Instant Father Read online

  This new father has a lot to learn

  ...and she’s perfect for the job

  Bachelor Paul Belvedere is overwhelmed with raising his recently orphaned young nephew. Fortunately, he’s found an ally in violet-eyed teacher Charlotte Connelly. Paul might even be able to trust her with his shameful secret. But when he discovers that Charlotte is planning on leaving town on a mission trip, Paul is caught between saying goodbye...or teaching her an important lesson in love.

  “Trying to get rid of me?”

  Charlotte was startled, but then saw the twinkle in Paul’s eye. Still, she couldn’t resist adding one more thing.

  “I hope I’ve made it clear, Paul, I won’t tolerate being pressured about this. But at the same time, I want you to trust me. Can you do that? I care about Tyson, too, just as I care about all of my students.”

  “I trust you,” Paul said, but the words seemed unfamiliar in his mouth. “I, uh, missed you at lunch yesterday,” he added, his tone gruff with confession.

  So he had noticed. I missed you, too...

  But she couldn’t bring herself to say the words or to stir the embers.

  She suddenly wondered how it would go over if she was to start dating the guardian of one of her students.

  Whoa, now, where had that thought come from?

  Besides, there was her application, making its way through the mail and waiting to bring back with it the answer to her future.

  An answer that she was no longer sure she was ready for.

  Donna Gartshore loves reading and writing. She also writes short stories, poetry and devotionals. She often veers off to the book section in the grocery store when she should be buying food. Besides talking about books and writing, Donna loves spending time with her daughter, Sunday family suppers and engaging online with the writing community.

  Books by Donna Gartshore

  Love Inspired

  Instant Family

  Instant Father

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  INSTANT FATHER

  Donna Gartshore

  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

  —2 Corinthians 12:9

  This book is, as always, for my daughter, who brings light and fun to my days.

  For my family, who supports me and believes in me.

  And for my writing group and other friends, who keep me encouraged.

  Thanks again to Melissa Endlich for helping me to be the best writer I can be.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from The Amish Spinster’s Courtship by Emma Miller

  Chapter One

  It was Friday in the second week of September, her grade-one students, restless and energetic, had departed for the weekend and Charlotte Connelly was intently focused on her computer screen. But instead of looking at lesson plans, she studied pictures of people engaged in overseas missionary work. During the community activities on Wednesday night at her church, where Charlotte often assisted with literacy volunteer work, one of the other volunteers had pointed out the opportunity to her and said he thought she would be perfect for it.

  Since then, Charlotte hadn’t been able to focus on anything but the thought of going overseas. There was no doubt she was ready for a change, perhaps even for some adventure. But would she actually dare to do it?

  She had lived in Green Valley, a small community about a forty-minute drive from Regina, Saskatchewan, her entire life. At age twenty-five, she was still single, and she didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

  The volunteers looked happy and fulfilled in a way that she hadn’t felt for a long time. Well, truthfully, not since Anna... But as soon as the thought of her younger sister came into her mind, it was immediately followed by guilt-ridden memories that blamed her for what happened. She knew that her parents counted on her, especially since her mother was unwell these days. Charlotte suspected it was stress, but the headaches and upset stomach were real and debilitating.

  But Charlotte still had the longing in her heart to have a life that brought her true fulfillment...maybe even love. But, despite being a believer and a regular churchgoer, she didn’t feel like she knew what His intentions were for her life. Was this opportunity to do missionary work a nudge toward discovering this?

  A soft clearing of a throat from the classroom doorway startled Charlotte. She quickly regained her composure and turned on her professional smile before seeing who it was. Then her smile wavered for a moment, as something unsettling flowed through her, an odd mix of disturbing and pleasant. A moment later, the sensation was gone and she was left feeling slightly shell-shocked.

  She couldn’t explain why she’d had such a visceral reaction to seeing Paul Belvedere standing in the classroom doorway. He was the uncle and guardian of one of her students, Tyson Francis, and he wasn’t the only parent or guardian to seek her out lately.

  Although, admittedly, she couldn’t recall any other class parents who filled up the doorway with such broad shoulders and whose dark brown eyes were so intense.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting,” Paul said in the deep voice that several women in town gossiped about. “I—uh—Mildred Price said it was no trouble if I picked Tyson up late today, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to...” For a split second Charlotte saw weariness and uncertainty wash across Paul’s strong-boned face. Then he cleared his throat again and said in a forthright way, “I want to talk to you about how Tyson is doing and I want you to be honest with me.”

  “Yes, of course, Mr. Belvedere,” Charlotte said. “Please come in and have a seat.”

  She couldn’t help noting that the chair she kept by her desk for this purpose was dwarfed by his size. Yet what should have been a comical picture only served to emphasize his physique.

