Read Online Missionary Daddy by Linda Goodnight - Free Book Online Page A

feel like such a helpless ninny, but I don’t dare bend or lift even something that small.”
    “Not a problem.” Eric did as he was asked, placing the valise on the table next to her. She clicked it open.
    “This has been in the works for a while, and I’ve been excited to share it with you, but we just now have the particulars ironed out.” She lifted out a folder. “Someone has made a substantial donation to the Noble Foundation to sponsor an orphanage in Africa. I thought, since you have the most experience in that realm, I would ask your help in deciding which one.”
    Eric leaned back in the plush chair, pulse kick-starting. “Are you serious?”
    “Absolutely.”
    Now, this was something that raced his engine. “There are so many facilities that could use the help, but I’m partial to the baby hospital and Ithemba House. I’ve worked in and with both. They’re entirely donor funded and do an exceptional job with limited resources.”
    Very limited.
    “Isn’t Ithemba the orphanage you founded?”
    Eric blinked. “How did you know that?”
    Rachel gave a tiny smile. “I have my sources.” She removed a paper and handed it to him. “Will this sum be useful?”
    Eric stared down at the amount. His mouth went as dry as dust. “Is this a joke?”
    “I never joke about foundation funding.”
    Excitement warmed his blood as possibilities streamed through his head. He couldn’t believe this.
    “That’s not only enough to fund the basic needs for a year, we could even buy some new medical equipment for the baby hospital. The X-ray machine is a pitiful antique.”
    A slow smile lifted from Rachel’s lips to her eyes. “I was hoping you’d say that. Will you serve as adviser on the project?”
    “I’d be honored.” More than honored, he was floored. Someone had just donated enough money to make a difference for a lot of children.
    “Who’s the donor? I want to send him a personal thank you.”
    “The donor asks to remain anonymous.”
    So it was an individual, not a corporation. One single person with money had stepped up to the plate. “Tell him, he’s my new hero. I’ve prayed for something like this for years.”
    “Well, my friend.” Rachel’s smile became Cheshire-like. “Sometimes God works in mysterious ways.”
    Eric was so thrilled with the donation that he didn’t wonder about Rachel’s cryptic remark until much later.

     
    Samantha strapped her baby nephew Gabriel into a high chair at the Starlight Diner and pulled it against the table’s edge to wait for Eric.
    Ever since she could remember, she’d liked the old-fashioned ambience of the 1950s-style diner. With its retro soda fountain, vintage jukebox and nostalgic memorabilia of Elvis and James Dean, the Starlight was pure Southern comfort.
    Sam, who’d dined in upscale restaurants and artsy cafés worldwide, soaked in the relaxed atmosphere. Funny how the simple things here in Chestnut Grove had so much more meaning lately. But then, after Africa, everything had taken on more significance.
    “Tham, Tham.” Her nephew pounded chubby palms on the high chair’s plastic tray. “Dink.”
    “Okay, buddy, coming right up.”
    She kissed the two-year-old’s baby-scented hair, the familiar ache of loss and love filling her throat. She wanted so much for Gabriel that had been missing in her own life. In lieu of love, she’d had glamorous parties, constant travel and designer clothes, a lifestyle that bespoke success. But here was real success—in the bubbling laughter of a child.
    Eric understood that. She was only beginning to, now that it was probably too late.
    Sam waved the waitress over and ordered juice for the little one and coffee for herself. Sandra Lange, the diner’s owner, noticed Gabriel and hurried over.
    “Hello, little man,” Sandra said. “I think you need a cookie.” She looked to Sam for permission and when Sam nodded, Sandra produced a package of animal crackers from the pocket of a pink ruffled