Wings of an Angel

by Shanna Hatfield

  The Friendly Beasts of Faraday Book 4

  A Sweet Contemporary Holiday Romance

  by

  USA TODAY Bestselling Author

  SHANNA HATFIELD

  Wings of an Angel

  The Friendly Beasts of Faraday Book 4

  Copyright © 2018 by Shanna Hatfield

  All rights reserved. By purchasing this publication through an authorized outlet, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook in a digital format. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, transmitted, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, now known or hereafter invented, without the written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Please purchase only authorized editions.

  For permission requests, please contact the author, with a subject line of “permission request” at the e-mail address below or through her website.

  Shanna Hatfield

  shanna@shannahatfield.com

  shannahatfield.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design by Rob Foote

  To those who let go

  and learn to fly…

  Chapter One

  Drake Miller glanced at the clock on the wall across from his big oak desk and stood as the five-minute bell rang. “It’s time to put your things away and get ready to go home,” he said, smiling at the fifteen little faces staring up at him in Faraday School’s first grade classroom. “Billy’s row goes first today.”

  The students put away pencils and crayons, shoved books and papers into their desks, and then filed to the back of the room in a somewhat orderly fashion due to Drake’s diligence in teaching the students over the past three months of classes.

  Hooks and shelves were soon emptied of coats and bags.

  “Good job, everyone!” Drake praised. The students kept the noise level down and no one got into a shoving match as the children made their way back to their desks with their things.

  A tap at the classroom door drew his gaze to the portal as one of the office aides opened it and stuck her head inside. “I have a message for you, Mr. Miller.”

  “Thanks, Sienna,” Drake said, crossing the room and taking the message from the high school student. Aware the sixteen-year-old had a crush on him, he was careful to do nothing to encourage her attentions. Politely, he nodded his head as she backed out of the room, gawking at him with a lovestruck look on her face. He quietly closed the door and opened the message.

  After reading it, he tossed it on his desk and turned his gaze to one of his best students, an imp of a boy sitting at the front of the center row of desks. “Nick. Your mom is running late. She’d like you to wait here with me for a few minutes. Okay, buddy?”

  Nick nodded and set his coat on top of his desk as though the news was not unexpected.

  “All right. Formation time, class! Emily, let’s start with your row. Everyone, line up behind her.” Drake watched as the students got in line, eager to be released from school for the day.

  When the bell rang, Drake opened the classroom door and bid each student goodbye as they made their way outside to the big yellow buses or to greet parents who awaited them.

  He watched to make sure all of his students made it outside where the aide on duty kept an eye on the youngsters.

  Assured all was well, he stepped back into his classroom and smiled at Nick. The boy had moved to the carpeted area where Drake read aloud to the students. That corner of the room was surrounded with shelves full of books. A big rocking chair his brother, Drew, had helped him rescue from a roadside garbage pile provided a place for him to sit while the students gathered around him on the soft carpet. It had taken him and Drew two days to scrape off the lime green paint that covered the rocking chair and refinish it, but when they were done, the chair looked great, especially padded with a thick cushion his mom made for the seat.

  Nick sat on the carpet with his back against a shelf with a book in his hands. The boy loved to read, but then again, Nick Carol was a bright, inquisitive student who kept Drake on his toes.

  If he played favorites, which he absolutely tried to never do, Nick would have been at the top of the list. Drake liked to think his feelings toward the boy had nothing to do with the fact he’d been in love with Nick’s mother since she moved to Faraday three years ago. The first time he’d bumped into Angela Carol at the grocery store, he’d felt sharp, breath-stealing pain rip through his chest. He’d known in that moment she’d captured his heart. Unfortunately, the young widow didn’t seem to return his feelings or have any romantic inclinations toward him.

  Not that he’d worked up the courage to ask her out. He’d stood back and watched her turn down offers for dates from just about every eligible bachelor in town, and a few who weren’t. Perhaps because he hadn’t asked her out, Angela had gifted him with her friendship. Although he wanted more, so much more, he was grateful to have that much from her.

  Angela was a beautiful, smart, successful woman. She’d moved to town and gone into practice with old Doc Johnson who had been Faraday’s veterinarian for as long as Drake could remember. When Doc retired a year ago, Angela bought the business and now served as the lone veterinarian in Faraday. She worked long, tiring hours and often took Nick with her on her calls since she had no family in town to help with her son’s care.

  Drake had even watched Nick a few times when Angela was in a bind. He didn’t mind, though. Nick had stolen his heart just as much as Angela had.

  “Hey, buddy, want to help me with…” Drake’s words trailed off when a loud thump at the window drew his attention.

  Nick jumped up and ran over to the window. He stood on tiptoe to look out where a bird had flown into the glass and landed in the landscape bark beneath the window.

  “Look, Mr. Miller!” Nick pointed to the bird. “We have to help it!”

