Chapter 14

Sandy moved around the back of the grocery store at a leisurely pace, organizing the inventory that had just come in. Packaged loaves of bread filled the air with a warm, homey smell. It was a sunny Saturday morning, and the grocery store was quiet. Sandy felt like she had the whole place to herself, especially there in the back room. She was almost feeling a little lonely—no, just a little bored.

She leaned back, stretching her back and tossing her long blond braid back over her shoulder. At that moment, the back door opened and Tommy walked inside.

"Hey, you!" She grinned at him. "Do you need something?"

He shook his head. "I came over to help you out today."

"Tommy!" She placed her hand over her heart. "You don't need to do that! It's the weekend, you should take some time off for yourself. Go do something fun in town today."

He shrugged. "I can do something fun later."

She pressed her lips together. She hated to accept his offer, even though he was clearly eager to help. "You sure you don't want to get out there right away and enjoy the snow? That snowfall we had last night is perfect for sledding."

"I'm not worried." He grinned. "There will be more snow even if I don't get the chance to go sledding later today."

Sandy wondered for a moment if he didn't have anyone to go sledding with besides Paige, who was probably working at Tidal Wave Coffee just then.

"Well, okay." She shrugged. "If you're sure."

"I am. I want to help out here. I'm so grateful that you and Dan have taken me in. I feel very welcomed by you both."

Sandy's heart flooded with warmth. "Oh, sweetheart. You're so welcome in our home. Of course you are."

He smiled. "It's just—it's really been great. You've really been great. Before I got assigned to you, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a foster family for my last months as a minor. It's hard for teenagers to get families a lot of the time."

Sandy nodded, listening intently and feeling honored that he was opening up to her.

"I've been in a few different foster homes since my parents died when I was younger. None of them have been as nice as you and Daniel. I feel really lucky that I'm able to stay with you."

Sandy's heart hurt when she heard his words. She wished his life hadn't been as hard as it had been. "We're more than happy to have you stay with us, Tommy," she assured him. "Honestly, Daniel and I feel like the lucky ones. We love having kids stay with us."

Tommy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why did you and Daniel never have kids?"

The question caught Sandy off guard. She collected herself quickly and cleared her throat. "Well, we wanted children." Her voice was soft. "We tried to have them for years, but the doctors said that I'm infertile."

It was Tommy's turn to clear his throat. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Sandy. I guess I should have realized. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's okay." She smiled at him. "It's a good question."

"I'm sorry you couldn't have kids. Really." His eyes looked thoughtful behind his glasses. "You would have made a wonderful mother."

"Thank you, Tommy." She felt tears rush to her eyes, but she blinked them back. She smiled at him. "Here. Take this clipboard, and start marking down the inventory, would you? I'm going to go check the store and see what's running low."

"Sure." He smiled at her, but he seemed worried, as if he realized he'd upset her.

Sandy hurried out into the store, and once she was out of sight, the tears overcame her. She kept walking, trying to blink them back but ending up wiping them off her cheeks instead.

She did want a child. She wanted a child so much.

She paused at the end of an aisle, not wanting to walk any further in case she ran into a patron and was seen crying. She took deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

All these years, she and Daniel had agreed that fostering children was an important task. It was one that they were proud to do, and she wanted to be able to keep doing it.

But I want to adopt, she thought. I do. I want to be able to love a child and not see them leave us. I'm going to talk about it with Daniel. I'm sure he'll understand how I'm feeling.

She looked up, suddenly struck with a lovely thought. What about Tommy? He was such a great kid. If they could adopt him, that could be wonderful for all of them.

I should talk it over with Daniel first, and then all three of us should discuss it,she thought, her heart beating faster with excitement. It's not something that any of us should rush into, but we should start talking it over.

A smile spread across her face and her tears subsided. She felt her heart lift with a kind of joy.

I have a feeling, she thought, closing her eyes for a moment, that all of our lives are about to get even better.