Hidden Blessing by Leona Karr

Author:Leona Karr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2002-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

As the wildfire continued into the second week, daily anxiety about the spreading devastation lay heavily on the hearts of the displaced families. The small television in the sitting room kept them abreast of the growing number of acres being lost every day. They collected each evening to pray and listen to Beth read from her well-worn Bible.

Shannon felt at peace during the evening devotions but failed to summon any kind of miraculous conversion. She wished somehow she could tap into Ward’s strong faith. He seemed to have enough to uplift everybody in the house.

All the men except Grandpa left the ranch each morning after chores so they could help out in the threatened areas. The women shared the cooking and household chores with Beth—all but Shannon. As she had suspected, her job was watching the two girls and Kenny.

“She draws great pictures,” the little boy told Tara and Gloria as they walked to the stable to check on Calico and Princess.

Tara proudly led the way to Calico’s stall. As the three children hung on the stall gate, the little girl gave them an enthusiastic lecture on the caring and raising of young horses. Shannon hid a smile, wishing Ward could have been there to hear his daughter repeat his teachings.

When Tara noticed the water bucket was half empty, she said, “We have to fill it up.”

“No, we don’t,” Shannon said firmly. There was no way she was going to let the little girl open the stall to fill the water bucket or anything else. “Your father will take care of it when he gets home.”

“Calico is thirsty,” she said, setting her mouth in a stubborn line. “And I know how to carry water to the stalls.”

“I’m sure you do. And when your father does the chores tonight, you can help him. There’s still plenty of water in the bucket.” Shannon ignored her pugnacious scowl.

Kenny wanted to know all about the other horses. “Maybe there’s one I could ride,” he suggested hopefully.

“I guess old slowpoke Betsy would be all right for you,” Tara said, obviously still out of sorts. “Shannon rode her, and she doesn’t know anything about horses.”

Shannon hid a smile. Obviously, Tara was no longer her champion because she wouldn’t let the little girl have her way. When they got to the house, Shannon agreed to draw some pictures for them to color. She sat with the children outside at the picnic table, and she appeased Tara by sketching a young horse in a nearby corral.

“I’ll do one of Princess and Calico later on,” she promised, secretly pleased at the way she was able to capture the essence of the sleek, graceful Appaloosa.

The afternoon passed pleasantly, but Shannon was relieved when it was time to collect their things and go inside. Kenny and Gloria bounded upstairs, and Tara disappeared into the kitchen. Shannon decided to join the Winterses in the sitting room to watch the latest report on the fire.

As the horrible orange and red inferno blazed on

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