nodded, laughing. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do around here. I just need to stay busy.”
She relaxed, and fought the temptation to fan herself. What on earth was wrong with her? She was acting like her mother. Never one for theatrics, Anna gave herself a serious reprimand and reminded herself she couldn’t get involved with this man, for oh so many reasons. “I’ll just take you out back to the playground. We’re trying to rebuild it so it can be up to code. We’ll have several volunteers coming in the morning to pack boxes and such, and I think you’ll enjoy working on that type of project. And the back porch steps need repairing. If you don’t mind.”
He gave her one of those killer smiles. “Don’t mind one bit. It’ll be nice to be out in the open without having to worry about getting shot or blown up.”
She slanted her head toward him. “I can show you what needs to be done right now, if you want.”
“That’s fine, as long as I’m not keeping you from something else. I mean, it is quitting time and I’m sure you have an after-hours life.”
Anna had to laugh at that. “Oh, yes. Very exciting. I get to go upstairs and settle down with more paperwork.”
“Do you ever just get away from this place and have fun?”
“Hmm, let me see.” She pursed her lips. “It’s been a while. But I did go for ice cream with some of my coworkers last week.”
“I like ice cream. Maybe I can help in that department,” he said, the gleam in his eyes enticing.
“Uh, about that playground—” She got up to find some breathing room. Turning she said, “If you’ll just follow me.”
She didn’t miss the appreciative look he gave her. “So what exactly goes on around here?” he asked as they walked inside into the cool, dark hallway of the old house. “I know all about what your organization does, but what actually goes on back here?”
She turned at the porch door and said, “Oh, all kinds of things. We gather supplies to send to the war, we keep clothing on hand to give to the families of the soldiers and to give to those in other countries who are affected by the war, and well…we do whatever we can to help the children, including letting some of them live here temporarily if need be until relatives or foster care can take them in. They’re our main concern. Some of them become neglected, even though they still have a parent here. The stress of being a single parent with a spouse overseas becomes too much for some. We try to help with that, too.”
David held the door open for her then squinted toward the setting sun. “I guess I was lucky that way, at least. My mother was a soldier stationed at Fort Bonnell, but she always took care of me, somehow. But that’s the thing about war. The children certainly suffer more than anyone else and they’re so helpless.”
“Yes, they are,” she said, her mind whirling with a million questions about his childhood. “So you don’t have any relatives close by?”
He looked down at the gray boards of the porch. “No, I don’t. My mother moved to Louisiana and…I never knew my father.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” She waited a beat then gave him a direct look. “Then I guess you really do understand…about why Children of the Day is so important.”
David nodded. “Oh, I understand, all right. That’s why I took Chaplain Steve up on his suggestion and came here to volunteer. I know exactly what it’s like to be little and afraid, and full of anger and questions.”
Anna saw darkness in his eyes and wondered just how much this man had suffered. She’d lost her father when she was young, but David had never even known his. That kind of pain left a deep, cutting scar.
But it immediately endeared him to Anna and made her want to nurture him and help him to heal. After all, that was her job.
Chapter Four
Early the next morning Anna heard the whine of a sports car’s gears shifting outside the house. Glancing up, she saw her best friend Trisha Morrison bringing her shiny white roadster to a grinding stop just inside the driveway. It didn’t take Trisha long to make her way into the front lobby then straight into Anna’s office, shutting the glass-paned door after her.
“Hi,” Anna said, waving. Then she noticed Trisha’s downcast look. Since Trisha was usually bubbly and outgoing, Anna knew something was wrong. “Trisha?”
Trisha burst into tears. “Anna, I need…”
Anna jumped up to come around the desk. “Trisha, what on earth’s the matter? Did you break up with Nick again?”
Trisha tossed back her silky brown hair and sniffed, then wiped her brown eyes. “No, Nick and I are fine. It’s about Daddy.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” Anna said, hugging Trisha close. “Of course, you’re still grieving.”
Trisha’s father, a brigadier general and once the commander of Fort Bonnell, had died a few weeks ago. Trisha had taken it very hard, since her mother had died years earlier. The apple of her father’s eye, Trisha had always been somewhat of a pampered princess. His death had left her a wealthy heiress who hadn’t been making the best of choices lately, but Anna loved her friend in spite of that. She knew Trisha was still struggling with this loss.
“Come and sit down. You’re just having a hard day, right? Do you need to talk to Mother?”
“I can’t tell Miss Olga this,” Trisha said on a sob. “Not yet. I haven’t even told Nick. I…came straight to you.”
Anna gripped Trisha’s hand. “And you found me.” While her vivacious mother was the grief counselor at Prairie Springs Christian Church, Anna often found herself taking over in that capacity, too, at Children of the Day. Seeing grief firsthand was one of the downsides of her charity work. But being able to help the spouses and children of soldiers more than made up for all the pain she had to witness. And right now, her best friend was clearly in pain.
“Want to tell me about it?”
Trisha nodded, tears still streaming down her face as she sank into an old leather office chair. “Yes. I need your advice. I got this today. Daddy’s lawyer gave it to me.”
Anna stared down at the crushed envelope in Trisha’s hand. “What is it? Part of the will?”
Trisha waved the envelope in the air. “Oh, it’s much more than that. It’s…it’s so hard to believe.” Then she looked up at Anna, her voice quivering. “He has a son, Anna. My father had an affair with another woman before I was born.”
“What?” Anna dropped down in the brown wicker chair beside Trisha, her heart thumping. Trisha was right; she couldn’t believe this.
Commander Morrison had been like her own father, always so kind and understanding, especially when she and her widowed mother had moved to Texas from Russia over twenty years ago. The commander and Mrs. Morrison had helped Anna and Olga become acclimated to all things Texas. He’d invited them to church and made sure they didn’t want for anything. He’d even invited Anna to one of Trisha’s parties, which was how they became friends in the first place.
Anna couldn’t
