The Orphans' Blessing by Lorraine Beatty

Author:Lorraine Beatty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-05-11T14:53:16+00:00

* * *

Zach watched Sophie walk out of the store, mentally kicking himself for his stupidity. He’d upset her again. How he wasn’t sure, but he had. It always went like this when he tried to talk to people about important things. He mucked it all up.

He walked to the window, resting his forearm high on the frame, and watched as her car pulled away, scattering water as she went. The same way she scattered his thoughts.

He’d wanted to comfort her. Learning she couldn’t have children had stung him to the core. Why would that happen to a woman like her? Someone so kind, so loving and so perfect for motherhood? It was a shame.

He turned away. He should get back to work. How was he supposed to concentrate on light fixtures when he was hurting for his friend? No. Somewhere along the way, she’d gone from relative to friend to more. He cared for her deeply. The realization sent a shard of ice through his veins. It was a new sensation. An emotion he’d never attached to a woman before.

She stirred a lot of strange emotions. Most he couldn’t even name, but he always felt oddly cut off, adrift when she wasn’t around. Holding her close had set off a whirlwind of feelings so quick and intense he’d been unable to process them. He’d looked into her eyes and the world had shifted in a direction he’d never known. He’d wanted to draw her closer and kiss her.

But instead he’d backed away, not sure what to do with his feelings. He wasn’t sure what he’d said after that. He’d babbled some platitudes but his words had clearly upset her.

He huffed out a low grunt. Women. Who could figure them out?

“Hey there, Zach old boy.”

“Hank. What brings you by?” His friend’s unexpected appearance was like a blessed reprieve from his thoughts.

“I wanted to see if there was anything I could do around here. I’ve got some free time so I’m available. And also, there’s a charter schedule for tomorrow. It’s a quick up-and-back I thought you might like to take. It’s a bit unusual but I’ll explain that later.”

“Okay. Sounds interesting. I’m ready for a break from all this ground work. You want a drink?”

“Sure.” Hank wandered through the old building before rejoining Zach in the breakroom. He was carrying Sophie’s sketch pad when he returned. “Whose is this?”

“Oh. That’s Sophie’s. She must have forgotten it when she left.” The book was open to the birthday drawing.

“She’s very good.”

Zach nodded. “The mayor invited her to enter the bicentennial poster contest.”

“She could win. She captured the family perfectly.”

“You think so? I mean, the kids are good but that doesn’t look anything like me.”

Hank took another look at the sketch and chuckled. “It looks exactly like you.”

Zach made a dismissive gesture. “Aw, come on. My jaw isn’t that sharp and I never have a cocky smirk on my face. Why would she draw me that way?”

Hank leaned in and tapped the sketch with one finger.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.