Was Caitlyn up to the responsibility shed inherited?
Steve studied her, frowning a little. He remembered her well, even though shed been three years behind him in school. Maybe shed stood apart because of the fierce ambition shed shown even then.
Shed used that single-minded determination of hers to take the big city by storm. From what he could see, apparently shed made it, despite all the obstacles there must have been for a girl from Texas with no money.
And now, Caitlyn Villard had grown into a beautyif you liked women who were sophisticated, even icy. But the important thing wasnt how she looked. What was crucial was whether she could be a mother to her twin nieces.
Homecoming Heroes: Saving children and finding love deep in the heart of Texas
Mission: MotherhoodMarta Perry (LI#452)
July 2008
Lone Star SecretLenora Worth (LI#456)
August 2008
At His CommandBrenda Coulter (LI#460)
September 2008
A Matter of the HeartPatricia Davids (LI#464)
October 2008
A Texas ThanksgivingMargaret Daley (LI#468)
November 2008
Homefront HolidayJillian Hart (LI#472)
December 2008
MARTA PERRY
has written everything from Sunday school curriculum to travel articles to magazine stories in more than twenty years of writing, but she feels shes found her writing home in the stories she writes for Love Inspired.
Marta lives in rural Pennsylvania, but she and her husband spend part of each year at their second home in South Carolina. When shes not writing, shes probably visiting her children and her six beautiful grandchildren, traveling, gardening or relaxing with a good book.
Marta loves hearing from readers, and shell write back with a signed bookmark or her brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. Write to her c/o Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, e-mail her at marta@martaperry.com, or visit her on the Web at www.martaperry.com.
Mission: Motherhood
Marta Perry
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Marta Perry for her contribution to the Homecoming Heroes miniseries
Bear one anothers burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
This story is dedicated to the Love Inspired sisters
who worked on this continuity series
Lenora, Brenda, Pat, Margaret and Jillian.
And, as always, to Brian, with much love.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Questions for Discussion
Chapter One
It had taken ten years in New York City to eliminate all traces of Texas from Caitlyn Villards voice. It took only a week in Prairie Springs to bring it back again.
Had she really just said yall to the kindergarten teacher and her own twin nieces? Caitlyn stepped out into the courtyard of the Prairie Springs Elementary School. She was greeted by a blast of air hot enough to wilt her hairstyle and melt the makeup from her face.
Um, maam? The warm drawl came from above.
She looked up. A lanky man clung to the top of a wooden stepladder, a paint can in one hand and a dripping brush in the other. You might want to move out of range a bit.
Sorry. She took a few steps away, standing under the shade of the roof overhang. She had obviously forgotten just how hot Texas was in July.
Through the window she could see into the room where Amanda and Josie sat at a round table with Sarah Alpert, who was assessing their readiness to start kindergarten in September.
That was still two months away. By the time the twins started school, she would be back in New York, picking up the threads of her interrupted life. Back on the fast track to partner at Graham, Graham and Welch, one of the Big Apples most prestigious law firms. This interval in Texas, helping her mother cope with the aftermath of her sisters death, would be a memory.
You brought the girls in for their first taste of kindergarten, did you?
Caitlyn blinked, as startled as if the spindly potted shrub next to the door had made a personal remark. The painter had descendedtall, lanky, wearing the scuffed boots, blue jeans, western belt and ball cap that were almost a uniform here.
I beg your pardon? It was a tone designed to freeze unwelcome attention.
The twins, he said, as if she was a bit slow on the uptake. I bet theyre excited about starting kindergarten in the fall.
His eyes, intensely blue in a lean, tanned face, now held amusement. They also seemed vaguely familiar.
Im sorry. Do I know you?
Well, now, I reckon Im just not as memorable as I thought I was. He didnt look as if he believed that, in spite of the aw-shucks expression he wore. He tipped the ball cap politely. Steve Windham. Prairie Springs High School. Ring any bells?
She had to dredge through memories shed happily buried a long time ago. Steve Windham. I guess so. You were a senior when I was a freshman, I think.
Actually she knew, but she didnt intend to pander to the mans self-conceit. He looked far too pleased with himself already.
She let her gaze wander over what had to be at least six feet or more of solid muscle. Steve had been the star athlete of his class, and he still looked it. Hed been the valedictorian, too, and probably voted most likely to succeed.
Thatd be about right, he agreed. That was way too many years ago, I guess.
And after high school you became a housepainter, did you? I thought I remembered that you had an athletic scholarship to one of the big schools.
That was typical of Prairie Springs. People just settled down to live the way their folks had, instead of getting out into the world and making a mark. Being a painter was fine, if that was what you really wanted, but it was hard to believe someone with Steves intelligence and talent hadnt had any bigger goals.
Steves right eyebrow cocked, giving him a quizzical look. I dont guess theres anything wrong with painting. Its an honest days work. So what did Ms. Caitlyn Villard turn out to be?
She hadnt meant to insult the man, and realized maybe she had been a little judgmental. It wasnt any of her business how Steve Windham spent his life.
Im an attorney in New York.
That eyebrow lifted a little higher. Only now youre back in Prairie Springs. Going to practice law here, are you?
She hoped the horror she felt at his suggestion didnt show on her face.
She managed what she hoped was a polite smile. Youll have to excuse me. I think the teacher is ready for me to come back in.
He nodded, still with that faintly amused grin on his lips.
She hurried away, aware that he stood there staring after her, with his thumbs hooked nonchalantly in his belt.
Get out of Prairie Springs. That had been her only goal back in high school.
Well, now shed come full circle. Getting out of Prairie Springs was her only goal now.
