Wings of a Dove by Elaine Barbieri

sat erect, as Mama had taught her to do, her chin raised proudly, but somehow she could not make herself smile.
        Swallowing tensely, Allie watched as a young couple approached little Roger. The man gently touched Roger's tousled yellow hair as his wife knelt beside the boy and started to speak. When Roger raised his clear blue eyes to her, the woman's face creased into a tearful smile that said more than words. The flushed young woman enfolded Roger in her arms and hugged him warmly. Allie knew instinctively there was not a possibility in the world that the smiling couple would leave without him.
        She watched as the man spoke with Mr. Smith, who then said a few words to Roger. Within a few minutes, the papers were signed and Roger, no more than seven years old, left with his new family.
        Then it was Violet Marks's turn. A slender red-haired woman approached Violet almost immediately after entering the room. She touched Violet's hair and whispered something to her, a small smile on her face. Allie was startled to see tears spring into Violet's eyes, and for the first time she felt a flash of warmth for the vain, selfish older girl. She supposed Violet would not be so annoying in a household with that red-haired woman and her smiling husband to love her.
        And then it was Harry's turn… and Robert's. Gathering her courage, Allie finally looked toward the far corner where the older boys had gathered. As she had suspected, several serious-looking farmers were talking to Delaney. Her heart sinking, she looked away. She knew she would not be able to bear watching him leave.
        And then it was Margaret's turn to go, and John's. Allie raised her chin a notch higher.
        Unsmiling, Delaney answered yet another question posed to him by the tall, sober-faced farmer to his right. He was getting impatient, but he knew it behooved him to remain polite and respectful during the man's inquisition.
        Eyeing the first farmer intently, Delaney attempted to see the man behind the full, sun-reddened face. Without a trace of conceit, Delaney had known it would not be difficult to find a family to take him in. The farmers were all looking for the same thing, cheap labor for their farms, and he had no quarrel with that as long as they upheld their part of the bargain. Delaney was also aware that he was exactly what most of them wanted. He was young and strong and of an age where he could be expected to pull the weight of a fully grown man. He was intelligent and had gotten a primary education beyond that of the average boy in their group. He also knew that he was good-looking, and he had taken pains to present a good appearance.
        Unconsciously drawing his young, broad-shouldered frame up more stiffly, Delaney listened as the first farmer openly discussed him with Mr. Smith. He saw a flicker of doubt move across the man's florid face when prison was mentioned. The other farmers were cautiously watching the man's expression, and Delaney had no doubt that if he did not take him, the second or the third farmer would. He wasn't worried. He knew he could take care of himself wherever he ended up.
        Delaney cast a surreptitious glance toward the opposite corner of the room. Milling couples momentarily blocked his view, and he felt a flash of impatience before a well-rounded farmer stepped to one side, giving him the view he sought. Sitting in the corner totally ignored, her chin bravely raised as it had been since she entered the room was Allie Pierce. An indefinable emotion tugged at Delaney's gut and he frowned. At an awkward stage, she was neither an appealing little girl, nor old enough to perform a woman's tasks on a farm, and she looked so frail. In this crowd of boisterous and active children, she was easily overlooked.
        Suddenly noticing a couple linger near Allie, Delaney watched as the woman turned a hopeful glance back toward her husband, only to have the man shake his head