ANNA FELL IN LOVE WITH ABE AND VIOLET’S BABY boy the instant she laid eyes on him.
Richard George Leonard—named for his maternal and paternal grandfathers—bellowed at the top of his lungs, his eyes squeezed shut, his face bright red and blotchy. Although the midwife declared him one of the biggest babies she’d delivered over the years, he still looked small to Anna, especially when Violet passed him into her arms.
Anna touched her fingers to the inky black hair on his head. It was as soft as down. She couldn’t help but draw him closer so she could kiss the top of his head.
“Hello, Richie,” she whispered. “You are such a lucky baby. You’ve got a wonderful mommy and daddy. They’re going to love you and take care of you and watch you grow into a man. And I’m going to help them.”
As if he understood, the baby stopped crying. After a couple of hiccups, he went to sleep.
“Well, look at you, Anna,” Abe said. “Aren’t you the perfect big sister. Look at how he trusts you already.”
She wouldn’t have thought anything could make her feel any happier, but being called Richie’s big sister did. God had given her a home and a family to care for her. He’d given her hope for the fulfillment of her daddy’s dream for Shiloh’s Star, and now He’d given her something she’d always wanted—a little brother.
Anna passed the baby back to his mother, fighting hard not to let tears spill from her eyes.
Someday, she hoped she would fall in love with a man like Abe Leonard. And when she did, she hoped they would have a dozen babies just as perfect as Richie Leonard.