Shelter of Hope (New Beginnings Book 8) by Margaret Daley

Author:Margaret Daley [Daley, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: New Beginnings Book 8
Publisher: Margaret Daley
Published: 2019-11-17T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Cody sat across from Maggie at the table in his small dining room. What had he been thinking when he had invited her to cook for him this evening? At the time he’d thought his sister would be here, and he would be safe from wishing there was more between Maggie and him. In the past he’d wished that too many times to be foolish enough to do so again. There came a time when he’d numbed himself from caring too much.

He looked at Maggie, but her head was down as she finished her last few bites and he couldn’t see her expression. But he didn’t need to. He knew the soft glow of the overhead light cast a golden hue over her features, beckoning him to forget what had happened in the past.

She’d spent an hour preparing her baked flounder au gratin, the cheese complementing the fish perfectly. He’d never had a seafood dish that tasted any better. Why wasn’t she married? From all he’d seen, she would be a great partner for any man. What held her back?

Deflecting that dangerous line of thinking, he introduced a tamer subject. “Too bad Hannah missed this. She loves seafood.”

Maggie peered up, her long dark lashes veiling her eyes. “I thought she was going to be here.”

“So did I. Turns out some of the people at work go out a couple times a month for dinner, and they invited her to go, too.”

“It’ll be good for her to get to know others. When you leave—”

“She’ll come with me. I know that’s the best now. She’ll need help with the babies. One is hard enough by yourself, but she’s having twins.”

Maggie stabbed him with her sharp look. “Believe me, I’m aware of the challenges. Have you talked to her about when you have to leave?”

“When she first came, but we haven’t talked about it since. I don’t want her to get too settled. It’ll be harder for her to leave.”

“Is that what you do each time you go to a new place?”

“Yes.” Today he’d gotten notification he was third on the roster to go to the next disaster. With hurricane season picking up that could be a month away if there was a bad year like a few years ago. That only reconfirmed why he did what he did with each relocation.

Maggie rose and began stacking the dishes. “I saved some fish for Hannah to try tomorrow. There’s enough for you, too.” Moving toward the kitchen, she didn’t make eye contact. In fact, she seemed to be purposely looking away from him. Was there something she wasn’t telling him?

He stood and gathered the glasses and silverware then followed her. “Have you and Hannah talked about what she’s going to do when I have to leave?”

“I think she’s considering staying here.”

“Why? She hasn’t lived here long. What’s here for her?”

“What’s out there for her?” Maggie countered.

“Me. I’m her family. I can help her with the twins. The more I’m getting used to the situation, the more I feel that way.

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.