Read Online Touching Stars by Emilie Richards - Free Book Online Page B

into the room to meet their guests, but Noah looked straight at his father.
    He didn’t smile. “I’ve got a pretty good idea what a real man looks like, and I know for sure he doesn’t have to keep proving who he is over and over again.”
    If Eric realized how directly Noah had insulted him, he gave no sign. He turned to Gayle. “What’s going on?”
    “The church quilting bee’s going to be here this summer working on this quilt for the entryway. The guests will love it. Let me introduce you.”
    She started with Helen, who didn’t blink. Anyone who watched the news knew the story of Eric’s escape from almost certain death, and his was a familiar face under better circumstances, as well. But Helen had no interest in celebrity.
    “I know your sons are glad to have you here,” she said, sticking out her hand for a brief handshake. “Just don’t you interfere with making this one a quilter.”
    Eric laughed, and they shook. The other women were not quite so blasé. Cathy, who had a son in the National Guard, told Eric she appreciated what he and his colleagues went through to bring them the news. Kate and Peony told him how glad they were he was okay.
    Eric managed to be charming, but Gayle could see even this minimal effort was wearing him down. As soon as the good wishes ended, she put her hand on Noah’s shoulder.
    “Help your dad get settled out on the porch, please. And get him something to eat if he’s ready.”
    For the briefest moment she thought he was going to refuse. Noah, the son she could always count on to help her. His gaze flicked to his father; then he shrugged. He turned to Helen. “I’ll be back for a lesson once you get started.”
    “I’m counting on you, boy.”
    Gayle watched the two Fortman men walk out together. She hoped she hadn’t made a bad situation worse.
    “We need to be going,” Helen said. “We just wanted to get all set up.”
    “There’s a graduation party here tonight, but I plan to lock the doors to this room. The quilt will be all ready for you next week.”
    The women gathered purses and said their goodbyes. Cissy lagged behind with Gayle. Once the others were far enough ahead that they couldn’t hear, she put her hand on Gayle’s arm to stop her.
    “I have something to give you,” she said.
    Gayle waited as Cissy pulled a white envelope out of a tote bag. “It’s my résumé. There’s not a lot on it, I guess. Probably not nearly as much as I’d need for this job, but I just want you to know I’m interested.”
    Gayle’s mind had been with Noah and Eric on the porch, and for a moment she didn’t understand. Finally she realized what Cissy meant. “The job here?”
    “I saw your advertisement on a bulletin board over in Woodstock.”
    “But you have Helen to worry about. And Reese…”
    “Marian—my mother-in-law Marian—says she’ll take Reese while I’m working, and she’ll be in preschool over at the church five mornings a week starting in the fall. Helen, well, she doesn’t need me during the day. You want the truth, I think she’d like some hours all to herself. We get along real well, but it’s a lot for her to have us and Reese. Reese, well, she’s not the quietest little girl the stork ever dropped down a chimney.”
    Gayle had to smile. Reese was a child with a well-defined personality.
    Encouraged, Cissy continued. “I know I’m young, and my education, well, it’s spotty. But I got my diploma and took a few college courses on the Internet. I read all the time, and I’ve worked on my grammar, and I like people.”
    Cissy was still so young, Gayle just couldn’t imagine it. But she knew one thing: she owed this girl the formality of an interview. Cissy had come so far against such odds, and Gayle didn’t want to discourage her.
    “I’ll look this over,” she said. “Will you have time next week to come in and talk some more?”
    “Whenever you say.”
    “Let’s plan for that, then.”
    Cissy’s lovely face grew