Hidden Gifts (A Castle Mountain Lodge Romance) by Elena Aitken Read Free Book Online Page B

her speak.  
    “I suppose it could be a horse,” Morgan said carefully. “They do look similar.”  
    The little girl eyed her cautiously as she stroked the clay figure. It looked familiar but Morgan couldn’t place it. Like something she’d seen in the lobby, maybe?
    “You know what, Ella?” Morgan was struck with an idea. “Maybe there are some toy horses around here we could play with.” She scanned the room, looking at the various bins and shelves full of toys and craft supplies. “I bet we could find some.” Morgan hopped up and to her surprise, Ella followed.  
    Together, they searched through the baskets and buckets of surprisingly well-organized toys until they found a bin labeled “farm animals.”
    “Jack pot,” Morgan declared and pulled the bucket out on the carpet. She upended it, spilling the contents of a variety of barnyard animals, including three plastic horses. Ella let out a high-pitched squeal and grabbed up the horses. Morgan busied herself, setting up the fences and the other animals while Ella galloped them around the carpet. She didn’t want to say anything to break the spell that the little girl was under, so she took her time arranging the rest of the farm. After a few minutes, Ella looked up.  
    “Do you want to play with all the animals?” Morgan asked her.  
    Ella shook her head and clutched the horses to her chest.  
    “That’s okay,” Morgan said. “You don’t have to. The horses are great. You just let me know if you want to play with anything else, okay?”  
    The little girl nodded and went back to her play. The clay deer seemed to be the "horse" in charge while the little plastic horses galloped around in circles. Morgan sat back and watched for a few minutes before she pushed up off the floor and started wandering around the room. While Ella played, Morgan snooped through the drawers, marveling at what she found. The Cub’s Club was remarkably well-equipped, not only with a wide variety of toys, but also educational tools that would excite any child-care professional. Even though she had no interest in staying on, old habits die hard and Morgan couldn’t help but let her imagination run free with all the programs she could run in such a space. Along one wall, she found a cabinet with books and binders that contained ideas for games, hikes, treasure hunts, and other activities that were obviously conducted at the Lodge.  
    She couldn’t help herself; Morgan felt a thrill go through her. It wasn’t just a babysitting room. Everything about the Cub’s Club was exactly what she had hoped to be doing with her degree. Well, maybe not exactly, but if she were being honest with herself, planning parties wasn’t what she wanted, either. Working with children was. It’s all she’d ever wanted. She glanced to where Ella was playing quietly. The little girl clearly had some issues and only a few months ago Morgan would have been enthusiastic at the prospect of helping her work through them.
    Morgan twisted a strand of hair around her finger and contemplated the idea. Could she bring herself to work with children every day when the truth about her own childlessness was still so fresh and hard to bear? The now-familiar twist in her stomach as she thought about all she’d never have flared up. “No,” she whispered to herself. “I can’t do it. It’s too hard.”  

    For the rest of the morning, Morgan tried to busy herself with tidying up the room that was already incredibly clean. She tried to get Ella to talk, but either the little girl was much more interested in her horses or she just didn’t want to talk to a strange woman—probably both. Finally, around lunchtime, Ella got off the floor and stretched her legs. Morgan waited while she made her way across the room to her. Sometimes a child needed to make the first move. She waited, and eventually Ella approached her.  
    The little girl made a motion to her mouth.  
    “Are you hungry?”  
    Ella