Her eyes lowered even as her lips twitched.
"From an American charity we'd never heard of before. Imagine my surprise when he told me to look up the website and I saw your picture there.”
Her chin came up, and he could see the strength and determination in the set of her jaw. "As you witnessed"—she waved her hand to encompass the room and the board members who remained—"our foundation takes seriously our mission to help others."
He couldn't hold back his smile. He'd witnessed it all right. Maggie had come into her own. He'd been irrationally proud of her as she'd stood up to the board member who'd been running the meeting. Maggie had been magnificent.
He wanted to reach out for her. Wanted to fold her into his arms.
But he wasn't sure he had the right.
"Maggie, can we—?"
"You finished in here, Mags?"
A woman a few years older than Maggie had pushed open the door. She had a toddler on her hip and was noticeably pregnant. Her eyes lit on him, and instant curiosity lit her face. "Who's this?"
Maggie went to the woman, extending her arms to take the toddler.
"Maggie!" The girl patted her face.
Maggie tickled her neck, which elicited a spate of giggles.
Maggie's... friend?... was still looking at him expectantly.
"This is Luc," Maggie said when the silence lengthened.
"I'm Maggie's cousin Scarlett. You came all the way from Glorvaird? Are you coming out to see the ranch?"
He looked at Maggie. "That depends on Maggie."
She was blushing.
"Well, I'll take off and let you two... finish whatever is going on here. I just wanted to find out how the meeting went. Maggie, did you chicken out?"
"She was magnificent." Luc couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
Maggie blushed more, if that were possible.
"That's wonderful!" Scarlett said. "I'm so proud of you."
Maggie shrugged off the praise.
"C'mon, booger bear. Let's go." Scarlett reached for the toddler, but Maggie held on.
"I'll carry her out to the truck."
Scarlett scowled. "I'm not an invalid. I can carry my own daughter."
The set of Maggie's chin said she was adamant. "I'm going that way anyway." She scooped up a leather satchel from her seat and headed out behind Scarlett.
Luc followed the trio out the doors.
He hadn't been able to believe his eyes when he'd driven into town in his rented sedan. He'd expected small, but the town was miniscule. Of course Maggie would've felt safe here. She must've known everyone by name.
And it was hot. It was a good thing he’d packed a bag instead of jumping on a plane willy-nilly, because he’d had to change his shirt. The soaking humidity and heat combined were like nothing he’d ever experienced back home.
Maggie buckled the toddler into a car seat in the back of a huge, four-door truck. It's wheels and undercarriage were caked with mud.