Sarah Alpert, the kindergarten teacher, gave Caitlyn a welcoming smile as she reentered the classroom. A slim, fine-boned redhead, she seemed to exude warmth, and her casual jeans and shirt made the situation feel less formal for her young prospective students.
She rose from her place at the low table where shed been sitting with the twins.
You girls can finish up your pictures while I talk with your aunt, all right?
Amanda, the older by twenty minutes, looked a little rebellious at the prospect of sitting still, but she turned back to her picture at Ms. Alperts firm gaze. Josie never lifted her eyes from the page, appearing lost in whatever she was drawing.
The twins were physically identical, with their straight, chestnut-colored hair and big blue eyes, but they were very different in personality. Caitlyn got them right about eighty percent of the time, and probably the teacher, with her experience, would quickly figure out how to tell them apart.
Sarah led the way to her desk at the end of the room, where theyd have a little privacy. She nodded to a folding chair shed put at right angles to the desk, and Caitlyn sat down.
How did they do?
Caitlyn was surprised to find that she had any apprehension about it. Shed only seen the twins a handful of times in their young lives, but they seemed bright. Certainly her younger sister, Carolyn, had been intelligent, even if shed scorned the education Caitlyn had always thirsted for.
Theyre certainly ready intellectually for kindergarten.
Thats good. That was why they were here, after all, wasnt it?
But the teachers gaze still expressed some concern. As to how theyll be dealing with their loss in another two months, I just dont know. I guess well see where they are then. Grief from the loss of both parents could affect their adjustment.
I hadnt thought of that. There were, it appeared, a lot of things she hadnt thought of. Well, what did she know about five-year-olds?
Sarah Alpert nodded sympathetically. Have you noticed many changes in them since they learned that their parents were gone?
I haventI mean, my job in New York keeps me very busy. My mother was taking care of the twins after my sister and her husband were deployed.
Yes, of course. I know that. You have my sympathy for your loss.
Thank you. Her throat tightened on the words.
Carolyn and Dean, her husband, both gone in an instant on the other side of the world. That was something people in Prairie Springs must have to get used to, living as they did in the shadow of the armys Fort Bonnell.
She cleared her throat. In any event, my mother says that Amanda has been more mischievous than usual, and Josie more withdrawn, although shes always been the shyer of the two. Ms. Alpert
Call me Sarah, please. The teacher reached across the desk to press her hand. We all know each other here, and your mother and I have often worked on church suppers together.
Yes, she said that she knew you. She wanted me to mention to you that Josie will follow wherever Amanda leads, even if its into trouble.
Sarah smiled. Ill keep that in mind. I know your mother is very relieved to have you here to take over with the children. You are staying, arent you?
Did everyone think that? She supposed she owed the teacher an answer, even if she didnt owe one to Steve Windham.
Im not sure how long Ill be here. My career is in New York. That sounded sufficiently vague, when the truth was that she longed to get back to her own life, even though duty demanded that she be here for the moment, at least.
You might find something to do here in Prairie Springs, Sarah suggested. I know it isnt really my business to interfere, but Im concerned about the children. Theyve been through a rough time, and it would be a shame to uproot them at this point.
It was impossible to take offense at Sarahs comments, given the warmth and concern that shimmered in her blue eyes. And shed brought up a good pointone that Caitlyn hadnt really considered. Caitlyns original plan had been to take a months leave, help her mother and the children recover from their grief and see them settled financially, and then get back to her own life.
That plan had seemed reasonable back in New York, when she was scrambling to get time off work, turn her cases over to someone else and get here in time for the funerals. Now that she was on the spot, things werent so clear-cut.
I cant practice law here. Im not licensed in Texas, and I havent even considered that. I have to admit, though, that it wouldnt be a bad idea for me to find something part-time to do while Im here.
She hadnt imagined finances would be an issue when shed taken a leave of absence, but then, shed never tried to do without her salary before. She hoped shed be able to continue working on some cases from here, but it had been made clear to her that the clients of Graham, Graham and Welsh expected and would receive personal attention. At least they were willing to hold her position open.
No one could live on her salary in Manhattan, pay off college and law school loans and still have much left over anyway. When she made partner, it would be another story, but in the meantime, her finances were tight. And her mother had given up her job at the gift shop when Carolyn and Dean were deployed to the Middle East.
The twins had the funds that had come to them on their parents deaths, of course, but if possible, Mama wanted that put away for their futures.
You know, I believe I might know just the thing. Sarah looked pleased at the prospect of helping. She turned to her desk and scribbled something on a piece of paper. I volunteer at Children of the Day. Its a local charity that helps victims of wardoes wonderful work. As it happens, theyre looking for a care coordinator right now, and I believe the schedule would be flexible. With your legal background, youd probably be a big asset.
Im not licensed in Texas she repeated, but Sarah pressed the paper into her hand.
Just talk to Anna Terenkov, the director. Im sure this is all going to work out fine.
Sarah was a lot more optimistic than she was, since at the moment she didnt see anything working out fine. Still, if she could get the job, the money would be welcome. Her expenses in New York continued unabated while she kicked her heels in Texas.
Not for long, she reminded herself. Shed do all she could for her mother and the twins, since Carolyn had named her as their guardian, but in the end, her life was back in New York.
Steve worked his way methodically through cleaning up the paintbrushes. Hed volunteered two hours of painting to the elementary school this afternoon, but he had a meeting back on post at four. The group hed formed to get soldiers to volunteer for community projects was going strong now, and he owed it to the people hed talked into it to show that hed be right in there volunteering his own time and effort.
From where he stood, he could see through the windows of the kindergarten room. Amanda and Josie, chestnut heads together, whispered over their papers, while their aunt Caitlyn sat talking with Sarah Alpert.