For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.

      —Ephesians 2:8–9

      In memory of my brother-in-law, Bill,

       who loved kids better than anyone and who always

       carried a pocketful of quarters or Tootsie Rolls to

       “magically” pull from behind their ears. The world

       is a sadder place without your booming laugh, your

       boundless love and generosity, and your pure joy

       in living for Christ. As you would always say in

       parting, until we meet again, “Be cheerful.”

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Epilogue

      Questions for Discussion

      Chapter One

      Nate Del Rio heard screams the minute he stepped out of his Super Crew Cab and started up the flower-lined sidewalk leading to Rainy Jernagen’s house. He double-checked the address scribbled on the back of a bill for horse feed. Sure enough, this was the place.

      Adjusting his Stetson against a gust of March wind, he rang the doorbell expecting the noise to subside. It didn’t.

      Somewhere inside the modest, tidy-looking brick house at least two kids were screaming their heads off in what sounded to his experienced ears like fits of temper. A television blasted out Saturday-morning cartoons.

      He punched the doorbell again. Instead of the expected ding-dong, a raucous alternative Christian rock band added a few more decibels to the noise level.

      Nate shifted the toolbox to his opposite hand and considered running for his life while he had the chance.

      Too late. The bright red door whipped open. Nate’s mouth fell open with it.

      When the men’s ministry coordinator from Bible Fellowship had called him, he’d somehow gotten the impression that he was coming to help a little old schoolteacher. In his mind, that meant the kind who only drove to school and church and had a big, fat cat.

      Not so. The woman standing before him with taffy-blond hair sprouting out from a disheveled ponytail couldn’t possibly be any older than his thirty-one years. A big blotch of something purple stained the front of her white sweatshirt, and she was barefoot. Plus, she had a crying baby on each hip and a little red-haired girl hanging on one leg, bawling like a sick calf. And there wasn’t a cat in sight.

      What had he gotten himself into?

      “May I help you?” she asked over the racket. Her blue-gray eyes were a little too unfocused and bewildered for his comfort.

      Raising his voice, he asked, “Are you Ms. Jernagen?”

      “Yes,” she said cautiously. “I’m Rainy Jernagen. And you are…?”

      “Nate Del Rio.”

      She blinked, uncomprehending, all the while jiggling both babies up and down. One grabbed a hunk of her hair. She flinched, her head angling to one side, as she said, still cautiously, “Okaaay.”

      Nate reached out and untwined the baby’s sticky fingers.

      A relieved smile rewarded him. “Thanks. Is there something I can help you with?”

      He hefted the red toolbox to chest level so she could see it. “From the Handyman Ministry. Jack Martin called. Said you had a washer problem.”

      Understanding dawned. “Oh my goodness. Yes. I’m so sorry. You aren’t what I expected. Please forgive me.”

      She wasn’t what he expected, either. Not in the least. Young and with a houseful of kids. He suppressed a shiver. Kids, even grown ones, could drive a person to distraction. He should know. His adult sister and brother were, at this moment, making his life as miserable as possible. The worst part was they did it all the time. Only this morning his sister Janine had finally packed up and gone back to Sal, giving Nate a few days’ reprieve.

      “Come in, come in,” the woman was saying. “It’s been a crazy morning, what with the babies showing up at 3 a.m. and Katie having a sick stomach. Then while I was doing the laundry, the washing machine went crazy. Water everywhere.” She jerked her chin toward the inside of the house. “You’re truly a godsend.”

      He wasn’t so sure about that, but he’d signed up for his church’s ministry to help single women and the elderly with those pesky little handyman