First Street Church: Love's Double Blessing (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Clear Creek Legacy Book 2) Read online

  "I assume there is paperwork to sign before the children are released to us?" Jenna asked.

  "Yes. If the couple left wills stating you were appointed the children's guardian, it will be much easier."

  "And if they didn't?" Jenna asked. "We talked about it, but I was never given anything in writing."

  "When parents don’t leave a will or an advance directive regarding the care of their children, the court will decide on a guardian based on the best interest of the children."

  Jenna reached for her mom's hand, needing to steady her rapidly beating heart.

  "Even if their wills state you will be the guardian, the court must still approve the parents’ choice," the caseworker continued.

  Dread filled Jenna's chest. She lived in a rented bunkhouse with very little money to her name. Even if she married Riel, would his medical problems prevent them from gaining custody?

  "But right now, I know two children need to see a familiar face." The caseworker stood and motioned them to follow her. "I'll come over to their home tomorrow to see how things are going."

  Jenna's mom took the paperwork from her hand, folded it and stuck it in her purse. It had the phone numbers of the funeral home, police station, and other places they had to contact. “Let's deal with the children first, then we'll call these places later today.”

  Jenna stopped in her tracks. "But how do we get into their house? I don't have a key or know the alarm code."

  The caseworker didn't look concerned, probably because she dealt with these problems all the time.

  "After you see the children—and I know they want to be with you—I'll call the police station and they will meet you at the house to let you in."

  The woman stopped in front of an office door, tapped lightly and opened the door for them to enter.

  Jenna swallowed hard when she saw Amie and RJ huddled together on a small cot behind an office desk. Their faces were splotched from crying and fear.

  Jenna walked over to the cot and kneeled down to their level." Amie, RJ, I'm here to help you."

  "Aunt Jenna! Momma and Daddy are dead!" Amie wailed and launched herself in Jenna's arms. Jenna squeezed her arms around the child, crying right along with her.

  "I'm so sorry, sweetie, I'm so sorry."

  She reached for RJ, but he pushed himself against the wall.

  "RJ? It's okay, I'm here." But Jenna could tell the four-year-old didn't believe her, and he was right. Nothing was okay now.

  Two solemn policemen were waiting for them when they arrived at the Sharpe home. After checking Jenna's ID, they opened the door and allowed them to enter. Of course, the alarm went off since Amie didn't know the code.

  Her mom rushed the children back outside, so they didn't have to listen to the blaring alarm as the police called the security company to shut it off.

  "Here's the code, and the security question the next time the alarm goes off," one of the officers handed her a piece of paper as they walked into the kitchen. Jenna took the paper then wondered where to put it. Jenna stuck it on the refrigerator with a butterfly magnet for now, not wanting to lose it among the stacks of papers already on the kitchen counter.

  It had never bothered Jenna that Becky was a messy housekeeper, but it did now because it was going to make it hard for Jenna to find the important papers she needed.

  It was bad enough when Jenna had to go through her and Tug's home after he died, but at least Jenna knew where important papers were. Knowing Becky, her important papers weren't going to be in a file cabinet in a folder marked "Wills and Guardianship Papers".

  The children remained quiet until the policemen left, then panic and chaos erupted again in the living room.

  “I want my momma!" Amie cried for the umpteenth time since they left the caseworker’s office. The little girl had a hold of Jenna's hand or shirt sleeve almost every second since Jenna meet them. Meanwhile, RJ hadn't said a word or let anyone touch him. Buckling him in the back seat of the truck had been nerve wracking for all of them. Which reminded her she needed to get new child seats since theirs were wrecked in the car.

  "Take the children up to their rooms and see if you can't get them to lay down for nap," her mom suggested. "I'll take stock of the kitchen and see what we need for groceries. I wonder if they have any food allergies," she said aloud to herself as she walked away.

  Jenna watched her mom walk off as other thoughts swarmed her head. Do they take any medicines on regular basics? Who's their pediatrician? What school do they attend?