  Stop it, Charlotte, she scolded herself.

  She knew that Paul’s question wasn’t a casual one. Even if she hadn’t been Tyson’s teacher, it would have been impossible in a town the size of Green Valley to avoid knowledge of the tragedy.

  Tyson and his parents, Ross and Erica Francis, had only been living in town for a couple of years, yet they’d readily fit in. One fateful night, about seven months ago, Ross and Erica left Tyson with a babysitter and drove into Regina for dinner and a movie. They never made it to the movie. As they were crossing the street after dinner, they were struck down by a drunk driver and killed instantly.

  Tyson had woken up to the news that he would never see his parents again.

  Charlotte swa
llowed hard and reminded herself that Paul had come to get her opinion on his nephew, not to watch her dissolve in a puddle of sympathy, even if she did understand all too well what it was like to lose a sister. But that was something she never talked about.

  He shifted in the small chair, and she realized that he was waiting for her to answer his question. There was something edgy about him, not dangerous, but as if he didn’t have time to waste.

  “I’m glad that you came to talk to me,” Charlotte said. “I’ve actually been thinking about whether I should contact you, but I wanted to give it some time. In some ways Tyson is doing as well as can be expected. All children experience an adjustment period between kindergarten and grade one because of the full days and higher expectations, and, of course with Tyson...”

  A shadow passed through Paul’s eyes, and his jaw tightened, so she rapidly stepped around the emotional land mine.

  “We’ll just say that Tyson has some additional challenges.”

  Paul gave a grim nod. “So he’s having problems? I was afraid of that.”

  Charlotte thought about Tyson and pictured his unruly mop of reddish hair, the dash of freckles across his nose and his smile, which, though infrequent, was gap-toothed and endearing.

  “Tyson is a sweet boy,” she said with sincerity. “He’s kindhearted and smart and, given time, I know he’ll be fine.”

  She silently prayed that her confident prediction would come true.

  “But...” Paul prompted.

  “But in the meantime I do think he could use some extra assistance and attention.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Paul asked.

  “I’m saying that we have to work as a team. We both care about Tyson and are committed to helping him through this. We can’t bring back his parents.” Charlotte swallowed briefly then braced herself. She couldn’t give in to emotion now. “But if we work together, I know we can make a difference for him.”

  Paul appeared to be considering her words, then he asked, “What about the other kids? How is Tyson getting along with them?”

  “Social interactions are an adjustment for all of the children,” she said cautiously. “It’s really not that long since their only social interactions were with their parents.”

  She stopped herself. But it was Paul who pushed past the hard moment in the conversation.

  “Is Tyson not getting along with the other children?” he asked.

  “He’s a friendly and kind little boy,” Charlotte reiterated. “But again, there are struggles, for obvious reasons. He has one or two friends that he seems to be comfortable with, but he still likes to be alone much of the time.”

  “And you think we should be concerned?” Paul asked sharply.

  Charlotte was momentarily flustered by his tone, then regained her composure. It was only natural that Paul would be uptight. Not only was he new to town, but she’d heard that he was also a confirmed bachelor. Parenting was new to him. Plus he’d also be dealing with his own grief over his sister.

  “I think it’s all part of the struggle he’s going through,” Charlotte said. “I do want to say again that I think Tyson is doing quite well, but it’s going to take both of us, as well as the support of the community, to keep him on the path to healing.”

  Again Paul scrutinized her in a way that made Charlotte feel like he could see right through her. Then his face relaxed and he said. “Okay, thank you for answering all of my questions, Ms. Connelly.”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” Charlotte said. “I’ll keep in close touch with you about Tyson’s progress and trust you’ll do the same for me. Also, Mr. Belvedere, I know that you’ve had a loss, too. Green Valley is a supportive community—don’t be afraid to reach out.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.” But Paul’s face had gone stony, discouraging further discussion on the matter. He glanced at his watch and unfolded himself out of the chair. Charlotte stood up to walk out of the room with him, noticing that, although she was five feet seven inches, she felt tiny beside him. She tried not to feel like a little girl as she scrambled to match his long stride.

  Although Paul had indicated that he was satisfied with her answers, Charlotte felt like there was something he wasn’t saying, and she wanted to offer more reassurance, but she didn’t know how.

  Dear Lord, help me to help Tyson and his uncle. Show me what I can do.

  Almost immediately, the community activities that took place at Green Valley Community Church on Wednesday nights came to mind.

  “Listen, Paul,” she said, tilting her face up to catch his eye.

  He stopped walking and looked down at her, waiting.

