North Country Dad

The Mommy Plan

Widower Grant Adams loves his twin stepdaughters, but what does he know about pigtails and dresses and being a full-time dad? With his new job in a remote Canadian center for troubled boys, Grant needs a good nanny. But when he meets Dahlia Wheatley, who’s loving, patient and kind to his girls, he realizes the twins need more than a sitter—they need a mother. With her own harrowing past, Dahlia is as reluctant to get emotionally involved as Grant is. Yet his startling proposition just may form a happy new family of four.

“Is something wrong?” Dahlia asked.

Dahlia stood beside Grant, her face lifted as she searched his gaze.

Those eyes of hers saw too much. He couldn’t bear for her to glimpse that lost part of him that had never quite recovered. He shook his head. All he wanted was to be a good father to his twin stepdaughters. But was he?

Though Dahlia smiled, her beautiful hazel eyes didn’t have their usual twinkle. They locked on to his, freezing him in place.

“Would you like to go for a coffee?” Dahlia asked after a moment. She had more to say about him and the girls, he knew.

Grant was surprised by how much he wanted to say yes. “I should get the twins to bed,” he said.

“May I help?” The sparkle flashed back into her eyes.

“You want to help with bath time? You’ll get soaked,” he warned.

“It’s happened before. I didn’t melt,” Dahlia teased. “As long as you don’t mind sharing them for a while.”

Mind? He was delighted. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

LOIS RICHER

began her travels the day she read her first book and realized that fiction provided an extraordinary adventure. Creating that adventure for others became her obsession. With millions of books in print, Lois continues to enjoy creating stories of joy and hope. She and her husband love to travel, which makes it easy to find the perfect setting for her next story. Lois would love to hear from you via www.loisricher.com or [email protected], or on Facebook.

But if we must keep trusting God

for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.

—Romans 8:25

To the wonderful folks in Churchill, Manitoba,

who make the north country so much fun.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“We’re orphans, just like Cinderella.”

Dahlia Wheatley had forgotten how cute kids were.

“Not quite,” she said with a smile. “You’ve got a daddy.”

“Oh, yeah.” The auburn-haired twins glanced at the man sprawled out in the seat across the aisle, chin tucked into his chest, stubbled jaw barely visible. They smiled and went back to coloring.

They’d scooted across the aisle forty minutes ago for a visit. Dahlia had encouraged them to stay and color with her markers while their dad slept. He looked weary, like a father who’d used every last ounce of energy to entertain his two young daughters.

Dahlia could almost pretend she was part of their family. For a moment, she let herself imagine smoothing that unkempt hank of dark hair off his forehead, then she caught herself.

She didn’t even know the man!

“I’m hungry.” The wiggly twin, Glory, looked at Dahlia expectantly.

“Me, too.” Grace handed Dahlia her marker. “When do we get to Churchill?”

“Not until tomorrow morning. It’s a long train trip.”

“Because Canada’s so big.” Glory nodded sagely. “I’ll get something to eat out of Daddy’s bag.”

“Let’s leave Daddy alone.” Dahlia lowered her voice, not quite certain why it seemed so important to her that they not wake him up. “He looks very tired.”

“That’s ’cause he’s not used to us,” Glory said. Dahlia thought the words sounded like something she’d overheard an adult saying. “He hasn’t been our daddy for very long. Our real daddy died.”

“So did our mommy.” Grace looked at Glory with the most woeful expression Dahlia had ever seen. “She’s in heaven, with God.”

“I see.” Touched by their grief, worried the two waifs would burst into tears, Dahlia thought fast. “I have a couple of chocolate pudding cups. Would they do?”

“Yes, please.” Glory released the paper she’d been coloring and climbed up to sit next to Dahlia. Grace flopped beside her half a second later.

Dahlia dug out the pudding cups she’d thrown in her bag before leaving Thompson to go back home to Churchill. Paying the high price for a plane ticket or enduring a lengthy train journey through Manitoba’s north country were the only choices available to reach Churchill. It took stamina for adults to endure the seventeen-hour train ride. Undertaking the trip with two energetic kids was a gutsy move.