A Mother's Love by Wolverton Cheryl

Author:Wolverton, Cheryl [Wolverton, Cheryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion
ISBN: 9781459281370
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 7961376
Publisher: Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
Published: 2010-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

The following afternoon, Rianna turned to her mother, brushing the remaining crumbs off her skirt. “Now, wasn’t that a good idea?”

Her mother smiled from under the brim of her straw bonnet. “I’ll have to admit it was. Too bad your father couldn’t come—but summer is such a busy time for him. It’s been a delightful afternoon.”

The two women looked at the bay before them from the high ridge where they sat. The tide was out. Far out on the mudflats a few clam diggers bent over their rakes. Some, already finished, loaded their bushels of shellfish onto their wagons and guided their horses toward the clamshell-strewn road leading off the flats.

Rianna glanced down at the pail beside her. Its empty insides chided her. She turned back to the seashore. “I should have picked those berries before lunch.”

Her mother looked at her in understanding. “Forget about them. Why don’t you go and take a walk along the beach instead. You’ve been so busy with me you haven’t had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather. Before you know it, it will be over.”

“What about you, Mother?”

“I think it’s a good time for a nap.” She lay back, resting her head on her folded shawl.

Rianna opened her parasol and placed it beside her mother to shade her from the direct sunlight. “I’ll walk down to the beach then and see if there are any treasures.”

Her mother smiled, her eyes closed. “Scavenging? You used to spend hours down there as a child. Are you going to fill the house again with bits of broken glass and shells?”

Rianna laughed. “I’ll try to restrict myself to only the choicest objects.” As she spoke, she unlaced her boots and removed her garters. Wriggling her toes, she felt the years fall away from her as quickly as the stockings from her legs.

“I won’t be long,” she told her mother as she stood and looked for the path that used to lead down to the beach. It was still there, though hidden by the long grass. The earth was packed down, as smooth and hard as stone, with only an occasional root protruding to hinder her progress. She clambered down until she reached the round pebbles and wide swath of rockweed edging the top of the shore.

She shaded her eyes and looked over the curve of the beach. Her mouth curled upward as she recognized Melanie sitting on a rock in the distance. Quickly, she picked up her pace, curious to know more about Noah’s little girl.

She waved as she neared the child. “Fancy meeting you out here.”

Melanie greeted her with a wide smile, which made her stop short. What would it be like to have a child greet one so each day? The pain she’d thought she’d gotten over so many years ago hit her so forcefully that she had to clutch her heart a moment.

An adult front tooth was halfway grown in, the space beside it still empty. “I’m waiting for Papa.” Melanie pointed far out to the mudflats.

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