  “You may already know this, but there are a variety of activities that take place at the Green Valley church on Wednesday nights. It would be a great way for Tyson to have more bonding time with his classmates and a chance for you to get to know more people, too. I’m usually with the literacy volunteer group and—”

  “Thank you,” Paul said. “Sorry to interrupt, but I do need to get going. I promised Mildred and Tyson that I wouldn’t be too late. Maybe we’ll drop by the church—we’ll see.”

  But Charlotte didn’t have confidence that they would. She had never seen them there on a Sunday morning.

  As they reached the exit, they almost ran into Rena Acoose, who was heading back into the school with a fretful look in her beautiful dark eyes.

  “Rena, what’s the matter?” Charlotte asked. Her First Nations friend was the grade-four teacher at Parkside Elementary School. “I thought you were long gone.”

  “That was the plan,” Rena said rather breathlessly. “I have the car today because I’m supposed to be getting a few groceries after work, but it won’t start. I left my cell phone in my desk and I need to get hold of Seth.”

  Her husband owned and managed the local coffee and bakeshop, Seth’s Café, a popular hangout on Main Street.

  “It’s just been one thing after another,” Rena said, shaking her head. “I know we’ll have to get a mechanic to look at it, but we just found out that we have to get a new furnace installed before winter, too.”

  “I could take a look,” Paul said, and Charlotte remembered that he’d been hired as a mechanic by Mildred’s brother, Harold. Harold said Paul did high-quality work.

  “I have to pick up Ty right now, but I could stop by Harold’s Garage and grab my tools and come back to have a look.”

  Rena shook her head. “That’s so nice of you,” she said. “But I really can’t afford it right now.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we can work something out,” Paul said. “Maybe just mention to Seth that Tyson and I are pretty fond of that bannock he makes.”

  Paul’s half smile caused Charlotte’s cheeks to flush. More than his obvious good looks, she was attracted to his willingness to help. Her curiosity was piqued.

  A moment later, though, she tamped down on the curiosity. Her only goal with him was to help his nephew, although it did no harm to notice how handsome he was.

  Paul departed with a promise to return to look at Rena’s car. As soon as he was out of earshot, Charlotte felt her friend’s fingers eagerly gripping her forearm.

  “He’s cute!” Rena whispered dramatically. “A nice guy, too. And don’t even try to pretend you haven’t noticed.”

  Wanting to steer Rena away from any matchmaking thoughts, Charlotte said, “I’ve been looking online at sites about overseas missionary work.”

  “Do you think you’ll do it?” Rena asked.

  “I’m not sure. I mean, I’d really like to, but...there’s a lot to think about.”

  Rena nodded.

  One of the best things about longtime friends, Charlotte thought, was that you didn’t have to spell everything out for them.

  “You headed to your parents’ tonight,” Rena said. It wasn’t a question. Everyone who knew C
harlotte knew that she went to her parents’ on Friday evenings for tea and shortbread and a game of cribbage with her father.

  “Yes, I keep telling Mom that they can come to my place if she’s not up to it,” Charlotte said. “Or we can take a night off, but she says she likes doing it. I guess...well, I guess she likes knowing that some things won’t change.”

  But, as she left Rena at the school to wait for Paul to look at her car, Charlotte wondered what Paul Belvedere did on a Friday night.

  * * *

  Could he trust Ms. Connelly to do everything she could for Tyson? Paul wondered if she would truly pay enough attention, because he was all too aware of what could happen when teachers—and parents—let things slip through the cracks.

  Despite himself, he was also trying to decide if she was pretty. His first reaction was that she was plain, until he caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were quite extraordinary, violet with long thick lashes, and they brought an unexpected beauty to her face. She was tall and slim and her straight-line gray skirt and pink blouse made him think of a prim librarian. She had light brown hair that she wore pulled back in a low ponytail, her nose was small and straight, her mouth was on the wide side and she didn’t wear lipstick.

  Not that any of that mattered. The important thing was how Tyson felt about her and, so far, he said he liked her. Plus Paul had heard nothing but good things around town about Ms. Connelly.

  Mildred Price lived one block over from Main Street, and as Paul headed toward her house, he passed the few businesses in town—Seth’s Café, Fran’s Women’s Wear and Dudley’s Pharmacy. It still bemused him that he could walk from one end of Main Street to the other in less time than it took him to pick up one of Seth’s renowned cups of coffee. It was a real change from Toronto, which was the last place he’d lived.

  His sister, Erica, had emailed him about Green Valley, and he’d teased her, unable to believe they would last for long there. She and her husband, Ross, were city people through and through, or so he had thought. But they’d wanted to raise Tyson in a place where he could play outdoors and where they would actually know their neighbors’ names. Despite how much he’d enjoyed giving his older sister a hard time, Paul had been happy to be proven wrong, because Erica and her family had thrived in Green Valley.