’s side and stretched his back. “Whew, they’re getting heavy.”

  “They’re growing up.”

  “That they are.” A wistful expression crossed his face. “So quickly.”

  Until meeting Garrett and his children, Amanda hadn’t understood why parents sometimes wanted to slow down time. In the orphanage, every thought was directed toward getting a family or growing old enough not to be bullied anymore. Mrs. Chatsworth had doted on her daughter, Lena, but had treated Amanda like an adult from the moment she’d arrived. Amanda was always old enough to scrub floors or polish silver, while Lena could never do such things, even though she was a year older than Amanda. Perhaps Mrs. Chatsworth had been clinging to her only daughter the way Garrett tried to hold on to Isaac and Sadie.

  “Time marches on, no matter how much we want to still it,” Amanda murmured.

  Garrett looked surprised that she understood what he was feeling, but then just as quickly turned to the children, who were racing toward him.