With his heart slowing back into a normal rhythm, Colin headed to where he heard voices. The old house wasn’t only drafty, but boxy as well,. Each small room was enclosed from the other, not like the modern way of living where one could see into an open area.
As he walked through to the kitchen, not only did delicious smells hit him at once, but seeing his excited, soon-to-be family waiting expectantly warmed his heart so he stopped dead to soak in the unexpected thrill.
“Hi.” His voice came out sounding husky from the sudden emotion.
The kids beamed at him, and Masie all but threw herself into his arms. “Look Cowin. We baked cookies.”
“That you did, princess.” He lifted her close. “They smell divine.” Reaching over, he brushed his hand over Charlie’s hair, mussing it gently. “I see you helped the ladies, lad. Good job.” His eyes finally settled on the woman who drew him towards herlike a moth to a flame. The magnetism he felt lit his expression with tenderness. “Thanks, Jaq. Wonderful idea. Can I try one?” He saw her eyes widen with answering attraction before she blushed. “Of course. We baked them for you.”
Looking away, she bustled around the room adding water to the kettle and tidying the mess off the table. “We waited to have afternoon tea with you.”
“Great, because I’m thirsty and those cookies are calling to me. We need our strength to decorate that tree, right?”
Two voices bellowed in agreement as they placed the mugs Jaq passed them onto the table.
Taking his first bite from the still slightly warm treat, Colin groaned his appreciation. “Mmm, so good.”
After their snack, they were all in the living room helping to decorate the tree. Once the kids were happily working together, Jaq couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer. “What happened with Ms. Lather?”
“The police were called in and ended up taking Josh home. His father had grabbed the bag of pills, bolted, and left his son there. It wasn’t pleasant. Poor Ms. Lather. Now she is forced to find homes for all the children she’d left with those people and during this time of year, she has very little hope.”
“Oh, no. Please tell me they at least have an orphanage here in Quebec City.”
“The only one I know of is Maison Dauphine-Loyola. It’s very old… built in 1819 I believe is what the tour guide told us. Then in 2012 they restored it to be a shelter for the homeless. I presume they have beds there for those without families.”
“How sad.”
“Yes. I agree. From what Charlie shared, there were a number of kids in that house who’ll have to be moved.”
“Poor babies. It must be terribly frightening.” She gave him a short version of the talk she had earlier with Charlie, andColin’s determination to save them from the same fate grew exponentially with each word she spoke. No way would he let them suffer again like they had the night before. Not if he could help it. He said as much to Jaq and saw the relief she couldn’t hide. When she reached out her hand as a way of showing her agreement, he held it gently and lifted his other hand to cradle hers in both. “Thank you, Jaq.”
“For what?”
“For being here. For being you. Just for arriving in my life at the exact time that I needed a – a friend.” He wanted to say something different but knew it would be too pushy and too soon. Yet he had no intentions of ever letting this woman escape. He’d finally found his heart’s desire and whether she knew it or not, his decision to adopt a new family included her.
Chapter Twenty
The next few days passed so quickly that looking back, it was hard to understand how much fun they’d packed into that short time. Between the visit to Santa Claus, eating all the holiday specials at the various cafes offered up for seasonal customers, and the drives through the streets to see the Christmas lights, they came home happy and exhausted from every excursion.
One special morning had them out shopping for holiday treats to be delivered to the orphanage in town. Letting the kids loose in the shopping mall, making decisions to buy loads of coloring books, crayons, painting kits and other fun toys to make a better Christmas for children in need, turned out to be their favorite treat of all. Especially the delivery of the bags to the women in charge who were delighted to see so many gifts and thanked both Charlie and Maisie profusely.
All these activities fell into their plans of keeping the kids from sinking into despair by the loss of their mom. At the end of eachday, they both sat with the children as they nestled into their beds and held a community rehash of what they enjoyed most.
This night, Colin perched at the end of Charlie’s bed while Jaq helped Maisie into her pajamas. “So, Charlie, what was your favorite thing we did today?”
“That’s easy. Walking through the Chateau Frontenac. Seeing the trees. And all the shops with decorations.” The boy’s eyes still glowed with the excitement he’d felt when they’d stepped through the huge doors leading into the foyer. Even though Colin had seen that display many times over the days while he’d been staying there, he had to admit that it was breathtaking.
The staff had decorated a number of Christmas trees so beautifully that the tourists flocked there to take photos. In fact, Jaq had insisted they get so many shots of their family that it would take a fair amount of time to go through and weed out the keepers.
Maisie piped up, “I liked the dowies best. Did you see those princess ones?” Her voice lowered, filling with awe. “There were so many, and they were all beautifuw. That other girl, the one who cwied when her mommy pulled her away… it was sad.”
Personally, Jaq thought the child had been bratty and didn’t deserve to be rewarded for her tantrum, but then kids did see the world differently. “Remember though… her mommy told her she had lots of dolls. Maybe she didn’t need another one.”
Maisie picked up a ragged looking baby-doll with a missing arm that screamed out ‘wash me’. “I have a dowie. Her name is Lili. But she wouldn’t mind if I got another one, would you Lili?” Jaq noticed that she only brought this babydoll out from under her covers at bedtime, and then the doll was cuddled closely while Maisie drifted off.
Jaq tucked them in. “Lili. That’s a nice name. How did you pick that one?”
Charlie heard them talking and when he saw that Maisie had stopped paying attention, he answered. “Lili’s in a TV show called Trotro. Maisie and I like that cartoon. Maman used to let us watch it sometimes.”
