Project Love (Cascade Brides Series) (11 page)

“
It's an under-appreciated musical era, I assure you.”

“
Where's your DVD collection?”

“
I don't have that either. I don't usually have much
time for movies.”

She regarded him, her gaze assessing. “Comic books?
Are you a secret fan boy?”

“
I might be a nerd, but I am not a geek.”

Her brows went up. “There's a distinction?”

“
Most definitely.”

Charity sighed. “Well, I'm not seeing anything that
tells me you're not who you say you are.”

“
I'm WYSIWYG.”

“
Huh?”

“
What You See Is What You Get.”

“
Ah.”

“
Anyway, life's too short to be someone else.”

Charity crossed her arms and looked away, but not before
he saw her expression cloud. “Uh, do you want something to drink?”

When she turned back, she had a slight smile on her
face. “Sure.”

Daniel pulled a pitcher of water from the refrigerator
and filled two glasses. He added fresh lemon slices, figuring they'd
get a little bump from the citrus. He took the glasses and led the
way into the living room, placing them on the coffee table next to
two file folders. Charity followed and perched on the edge of the
couch. He joined her, leaning back against the cushions.

“
Are you sure you're up to this?” he said. “It's a
big job and I'm going into it flat-footed.”

“
What do you mean?” she asked, propping her chin in
her hand.

“
Well, I've helped before, but I've never run such a
big part of a project.” He opened one folder and motioned to the
first piece of paper showing a bullet point list. “These are the
main goals. To encourage community involvement, we'll need to make
updates to the website. And someone has donated money for newspaper
and TV ads announcing the event. We'll be sending out mailers
announcing the event to the past sponsors. There will be a community
open-house at the care home. The biggest part will be a dinner and
silent auction for the participants. That's the first week of
November.”

Charity scanned the list. “Sounds doable. Tell me more
about the open-house.”

“
That's where we contact groups like Boy Scouts, Big
Brother, church groups and the like to visit the home. Hopefully it
not only raises awareness, but encourages connections between the
public and the people at the care home, patients and staff alike.”

“
Why don't you let me handle that part? And in
addition to encouraging them to visit, they might want to do small
fund-raisers on their own like penny drives and bake sales.” She
looked up at him. “I can also get the website part done. And if I
have any trouble, Holly will know some artsy people who do web
design.”

“
That'd be great. In fact, I have an idea to include
Holly even more. Tell me what you think.”

“
Let's hear it.”

“
Well, you know what kind of art she does? Would any
of it be suitable for wall art for the care home? Or maybe to have up
for sale at the auction?”

Charity nodded slowly. “While her stuff can be a bit
abstract, it's also colorful and cheerful...despite her grumpy
attitude.”

“
Great, I'll come up with some guidelines for what I
want. Float the idea and see if she bites, but don't tell her of my
involvement.”

She furrowed her brows. “Beyond the fact that it's
your idea?”

“
I want to finance that part of the project. It could
also serve as a way to draw her out of—”

“
Her bedroom?” Charity said, grinning.

“
I guess that's one way to put it.”

“
You better stock up on chai tea because that's about
the only thing she does come out of her room for.”

Daniel made a note. “Chai tea.” He grimaced. “Have
you ever tasted the stuff? Yuck.”

“
This coming from the guy who drinks black coffee.”

“
I think we're making good progress,” he said,
changing the subject.

“
What's in the other folder?”

“
It's just a copy for you to take home.”

Charity opened it and shuffled through the papers.
“Okay, I wanted to make sure you had the web address here.”

“
I tried to make sure all pertinent information was
included.”

“
You're very thorough.” She touched a finger to her
chin. “Speaking of that, do you have a computer?”

Daniel got up and retrieved his laptop from where it was
stored in the entertainment center.

“
We could pull up the care home website. It will save
a step later when I talk to Holly. I don't have a computer at home.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I have to use the one at the library.”

“
You're welcome to take mine home with you.”

Charity regarded him with disbelief. “That's okay. I'm
sure you need it.”

“
This is my personal one. I have a work laptop that I
leave on site.”

“
Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I have a feeling you can get your stuff
done faster with it. I end up getting bogged down trying to find what
I'm looking for.” He powered the laptop on and once it was booted,
he typed in the care home website.

Charity leaned over his arm to have a look. “Okay,
this helps. Do you know who the page admin is?”

“
I could find out and get you that info.”

“
Okay. There doesn't appear to be a link for the
fund-raiser. That will need to go up right away. There's no point in
advertising if people can't get the info instantly.”

“
Make sense.”

“
Plus I'll need access to make changes to the site.”

“
Got it. Anything else?”

She flashed her eyes up at him then reached out and
typed in a different web address. Suddenly his face filled the
screen.

“
What is
that?
”

“
It's your Facebook fan page.”

“
I thought you were joking, Charity.”

“
Nope. Look here.” She scrolled down through the
comments section. “Women want to date or marry you.” She stopped,
then quickly scrolled back up the page. “Or worse. Anyway, I
thought you'd like to see your little corner of the web.”

“
Where did they get the pictures?”

“
Probably pulled them from the news sites.”

“
Wow, the camera really does add ten pounds.”

She swatted his arm. “Silly. You look great.”

