Free Twilight's Serenade by Tracie Peterson

them.”
    Britta nodded. “I agree, and I could come and take care of the girls for you while you worked.”
    “But what about the orchestra?” Lydia questioned.
    Yuri saw Britta flash her mother a look of disapproval. “What’s this about an orchestra?” he asked.
    “It’s nothing really. I was offered a position in England, but I’ve decided against taking it.”
    “Because of the girls?” he asked, frowning.
    “No,” Britta replied. “It’s much too far from the people I love. I don’t want to move to England and leave my family again. I’ve been gone far too long as it is.”
    “I can’t let the girls be the reason you give up a dream,” Yuri countered. “If you’ve had your heart set on this, then you need to reconsider.”
    “I promise you both,” Britta said firmly, “Laura and Darya are far more important to me than the orchestra. You’re more important, Yuri, although I think you’re too pig-headed to understand that.” She stormed off, slamming the screen door again as she went back into the house.
    Yuri looked at Lydia in surprise. “She still has that lightning-quick temper, I see.”
    Lydia didn’t smile, and this worried him. Perhaps she felt he should have made a better effort to encourage Britta to take the position. Yuri rubbed his hands on his thighs. “I hope I didn’t say the wrong thing. You seem vexed with me.”
    “It’s not you, Yuri. There’s something going on with Britta, and I can’t quite figure it out. Of all my children, she’s been the most secretive. After your sister Illiyana died in Russia, Britta truly seemed to close herself off.”
    “Well, they were best friends,” he murmured.
    Yuri hadn’t thought about Illiyana in a long time. She and Britta had been so very close. Her death to consumption had only caused him to drink all the more as he faced the possibility of his own mortality.
    “Britta’s always had a mind of her own,” he added, trying to forget the pain of loss.
    “Indeed she has, and it hasn’t always worked to her benefit. When she came to us saying she wanted to travel and attend school in the States, we thought it quite a departure from all she had voiced before. Still, we wanted to give her every opportunity, even though it meant seeing her leave Sitka.”
    “She left so quickly.” Yuri barely remembered returning to Sitka with Marsha at his side, but he did remember hearing Dalton’s news that Britta had gone. He didn’t know why it stuck out in his hazy thoughts, but the situation had saddened him. Britta had always been a good friend. He smiled to himself. She had always adored him, and maybe that’s why Yuri enjoyed her company so much. Britta never looked down on him. She held him in admiration since he’d saved her life when she and Illiyana had been lost on the mountain. There were so few honorable moments in Yuri’s life that he was convinced this was why he’d been particularly sorry to hear of her departure.
    “I’ll talk to her again,” Yuri announced. “I’ll make sure she’s certain about the orchestra and not just doing this for the children. I can always ask Natasha to take the girls. Of course, transporting them there would cost a lot of money.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. There are other ways to see to their needs. I don’t want Britta giving up an important future on account of my problems.”
    Lydia nodded. “You know, it’s also possible Britta’s sister and husband would take the children if you believe you cannot keep them. Kjerstin hasn’t been able to have a child, and I know she longs for one.”
    “I’ll think on that. It would be a good fit. I know the girls would be well cared for by Kjerstin.”
    Perhaps that was the answer. Then Britta could go on with her life and not worry about trying to see him through his complicated messes.

    Britta focused on scrubbing the dirt from one of Laura’s dresses while the children napped. She tried not to think of Yuri giving up