Macomber, Debbie by Morning Comes Softly

Author:Morning Comes Softly [Softly, Morning Comes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-09-24T18:35:11+00:00

Mary hurriedly unloaded the groceries from the back of the pickup and got dinner started. She’d stayed in town far longer than she intended. Although Tilly had gotten ill, Mary had enjoyed their time together. She wanted to learn what she could about Lee and Janice without asking Travis or the children. Mrs. Morgan would have been a good choice, but she didn’t want Beth Ann overhearing the details of her parents’ accident.

Mary liked Tilly. The waitress was a little rough around the edges, but her heart was as big as her ready smile.

Mary was busy peeling potatoes when the school bus arrived. Jim, Scotty, and Beth Ann raced toward the house like bear cubs. Hearing the sound of their laughter, Mary stood in the doorway smiling as the three tore down the driveway, their feet stomping the ground in their hurry to reach home.

Since Jim was the oldest, he reached the porch first. Panting, he paused and pressed his hands against his knees while he caught his breath.

Scotty wasn’t all that far behind Jim, and Beth Ann followed, looking disgusted with her two older brothers. She swung her backpack from her shoulder as though to suggest that if she hadn’t been carrying the extra weight, she might have won the footrace.

“Are there any more cookies left?” Scotty asked between gasps.

“Lots. You can have two each. Put away your school things and do your chores.”

The three piled into the house, and Mary returned to the pile of potatoes. Jim grabbed his cookies and headed for the barn, but Scotty and Beth Ann chose to eat theirs at the table.

“I drew a picture in school today,” Beth Ann said. “Wanna see it?”

“I’d love to,” Mary said, wiping her hands dry. She followed Beth Ann to her bedroom. The kindergartner sat on the edge of her bed and carefully unzipped her backpack. After sorting through several folded papers, she found what she was looking for. She was grinning proudly when she handed it to Mary.

“Why, Beth Ann, this is very good.” Mary wasn’t entirely sure what the five-year-old had drawn. Five stick figures marked the page with a row of colored flowers.

“It’s our family,” Beth Ann explained. “Look, there’s Uncle Travis.” She pointed to the tallest stick figure. Mary studied the sketch and realized what looked like a doughnut was actually a cowboy hat. “That’s you,” Beth Ann explained, pointing to the second figure in a skirt. “And Jim and Scotty and me.”

A family. Mary’s chest tightened with emotion. She’d never been one who cried easily. She hated to cry, hated the way the moisture felt on her face, the way her nose got all red and started to run.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, savoring this feeling of belonging, of being a part of Beth Ann’s world. “Let’s put it on the refrigerator, okay?”

“Okay.”

Mary continued to sniffle as she finished peeling the potatoes. It was such a small thing, yet it meant so much to her. Until she’d come to Montana her heart had felt dry and barren, parched with loneliness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.