Free White Dove's Promise by Stella Bagwell Page A

times to the reporter that if it hadn’t been for Jared, Peggy might still be trapped beneath the ground. Her words of praise had touched him then. And they did so even more now that the two of them were alone. “You’re giving me too much credit, Kerry.”
    She gave him a brief smile. “I don’t think so,” she said, then glanced over at Peggy who was lying on the floor quietly watching cartoons that Jared had turned on to keep the child occupied during the long interview. From the looks of her drowsy expression, Kerry knew her daughter would be asleep in just a few minutes.
    â€œWell, I’d better head toward home,” she told Jared. “Peggy needs to get to bed soon.”
    Frowning, Jared glanced at his watch. “It’s not that late. It’s only just now gotten dark. Why don’t you stay long enough to have some coffee and cookies before you go. They’re homemade,” he added temptingly.
    She breathed deeply as the urge to stay warred with her common sense. For the past three and a half years Kerry had deliberately shied away from any sort of personal contact with men. And for the most part, she’d been content. She’d not seen any reason to risk putting herself through that sort of hell again. But being with Jared reminded her of just how much she was missing in life.
    â€œHomemade cookies,” she said with a wry smile. “Don’t tell me you baked them.”
    He laughed. “No. I’m a fry cook, but other than that forget it. My sister was sweet enough to bring these over yesterday. So I saved them for this evening.”
    Kerry cast another thoughtful glance at her daughter. Peggy’s eyes were already drooping. Even if she left right now, the child would be asleep before they reached the main highway. It wouldn’t make much difference to let her sleep here at Jared’s.
    â€œAll right,” she agreed. “But let me put Peggy on the couch first. She’s almost asleep.”
    She started after her daughter, but Jared quickly caught her by the arm. “No. I’ll get her.”
    Kerry stood back and allowed him to pick Peggy up from the floor and gently carry her limp little body to the couch. After he’d carefully tucked a throw pillow beneath her head, he glanced at Kerry. “Is she okay like this? Or does she need to be covered with something?”
    Even though the house was air-conditioned, it was not cool enough to make Peggy chilled. “She’s fine,” Kerry told him. “Thank you.”
    Jared started to move away from the couch, then paused to reach down and smooth a wayward black curl away from Peggy’s cheek. “She’s quite an angel,” he said with a sheepish smile.
    â€œAngels don’t crawl into dirty drainpipes,” Kerry reminded him.
    Laughing softly, he moved away from the couch and with his hand at Kerry’s back guided her toward the kitchen. “Well, even an angel can be momentarily distracted.”
    Like the living area, the kitchen was equipped with older type appliances and fixtures, but everything appeared clean and efficient. At one end of the long room, a rattan-shaded lamp swung over a pine farm table covered with a yellow-and-white plaid tablecloth. In the middle sat a mason jar filled with wildflowers of all colors and sizes.
    The feminine touch of his sister, no doubt, Kerry thought. Jared was the hard hat, work boots sort. She doubted he’d ever picked a wildflower in his life. Except maybe the kind with two legs and painted lips.
    â€œHave a seat,” he invited, “and I’ll make some coffee. It’s a quick drip pot so it won’t take but a couple of minutes.”
    While he gathered the coffee makings at the cabinet counter, Kerry took a seat at the end of the farm table. To her left, a double window was covered with green-and-yellow tiers that matched the table cloth. Another sign that a woman had done some