Harlequin Love Inspired April 2019, Box Set 2 of 2 by Cheryl Williford

Author:Cheryl Williford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

In Gabe’s mind the July First Canada Day festivities at The Haven were a complete success.

Olivia seemed to have thought of everything and invited everyone in Chokecherry Hollow. The Haven was teeming. From sack races and fishing ponds to bouncy castles and a live theater presentation about the history of the Rockies, Olivia had planned something for every age.

For Gabe, however, the best thing was that he was part of it. Between watching and encouraging Eli’s participation, Gabe judged several relay races, chose the winner for the bean bag toss and adjudicated the best-carved-watermelon contest. He didn’t much care for helping with the face painting, but since there was a shortage of makeup artists available and an excess of children who wanted their faces decorated, and because he’d been promised a massive slice of lemon pie, he chipped in. Thankfully, the kids didn’t care if his work was weird and lopsided.

Gabe loved being part of the celebrations instead of standing on the sidelines watching, as he had for so many years. Helping Olivia was an opportunity to pay back a little of what she’d done for him and Eli, so Gabe took the job seriously, ensuring she stopped for lunch, had coffee or a cool drink when she sagged, and insisting she take a few minutes to rest when possible.

Gabe also went to great pains to be ready to assist whenever he saw a tiny frown mar the smooth skin of her brow, whether that meant rescuing some weeping child or solving a new dilemma. By the end of the day he was weary but very pleased with his efforts and thrilled that Eli had enjoyed himself.

“You’ve outdone yourself today, Olivia,” Gabe murmured as they sat together on a quilt hours later, watching the fireworks display. He glanced at his son sitting with Mikey. The two gaped at the colored flashes in the sky, oohing and aahing like everyone else. “Everybody enjoyed themselves, especially the kids.”

“I hope so.” She wrinkled her nose. “Thank you for saving my bacon with that bingo game. Don’t ask me how I could have forgotten to get prizes,” she muttered in disgust, cheeks pink. “My only excuse is that my phone went dead, again, which took out my schedule plan and I had to wing it.”

“Which the aunts did very capably.” Gabe chuckled, enjoying cool, competent Olivia’s embarrassment. “The kids thought the ladies’ prizes were fantastic.”

“Except for Eli. I’m pretty sure he guessed I’d messed up after Aunt Tillie gave him her orange knitted hat.” She winced. “At least he didn’t tell everyone I forgot to charge my phone. I thought I’d done that last night, but—”

“Okay, your phone died. Cut yourself some slack, Liv. You did an awesome job taking over for Victoria. I doubt even she wouldn’t have thought of throwing together that hike after you found out supper was going to be late.”

Olivia shivered then so Gabe laid his jacket over her shoulders. True to form, this ultra organizer hadn’t taken time to fetch a sweater for herself.

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.