Mary's Blessing by Lena Nelson Dooley

Author:Lena Nelson Dooley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Charisma House
Published: 2012-06-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

GOOD MORNING, DEARIE.” Mrs. Childress’s cheerful voice announced her entrance into Pa’s room.

Please, please, please, don’t ask me any questions. Mary didn’t want to face the ones in her own mind, much less those from other people. If she had to talk about Daniel not coming to take her home, she knew she’d burst into tears. And she didn’t want Pa to know what had happened. He needed to concentrate on getting well, not worry about her and Daniel.

“Did you sleep well?” The doctor’s wife set a tray on the table near the bed.

Mary forced a smile to her face before she looked at the woman. “Yes, after I finally fell asleep.”

“And just look at your father. He’s awake too.” Mrs. Childress clasped her hands and smiled down at her patient.

Mary whipped her attention toward him. His eyes were open, and he looked more alert than he had yesterday. She rushed to the bed and dropped into the chair beside him.

“Good morning, Pa.” She brushed her lips across his forehead, noticing the coolness of his skin. Not a hint of an infection. Dr. Childress would be as pleased as she was.

“I love you, Mary.” Her father’s gaze remained on her eyes.

The words sounded foreign coming from him, yet they fed a hunger deep inside her. She could almost taste the sweetness they conveyed.

“Of course you do.” Mary pushed his dark hair back from his face. He needed a haircut. She wondered how long it would be before he could go home. When he did, she would need to cut his hair right away. “And I love you too.”

Relief lifted the ends of his mouth into a smile. Did he still think she hadn’t forgiven him for the way he’d withdrawn from them after Ma was gone? How could she settle his mind about that?

“Well, now.” Mrs. Childress came close to the bed as well. “I do believe the two of you are ready for breakfast. Kenneth, would you like to sit in the chair again?”

“Yes. Must get strong enough to go home.” He tried to shift by himself, then fell back against the pillow, releasing a deep breath that sounded like an angry sigh.

“Be careful.” The doctor’s wife slid her arm under his shoulders and helped him sit up in bed. “You still need a bit of help, but your strength will come back quicker when you start eating more.”

Sharing breakfast with her father took away some of the sting of Daniel’s abandonment. During lulls in their conversation, fragments of the argument they had yesterday rebuked her. She needed some way to put things right between them. But how could she do that if he didn’t even come see her?

While she ate her oatmeal, she also helped her father with his. Mrs. Childress bustled about straightening the room.

“When Clyde returns we’ll get your father cleaned up and back in bed.” She fluffed the pillow and gave the crisp white sheet another tug.

A gentle knock on the door drew Mary’s gaze toward the opening.

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.