John’s heart swelled with a mixture of emotions—concern, bewilderment, and a deep-seated paternal instinct that had never quite left him, even as his own children had grown and started families of their own. Who could have left these babies here? And why?

His mind raced as he carefully gathered the infants into his arms, his weathered hands surprisingly steady despite the situation. As he made his way back to the farmhouse, questions tumbled through his mind, each one more pressing than the last. He had to get them warm, he had to call the authorities, he had to find out who they were and why they had been left—abandoned—on his farm.