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The man nodded. “Jo, he’s been a good help to Roald during his time of need.”
“He has.” Gil glanced at Ava and took courage from her steadfast attention. “Last night, when Timmy couldn’t wake his aunt, he came to Roald’s place because he knew he’d find assistance there. Roald would like to keep Timmy with him atleast until the End of Harvest competition is done. The boy has worked hard along with others in the band, and especially after what he’s lost, he deserves something to look forward to. Roald is also willing”—his heart pounded so hard, he marveled he could take a breath—“to help transport Timmy to the orphans’ asylum in Topeka. But he hopes it won’t be necessary to take him there.”
A few people murmured, and someone behind Gil said, “Doesn’t Roald want to provide a home for Timmy?”
Gil looked over his shoulder and recognized the speaker as the town’s barber, Mr. Rempel. “Roald believes that Timmy would benefit from a home with both a mother and father present. As much as he likes Timmy, he worries he won’t be able to meet all of the boy’s needs.” Gil sat, glancing across the aisle as he did. To his surprise, Ava was glowering at him.
She shot to her feet. “Reverend Ediger, may I speak?”
“Anyone is welcome to share right now, Miss Flaming. Please go ahead.”
She half turned, addressing everyone in the congregation. “Timmy Dirks is a wounded little boy who’s lost the last person in this world who bears a blood relationship with him. Right now he is deeply grieved and very frightened. I’m grateful he had a good friend to run to, but Timmy needs more than a good friend. He needs a family. Will he find that at an orphans’ asylum, where he’ll compete with dozens of children for attention and affection? At his age, is it likely a set of parents will choose him? New parents want babies, not nine-year-olds. If he goes there, he’ll languish. The boy is too bright, too personable to be sent to such a fate.”
She snatched her Bible from the pew and ruffled pages. She held the Book open and read, “ ‘Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless andwidows in their affliction…’ ” She closed the Bible and pressed it to her bodice. “So it says in James 1:27. Can we call ourselves religious and ignore this child’s needs? I think not.” She sat, laid her Bible in her lap, and stared straight ahead.
Gil’s heart pounded. On one hand, Ava was only doing what Ava did—taking care of other people. But on the other hand, the fervor in her voice and fire in her eyes expressed a deep concern for Timmy. She wasn’t onlytaking care—she genuinely cared. And it stirred determination within him. “She’s right,” he heard himself say.
Reverend Ediger turned to him, a puzzled frown marring his face. “Did you say something, Gil?”
He nodded and pulled himself upright again. “I did. I said Ava is right. We’re Timmy’s church family. Although I mentioned the orphans’ asylum, I actually don’t think sending him to Topeka is the best thing to do. I think he needs to stay here in Falke, where he’s known and where he feels secure. He needs to be with a family who will love him and train him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
Mr. Siemens turned around from the front pew. “Wouldn’t it be too hard for Roald to have the boy here in town but not living with him?”
Gil ran his fingers up and down the edge of the sling. “It might be hard, because he does care a great deal about Timmy. But he told me what he wants most is for Timmy to go to a good family. A family with a mother and a father.” He sat again.
Reverend Ediger sent a serious look across the congregation. “I commend Miss Flaming for speaking words of wisdom from the Book that is meant to guide us in life. We should always seek God’s will. I also must admonish that taking a child into one’s home is a large responsibility. Thus, it is not adecision to be taken lightly. I think it best, as Gil suggested, to let Timmy remain with Roald Willems until the competition. This will give us—all of us—time to pray and seek our hearts for God’s guidance. We will address the issue of Timmy’s permanent home the Sunday after the competition.”
He returned to the podium. “For now, open your hymnbooks to ‘O God, Our Help in Ages Past.’ Let’s praise our Father in song.”
Chapter Thirty
Gil
After the minister released thecongregation with prayer, Gil stepped across the aisle to Ava. “Thank you for sharing the scripture from James. What you said will make people pray, and God will open someone’s heart to taking Timmy into their family. I believe it.”
“I believe it, too.” She didn’t sound confident, though. “Gil, did you come in the mail delivery wagon?”
“Jo, I didn’t have another way to get here. I’d hoped to catch a ride in your family’s carriage, but when I knocked on your door, no one answered. You’d gone without me.” He grinned as he spoke so she’d know he wasn’t upset.
“I’m sorry. We presumed you’d stay with Timmy.”
Her unsmiling countenance concerned him. “Ava, is something wrong?”
She glanced around, then cupped her hand beneath his elbow in lieu of taking his arm. “Let’s find Mama and Papa. I’d like to ask their permission to ride home with you. Is…” Her brow pinched. “Is that all right?”
Time alone with Ava was a gift. “Jo, I would enjoy that.”
Onkel Bernard and Taunte Maria were already in the carriage, waiting. Gil stood to the side while Ava spoke with them.At Bernard’s nod, Gil’s heart sputtered. They truly trusted him with their daughter, and he determined to never betray their trust.
He assisted Ava onto the delivery wagon’s narrow seat, then awkwardly pulled himself up on the opposite side and unwrapped the reins.
She observed him, eyebrows low. “How did you hitch the team one-handed?”
“I did it three-handed.”
Her fine brows shot high.
“Roald helped. You can imagine how long it took, with him leaning on his crutches and me fumbling around with my left hand. That’s why I was a few minutes late to service. But don’t worry. The wagon will stay attached to the horse.”
