Free Handpicked Husband (Love Inspired Historical) by Winnie Griggs Page B

certain how to respond, so he changed the subject. “Mind if I take a look inside?” He nodded toward the wagon. “I’ve never been in one of these before.”
    “Suit yourself.” He gave Adam a tongue-in-cheek grin. “Just don’t touch anything. Reggie’ll have my hide if you break something.”
    Adam nodded and climbed inside, ducking under the short doorway. It only took a moment for his eyes to adjust. With the open door and a window on each side, the interior wasn’t as dark as he’d expected.
    He just barely had room to stand upright, though, and if he stretched out his arms he could probably touch both sides of the wagon at once.
    “Not very roomy for someone your size,” Ira commented. “Ain’t much of a problem for me though.”
    The gnome of a man bent over and slid the newly-delivered crate into a cubbyhole sized exactly right to accommodate it. Then he deftly fastened a leather strap across the front. That box wouldn’t budge from its slot, no matter how bumpy the road.
    The whole left wall, from floor to ceiling, was covered with similar niches and cabinets. A good many of them were already snugly filled with odd-size crates. “All these boxes contain photography equipment?”
    “Yep.” Ira straightened. “Cameras, flash pans, chemicals, glass slides—everything a photographer might need, along with spares for emergencies.”
    “So, she’s pretty serious about this hobby of hers?”
    The older man winced. “I wouldn’t let her hear you call it a hobby if I were you, son. Reggie considers herself a professional, with good cause.”
    Interesting. Was the man just being loyal, or was Regina really that good? She certainly seemed to have the determination to make a go of something like this if she put her mind to it.
    “Hand me a strap from that pile, would you?”
    Adam turned to face the other side of the wagon. Along this wall was a long, well-padded, benchlike structure running more than half the length. Adam guessed it probably doubled as a cot when needed.
    Cabinets made good use of the space below, and hooks hung above it for storing odds and ends, many of them unrecognizable to Adam.
    He grabbed the requested strip of leather and handed it to Ira. “Did you construct all this?”
    Ira nodded. “Yep. Every bit of it—at least on the inside. Reggie designed it, though.” He shook his head. “You should have seen her measure and fuss. She wouldn’t let me touch a thing until she was sure she had it all figured just right.”
    Adam had no trouble believing that. Regina Nash was obviously a woman who liked to be in control.
    “Set a spell, if you like,” Ira said over his shoulder.
    But Adam had seen enough. The enclosed space was beginning to feel too much like the prison cell that had been his home for over six years. “Thanks, but I think I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to help get everyone packed up.”
    He climbed out of the wagon and drew in a lungful of the fresh woodsy air. His eyes drank in the view of open sky and rolling woodlands, unobstructed by fortified walls or armed guards.
    As he stepped around the wagon, he was greeted with another sight that had been absent from his life behind bars. Regina Nash pushed through the cabin door, her arms wrapped around another of those small crates. Several more wisps had escaped her hairpins, giving her a not unattractive look of disarray. Such an intriguing mix of confidence and vulnerability.
    Adam decided it would be an insult to offer her a hand since she had been so insistent earlier that she could handle things herself. Instead he stood where he was, crossed his arms and enjoyed the view.
    As she stepped from the porch, Regina’s gaze met his and she paused mid-stride. A what-are-you-up-to-now look crossed her face.
    When he broadened his smile, she jutted her chin up and stepped forward with an almost convincing air of nonchalance.
    She’d only progressed a few paces when Jack dashed around the side of the cabin