Sheltering Hearts by Robyn Carr Read Free Book Online Page A

night off from cooking, can’t you?”
    She couldn’t help but smile. “I sure can. Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be over.”
    Dory just wanted to make sure the kids had washed faces and clean clothes, and she was going to comb her hair and put on some lip gloss. The kids were ecstatic and raced ahead of her. They were a little shy when first meeting Elizabeth’s boys, Jed and Mack, but they all warmed up to each other quickly. As for Dory, she had a fantastic time. Visiting with Elizabeth and Clay while putting out dinner, eating and cleaning up was just the grown-up time she’d needed. She was reminded about how important it was to have balance in her life—not just important for herself, but for the kids to see in her, too. She worked too hard—she knew that. It wasn’talways just because money was tight, but often to keep her mind off how alone she could sometimes feel.
    It turned out Clay was full of questions about their organization and their goals. He seemed genuinely interested and pleased that Elizabeth was getting involved.
    The sun was sinking when Elizabeth and her boys took off—they, too, had to get organized to start a new week. Right after saying goodbye, Dory told her kids to get home and get started on baths. Before following them, she thanked Clay.
    “Not very fancy, but if I went to too much trouble, the boys wouldn’t be interested.”
    “It was great, and I specialize in unfancy. I’ve been meaning to ask—how would you like to join the kids and me for dinner? Maybe next Sunday?”
    “I work next Sunday,” he said.
    “Oh, that’s too bad…”
    “But I’m off the Sunday after that,” he said, smiling.
    “You don’t have family commitments, do you?”
    “I’ll manage not to. I’m entitled to a little of my own time. I’d love to have dinner.”
    “Good, then,” she said. “It’s a date.”
    He lifted a brow. “Date?”
    “You know…”
    He laughed at her. “I look forward to it.”
     
    D ORY FOUND HERSELF LOOKING forward to her dinner with Clay so much that she bought the ingredients for her famous red beans and rice well in advance. She didn’t say anything until the next weekend had passed, then mentioned to the kids that on Sundayevening Clay was coming over for dinner. They were nothing short of thrilled—they adored him.
    She thought about that a minute and realized that he hadn’t really done anything spectacular with her kids to completely win them over. He was just himself—cheerful, present, and he communicated with them on their level. They’d helped him wash that big SUV of his and then, just for fun, they all washed her Pathfinder together, spraying each other and laughing the whole time. He’d given them ice cream sandwiches in the warm afternoon sun; they’d built a little fire in the yard one early evening and roasted marshmallows; they’d dug up a little garden patch in his backyard together so he could plant some pumpkin seeds for Halloween. He just included them in what he was doing, and not only did the kids have a good time, so did Clay.
    And Dory realized that she was also participating a little more all the time. She was no longer so afraid of getting close. She’d be the fourth for a game of catch, or sit on the ground with them while they roasted marshmallows. Of course, they never had a second alone, but that was good. Moving slowly was best. But she was admitting to herself that having a guy like Clay in her life, at least for a good friend, appealed to her. And maybe, just maybe, he’d become more.
    While she was at work, she found herself thinking about the kids and figuring out a way to afford the money to sign Austin and Sophie up for T-ball and Little League. She also needed to buy uniforms and bring drinks and snacks like the other parents. And Dory wondered how she would manage the schedule—driving to practices, being at games, pitching in with the other team parents. Money and time were always short. And she couldn’t