The Cowboy's Unexpected Baby. Stephanie Dees

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Abby Scott strolled down the main street of Red Hill Springs, Alabama, getting her first look at the little town where she’d taken a temporary grant-funded job as the town social worker. Her golden retriever Elvis walked calmly beside her. He was on a leash, but didn’t need to be. He wouldn’t budge from her side unless she asked him to.

      Together, she and Elvis had traveled almost constantly for the last eight years, providing animal-assisted therapy in disaster areas. She was the expert in mental health, but Elvis was her partner, the one who really made the kids she worked with feel better.

      Compared to the places she usually stayed, the small house she’d rented in Red Hill Springs had seemed positively luxurious when she’d stopped by this morning to drop off her stuff.

      The town was charming with the carefully curated storefronts and restaurants. There was even a pediatrician’s office on this street. For a moment, she wondered if he saw a lot of childhood trauma in his practice and then shoved that thought right out of her head. She’d find out soon enough.

      The call from Mayor Wynn Grant asking her to set up a program in their town to make sure no kids slipped through the cracks had come at a perfect time. She was on leave from her job at the disaster relief organization, making her own mental health a priority for a few months.

      Her last assignment had been hard. She needed a reset. Brain. Heart. Body. Faith.

      A car door closed behind her and she turned around to see her old friend Wynn, hair flying, heels clacking, arms stretched out to sweep her into a whirling hug.

      Abby stepped back, laughing. “You haven’t changed a bit since our days on Capitol Hill, Mayor Grant.”

      “Ha! I’ve seen the bags under my eyes in the mirror. I know that’s not true.” Wynn locked arms with Abby and drew her down the street. “Come on. My office—your new office—is just a few doors down. You might need to pick up a few things before you start next week.”

      “I can’t wait to see it. You’re happy? You look happy.”

      Wynn smiled as she pushed open a door next to a small brass sign that said Cole & Grant, and underneath, in smaller letters, Attorneys at Law. “I am. I’ll tell you all about it. But we have plenty of time to talk while you’re here. I’m so excited!”

      Abby really didn’t have to ask. She could see the happiness and peace radiating from her friend’s face. A knot formed in Abby’s stomach, the same knot she’d been pushing down, pushing away, for months. She hadn’t felt at peace in a long time and a part of her was afraid she would never find it again. She’d seen so much, experienced so much. Her hand inadvertently went to her side, where the scar from the bullet wound that had been her ticket home still ached.

      Her job as a social worker on a disaster relief team wasn’t made up of predictable pieces. It was random and exhausting, but also meaningful. Her decision to go on a training mission to a refugee camp near the Syrian border had seemed like more of the same. She’d never worried much about her own safety. Danger to herself had always seemed sort of abstract.

      Until it wasn’t.

      Wynn’s voice dragged her back to the present. “So this is it. Nothing extravagant. But we have Bess—the best executive assistant in the southeast. Bess, this is my friend Abby. She’s joining our staff here for a few months—unless we can convince her to stay.”

      “Nice to meet you.” Bess was young and pretty, and from the looks of her spotless desk, frighteningly efficient. She picked her bag up from a hook on the back of the chair. “Wynn, I have a dentist appointment this morning, but I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

      “Garrett should be in any minute. We’ve got it covered.” Wynn turned to Abby. “I have a few minutes for coffee, if you do, Abs.”

      “Of course.” Abby followed Wynn to the coffeepot against the back wall and leaned against the counter while her friend filled two mugs. “I love this. I love all of it. The town, the office, your happy face. I’m so glad I’ll get to be here for a few months to enjoy it.”

      “Me, too.” Wynn handed her a cup of coffee with a speculative look Abby recognized. “So tell me why you really had six months to give me for this project. I’m thrilled, believe me. But I thought you were planning to go back to your job when your doctor gave you the all clear.”

      “I was.” Abby hesitated. She wanted to go back to work. She found it fulfilling in a way that nothing else in her life ever had been. But being wounded in Syria had changed things, left her feeling helpless in a way she never wanted to feel again. She needed time.

      She took a deep breath, about to say just that, as the front door slammed open.

      A man struggled through the opening with an infant car seat over one arm. On the other, he’d strung a diaper bag and a half-dozen plastic bags from a discount store.

      He was dressed in a suit, but he’d missed a couple buttons on his shirt, which was only tucked in on one side. She narrowed her eyes, glancing over at Wynn. “Client?”

      Wynn’s eyebrows shot up. “Ah…no. My partner, Garrett. Who doesn’t have any kids and is usually fully dressed when he comes to work.”

      Abby watched as Garrett strong-armed his load onto a conference table. His dark hair was in haphazard disarray. Behind dark-rimmed glasses, his deep brown eyes were expressive and desperate.

      “Garrett, what in the world?” Wynn reached him in time to help him untangle himself from the line of plastic bags. A pink plastic baby bottle tumbled out of the bag and bounced off the concrete floor.

      Abby crossed to the table and picked up the bottle, holding it out to Wynn’s partner.

      He took it from her hand and then looked up, shoulders squaring as he realized he didn’t know her. His gaze shot to Wynn, who grinned.

      “Garrett, my best friend Abby, our new town social worker. Abby, this is Garrett. And I have no idea who this baby belongs to.”

      “That СКАЧАТЬ