“
I don't understand how a transmission over the
airwaves can cause celebrity.” He rubbed his nose. “I mean, I'm
in public all the time. No one proposes marriage to me then. No one's
ever mobbed me at the coffee shop.”

“
I keep them at bay with my Evil Eye.”

He smiled then blew out a breath. “People are crazy.”

“
Yep. So do you have
a
personal
Facebook
page?”

“
No. Do you?”

She shook her head.

“
I wonder if either of your sisters do.”

Charity lowered her eyes. “I, uh, don't know.”

“
Have you ever tried to search them up?”

When she looked up at him he knew he was treading on
thin ice. Might as well take the plunge. “Are their last names
Conrad also?”

Charity nodded slowly, her lips compressed.

Daniel quickly typed 'Faith Conrad' into the search box.
A long list of results appeared. “Let's narrow it down to Oregon
and see what happens.” A moment later a shorter list appeared. “Any
of these look familiar?”

Charity sighed and leaned forward. After going through
each photo, she shook her head.

Daniel went back to the long list. Nothing. Next he
tried Hope's name. Same result. He looked at Charity. If he was a
betting man, he'd say she was relieved, though she tried to hide it.
Which meant now wasn't the time to suggest a Google search.

He checked his watch. They'd been on the computer for an
hour. Time for a change of pace. “Thanks for humoring me.”

She offered a tight smile in response.

“
Do you want to get lunch?”

Charity nodded. Her stomach rumbled as if in agreement.

“
And I was thinking it'd be fun to go to Multnomah
Falls after that.”

“
I haven't been there in a long time,” she said
wistfully.

“
It'll probably be crowded on a Saturday but there are
other lesser falls we can hit, too.”

Charity stood, apparently eager to get away from the
computer. “Sounds great.”

Chapter Nine

Charity stared out the car window, feeling as if she'd
dodged a bullet. What would've happened if either of her sisters had
a Facebook page? She could almost guarantee Daniel would've wanted
her to make contact right then. But, thank goodness, her sisters were
as private as she. Or maybe they didn't want to find her any more
than she wanted to find them. The thought made her unaccountably
angry.

She straightened in her seat and glanced at Daniel.

“
How does that same deli sound? I'm kind of going
through a turkey sandwich phase.”

His words broke the self-imposed tension. “I'm
wondering if you only have sandwich phases.”

He made a face. “Last month it was the roast beef.”

“
Wow.”

He chuckled. “Honest, we can go anywhere.”

“
No, the deli sounds good.”

After lunch, Daniel drove to the Historic Columbia River
Highway. The old road was arched over with firs and red and yellow
vine maple trees. The road was narrow and curvy in places, originally
built for Model T cars. The stone border was covered in bright green
moss and through gaps in the trees, the river sparkled like diamonds.

“
How often do you come here?” Charity asked,
preferring conversation to her grim thoughts.

“
Just once after I moved here. To familiarize myself
with the area.”

“
What do you mean? Were you just hitting all the
tourist spots?”

“
Well, yeah.”

“
By yourself?”

Daniel looked over at her with a quizzical expression.
“Yes. It gives an edge when applying with a big company like my
firm. While engineering is a competitive field, they don't always
just want the first brainiac. Especially in a city like Portland,
companies want their employees to be committed to and involved in the
community.”

“
Or at least offer lip service to the notion.”

He grinned. “Cynical and yet also true.”

“
I doubt that's why you started going to church
though.”

“
No, I looked for a church home before I did anything
else. The fact that they had a care home ministry just made getting
involved in the community convenient. At least that's how it
started.”

Charity's expression softened. “Was it boring making
the tourists rounds alone?”

“
Not boring exactly. But having you along is a
definite improvement.”

“
Glad to help.”

He grinned at her quip.

A forest service sign heralded their arrival to Bridal
Veil Falls. Daniel pulled into the small parking area and turned off
the car. Charity climbed out and took a deep breath of the brisk
autumn air. Her lungs felt clear and she was glad she didn't need to
sneak in a puff from her inhaler.

“
This weather is incredible,” Daniel said, holding
out his hand.

Charity took it, gratified at the feeling of his fingers
around hers.

“
Last time I was here it was raining.”

“
Are you serious?” She giggled at the image of him
tromping joylessly through the rain to visit each tourist stop in
order to impress a potential boss. “Weather like this is what's
called a five mountain day. No clouds means the five highest peaks
can be seen from Portland.”

“
I've heard that before. Are the Sisters peaks part of
that?”

“
Depends on the direction. Sometimes it includes
Washington peaks. But if we're strictly talking Oregon mountains,
then yes.”

“
I wonder what your mother would've named any
additional siblings.”

Charity arched a brow. “Let's hope that she had more
sense than to name siblings Ranier and Three Fingered Jack.”

Daniel laughed. “I don't know. There's potential
there.”

They headed up the trail that led to the falls. As
expected there were only a few cars in the vicinity as the area was
less accessible. They had to hike up a path strewn with moss-slick
boulders and ankle-twisting gaps between the rocks. Hanging onto
Daniel made it easier. But then again he was wearing actual trail
shoes. Somehow she couldn't imagine him wearing regular shoes on a
mild hike. He completed the look with PeeDee jeans and a Columbia
Sportswear jacket. The made-in-Missouri boy was definitely shifting
his loyalties to his new hometown.