  "Aunt Jenna, RJ just peed in his pants."

  Jenna thought of Riel as she followed Amie and RJ up to the upstairs bathroom. Could he handle situations like these?

  Could she? Jenna hadn't had younger siblings to help take care of, never babysat as a teenager... Yes, she'd helped with Amie and RJ when they were younger, but most of the time Becky was with her.

  The children were left with a sitter whenever the two couples did something together, even if they were in the Sharpe's backyard for a grilling party.

  She didn't have a clue how to take care of a child, other than sensing a girl and a boy were going to need unique needs and management practices.

  Did she just think management practices? She wouldn't be managing cattle on a rotating pasture situation but taking care of the physical and emotional needs of two children!

  Maybe it would be best for Amie and RJ to be adopted by a loving couple, with a decent house and a good income. Because Jenna had to face it, she didn't have any of these qualifications.

  "Aunt Jenna...I think I'm going to throw up—"

  Jenna instinctively put her hand under the child's mouth, only to snatch it away as warm, smelly vomit coated her fingers. Oh no! Not on Becky's white carpet!

  Jenna picked up Amie and dashed for the bathroom, this time one arm wrapped around the child's middle and her other hand clamped across Amie's face. The child gagged, struggling to breath and heave at the same time. Oh God, I'm smothering her!

  Jenna tossed up the toilet seat and held Amie over the open toilet as the child coughed, retched and cried. Eww… Now the smell was making Jenna sick to her stomach too. She could handle barnyard smells, but not a little girl's?

  She set Amie's feet down on the floor and grabbed a wash cloth off the towel rack to wet in the sink.

  "You can't use that one. Momma always uses the yellow cloth when we get sick."

  "Well, I'm sorry, but I didn't know that," But she did now. Vomit on a snow-white washcloth was not pretty. Why did Becky have so many white things with two young children in the house? "I'll wash it with bleach to get it pretty and white again." Whenever she had time to do laundry—since both children were clinging to her now. One soaked in urine and the other covered with chunky vomit. Jenna broke down crying with the children, overwhelmed with grief and dismay. How was she going to live through grief again, this time taking care of two children?

  Chapter 3

  Jenna ignored Riel as he, Grandpa, and Jenna's father, Ken, sat in the church pew behind Jenna, her mother, and the children during the funeral service. The sanctuary was packed with big men in tailor-made suits, and their pretty wives in designer dresses. Jim's football teammates, of which Jenna was part of this group of people before Tug's demise.

  Riel wanted to hug and comfort Jenna, knowing she’d relive Tug's funeral today, but Jenna turned to her mother and father for comfort instead of him. The rebuff cut Riel to his core, but he was ready to stand beside her when she was ready to turn to him again.

  This week turned her life back to past grief feeling fresh again, but now with the added burden of two young, confused children.

  "Thank you for coming to the service, Riel. I know it must have been hard for you, but I appreciate it," Jenna said in a formal voice she'd been using while talking to people at the reception at the local country club after the service.

  "Of course, I'd be here, Jenna. I love you and will always support you," Riel softly said, hoping the words woul
d sink in to her numb brain.

  "Riel, we can't marry now. I have to decide what it best for two children, take care of their parent's affairs, the house..."

  "And I'm here to help you and the children through this transition."

  "No, Riel, you can't handle it." Jenna insisted, raising Riel's frustration.

  "I've handled so many worse scenarios in my military career, that I'm prepared for this one. Vomit and pee has nothing on blood and splattered guts." He was satisfied Jenna's eyes widened with his words.

  Sherry had told him of the meltdown in the bathroom when they first arrived at the Sharpe’s home after the accident, and Riel needed to emphasize he could take command. He'd been broken by the explosion in Afghanistan, but with help from the First Street Church pastor and counseling, he felt he could stand beside Jenna to help her, and these two sad children.

