Read Online Blowing on Dandelions by Miralee Ferrell - Free Book Online

her red hair glinting in the sun that streamed through the stained glass windows. “Maybe she’s angry at someone else and takes it out on you. Was she a happy child? Do you know if she had a good marriage?” She pushed a wayward tendril out of her face. “I don’t mean to pry, but sometimes when people have been hurt, it comes out as anger toward others.”
    Hester Sue shrugged. “Pa was downright mean. I don’t think it’s ’cause he was hidin’ any hurts.”
    “But you never know, Hester Sue. Maybe his pa beat him, too.” Virginia’s calm tone flowed across the ripples of tension starting to form in the room. “Leah might be right, Katherine. Do you know much about your mother’s past?”
    “Not a lot. I know she worshipped her first husband, and it crushed her when he died. And my pa …” She clenched her jaw and hesitated. How much could she tell these women? Yes, she’d come to love and trust them, but would it do any good to air her family’s dirty laundry? Yet she’d been carrying the burden for so long, and she longed to find a reasonable explanation for her mother’s behavior—something that didn’t point back at her, if possible. “I think she married my pa so she wouldn’t be alone while raising my older sister, June. Then, after she found out Pa had a gambling problem and couldn’t hold on to money, she lost all respect for him.” She remembered something she’d heard her mother say years ago. “I don’t think she got along with her own father either. I’m not sure, but I think he broke my grandmother’s heart more than once.”
    A chorus of clucks and sympathetic voices surrounded Katherine, wrapping her in a cocoon of comfort.
    “I see what you all are saying,” she said slowly, “but I’m not sure Mama’s past has much to do with how she treats me. From what I can tell, I’ve just never measured up to what she expected me to be—at least, not like June did.”
    Virginia slipped a slender arm around Katherine’s shoulders. “We love you, child, and I’m guessing your mother does too. Maybe she has a hard time showing it, but you keep on praying and seeking the Lord, and He’ll give you the key to unlocking her heart in His own time.”
    “That’s right, Katherine.” Hester Sue’s brown eyes snapped. “Keep on prayin’, but you mustn’t feel you don’t have friends. Anytime you need to talk, you come runnin’ to us, you hear?”
    Katherine smiled and nodded. “I’m so thankful for each of you.” She leaned back over the quilt and stabbed at the fabric, trying to see through the tears clouding her vision. What she wouldn’t give to have Virginia as her mother, or even Hester Sue with all her rough edges. She’d keep on praying, but somehow she couldn’t imagine Mama’s heart changing anytime soon.
     
    Frances watched at the window as Katherine sauntered off the road and up the path toward the house. Frances had been puttering in the kitchen for close to an hour, making a special dish for their luncheon. Obviously her daughter hadn’t cared to hurry home to her domestic chores, but they still needed tending. Another example of Katherine’s flibbertigibbet ways—she needed to think things through before dashing off to wherever she had been all morning.
    This boardinghouse was a huge undertaking, and if her daughter didn’t do things right, she and the girls could end up in the street. Why, to Frances’s way of thinking, Katherine didn’t have nearly enough business to make expenses, much less earn the money to buy the necessities of life. Someone should set the girl straight and help her make wise decisions.
    And she was just the person to make that happen.
     

Chapter Nine
    Micah headed for the door that led down to the livery. “Did you make sure all the stall doors were locked?”
    Zachary’s jaw tightened. “Yes, Pa. I wish you wouldn’t worry so much.”
    Micah nodded. “Good enough. Head to bed then.” His son had worked hard lately,