Free Summer of Secrets by Charlotte Hubbard Page A

with new lives, because God had blessed us with her in such ... miraculous circumstances.” Bob hesitated and then gently grasped Miriam’s hand. “Please accept my apologies for not trying to find you and your family. What we did was wrong, but it felt so ... providential. I don’t suppose you could possibly understand or forgive—”
    “We thought she was dead, ya know. Thought her little body musta rushed miles and miles downriver, and got hung up underwater, where no one’d find it.” Miriam sniffled loudly and patted the hand wrapped around her wrist. “I couldn’t share this with anybody at the time—not even my sister Leah—but I believed it was God’s way of tellin’ me I wasn’t fit to raise that little girl—”
    “No, that’s not true! I don’t even know you, Miriam, but I can see—”
    “—so I accepted the consequences as His will.” She let out a long sigh, heavy with the burden she’d borne for eighteen years. Sheila put an arm around her shoulders, crying quietly. And in Bob Oliveri’s eyes, Miriam saw the same relief and release she felt, now that he had admitted his own deep secret. “And how could I see things any different, standin’ here with you? God delivered my Rebecca to a family who needed her, and who took gut care of her. And now she’s come back to find me—”
    “And how did that happen?” he asked with an incredulous shake of his head. “Even if she’d given me a chance to explain, I had no way to tell Tiffany about her birth parents. The only clue we had was the style of that little pink dress.”
    Miriam blinked. The whole story defied explanation. But who was she to demand more answers or make accusations when things had turned out so much better than she’d hoped, so long ago? “Gotta be God workin’ out His purpose again, ain’t so?” she murmured. “Even if we can’t know what that purpose might be now, any more than we knew back then.”
    Bob exhaled loudly. He looked like a man exhausted by grief, yet his eyes had a sparkle in them now. “Please accept my apologies for anything Tiff might’ve said or done that offended you—”
    “She surprised us. That much is for sure and for certain!”
    “—and I can’t promise you she’ll come back to hear your side of the story,” he continued with a resigned shrug. “She hasn’t been home since she stormed out of here with that little dress. Thank goodness her best friend’s mom called to say she’s staying there for a while. Tiffany’s very upset about her mother’s death, and she’s always had a mind of her own.”
    “ Jah , since the day the girls were born, she was the one testin’ my patience and runnin’ off when I called her,” Miriam confirmed with a rueful laugh. For a few moments a comforting silence settled in around them. She gazed again at the photographs on the living room wall, sensing she’d gotten enough answers for now and that, if she needed to, she could talk to Bob Oliveri another day. “You’ve been ever so gracious. I’ll pray ya get some rest and find peace about your wife, after an illness that’s left you tired and sad, too.”
    His final attempt at composure gave way to a brief bout of tears, and as Sheila walked with Miriam to the door, Bob followed them. “I’ll do my best to convince Tiff—Rebecca—to visit you when she’s let go of her negative feelings. And thanks so much for the food. It smells wonderful, Miriam. Lots of stuff in the house, but I’m not in the mood to cook.”
    “Least I could do for ya. God bless ya, Bob,” she whispered. “Take care of yourself, now.”
    After they stepped outside with a final wave, he closed the door. Sheila went around to open the passenger door of the van, and Miriam blinked back fresh tears as she stepped up into it. “Well, now. Don’t that beat all? I’ve got lots to think about.”
    Sheila smiled and swiped at her eyes. “But it’s all good. An amazing story, Miriam, and I’m so honored that you