Silvereye's Hummingbird (Carol's Story)

By Paula Freda

Light-hearted, feisty, clean, wholesome, romance novella for hearts of all ages.
When Alouette, a disabled orphan, entered her life and stole her heart, Carol needed a husband in order to adopt the child. Who better to ask than ever faithful, loyal Herbert. Well, not so easy, my dear. "I'll think about it," he told her. Not at all the reply she expected.
Between his indifferent reply preceded by Evan's rejections, Carol's ego was in tatters. Served her right, Herb thought. But the thought gave him no pleasure. He loved her, faults and all. He couldn't recall a day when he didn't love her. He'd be a fool not to take advantage of this opportunity. It might be his last. As Alouette's father, Carol's affection for the child might over time extend to him. And, at last on intimate terms, tenderly, with patience, he might turn her friendship into love.
EXCERPT: Carol closed her eyes, and for the first time in months, felt an unfettered sense of joy and expectation, so much so she barely felt someone settling into the empty seat beside her, until the flight attendant stopped the beverage cart at her row, and asked, "What would you like to drink, Miss, Sir?
"W-what?" Carol opened her eyes. A man sat beside her.
"Cat, would you like a beverage?"
"Herb?!" She stared, gaping. "What the—
Before she could utter a startled expletive, Herb glanced up at the flight attendant. "A brandy for the lady, a scotch for me, please."
His reference to her as a lady, kept her from using the expletive in front of the flight attendant. She controlled her outburst until the woman had moved to the next row. "What are you doing here?" she exclaimed.
"Your parents thought it best waiting to tell you I'm their choice to head their legal department at the new branch, once you and I both approve its location."
"Wasn't that supposed to be my job?" Carol asked through clenched teeth.
"It is," Herb said, grinning. "You're Public Relations, and I take care of the legal details."
"Oh," she smiled, green eyes metaphorically flinging daggers.
"Your father wanted the best for his over-seas branch. And we're the best in his firm."
Carol gritted her teeth and glanced around her. All the seats were taken. For an instant she entertained the ludicrous thought of locating a parachute and jumping off the plane. She opted for leaning back, staring straight ahead tight-lipped, determined the moment she disembarked, to use her open return ticket to immediately fly back home."
"Carol, look, your dislike of me aside, your father needs our expertise. For his sake, let's cooperate, do our jobs to the best of our ability, and once the new branch is running smoothly, someone else can take over for you.
Carol gazed at Herb, surprised. He'd actually used her given name. And his tone sounded earnest. It was no secret how much he respected her father, and how beholden he felt for Mark employing him straight out of law school. She recognized that her parents had meant her no harm by conveniently not mentioning she would be working with Herb, realizing, had she known, she'd never have accepted the job.
Carol sighed, some of her anger subsiding. "All right," she relented. "For my parents' sake, and the new branch. But I'm warning you, one taunt, one tease, so help me—"
"Thank you, Carol." He smiled pleasantly. She remembered the young boy who followed her about as she played in the garden behind the house and the grounds surrounding the estate. Sometimes, when no grownup was looking, she'd climb over the stone fence that bordered the property, and manage to part-climb, part slide down to the banks of the Hudson River. Herb was pudgy at that early age, but he stumbled persistently behind her, most of the time rolling downhill, arriving at her side, bruised and disheveled. He had the preposterous idea that she needed his protection, so much so that as she and Herb grew, her parents expected it of him. He became her chaper

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paula Freda
• Release date: Feb 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311489029

Paula Freda

About the AuthorDorothy Paula Freda, is also known under her pen names Paula Freda and Marianne Dora Rose. Herbooks range from Fiction and Non-fiction Adventure, Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Poetry, Articles, Essays and How-to-Write Instructional complete with Lessons and optional assignments.Homemaker, mother of two grown sons, and former off-the-desk publisher of a family-oriented print small press, (1984 thru 1999), The Pink Chameleon, that she now publishes on line, Paula was raised by her grandmother and mother, and has been writing for as long as she can remember. Even before she could set pencil to paper, she would spin her stories in the recording booths in the Brooklyn Coney Island Arcades for a quarter per 3-minute record. She states, "I love the English language, love words and seeing them on display, typed and alive. A romantic at heart, I write simply and emotionally. One of my former editors kindly described my work, '...her pieces are always deep, gentle and refreshing....'" Paula further states, "My stories are sensitive, deeply emotional, sensual when appropriate, yet non-graphic, family fare, pageturners. My hope is that my writing will bring entertainment and uplift the human spirit, bring a smile to your face and your soul, and leave you filled with a generous amount of hope."

