The Cinderella Plan. Margaret Daley

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СКАЧАТЬ some of her time at the youth center connected to the Chestnut Grove Community Church. She’d toyed with the idea of going to the church on Sunday, but she’d never attended services while growing up, except when she was a young girl and had gone to visit Grandma Rose. Caleb made her wonder what she was missing. Sighing, Anne turned away from the door and walked back toward her office, where she could disappear into her quiet refuge and pour through those old ledgers.

      Tucking her white buttoned-down shirt into her stiff, dark blue jeans, Anne stood in front of her mirror that was mounted on the back of her bedroom door. A frown drew her brows together as she assessed herself. With her blond hair pulled back into a tight ponytail that hung down below her shoulder blades and her face scrubbed clean, all she could think of to describe herself was plain, dull.

      Normally that didn’t bother her. But maybe she should wear a touch of lipstick or eye shadow to bring out the blue in her eyes? She turned her head from side to side, trying to decide what to do. She would be working in the same room with Caleb today for hours.

      She rubbed her sweaty palms down her brand-new pair of jeans. She should have washed them. They looked new—too blue. But she hadn’t had any time because she’d only bought the jeans on impulse last night when she’d realized she had nothing to wear that didn’t make her seem much older than her twenty-nine years.

      Why hadn’t she also bought that red scarf to tie in her hair? Because she didn’t wear any colors that made her stand out in a crowd. She didn’t want to attract attention. She’d had more than her share while growing up—the unwanted kind.

      Her gaze strayed until it lit upon her black leather shoes by her queen-size bed that had a huge fluffy counterpane in different shades of pink. At least her shoes weren’t as bad as the ones she had worn in elementary and high school. She shuddered thinking about those therapeutic ones, necessary because she was so severely pigeon-toed.

      Who was she kidding? She didn’t want to stand out today either. She was better off in the background, going through life unnoticed. So Caleb would be at the youth center. That didn’t mean they would spend any alone-time together. That didn’t even mean they would talk much. There were going to be a lot of kids at the center. She was going to be there to help make flyers for the carnival. That was all.

      Anne spun away from her image in the mirror, irritated at herself for even going out and buying a pair of jeans. As if that would make a difference. How could a man like Caleb ever be interested in her? He was handsome, outgoing, so self assured—everything she wasn’t.

      “Anne, you need to stop dreaming the impossible,” she muttered and sat on her bed to slip on her brand-new pair of corrective shoes that she’d saved six months for. The black leather would go with most of her clothes and the pair was certainly more stylish than the ones before. She wished she could afford several different colors and styles, but on her limited budget, even living with her parents, this was it.

      Caleb sat on the front steps leading into the youth center housed in the church hall next to the Chestnut Grove Community Church. Nursing a large mug of coffee cupped between his hands, he took a few minutes to sort through his thoughts before the long day started. Weather permitting, he enjoyed doing this every morning.

      Lord, I hope I don’t regret allowing the children to organize and oversee this fund-raiser. I’m getting anxious. We only have a week till the carnival and there’s still so much to do. Gina assures me she and her friends have everything under control. But still—the center needs the rec equipment.

      He took a large swallow of his lukewarm coffee, looking toward the church next door. Its white and red bricks gleamed in the sun, just peeking over the tops of the oak and maple trees along the street. The tall spire and bell tower of the eighteenth-century structure shot up into the blue sky as though it stood sentinel over the town. When peering at the church that had withstood centuries amid war and drama, he always felt comforted. The Lord’s house. An intricate part of Chestnut Grove and its history.

      A small black car pulled into the parking lot at the side of the center, capturing his attention. He watched as Anne climbed from her old Chevy and headed up the sidewalk toward him. Tilting his head to the left, he tried to remember a time when he had seen her wear a pair of jeans. He couldn’t. She always wore long, full dresses or skirts that came down to her ankles. Interesting.

      A small smile graced her lips and her ponytail bounced as she made her way toward him. Her fresh face and vivid blue eyes were a welcome sight. Anne never played games. After he had gotten past her shyness, he had found her very straightforward and honest. He could count on her if he ever needed help, especially with the young people who volunteered at the adoption agency. Anne took them under her wing and assisted them any way possible. She was a very caring woman. An appealing quality. If only she believed in God, he thought, pushing to his feet and plastering a smile of greeting on his face.

      “You’re here before the kids are.” He checked his watch. “In fact, you’re ten minutes early before eight on a Saturday. I’m impressed.”

      “Mornings are the best time of day. I’ve never slept past six-thirty.”

      He held up his mug. “Whereas, I have to load up on tons of coffee, just to be coherent before nine in the morning.”

      “So you’re a night person?”

      “No, more like an afternoon person. My best time is between one and five.”

      She laughed. “I’ll have to remember that.”

      He liked the sound of her laughter, light, almost musical. It sent a warmth through him that surprised him. “Do you want some coffee before the kids swarm this place and there isn’t a moment’s rest?”

      “I’m a tea drinker.”

      “Something else we don’t agree on.”

      She shrugged. “Yep. Coffee tastes like dirt to me.”

      “To me drinking tea is like drinking brownish water.”

      Anne started climbing the stairs toward the front door. “The world would be a dull place if we all agreed on everything.”

      Caleb walked next to her. “I have to agree with you on that.”

      She slanted a look toward him, grinning. “I guess we aren’t so hopeless after all. Who knows what else we might agree on before the day is out?”

      “Let me refill my coffee. I’ll meet you in the arts-and-crafts room. That’s where I thought we would make the flyers and go over any last minute preparations.”

      While Anne headed to the left, Caleb walked toward the kitchen connected to the cafeteria/gym. With a lightness to his step, he hurried to pour his coffee and get back to Anne. He had known her from a distance for a few years, but in the past six months he had become better acquainted with her. Each time he was with her he felt her emotional walls crumble just a little more. The minister and psychologist in him wanted to help her heal, because in her blue eyes he saw a glimpse of a deep wound she tried to conceal from the world. Maybe in helping her heal, he could also help her find her way to the Lord.

      But lately, the man in him wanted something more. That continued to surprise him because he wasn’t interested in dating anyone who didn’t believe in the Lord. He’d had a relationship in college with a woman who had not been a Christian and the emotional scars left from it still hurt today. He’d wanted it to work so badly, but they just hadn’t seen the future the same way.

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