  “Okay, Nick. Get your coat and let’s go see what we can do.” Drake snatched his jacket from a hook and grabbed an empty shoebox from the supplies he kept in a tall cupboard near the coat area in the back of the room. He poked a few holes in the top, lined the box with an old towel from a pile of rags he kept in the cupboard, and hurried out of the room.

  Nick trailed after him, yanking on his coat and pulling his stocking cap from the pocket to cover his ears.

  Together, the two of them rounded the building and hurried over to the outside of Drake’s classroom.

  “Look, there,” Nick said, racing over to where the bird remained motionless between two trimmed boxwood hedges.

  “Careful, buddy,” Drake cautioned as he knelt by the bird. Gently, he picked it up. Although it looked dead, he could feel the steady beat of its heart. He placed it inside the towel-padded box and set the lid over it. He remembered Angela once telling a client who brought in a wounded bird that it just needed a few hours in the dark to recuperate.

  He hoped that would be the case with this bird. In spite of his mother being a vet, Nick struggled with injured animals. The little boy tried to drag home every stray and homeless animal he encountered.

  Angela had a dog, two cats, and a sheep because she couldn’t find homes for the animals after Nick insisted she help them.

  “Is he going to be okay, Mr.
Miller?” Nick asked as they headed back to the classroom.

  “I think so, Nick. We’ll ask your mom when she gets here.” Drake walked inside the room and set the box on a corner of his desk.

  He took off his coat and hung it up, then smiled at Nick. “Want to help with chores?”

  The boy needed a distraction and Drake was always grateful for assistance with the routine he went through each day once the students left. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d set Nick to work after school. Angela couldn’t always get away from the vet clinic or make it back from a house call to arrive when school ended for the day. Drake was more than happy to keep an eye on the boy and the times Angela hadn’t been able to make it were few and far between, so he knew it wouldn’t become a habit.

  Nick left his coat on a hook by the door then ran over to the big cupboard where Drake took out a container of disinfectant wipes and handed it to the boy. “Go to town with it, bud.”

  “These smell like flowers. I like the orange ones best,” Nick said as he pulled a wipe from the container and rubbed it over the desk closest to him.

  “Smell preference noted,” Drake said, taking a handful of wipes to the other side of the room where he scrubbed off desks and chairs. Some might call it paranoid, but he did his best to keep germs to a minimum in his classroom. The daunting task seemed never ending with fifteen first graders, but he did his best. He’d instilled the need to cough and sneeze into their bent elbows, provided gallons of hand sanitizer, and encouraged students to wash their hands when they came in from recess and before eating. Every day after class, he disinfected desks, chairs, equipment, doorknobs, shelves, and even scissor handles and markers. It added a few extra minutes of work to his day, but it was worth it. Since school started in mid-August, the children who’d come to his class sniffling hadn’t shared their germs with too many of the other students and he’d remained healthy. Then again, Drake rarely got sick.

  “You’re doing great, Nick. I sure appreciate your help.”

  “You’re welcome, Mr. Miller.” Nick grinned at him as he started down another row of desks, wiping each surface with care. “Do you think my mom will be here soon?”

  Drake glanced at the clock. School had been out for nearly half an hour. “I’m sure she’ll come as soon as she can. Do you need a snack?”

  “Yep! Soon as we finish with this. Do you think Mom would mind if we went to your mom and dad’s place to wait for her?”

  Drake bit back a grin. One of Nick’s favorite places in Faraday was the café Drake’s parents owned and operated. His folks spoiled the boy anytime Angela brought him in. A few times when Angela needed a babysitter for an hour, Drake had taken Nick there to wait. His mother stuffed the boy full of warm cookies and cold milk, earning Nick’s loyalty for life.

  “Tell you what,” Drake said, hunkering down by Nick as he wiped off the last desk in the row. “If your mom isn’t here by four, I’ll send her a text and take you to the café. Deal?”

  “Deal!” Nick said, rushing to finish the last desk.

  While Drake cleaned the rest of the classroom, Nick straightened books on the bookshelf and wiped the day’s lessons off the big whiteboard at the front of the room.

  “Mr. Miller?” Nick asked as he washed his hands at the small sink in the back corner of the room.

  “What do you need, Nick?” Drake asked as he gathered the papers he’d take home to work on later and stuffed them inside his leather messenger bag.

  “Did you know my dad?” The boy stared at him as he wiped his hands on a paper towel then threw the towel in the trash.

  Drake shook his head. “I didn’t know your dad, Nick. Your mom moved here when you were three.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Nick shrugged as he slowly meandered around the desks, as though he journeyed through an obstacle course. “Mom just talks about you a lot, is all.”

  Drake perked up at that bit of news. “She does? What does she talk about?”

  Another shrug. “Just how you’re one of her best friends. She doesn’t really have friends here. I think she’s always too busy.”

  “She is busy, but that’s because she works really hard so she can take good care of you.” Drake hunkered down in front of Nick again and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Your mom has more friends than she realizes. Everyone in the community appreciates her and the help she provides to the animals of Faraday.”

