As Fiona watched Marc snap the legs of the last table into place and tip it upright, an elderly woman with a cane stepped into the hall from the parking lot and looked around.
“Can I help you?” Fiona asked.
“I have books to donate. I talked with Betty Hamilton.”
“Yes, we’re expecting you. Tell us which vehicle and we’ll unload. You can wait in here where it’s warm.”
“The gray SUV with the Essex County Farm Co-op sticker on the back window. The hatch is unlocked.”
Marc and Fiona grabbed their coats from the pile on the table by the door and headed out. Fiona quickly spotted the woman’s SUV. She pointed at the decal on the back window and touched her foot to the hatch opener. “It’s short notice, but I didn’t think of it yesterday. When we’re done unloading, remind me to talk with you about the co-op organizational meeting tomorrow morning.”
“Sure. Let’s get started,” Marc said, and she wondered if he was in a hurry to be done. Or was that just her perception because she wasn’t in any hurry? She traced his profile with her gaze as he leaned into the SUV. He probably wanted to get back to his daughter, and she had nothing else to do this evening except go back to her empty apartment and Mairi’s letter.
He lifted one of the smaller boxes and passed it to Fiona. Her hand brushed his as she took it from him. The warmth of the contact left an imprint on her in the cold evening air.
“Go ahead and take your box inside,” he said before reaching for another one. “If we alternate, we won’t be bumping into each other.”
“Good idea.” She gripped the box tighter and headed back to the hall. Had he felt something, too, when their hands had brushed? She glanced over her shoulder. He’d stacked two boxes to carry in, confirming her thought that he wanted to be done.
“Only two left,” Fiona said a few minutes later, placing a box on the table next to the two Marc had brought in.
“I’ll get them,” he said.
“And I’ll come and close the hatch.”
He opened the outside door, and she brushed by him.
“About the Farm Co-op meeting I mentioned. You might want to come and meet some of your potential food suppliers. I can tell you about it while we walk. I understand if you’re in a hurry to get your daughter home.” Fiona paused. “I saw her come in with you. She’s a cutie.”
“I have time,” he said.
“She must take after her mother, the red hair.” Fiona absently touched her own hair, then jerked her hand away. Why was she going on about his daughter and not the meeting? Because all she could think about was her unanswered questions about her sister and her niece.
His eyes narrowed. “I can’t really say. She’s adopted.”
Fiona stumbled, catching herself on the back of the car they were passing. Stella was adopted? Her heart leaped to her throat. From what she’d found out about Precious in His Sight, although the adoption agency was based near here in Glens Falls, it served Christian families throughout New York state.
Fiona pressed her palm to her throat as the realization hit her. Stella could be her niece.
Copyright © 2017 by Jean Chelikowsky Gordo
ISBN-13: 9781488090257
Claiming Her Cowboy
Copyright © 2017 by Tina M. Radcliffe
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