  “We're going back to the house now. I... should thank you for taking care of my dog, and the other livestock since I can't be at your grandfather's ranch to do it myself."

  Jenna took a deep breath and finally looked up at Riel.

  "Since you're at the ranch now, I won't have to worry about getting back to my job...well my old job."

  "What do you mean?" Riel's heartbeat quickened with her words.

  "Maybe I'll stay here in Dallas and get a job. I hate to uproot the children."

  Riel relaxed while Sherry put an arm around her daughter. "The children are very young, so this is the best time to move them, back to Sweet Grove where you'll have help raising them. Being a single parent is very hard, especially when parenting is new to you."

  Jenna looked away from them all. "I…haven't decided if I should keep them, or let the courts find a couple to adopt them."

  Not keep them? Riel couldn't believe it! This was Jenna's chance to have a family she always wanted. And right now, he was wanting that chance with her.

  Riel felt eyes watching him and looked up to see Ken and Sherry silently questioning him. For some reason, they felt he could handle being a father, but Jenna couldn't.

  "I'd like to raise them with you, Jenna. We can be the family you always wanted."

  Why was the stubborn woman shaking her head in defiance?

  Well, he'd have to prove he was strong enough to handle the two half-pints then. He'd spent two years living in an Afghanistan village, protecting the residents from the Taliban. Except when the soldiers were out on maneuvers, they were involved in the villagers’ lives, living among them, tending their gardens, playing with the children... And then the IED went off, disintegrating Riel’s foot and killing the little boy. That's why the little boy's death was so hard on Riel. He'd known the boy since he'd been born, and he'd felt the grief of letting the parents down too. Now Riel felt like he was getting another chance to help children again, and he wanted to do it, by Jenna's side.

  *

  "A puppy!" RJ joyfully exclaimed as the boy entered the Sharpe’s house. Riel, Grandpa, and Ken went into the house before the rest of the family arrived and Riel had already brought Lucy, her puppy stuff, and his luggage into the house. He was serious about staying with Jenna and the kids for a while. Grandpa rode in Riel's pickup and Ken drove in his own so they'd all have a way home. Grandpa would ride home with Ken and Sherry when they left.

  Lucy didn't jump when RJ slid down by the puppy's side and hugged her. The puppy would be the perfect companion for two heart-sick kids.

  Amie left Jenna's side too, to meet the puppy as the two entered the house. Jenna stopped in the doorway, staring first at Lucy, then shifted her narrowed eyes to Riel.

  "Why is Lucy here?"

  "Because she's almost always with me, and she'll be good company for the kids." Riel left it at that because the children were in the room.

  "What bedroom do you want me in, Jenna? This place is bigger than a barn." Grandpa asked.

  "What bedroom? Why?" Jenna was so exhausted she must be confused and overwhelmed.

  "I'll be staying here until your folks leave for Sweet Grove."

  Jenna's eyes darted around the room, realizing her parents were silent and apparently in on this agreement.

  "Why don't you go home with Riel today?" Jenna asked Grandpa.

  "Because I'm staying here with you." Riel answered before his grandfather could say anything.

  Jenna's palms shot up in the air as if to ward them all off. "No, you are all going to leave, if not today, then tomorrow."

  "You are not going to do this alone like you did with Tug. Your father, Russ, and I will stay a few days, then Riel will stay with you until you're ready to come home."

  "Mom, I'm not twelve!"

  "No, you're not. You are an adult who has the support of her family during this crisis."

  “Uh, knock, knock. I hope I’m not bothering you, but I thought of some things you might need to know.” When everyone stood there staring at her, she added, “I’m the neighbor next door…”

  “Oh yes, …Nancy, right?” Sherry took over the conversation. It would be a good thing to make the rounds and meet the neighbors tomorrow, Riel thought. He hadn’t looked in the three-car garage yet, but there might be tools and things to return and such in there.

