Covered Bridge Charm by Dianne; Christner Read Free Book Online Page B

burgeoned within to think that all the world could see Dad’s trust in him. “I won’t let you down.”
    “I know you won’t. There’s just a couple of stipulations. You know this is our busy time and how hard it is to get away. So let’s wait till after Christmas to do the official paperwork.”
    “Sure.” Adam nodded. “A birthday and Christmas gift rolled into one.”
    “Great.” His dad pounded his back with shared enthusiasm. Adam’s eyes burned, and his chest expanded at his dad’s touch. “Let’s finish up here so we can go tell your mom.”
    He hoisted another table and helped shove it onto the truck’s bed. Never had Dad seemed so cordial. Life had turned a corner.
    “And the other stipulation,” Dad said as they grabbed the last table. “Quit chasing that Blosser woman. I don’t want her doing anything to upset our family business. Surely you understand that now.
Father and Son.
It’s gonna be great.”

CHAPTER SIX
    A bsentmindedly, Carly watered a tiny basil herb and set the clay pot back on the window sill. In the early dawn, a rufous hummingbird danced in the spray of neighbor Imogene’s hose, then darted to her zinnias, causing Carly to do a double take. She’d thought they’d all have migrated south by now.
    Cocoa, having received his fresh alfalfa hay, sprinted from the hall to the kitchen and back. All around her, nature awakened, but Carly felt like crawling back beneath her yellow quilt, weary from staying up late to finish her proposal for the Sweet Life board. She topped her coffee, turned away from the window, and shuffled across the wood floor to the kitchen table.
    It held one potted purple moth orchid, one granola bar wrapper topped with an apple core, an empty raisin box, and six copies of her proposal neatly stapled and stacked. Taking a deep draught of coffee, she imagined herself standing in front of the four-man, one-woman board and reciting her spiel.
    Handwritten in neat strokes, the proposal outlined everything Sweet Life would need to start and operate a volunteer program. But she’d worked into the wee hours trying to create a working title and a slogan. And gotten nothing. She’d have to pen Aunt Fannie’s suggestion of “Volunteers Make Each Day Brighter.” Only her gut told her it wasn’t right.
    The board held meetings on Monday evenings, but a conflict had shifted this one to early morning. She’d gotten the call Sunday afternoon while weeding her coneflowers. A task she’d hoped would stimulate her creative-writing juices. At first, she’d thought Simon had changed the time purposefully to shorten her preparation or in hopes she’d arrive late. But the theme of Sunday’s sermon had popped into her mind: Turn the other cheek. Bishop Abe Kauffman preached Matthew 5 at least twice a year to remind his flock they were peacemakers. For Carly’s sake, it should be more frequent.
    Cocoa followed her into the bathroom and nestled between her feet. It was their morning ritual of rabbit-human affection. Normally it was the perfect send-off to start her day. But one glance in the mirror, and she forgot about Cocoa altogether. Of all mornings to look like a wild woman. Meticulously she smoothed every hair. Auntie Fannie always said every little bit helped, and she needed a lot of help this morning…
every little bit she could muster,
she thought poking bobby pins here and there. Then it hit her.
    Bolting, Carly fled for the kitchen, causing Cocoa to squeak in terror. “Sorry, Sweetie.” She plopped into a chair and picked up her pen.
Everybody can do one little thing to stamp out loneliness.
The perfect slogan. It wasn’t trite or derogatory. Didn’t allude to anything that would make Simon look bad in front of his board members. It spoke what was on her heart. It was the goal of her campaign.
    She tapped her pen, looking at the proposal’s blank title space, then neatly penned,
Every Little Bit Helps: Recruiting Volunteers.
It was so simple. Why hadn’t