A Family's Hope: A Sweet Romance (Love in Millars Crossing Book 3) by Carolyne Aarsen

A Family's Hope: A Sweet Romance (Love in Millars Crossing Book 3) by Carolyne Aarsen

Author:Carolyne Aarsen [Aarsen, Carolyne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Misty Ridge Publishing
Published: 2021-02-23T22:00:00+00:00


Chapter Ten

Janie gingerly worked her way across the porch and into the house. She stopped at the couch, picked up the bag of soggy corn and brought it to the kitchen, her ankle shooting pain up her leg at every shuffling step.

She turned a blind eye to the baked-on tomato sauce on the stove and the smears of flour still evident on the floor and counter. Later.

Autumn was already in her pajamas, standing on a footstool by the sink when Janie managed her way upstairs. Todd was squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush.

“Now make sure you get all the way to the back,” he said as he handed his little sister the toothbrush.

Gracious, he sounded just like her, Janie thought as she braced herself in the doorway.

He looked up and grinned at her. “Luke told me we had to help you. So I thought I would help by getting Autumn ready for bed.”

“Is Suzie in her room?”

Todd nodded, frowning as he watched his little sister brushing her teeth with one hand, clutching her bear with the other. “All the way back. Just like Mom always does.” He looked up at his mother. “I’m doing it right, aren’t I, Mom?”

His look of worry and the concern in his voice was like an arrow to her heart. He sounded exactly like she did when she was younger, trying to make sure she did everything exactly the way her mother told her.

“You’re doing just great,” she assured him.

“Luke said we had to be extra helpful. Because you can’t walk around as fast as you usually do.” The little frown in his forehead deepened. “You’re going to be okay, aren’t you?”

“I’ll be fine.” She was a mother. It was her job to remove that worry line from his forehead. But the throbbing in her ankle gave the lie to her words.

Who takes care of a mom when she’s hurt? she thought as self-pity hovered, waiting to move in. She quashed the emotion and soldiered on.

She walked with the kids to their bedroom, and as Autumn jumped into her bed, Todd pulled out his book.

“Can I read for a while?” he asked, sitting cross-legged on his bed.

“Just a little while. Autumn needs her sleep,” Janie said as she eased herself onto the edge of Autumn’s bed. She tucked the blankets as best as she could around Autumn and her ever-present bear, then stroked her hair back from her face. “So kids, tell me two good things and two bad things about today,” Janie said, following their usual bedtime ritual.

“I have lots and lots of good things,” Autumn said, her grin edged with toothpaste. “So does Berry Bear.”

“Tell me two,” Janie said, wiping the smear from her daughter’s lip.

“I got to look at pictures. And I got to help set the table. And Berry Bear and I watched Cooper play with a Frisbee.”

“We watched him over the fence,” Todd added with a chuckle. “He likes to catch the Frisbee, but sometimes it hits him in the nose.”

“And then he doesn’t know where it went,” Autumn said.



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