No Knight Needed Read Online Free Page B

comfort, and yet that’s all she wanted to give him. There was a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth, but she sensed a deep sadness from him as well.
    Clare wanted to hold out her hand to him, to offer him the kind touch she sensed he craved, but then his gaze met hers, and the vulnerability vanished from his eyes. He nodded, a satisfied gleam in his eyes of a job well done.
    And it was. She smiled at him and mouthed her thank you. He flashed a real smile and winked, a special look only for her that made her belly tighten.
    Then he turned away and stepped out of the truck to help the other teenagers, who were scrambling for their gear.
    As she hugged her daughter and watched Griffin make his way toward the kids, getting them organized with a few commands of encouragement and reassurance, she knew she owed him a debt she would never, ever be able to repay.
    No matter who he turned out to be.
    * * *
    Wright & Son was as busy as always on a Sunday morning.
    Normally, Clare loved walking into the local general store and seeing half the town streaming through its doors to get a morning coffee, or gathering around the wooden tables for a gossip session over breakfast and fishing poles. She loved the scent of coffee, freshly-baked muffins and hot chocolate, and she usually enjoyed the rowdy discussions that almost overwhelmed the store. But on this particular morning, after last night’s stressful escapade in the mountains, she suspected her head was going to explode from the noise the moment she stepped inside.
    All she wanted was to sit on her own back porch with coffee and silence, so she could figure out how to deal with the terror of last night, the unexpectedness of Griffin, and her daughter’s illicit camping adventure. But people were expecting her, so there would be no quiet Sunday morning for her.
    Balancing her stack of pastry boxes, Clare pushed open the door with her shoulder, and a five-year-old boy with a shock of red hair ducked under her arm and sprinted out onto the porch. “Sampson!” The top box on her stack started to slide, and she yelped, trying to catch it.
    “Got it, sweetie!” Ophelia Wright, the wife of the current proprietor, swept up the wayward box. Her short gray hair was tucked neatly behind her ears, and the necklace of the day was blue and yellow sea glass with driftwood bits mixed in. “We’ve been getting requests for your cupcakes all morning. Glad you finally got here.”
    “Morning, Ophelia,” Clare said to Ophelia’s retreating back as the old but very solid woman carted the box of Clare’s homemade cupcakes back toward the deli. The cupcakes were supposed to be located in the bakery section, but Ophelia always took some for her deli and forced them upon whoever she thought needed one, free of charge, of course.
    The fact that Clare got no money for those cupcakes? Not a concern. Ophelia figured that the town’s estate planning attorney could afford a few freebie cupcakes to those in need.
    Sadly, Ophelia was not quite as right as Clare wished.
    “Clare!” Beckoning from one of the tables by the front window was Clare’s best friend and office mate, Astrid Monroe. Astrid had moved to Birch Crossing only three years ago, but their connection had been instant, filling both their lives with a beautiful friendship so strong that Clare felt like she’d know Astrid forever. Her brown hair was cascading in all directions, held at bay only by a colorful scarf twisted artistically through her curls.
    Ah…relief was on its way. Clare grinned, her whole body relaxing at the sight of her friend. There was nothing like coffee with the girls to keep her head from actually spinning off. “I’ll be over in a sec.” Nodding greetings at assorted patrons, Clare worked her way through the crowd to the front register.
    Sitting on his high stool, his ancient black ball cap on his head, was Norm Wright, the second generation of Wright men to anchor Wright & Son. Norm was leaning