The Sweetest Gift (The McKaslin Clan: Series 1 Book 2) by Jillian Hart Page A

thought of her sister’s blood on her hands. Of how tightly Allison had held her hand before she exhaled her last breath.
    Pain ripped her in pieces, right there in the elevator, standing beside perfect strangers and one man she hardly knew. She could see her reflection in the mirrored wall panels. She looked like anyone else. No one would guess at the sorrows she held hidden inside. Her flaws. The places where she kept all her failures and her unworthiness buried. Scars no one else could see.
    What about the people surrounding her? What sorrows had they had? And Sam. What about him?
    The doors opened, people pushed out into the floor. Sam’s hand shot out and stopped Kirby before she could move.
    “No,” he said above the familiar clatter and din from the institution’s cafeteria. “I hate hospitals. Let’s go somewhere else to eat.”
    She nodded as the doors closed and the elevator descended. She could feel his sadness. She wondered who had died. They had that in common, at least. They were alone, and Sam took a step away from her, setting distance between them.
    “It’s been a while since I transported a passenger I needed to worry about.” He tugged a black baseball cap out of his jacket pocket and didn’t look at her.
    “Why didn’t you worry about your last passengers?”
    “They were vice presidents and that kind of thing.” Sam shook out his cap before he put it on. “Why worry about someone in good health, who makes a good living? I meant the last time I flew in the military.”
    “I can’t believe our government trusted you with a chopper.”
    “I was your tax dollars at work.”
    “I’m speechless. Should I write my congressman?”
    “Many folks already have. It’s too late. I retired.”
    The elevator crept to a stop and the doors parted to reveal the busy lobby. Wide windows looked out on the morning.
    A beautiful morning.
    “How much time do you have?” Sam led the way across the polished tile floors.
    “I’m not in a hurry to get back. Why?”
    He didn’t answer. He held the heavy glass doors for her, and she stepped out into the cool morning sun.
    The air was filled with the hum of engines and the sounds of the nearby freeway that buzzed like a saw across the mirrored surface of the lake. She caught glittering snatches of Lake Washington peeking between buildings. Sam took off down the sidewalk. She ran to catch up with him.
    “Have you ever been to Seattle before?” she asked, praying he knew where he was going.
    “Yep.” That was all he said, just a terse answer and nothing else as he hooked a right at the corner and kept walking, straight through crowds of people who parted like the Red Sea as he advanced.
    To her surprise, he didn’t open a door to one of the many delis and coffee shops lining the sidewalk, but waved to hail a cab.
    “Your chariot, my lady. I hope you’re ready for an adventure.” He leaned close enough for her to breathe in the spicy aftershave he wore. The low intimate dip in his voice made her look at him twice.
    Made her hope.
    It just went to show that a girl never knew where her path would take her. Or when Mr. Right might walk into her life. Was it Sam? She would have to wait and see.

Chapter Five
    T he streets of Seattle crept by as they inched through the crowded downtown. Kirby felt small on the street at the base of so many tall buildings reaching for the cloud-strewn sky. Where was he taking her? She was going to enjoy every minute of this adventure.
    “This is it.” Sam shoved a handful of ones at the driver, climbed out and held the door for her.
    The wind was cool and briny from glittering Puget Sound. The sidewalks were busy with commuters hurrying from their parking garages or their bus stops to one of the many skyscrapers that marched through the core of the city. Thousands of windows blazed with the golden light of the new day.
    “Hurry, we can make the light.” Sam touched her elbow, guiding her in the direction of the corner