Book preview

Silvereye's Hummingbird

(Carol's Story)

by

Paula Freda

Silvereye's Hummingbird

(Carol's Story)

by Paula Freda

© January 25, 2016 by Dorothy P. Freda

(Pseudonym - Paula Freda)

Smashword Edition

Bookcover photo Licensed by Dorothy Paula Freda

from iStockphoto

Bookcover photo of Silvereye from Wikipedia by Noodle snacks licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Bookcover photo of Hummingbird from Wikipedia by Charlesjsharp (Sharp Photography, sharpphotography) is

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof. This is a work of fiction; names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Dedication

With thanks to my Dear Lord Jesus and his Blessed Mother Mary whose strength, guidance, and her Holy Rosary, are my anchor in this troubled world, I dedicate this book to my husband, Domenick, whose love and loyalty over the past 46 years have kept my dreams and view of the romantic alive and vibrant.

CHAPTER ONE

Hey, Cat, what are you sulking about now?

Carol turned on the bench under the latticed arbor, and sneered at Herbert. As if you cared!

She had no idea how lovely she appeared to him, waves of dark amber-blonde hair falling softly across straight slender shoulders surrounded by the arbor's roses in full bloom. He wasn't about to tell her, either.

He shook his head, exasperated. Are you still moping over losing Evan? Although he was never yours in the first place.

Vibrant green eyes sparked at him. He was mine. Always!

Herb chuckled. Too bad he didn't know before he met the love of his life.

He saw her sneer intensify, the sparks in her eyes flame. A splash of sadness doused the fire, making him regret his hurtful remark. It wasn't her fault how beautiful and desirable she appeared to most, except to the one man whose heart she'd failed to capture.

Herbert sat down beside her. Carol slid a good foot away to the corner of the whitewood bench.

I'm sorry, he said, respecting their distance, that remark was uncalled for. I didn't mean to pour salt on your wounded heart. But you set yourself up for the broken heart. Evan never gave you any reason to believe he was interested in you more than a family friend.

I'd have changed that if it wasn't for Miss Twisty Piggy Tails, Carol rasped.

No, I doubt that. Evan was already in love with Julie, long before you met him.

Carol's lips twisted with another sneer.

Don't do that, Herbert told her. It makes you look ugly.

Her eyes widened with shock. Go away! You're always insulting me.

He almost apologized again, but thought better of it. What good would it do? What he'd said was true. She had such beautiful lips, made for smiling, not sneering.

Everything about her was beautiful, Herbert mused. Perfection incarnate. Except for one thing. She was self-absorbed and self-centered.

He'd known her since grade school. A nice girl, with good principles, and a kind heart. Her parents were good people and passed on to her virtues of respectability, and sensitivity to others, including her sister and two brothers. The only shortcoming he could blame on her parents, Cybelle and Mark Carlson, was that they doted on her, because she was so beautiful and spontaneous. Mark's position in their society, heritage, and smart handling of his monetary affairs, assured his family never lacked for anything they needed. He loved his wife Cybelle, sixteen years his junior, with a passion equaled only by hers for him.

Go away, Carol repeated.

A sweet, gentle girl, Herbert mused. Sometime during her teens, Carol had changed. Herbert suspected that change began the day she met Evan.

Unfortunately, I must go away — for a few hours. My boss, your dear father, is sending me to interview a new client who is seeking a patent for a technologically advanced washer/dryer he claims will also fold the dried wash — a housewife's and house-husband's dream.

Carol glanced sideways at Herbert, arching finely shaped darker blonde eyebrows with skepticism. Oh, come off it!

No, it's true. Something about a special dial selection that allows hot air to blow in a certain direction to accommodate the garment's seam lines. He claims to have created a prototype and admits the invention will probably need tweaking by a backer willing to foot the money for further research and development.

And Dad thinks this claim is worth investigating?

That's why he is sending his most trusted employee to do the leg work. As soon as he'd made that statement, Herbert realized Carol would think him smug. He hadn't meant to sound self-aggrandizing. He was only stating