Miranda by Margery Scott

Author:Margery Scott [Scott, Margery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clover Ridge Press

Guilt filled Miranda. She had meant well. She’d hoped a small gift would make it a little easier for the children to accept her. And for a few minutes, she’d thought she was making progress. She’d even seen a half-smile on Hope’s face when she’d chosen a cookie from the baking tray.

How could she ever learn to take care of the children properly? It seemed everything she’d done so far was wrong. Her mother’s words popped into her brain. “Honestly, Miranda, you can’t be trusted to do anything right, can you?” How many times had she heard those words? It seemed she was still useless.

The door slammed just as Ellie tugged on Miranda’s dress. “Are you coming?”

Miranda looked down into Ellie’s anxious face, her heart sinking. What if Ruth was right and she wasn’t capable of looking after the girls by herself? John already didn’t want a real marriage, and if she couldn’t be a good mother, he wouldn’t have any reason not to send her back to Beckham.

Her throat tightened and tears stung her eyes. Somehow, in one day, she’d grown to care about these two little girls. And she was very quickly growing to care for their father, too.

Miranda plastered a smile on her face and let Ellie draw her into the bedroom she and Hope shared. Hope was already sitting cross-legged on the floor, her doll cradled in her arms. She looked up as Miranda and Ellie came in.

Ellie sat down beside Hope. Hope whispered something to Ellie, and then Ellie looked up at Miranda. “Can you make dresses for our dolls, too?” she asked.

“I’d love to. Maybe one day soon we can go to the mercantile and pick out some fabric for them,” she replied. “Would you like that?

Both girls nodded in unison. “But can you help us make a bed for them now?”

Miranda lowered herself to the floor and sat facing the girls. She glanced around the room, searching for something she could transform into a doll bed. “What do you think we should use?”

Just then, John appeared in the open doorway and leaned against the jamb. “You girls having a good time?”

Miranda looked up and met John’s gaze.

“We are. I heard the front door close. Did your aunt leave?”

He nodded.

Was it her imagination, or did she actually see the tension ease from the girls’ faces? “We’re just trying to decide what to use for a bed for Rapunzel and Snow White.”

John looked toward the ceiling, then a grin spread across his face. “I have the perfect bed for your dolls. I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared. “What is it?” Ellie called out. No answer. She shifted as if she was going to get up.

Miranda put a hand on her arm. “I think it’s a surprise. You do like surprises, don’t you?”

Ellie nodded.

“Then we have to be patient and wait to see what your papa brings back.”

They didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later John came back, an empty bushel basket in his arms. “Will this do?”

Miranda smiled up at him.

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