A Family for Faith

“I appreciate your honesty. I’ll consider what you’ve said.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Gabe. I know you’re taking one day at a time. You and Chelsea have come a long way.”

“Yeah, we’re doing great.” If you didn’t count how unhappy Chels was with him over the babysitter and the boy-girl party and his forbidding her to wear makeup. And if you didn’t count the fact that she was apparently trying to fix him up with a date, as if he couldn’t find one for himself. As if he would even want to date.

Tina, are you disappointed in how I’m handling everything? You were such a great mom to Chelsea that I don’t even know where to start.

“Finally! A moment of peace.” Faith waved Natalie over to a large table by the café’s front window. The hustle and bustle out on the street always drew her to this spot. “I’ve pulled everything you’ll need for dealing with the banking. Deposit slips. The money bag. And I’ve made you a cheat sheet so you’ll remember what cash you’ll leave in the drawer each night.”

“Thanks, Faith. Will you show me—”

The front door chimed, indicating a customer had entered. Faith hadn’t even seen a car out front. “I guess we’ll finish this later.”

“Hi,” Chelsea called. “This is Kristy. My sitter.”

Faith greeted Kristy, a serious blonde who looked as if she didn’t have much fun in life. The young woman waved as she headed to a table in the back and plunked an overstuffed backpack on a chair. From the sound of the bag landing, it must’ve weighed a ton.

Faith raised her brows at Chelsea.