  The neighbor was pointing through her list as she read it aloud. “I’m positive Becky paid the homeowner’s association fees by the month instead of quarterly like I do, so you’ll need to pay right away. It’s due in two days.”

  “Twelve hundred dollars? So, divide that by twelve months?” Sherry said as she looked at the neighbor’s list.

  Jenna’s face reddened. “No mom, that’s the cost per month.”

  “Oh. You know their bank accounts may be frozen for a while," Sherry stressed. "Thank you, Nancy, for the list. I'm sure we'll be talking to you soon. Right now, I think we need to get the children their supper and get them in bed."

  "Supper? Oh right, dinner. If you need anything, please let me know," Nancy exited as fast as she could and ran across the landscaped lawn back to her home.

  Riel felt out of place in this big house and fancy neighborhood. While Riel drove to Dallas, Grandpa used a note pad and wrote down everything they could think of that needed to be done to settle the couple's affairs, but a twelve hundred a month HOA bill certainly wasn't on the list.

  Unless the Sharpe's home was paid off and they left a nice sum of money in their checking account, Jenna and the kids wouldn't be able to stay and live in this house. The HOA and utilities would be more than Jenna could possibly make in an average job, let alone pay for babysitting if she needed it.

  If Jenna and the kids moved back to Sweet Grove, maybe he'd have a chance with Jenna. Meanwhile, he'd keep quiet and help wherever he could.

  Chapter 4

  "You're kidding me," Jenna whispered at the lawyer's words. She stared at the man sitting behind the massive walnut desk, surprised at the words he’d read.

  Jenna’s mother's hand laid over her own on her lap, and she felt her father's arm reach behind her.

  "Yes, the Sharpe's wills were very explicit of what they wanted done in case of their early deaths. Since they both lost their parents at young ages, they didn't want their children to go through the same thing. Becky was in her early twenties when her widowed father died, and she had to figure out all his affairs by herself.

  "I am listed as their power of attorney, so I will handle their bills, and close their personal accounts. You and your husband are listed as the guardians of the children if their parents died before the children were of legal age."

  "But my husband is gone. What would have happened to them if I wasn't available either?"

  "They would have become wards of the state."

  The lawyer glanced at Jenna one more time before continuing to explain the details.

  "I will oversee the removal of their personal items and sell the house."

  "That's a big load off your shoulders, Honey," her dad said has he patted her shoulder.

  "But what about things…pictures and all t
hat might mean something to the children?"

  "Oh yes, take any mementos for the children. I also suggest you move the children's bedroom furniture to their new home, to help with the transition."

  "We have three pickups here, so we can haul what we need to back to Sweet Grove." Jenna bet her dad was already calculating what he could fit in the back of each truck bed.

  "Maybe I should buy a smaller house and stay here in Dallas instead of uprooting the children? At this point, do you have any idea what money might be left over after selling the house and paying off their bills and mortgage?"

  "I have no idea before I go through their affairs, but the money from the sale of the house will go into trust funds for the children's education, which they can start using at age eighteen. If their parents died after the children had reached that age, then the money would have been split between Amie and RJ, or their heirs if one or both of the children had died before that time."

  "What about their cost of living now, until they are adults?"

  "Mrs. McDowell, the Sharpe’s listed you and your husband as guardians, but left no money to you for that reason, or any other. I'm sure they assumed your husband, since he was also a professional football player like Jim, would have the means to support two children."

  "But Tug died and left me..." Jenna almost said penniless. "Why didn't the Sharpe's change their wills after Tug died?"

  "I have no clue, Mrs. McDowell. Either they never got around to it, or assumed as his widow, you had plenty of money after his demise."

  "You have Riel and the ranch house you’re remodeling. You'll make it work out," her father insisted.

  "I am no longer engaged to Riel, Dad".

  "You shouldn't have broken off the engagement when you heard the Sharpes died. He wouldn't have backed out from taking in two kids."

  "Ken, let's not get into this here," her mother warned.