Page 34 of The Bachelor's Dilemma

“You won’t get cold?” Myles asked.

“I’m warm now. If it gets cooler, I’ll wake him up. But for now, the nap is good for him. Keeps him from being cranky.”

“How do you manage all you do with a rambunctious four-year-old?” Myles asked.

“I didn’t have to work when he was younger. Edith has been a lifesaver since Tom died. It would be so much harder if I didn’t have her to help me.”

“It would be better if he had a parent at home all day.”

“That was our plan. Only Tom got killed and so I had to go to Plan B. Or maybe it was Plan C, because we never even considered one of us dying before Zack grew up. I had planned to stay home at least until he started school. I miss so much. He changes every day. Edith takes pictures for me and my parents. I send a bunch out every few weeks so they’ll keep connected. But it’s not the same.”

Myles nodded.

“I guess you don’t have any photographs of you as a child,” she said thoughtfully.

“Actually, I have one album in storage. The foster parents took pictures on birthdays and Christmas. And I have my senior high school yearbook. The past doesn’t mean so much to me—it’s the future I look forward to.”

She could understand the past didn’t hold special memories for Myles. It was too sad that children had to grow up that way.

“I took pictures of different bases, not many but enough so I can remember them down through the years,” Myles said slowly. “Before and after shots, and some as the work progressed.”

They seemed a poor substitute for family photos.

“Do you have access to them? I’d love to see them sometime,” she said. It would give her more information, help understand him better perhaps.

“So one night we’ll share photo albums. I’m glad you came with me today,” he said.

“I’ve enjoyed myself.”

Once again, Anna’s glance dropped to Myles’s mouth. She glanced away.

Myles felt her look like a physical touch. She’d done that several times today; looked at his mouth and then looked away. Was she remembering their kiss? He’d thought of it ever since last night. He was coming to really like this mother to his son.

He’d also enjoyed today. Zack seemed to feel comfortable around him. He expected more resistance. Would it take long to win his complete confidence and trust? Could he, at some point in the future, reveal who he really was?

The longer Myles was around the boy, the more he wanted to be. This was his son, his own flesh and blood. So many things he’d wished for as a child he could give to this boy. He wanted nothing bad to happen to him. What if Anna was killed unexpectedly, like her husband?

Who would take care of Zack? Had she made provisions? Or was she hoping she never needed another Plan B?

He hoped she never did.

Myles watched his son nap. He was so trusting and loving and full of life. Had Myles once been like that? Before circumstances had taught him to be wary of bonds that could be shredded in a heartbeat when he was reassigned to a different family.

He’d sometime imagined his parents had lived and been searching for him. And one day found him.

He wondered if Zack had been told he was adopted? If not, would Anna tell him when he was older? What questions would he have about his birth parents? Myles never wanted him to think his father had let him down. Family ties were important.

He was happy Zack had been adopted by the Tuckers. Anna was a great mom, just like he’d wished for as a boy. Zack was lucky, despite the heartache of losing the only father he knew.

“I’m thirsty,” Zack said.

“You’re awake,” Anna said, moving her sweater. “There’s another bottle of water.”

Myles watched as Zack drank almost half the contents and then jumped up.

“Where are we going now?” he asked.

“I thought we’d take a carriage ride later,” Myles said.

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