Gift from the Heart. Irene Hannon

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СКАЧАТЬ But I was just admiring yours. It’s so long and full. You could do some really cool things with it.”

      “Really? Like what?”

      Clare considered Nicole for a moment. “Well, I think you’d look terrific in a French braid.”

      Nicole stuck her hands in her pockets. “I don’t know how to do that.”

      “It’s not hard. But it is easier if someone does it for you. Of course, you’d have to even out the ends a little first.”

      “I haven’t cut my hair in a long time,” Nicole said skeptically.

      “Well, you wouldn’t want to lose any length. Just cut it enough to smooth things out.” And get rid of the dyed ends, Clare added silently.

      “Do you know how to do a French braid?”

      “Mm-hm. I used to do them for my sister, A.J., when we were younger. I’m sure there’s a salon in town that could do one for you so you could see if you liked it.”

      “Maybe.” Nicole tucked a lock of hair behind one ear. “So…do you live here?”

      “No.”

      “I didn’t think so. Everybody here is such a hick. I bet you’re from a big city.”

      “I live in Kansas City now. But I grew up on a farm in Ohio, out in the middle of nowhere. Hope Creek would have been a big city to us,” she said with a smile. “What I’ve found, though, is that most people are pretty nice anywhere you live if you give them a chance.”

      Nicole grunted. “Not the kids at my school. They all…”

      The sudden ringing of the phone interrupted her, and she turned to Adam with a long-suffering sigh. “It’s going to be for you.”

      “Would you grab it and just take a message, please?”

      She gave him a hostile look, then disappeared down the hall.

      Clare turned to find Adam studying her. “Is something wrong?”

      Slowly he shook his head. “I’m just trying to figure out how you managed to do that.”

      “What?”

      “Have a longer conversation with my daughter than I’ve had in more than a year.”

      Clare shrugged. “I came without baggage. She obviously resents you, but she doesn’t have any feelings for me one way or the other. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to strangers.”

      He dropped his voice. “So what do you think now that you’ve met her?”

      Clare frowned. “She needs friends. And she needs her father.”

      “The friends part I agree with. The father part… I’m not so sure. She pushes me away every time I try to get close to her.”

      “She’s still grieving for her mother. And dealing with a lot of anger…about a lot of things. She’s probably mad at her mother for dying. Maybe she’s mad at God. She might be mad at life in general because it seems unfair. You’re convenient, so you get the brunt of her anger. And you’re an easy target, because you’re the authority figure. I’m sure she fights you every step of the way. But you know, even if kids don’t like rules, they need them.”

      Adam sighed. “I guess it helps to have a teaching background. You’re probably used to dealing with kids. I never had much…”

      “I told you it was for you.”

      They glanced toward Nicole, who was back in the archway.

      “Did you take a message?”

      She walked toward Adam and thrust a slip of paper at him. Then she turned to Clare. “So will you be here for a while?”

      “At least for a few days.”

      “Maybe I’ll see you again.”

      “That would be nice.”

      “Yeah.” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “Well. See ya around.”

      Clare watched Nicole walk away, then looked back toward Adam. He was frowning at the paper in his hand.

      “Trouble?” she asked.

      He glanced up. “One of my patients. I need to get back to him.” He took a deep breath. “You said you planned to be here for a few days?”

      Actually, she planned to stay for six months. But she simply nodded in reply.

      “Let me sleep on this whole nanny thing, okay? Can I get back to you on Monday?”

      “Of course.”

      “How can I reach you?”

      “I’m staying at the Evergreen Motel.” She rummaged around in her purse and handed him a card. “You can just call me there.”

      Adam had driven by the Evergreen Motel many times. It was a nondescript one-story building that had obviously seen better days, on the other side of town. Somehow it didn’t fit with this woman’s designer clothes and Gucci purse. Nor with the woman herself. Whatever her financial situation now, everything about her spelled class. She was the type who belonged at the Ritz, not the Evergreen.

      As he walked Clare to the door and they said their goodbyes, he glanced toward the street. Her car—a modest, older-model compact—was yet another confirmation that she’d fallen on tough times. But why? She didn’t strike him as the frivolous type. Was her late husband to blame for her current predicament? he wondered, as she made her way toward the street. If so, he had done a great disservice to his wife. Even after only a brief encounter, he sensed that Clare was a kind, intelligent, empathetic woman, who deserved far more than she currently seemed to have. The thought of her at the Evergreen Motel actually made him feel a bit sick.

      Clare reached the car and paused to shift her purse higher on her shoulder, then shaded her eyes with one hand and gazed at the distant mountains. He found himself admiring the natural grace of her movements, as well as her quiet dignity. And he wondered what she was thinking as she looked toward the mist-shrouded peaks.

      When she glanced back toward the house, she seemed surprised to find him still standing at the door. And for a moment, he had a sudden, compelling urge to call her back, to offer her a place to stay. Which was very out of character. Because he was not an impulsive guy. And she was a stranger. A moment later, the fleeting impulse disappeared when she slid into the driver’s seat.

      Adam waited until the car was out of sight, then slowly shut the front door. Even though he’d told Clare he wanted to think about her proposal, he was already pretty sure that he would accept. Because he desperately needed help with Nicole.

      And in his heart he had a feeling that Clare was the answer to his prayer.

      The water stain on the ceiling in her cramped motel room was the first thing Clare saw when she opened her eyes the next morning, СКАЧАТЬ