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Becca Van [Sugar Creek 04] Prim's Silver Wolves [Siren Men
Becca Van [Sugar Creek 02] Melissa's Acceptance [Siren Men
Becca Van [Slick Rock 11] A Fresh Start for Tori [Siren M
Devyn Quinn [Dark Tides 02] Siren's Surrender (epub)
Cooper Lovell [Love's Influen Tessa's Highlander [Siren Class
Celeste Prater [Fueled by Lus Severus [Siren Classic] (epub)
Cassandra Pierce [The Aquans Diamonds in the Sand [Siren Lov
Breanna Hayse [General's Daug The Siren [Blushing] (epub)
Beth D Carter [Snow Princess Once Upon a Love Story [Siren A
[heft] Perry Rhodan 0312 Das Geheimnis der Regenwelt

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.“Maybe to you, she is,” Henry grumbled.“I keep telling myself, the next board members could be worse,” Olivia said.“Trust me, honey, they could.” Helen smiled.“So what do you have planned this afternoon?”“I’m going to the South Side community garden.”“Is that safe?” Henry asked.“It’s gated,” Olivia assured him.“Yeah, but is it guarded?”“Henry, leave the girl alone.She’s been taking care of herself for years.It’s a community garden, for God’s sake.” Olivia and Helen smiled at one another in perfect understanding.“Come along, Henry.I think it’s about time I put you out of your misery and took you to lunch.” Olivia watched as the two of them walked out of the boardroom, and felt a small pang.Both of them were widowed, and if she wasn’t mistaken they might be finding love for a second time, while here she was at thirty-one, never having found it the first time around.Shrugging off the momentary melancholy, she headed to her office, stopping at Adam’s desk on the way in.“Adam, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to put in a few hours on Monday, even though I promised you the day off.”“No problem, boss.” He gave her a sunny smile.“I take it Paul and Kathy balked at Atlanta.”“You nailed it in one.I need you to get Barry Hudson in so he can explain the ins and outs of the tax ramifications, and then schedule another board meeting in the next two weeks where he can attend.If you can start making calls before you leave today, I’d sure appreciate it.I know it’s a big imposition on a Saturday afternoon.”“Seriously, Olivia, it’s worth it.There’s a reason I have people’s cell phones on speed dial.You look pissed off.Are you going to go dig in the dirt?”“Yeah, there’s a bunch of second graders who are harvesting tomatoes today, and I promised to show them the difference between weeds and vegetables.” Adam smiled, knowing it was just the thing to mellow his boss out.“Take some pictures, you know I love those candid shots of the kids.” Olivia smiled, because she knew he wasn’t just saying that.“No can do, I’m only carrying the bare essentials.I’m taking the Silver Line subway to the South Side.”“Be careful,” Adam warned.“Adam, I grew up in the bad part of downtown LA.Laying low is second nature to me.I’ll be fine,” she assured him.Adam nodded, and she headed into her office.Olivia took a moment to look around the beautiful surroundings, and once again was amazed at exactly how far she had come.Once upon a time, she and her family were living in their car, and she had been in the foster care system.She knew just how important American Humanity Connections was, which was why Kathy and Paul’s roadblocks pissed her off so much.She ducked into the connecting bathroom and changed into the worn jeans, tank top, and plaid shirt that she often wore when working at the shelters.This type of outfit made her more approachable to the people she wanted to assist.She put her ID, a credit card, and emergency cash in a pouch underneath her tank top, where it was indiscernible.In her jeans pocket she put a small amount of cash, a subway ticket, and the key to the building.The last part of her outfit was to put her hair in a ponytail, and throw on a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, and then she was ready to go.She waved good-bye to Adam, who was already on the phone making calls.When she got to the community garden, there were ten six- and seven-year-olds milling about, some with a parent, others obviously unsupervised.She saw tomato stains on two shirts, which told her that the harvesting had already begun, and perhaps a little horseplay as well.Olivia loved working with the youngest members of the community.It made her heart swell, and if she was honest with herself, she was beginning to have the urge for a family of her own.She gathered the kids around, and instead of having them look up at her, she sat cross-legged in the dirt in front of one of the tomato vines.She explained how they could tell which tomatoes were ripe and which ones weren’t.She patiently answered questions.Then she asked which child would like to learn how to pick a tomato.A curly-haired blond, who reminded her of her foster brother Chance, raised his hand, so she smiled and selected him.He stepped forward, and she showed him how to gently twist the fruit then pull and place it softly into the basket so it didn’t bruise.She repeated the process with each of the nine other children before letting them loose on the row of tomato plants.One of the children’s fathers lent her a hand up off the ground, grinning at her.“You’re good with my son.Normally he wouldn’t stay still that long,” the distinguished Hispanic man said.“And my daughter would have rolled her eyes at you,” one of the mothers said.“How many children do you have?” she asked.“None, but I grew up with a large household of children,” Olivia said with a smile.“It shows,” the mother said.“Come with me.I brought a cooler with water and juice packs.We have a few minutes before the adventures of weeding start.” Olivia was grateful for the drink.Summer in Boston was hot and humid.“Miss Livias, alls the tomatoes are gone,” one little girl yelled from across the garden.Olivia looked up and smiled.“I guess break time is over.Thanks for the drink.” She went back to her charges and spent the rest of the afternoon showing them how to weed.Even after they left, she stayed as other members of the garden came and went, tending the garden and harvesting vegetables for their families.Olivia worked until sunset, the honest work tiring her muscles and rejuvenating her soul.She walked out with a young couple just as the sun dipped behind the horizon.“It was nice to meet you, Olivia.Are you sure you don’t want any of the carrots or lettuce we picked? You’re leaving empty-handed, and it looks like you put in a lot of work today.”“Thanks, Lucinda,” Olivia replied [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]