  “I know, but it’s not the same as a good friend, is it?” Nick rubbed a finger alongside his freckled nose and tipped his head to the side, awaiting Drake’s response.

  “No, I guess it isn’t quite the same. You’re a pretty smart guy, Nick. You know that?”

  The boy giggled. “That’s what my mom tells me, and she’s the smartest person I know.”

  Drake couldn’t argue with him. Instead, he finished gathering a few things he wanted to take home then pointed to the clock.

  “What time is it?”

  Nick studied the hands on the clock. “Five more minutes, then we’ll go. Right?”

  “Absolutely right.” Drake ruffled the boy’s dark brown hair, a trait he assumed came from Nick’s father. The boy resembled his mother in every other aspect, from the shape of his face and chocolate-colored eyes to the sweet way he smiled and the habit of tipping his head to the side when he was thinking about something or teasing someone. If he had blond hair, like Angela, Nick would have looked exactly like her.

  Thoughts of Angela’s luxurious blond locks and the warmth of her smile made Drake wish, for the millionth time, he could be more than her friend and occasional babysitter. He’d ask his brother or one of their friends for suggestions, but he had a strong idea that they’d just torment him instead of offer any help. In fact, Drake knew Drew would take great pleasure in taunting him since he’d so often done the same to his brother and only sibling.

  Drake had no idea how he and Drew could be so different. Drew was always big and brawny while Drake was lean and gangly. Drew was quiet, shy, and reserved around people until he really got to know them. Drake tended to be the life of the party and could talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything. When they were younger, Drake was the one who rushed to the front of the line while Drew preferred to linger at the back.

  Countless times, Drake had forced Drew out of his comfort zone, thinking he was helping him, but it only served to push Drew further into his shell. He’d finally learned to leave his brother alone and let him do his own thing. Drew had left home, gone to college, and returned to Faraday to take the position of full-time mail carrier in their small town where there was only one mail route. A couple of women took care of the rural routes and one worked the window at the post office, but they were all older and married.

  Drake took a small bit of comfort in the fact his dating life was not any more pathetic than that of his brother or their two good friends, Seth Stafford, a local rancher, and Rhett Riggs, the owner of Faraday’s gas station and garage. The two men had gone to school with him and Drew and they’d remained friends over the years.

  Seth had never wanted to live anywhere except on the ranch where he’d grown up with his grandfather, Sam. Rhett couldn’t shake the dust of Faraday off his feet fast enough after he graduated, but once his uncle’s health declined, Rhett came back from Portland to care for eccentric Will Bolton. After all, Uncle Will was the only one in town, perhaps the whole state, who’d owned a camel. Upon his death, Will left everything he owned, including Lolly, their resident celebrity, to Rhett. The camel caused his friend plenty of trouble with her tendency to wander out of her pen.

  “Can we go now?” Nick asked, breaking into Drake’s musings. The little boy pointed to the clock.

  “Okay. Let me text your mom so she knows…”

  “Knows what?” Angela Carol asked as she breezed into the classroom.

  “Mommy!” Nick shouted and launched himself into her arms.

  Angela hugged him close and kissed his cheek before she set him on his feet and
drew him back against her with her hands resting across his chest. “Were you good for Mr. Miller?”

  “Of course!” Nick looked up at her with a grin that no adult with half a heart could resist.

  Angela kissed him on the forehead. “That’s my boy.” She looked up at Drake and smiled. “Thank you so much for letting him stay. I’m so sorry I was late. Someone’s dog got hit on the highway and they brought him in about five minutes before I should have left to pick up Nick.”

  “It wasn’t a problem at all,” Drake said, giving her a reassuring look. “Nick’s a great helper.”

  “Mom, come here! You need to help us,” Nick said, pulling Angela toward Drake’s desk.

  Drake stepped over to his desk and placed a hand on top of the shoebox where they’d left the bird.

  “A dove hit the window and knocked itself out. Nick and I put it in this box, but I figured you’d know what else to do to help it.” Drake slid the box toward her.

  Angela slowly lifted the lid just enough to peek inside. “Looks like Mr. Dove is still sleeping. I’ll take him with me so I can keep an eye on him.” She turned to Nick and cupped his chin in her hand. “Grab your coat, baby. We need to get going. I promised Mrs. Burnside I’d stop by to check on a cat she says is staying on her back porch. She’s worried it might be hurt because it walks funny, whatever that means.”

  “But, Mom, I’m hungry. Can’t we go to the café? Please?” Nick retrieved his coat and put it on while he begged.

  “I’ve got dinner cooking, Nick, and snacks in the truck. The sooner we go see Mrs. Burnside, the sooner we can go home.” Angela handed Nick his backpack then turned to Drake.

  “Thank you, again, for allowing him to stay. I know I shouldn’t ask you to do that, but I so appreciate your help, Drake.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

  Drake stood perfectly still lest he turn his head and make sure the kiss landed on his lips. When Angela moved away from him, he smiled at her, wondering if she could see his heart in his eyes. “You’re welcome, Angela. I’m always happy to help when I can.”