Leave a Candle Burning (14 page)

“Can you say Conner?” Dannan prompted.

“Ponner.”

“Close enough,” Conner laughingly remarked, thinking that in a matter of moments, this little girl had walked straight into his heart.

The train began to move, and Dannan realized he’d missed the unloading. He headed back into the small, cramped station, Corina at his side and Conner bringing up the rear. He showed his bags to Conner, who took over and sent him on his way.

It wasn’t far, but Dannan was suddenly tired. He felt too weary even to pick up Corina, but not too weary to notice the trusting way she kept her hand in his. Dannan made himself ignore the way he felt, and tightening his grip ever so slightly on Corina’s small hand, they continued the walk home.

Reese had not been expecting Conner but somehow knew why he was home. She stopped in the wide hallway, 15 feet from the front door, and watched his face. “Was that the train? Have you seen them?”

Conner didn’t speak until he was right in front of her. “They were there.”

“You met Corina?”

Conner nodded. “She’s so little and sweet. I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“How did Dannan seem?”

“Tired. I’ve never seen him so tired.”

“And Corina? Was she tired too?”

“I don’t think so,” Conner guessed, smiling a little. “She must have been warm on the train because her hair was curled around her neck and forehead.”

“What color?”

“Dark brown. It looked soft when she walked in front of me, and when I saw the back of her little neck, I—” Conner couldn’t finish. He didn’t have the words to describe what went through him at that point.

Reese put her arms around him. Conner laid his cheek on the top of his wife’s head.

“She can’t say hard
c
’s,” Conner added. “She calls herself Porina and I was Ponner.”

Reese’s shoulders shook with mirth even before her mouth opened to laugh in sheer delight.

“I can’t wait to meet her.”

“I invited them for tea tonight, but Dannan said he wasn’t sure.”

Reese nodded, trying not to get her hopes up but also knowing she was going to have to force herself all afternoon not to march over there and meet that little girl.

It was a good thing Corina was occupied because Dannan couldn’t speak when he saw the extra bedroom upstairs. A small bed sat low to the ground in one corner, a low dresser to the side. The ceiling had been painted, and the walls were covered in wallpaper, the print a bright, fun blue. It was a paper he wouldn’t mind having in his own room.

The quilt on the bed, however, was as feminine as it could be. Every pastel of the rainbow was displayed, and it fit the bed as if it had been made especially for it. There was even a small rag doll against the pillow, and Corina had taken exactly five seconds to get her hands on it.

“Sit, Danna,” she invited, having perched herself on the edge of the mattress, whose frame was not many inches from the floor. Clearly she knew it was all for her.

“Thank you,” Dannan said, lowering himself as carefully as his long legs would allow. He thought about reading her stories once she was tucked up for the night and wondered if he could find a rocking chair for the job.

“How do you like your room?” Dannan asked her, wondering how long it would hurt to see the mixture of Grant and Annie in her face.

“My room,” she repeated.

Dannan slipped an arm around her, and she nestled against him for a moment, but it wasn’t long before she spotted a basket in the corner and went to investigate. Dannan watched her from his place on the bed, his stomach starting to rumble. Had he been on his own, he might have slipped over to the tavern to see if they had anything left over from dinner, but he wasn’t taking Corina there.

It was a good time to remember Conner’s invitation. He pulled out his pocket watch and saw that if he could hold off, Reese would be feeding him in little more than an hour.

A messenger brought a note to Eli. Scottie, who answered the door, thanked the boy, who refused the coin she offered, saying that Mr. Kingsley had paid him. Eli had planned to nap, but Scottie still slipped upstairs to check on him. She entered with a smile when she found him awake.

“From Conner,” she explained, passing the paper to him.

Eli read these words out loud to his wife, “ ‘I talked with Dannan at the train station. He plans to see you himself but did not think changes to the house would be a problem. Thank you for all your work. Conner.’ ”

“So they arrived,” Scottie confirmed, sighing a little. “I hope she likes the room.”

“How could she not?” Eli teased. “I wanted that quilt myself.”

Scottie laughed with him, but it wasn’t long before they fell quiet. They sat together, both thinking on the changes ahead for Dannan and the little girl.

Eli’s eyes had been directed out the window, but when they finally swung to his wife, he found her looking at him.

“It’s a helpless feeling, isn’t it?” Eli said, guessing her thoughts.

“Yes. I have to keep reminding myself that there is nothing helpless about our God.”

Eli took her hand.

“Thank you for the reminder,” he said softly, and Scottie could hear the fatigue in his voice. Leaving him alone to nap, Scottie exited the room, knowing that she was going to have to remind herself all afternoon about her own words.

“This is Reese,” Dannan said, wasting no time with formal names. He nearly lived here and knew Corina would as well. “And this is Troy. Can you tell them your name?”

“Porina Joy,” the little girl obediently replied, helping the adults to smile in her presence when the temptation to cry was so strong.

“Come in,” Troy invited Corina and then led them toward the dining room. Corina looked into his face, the face of a young-looking grandpa, and followed without a glance at Dannan.

“How are you?” Reese asked after she’d given Dannan a hug.

“I’m not sure. I think there’s still a good deal of shock.”

Reese nodded in compassion and preceded Dannan into the dining room, only to find Troy making Corina right at home.

“I have two little granddaughters just about your size,” he said as he helped her into a chair. “They were just here to visit me.”

“Two?” Corina asked him, catching only that word.

“Yes.”

Dannan had taken a seat next to his small charge, and once Troy prayed and the plates were passed, Dannan gave her small amounts. She had been a good eater so far, and he was glad of that. He buttered a slice of bread for her, made sure she could reach her water, and checked that her meat and vegetables were cut into small bites.

“I have pie too,” Reese said, watching them and trying not to stare.

“We’ll save room,” Dannan promised, not sure Corina even heard.

“How is the house?” Conner asked when things grew quiet enough for him to be heard.

Dannan shook his head in wonder. “Have you seen it?”

No one else had.

“Corina’s room is perfect for her. The bed is so low that she can sit on the edge of the mattress and have her toes on the floor. We were able to put some of her things away in the little dresser before we came over, and she giggled with excitement to reach and open the drawers herself.”

“And the rest of the house?”

“As clean as I’ve ever seen it. Not a thing out of place, and any clothing I’d left out was all washed, pressed, and hung away.”

“You don’t feel intruded upon?” Reese checked.

“No. I don’t think anyone went into my workroom, and my only concern there would be a bottle bumped over and broken.”

“Danna,” Corina whispered beside him. Dannan looked down to find a look of distress on her face. “I need a visit.”

“Okay.” Dannan was swiftly learning her phrases, so he excused them both and took her from the room. The other three adults were almost relieved. They had a chance to look at each other in wonder. None of them were lulled into the false belief that the days ahead would be carefree, but Corina was doing so well. She was bright and attentive to things around her when Conner, Reese, and Troy all thought she would be constantly asking for her mother.

They didn’t talk about it before Dannan came back from seeing to Corina’s needs, but everyone thought it. They had all prayed, not even knowing exactly what to say to God but asking Him to work in His way and to bless and keep both Dannan and Corina. It was so clear to all three of them that God was doing just that.