A Mother at Heart by Carolyne Aarsen

Author:Carolyne Aarsen
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2000-04-07T16:00:00+00:00

Miriam closed the lid of the hamper and turned, just as Jake moved to pick it up. She stepped aside and watched as he put it in the car. He came back, and she turned to politely thank him, only to find him staring down at her, his expression unreadable.

“Have a good evening, Miriam,” he said quietly.

His deep voice touched a memory. He towered, overpowering, his eyes delving deep into her, searching. He shifted his weight, coming closer to her. For a heart-stopping moment, Miriam thought he might kiss her, the way he would have ten years ago.

Then he stepped back, making way for her to pass. She felt an illogical twinge of disappointment, then walked past him to Taryn.

“I’ll be home in about an hour,” Jake said behind her. “If Tilly isn’t there, do you mind waiting?”

“No,” she said without turning. “I don’t mind.”

A beat of silence, then, “Thanks so much. For everything.”

She chanced a look over her shoulder, but avoided his eyes. “You’re welcome,” she returned, just loud enough for him to hear.

“Bye, Daddy. I’ll see you later,” Taryn called out.

By the time they got in the car, Jake was in the tractor. As they drove away, Taryn turned around to watch her father as they drove away from each other.

Tilly wasn’t at the farmhouse by the time they got there, so Miriam ran the bathtub for Taryn and helped her get ready for bed, listening to the child chatter about the cows, the baby calves and how much she loved her daddy.

A few minutes later, Taryn was kneeling on her bed, pulling a scrapbook from under her pillow. “This is my mommy’s book,” Taryn said, eagerly holding it out to Miriam. “You want to look? There are pictures of you in it.”

Miriam hesitated.

“Please look,” Taryn said, pulling Miriam down onto the bed. She set the book on her lap and started turning the pages.

Miriam watched Taryn’s small fingers quickly flip through until she found the place she wanted. Miriam wasn’t eager to see what Paula might have put in the book, yet it held a strange fascination. Why did Paula want to know what her friend was up to? Why did she go to the bother of cutting out pictures of her husband’s old girlfriend? Miriam wasn’t naive enough to think that Paula kept them because of some sentimental attachment. The last phone conversation they had ever had was full of Paula’s crowing over the victory she had achieved.

She had gotten Jake to take her to the prom.

“Here. They start here,” Taryn said with a note of triumph.

Miriam looked down at a picture of herself on the arm of a well-known actor. She was leaning against him, clad in a shimmering sheath she had taken on a loan from a struggling designer.

Opposite it and on the next page were advertisements she had done. These were followed by more of her at a charity function escorted by a well-known fashion designer.

Miriam felt a moment of shame, thinking that Taryn, this sweet innocent child, had seen this part of her life.

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