Unexpected Holiday Blessings
Finding twin five-year-old boys on his doorstep isn’t the first surprise Reverend Benjamin Lahaye has faced lately. Emery Wilkes, the new schoolteacher the town has hired, turns out to be a very pretty woman—not the man they’d been expecting. And though the twins and Emmy are only boarding with Ben until Christmas, the arrangement feels all too natural.
Emmy has moved to Minnesota to put loss behind her. Marriage would mean forsaking her position and her purpose, and Ben is an honorable man who understands her refusal to wed. But as he gets closer to tracking down the little boys’ father, Emmy realizes just how much she wants their sweet temporary family to become permanent.
Emmy hadn’t known Ben for long, but she sensed he was out of sorts the whole day.
It was almost as if Ben was jealous of Adam—but that would be preposterous. Ben had never intimated that his feelings were more than platonic.
“Is something wrong, Emmy?” Ben took a step toward her, concern clouding his eyes.
“I—I was going to ask you the same question.”
For a moment, he didn’t say anything, and when he looked up she saw the old Ben reappear. “Nothing is wrong.”
“Then why the sullen mood today?”
“I’m sorry I’ve been so moody. There’s no excuse for it.”
“Maybe not, but is there a reason?” The question came of its own accord, as if her heart longed to hear that his feelings did run deeper while her mind begged her to walk away—nay, run—before he answered.
He studied her for a moment, as if he, too, wanted something he knew he shouldn’t want, but then he shook his head and started toward the door. “Good night, Emmy.”
Ben’s actions were so out of character she didn’t know what to think or believe. But his feelings were not what concerned her the most—her feelings scared her even more.
When I research the history of my hometown, I’m always amazed at the little nuggets of information I find. One of those nuggets is about Miss Ellen Nichols. She arrived in Little Falls in 1855 and served as the first schoolteacher in town. She and her husband, C.S.K. Smith, also have the distinction of celebrating the first wedding in Little Falls soon after her arrival. In a town known for its large male population, it’s no wonder the schoolteacher married quickly. This historical information was the idea that sparked and grew into the third story in my Little Falls Legacy miniseries.
This story is especially dear to my heart because I modeled the twins, Zeb and Levi, after my own twin boys, Judah and Asher, who were six at the time I wrote The Gift of Twins. I tried to imagine how Judah and Asher would react if put in the same situation as Zeb and Levi. Some of the scenes were hard to write when life wasn’t fair to the Trask boys, but other scenes were a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed watching Ben and Emmy fall in love with them.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this story as much as I have.
In His name,
Gabrielle Meyer
GABRIELLE MEYER lives in central Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River with her husband and four young children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing fictional stories inspired by real people and events. Gabrielle can be found at www.gabriellemeyer.com, where she writes about her passion for history, Minnesota and her faith.
The Gift of Twins
Gabrielle Meyer
Therefore shall a man leave his father
and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife,
and they shall be one flesh.
—Genesis 2:24
To Beka Swisher, Sarah Olson, Lindsay LeClair and Jessica Janski. Thank you for being some of
the first people to read my stories and believe in
my dream. Your friendship is a gift from God.
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