Ten Thousand Charms by Allison Pittman

Author:Allison Pittman [Pittman, Allison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: West (U.S.), Christian, Prostitutes, Prostitutes - West (U.S.), Western Stories, General, Christian Fiction, Western, Historical, Fiction, Religious
ISBN: 9781590525753
Google: -PzRWIpg7hMC
Amazon: B002361KIA
Publisher: Multnomah Books
Published: 2006-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

hat's the house?” Gloria asked. “Must be,” John William replied. “Mrs. Brewster said the place was about three miles north of town. She said it had a house, garden, single slant-roof barn.” His voice filled with promise as he listed each attribute.

Just behind the house, if she stood up in the wagon and craned her neck, she saw a blanket of green.

“Wheat,” John William said. “Acres and acres of it.”

“The house looks big,” Gloria said. “Did she have a lot of children?”

“None.”

“Then why the large house?”

“1 don't know Maybe they—”

“And look at the door. It's beautiful!”

John William chuckled. “Yeah, you sure see that comin'.”

It was painted a bright blue and, next to the sky, was the bluest thing Gloria had ever seen. She couldn't imagine anything more inviting, until the door opened and Maureen Brewster walked onto her porch, smiled and waved.

“That's her?” Gloria said.

“That's Mrs. Brewster.”

“She looks nice.”

“She is. I think you'll like her.”

“Why?” Gloria asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Because deep down inside, you're nice, too.”

The kitchen was perfect. A large eight-paned window looked out to the company path. Just underneath it, a hand pump drew well water into a galvanized sink. Tiers of shelves stocked with an orderly assortment of spice tins and pretty blue crockery adorned the wall on both sides of the window. The workspace counter rounded the corner of the room, creating a convenient L-shaped surface. A length of calico hung from its edge, and Gloria felt an overwhelming urge to take a peek underneath it. A crystal vase full of fresh flowers sat in the middle of a round table; the cuts in the glass cast a pattern of rainbows on the glossy wooden surface. “It's beautiful,” Gloria said, her voice little more than a breath. She carried Danny across her shoulder.

“Thank you,” Maureen said. “We've been very happy here.”

“Why would you ever leave?”

“Now, Gloria,” John William said, his voice chastising.

“No, no," Maureen said. “Believe me, it's not an easy choice. But I can't work the place alone, and my sister and her husband have a place for me back in St. Louis, so…” Her voice trailed off in sigh accompanied by a shrug and a shake of her head.

“Yes, well,” John William spoke into the awkward moment. He held Kate, the baby's back against his broad chest, and the little girl pointed a soggy finger toward the flowers on the table. She emitted a gurgly gleeful sound, and every adult in the room welcomed the distraction.

“Yes, aren't they pretty?” Maureen said. “They're violets. Here.”

Maureen reached into the vase and pulled out a purple stem. She ran it lightly across the little girl's face before placing it in the waiting chubby fist. Kate immediately put the flower into her mouth, made a face, and pulled it out again.

“She's always hungry,” Gloria said.

“Can't imagine where she gets that from,” John William said, smiling.

Gloria shot him a face that equaled Kate's in its sour displeasure.

Maureen laughed and said, “Let me show you the rest of the house. This, of course, is the kitchen.

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