Read Online Cherished Beginnings by Pamela Browning - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Pamela Browning
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unloaded the bed board from the back of the minivan, Maura cursing the nice clothes she wore and wishing she'd worn her usual blue jeans instead. "The bed board is going to keep you from getting a backache," she told Annie as she remade the bed.
"Sure do thank you," Annie said gratefully. "I've got to get back on my feet soon. I need to find me a job."
Ascertaining that Annie had worked as a housecleaner until recently, Maura promised to mention to Kathleen that Annie was looking for work. Kathleen might have some friends on Teoway Island who needed help.
"Anything I can ever do for you, just let me know," Annie told her gratefully.
"You can do me a favor," she told Annie as she started a nutritious stew bubbling on a back burner of the old stove. "I want to open a birth center where I can coach pregnant women on nutrition and exercise and help them to have their babies at home if they choose, just the way you did yesterday. I need a large house or office. Do you know of one?"
Annie thought for a moment. "There's a big old farmhouse about two miles from here," she told Maura. "I think it's for rent. There's a lady at the real estate agency down the road who might be able to tell you something about it."
And so, after pulling off the borrowed apron and instructing Cindy in the completion of the stew, Maura went straight to the real estate office. There she met a plump and interested woman named Grace Murdock, who took her idea for a birth center to heart and said, "Come on, I'll show you that farmhouse right now. It sounds perfect for y'all."
Grace, a lively and talkative lady, drove her vintage compact car down the bumpy unpaved road, explaining as she clung gamely to the vibrating steering wheel. "It's a farmhouse without its own farm. The owners died, and the surrounding land has been bought by developers, who are waiting until financial conditions are more favorable before they do any developing. They've leased the land, so cotton fields run right up to the house, but that may not bother you. For most people, the place is too far out in the country."
"I like the country," Maura assured her, remembering her days in the city. Peace and quiet seemed very appealing after that.
The farmhouse that would become the McNeill Birth Center turned out to be ideally suited. The house was bordered on three sides by a porch, which put Maura in mind of nothing so much as a wide, comfortable lap. The front yard was amply shaded by six immense pecan trees inhabited by a family of friendly chattering squirrels.
"It's perfect," said Maura, captivated by the big, sunny rooms. She and Grace headed back to the office immediately, and Maura waited while the lease was prepared. She signed it on the spot.
By the time she left the real estate office, her head was full of plans. Ideas danced an Irish jig through her mind. She'd go back to Teoway and find a solitary spot on the beach where she'd make lists of the things she'd need and decide on the best way to divide up the space into exercise and examining rooms as well as living quarters.
Then her glance fell on Xan's medical bag. What she should do immediately was track him down and exchange bags with him. But remembering her breathless passion of the night before, she'd feel uncomfortable doing that. She was sure that by this time Xan knew he had her bag.
He'd seek her out because he needed his bag more than she needed hers right now. She'd explain the situation to Kathleen the best she could, and when Xan called, she'd let Kathleen, who was unfailingly adept in awkward social situations, make the exchange. This plan would save Maura the embarrassment, after last night, of seeing Xan again.
In a hurry to get to the cool beach, Maura drove toward Teoway Island as fast as the speed limit allowed, pausing briefly at the Intracoastal Waterway as the old sideways-swinging drawbridge swung closed, then continuing to the Teoway Island entrance, magnificently landscaped with showy red and
"Sure do thank you," Annie said gratefully. "I've got to get back on my feet soon. I need to find me a job."
Ascertaining that Annie had worked as a housecleaner until recently, Maura promised to mention to Kathleen that Annie was looking for work. Kathleen might have some friends on Teoway Island who needed help.
"Anything I can ever do for you, just let me know," Annie told her gratefully.
"You can do me a favor," she told Annie as she started a nutritious stew bubbling on a back burner of the old stove. "I want to open a birth center where I can coach pregnant women on nutrition and exercise and help them to have their babies at home if they choose, just the way you did yesterday. I need a large house or office. Do you know of one?"
Annie thought for a moment. "There's a big old farmhouse about two miles from here," she told Maura. "I think it's for rent. There's a lady at the real estate agency down the road who might be able to tell you something about it."
And so, after pulling off the borrowed apron and instructing Cindy in the completion of the stew, Maura went straight to the real estate office. There she met a plump and interested woman named Grace Murdock, who took her idea for a birth center to heart and said, "Come on, I'll show you that farmhouse right now. It sounds perfect for y'all."
Grace, a lively and talkative lady, drove her vintage compact car down the bumpy unpaved road, explaining as she clung gamely to the vibrating steering wheel. "It's a farmhouse without its own farm. The owners died, and the surrounding land has been bought by developers, who are waiting until financial conditions are more favorable before they do any developing. They've leased the land, so cotton fields run right up to the house, but that may not bother you. For most people, the place is too far out in the country."
"I like the country," Maura assured her, remembering her days in the city. Peace and quiet seemed very appealing after that.
The farmhouse that would become the McNeill Birth Center turned out to be ideally suited. The house was bordered on three sides by a porch, which put Maura in mind of nothing so much as a wide, comfortable lap. The front yard was amply shaded by six immense pecan trees inhabited by a family of friendly chattering squirrels.
"It's perfect," said Maura, captivated by the big, sunny rooms. She and Grace headed back to the office immediately, and Maura waited while the lease was prepared. She signed it on the spot.
By the time she left the real estate office, her head was full of plans. Ideas danced an Irish jig through her mind. She'd go back to Teoway and find a solitary spot on the beach where she'd make lists of the things she'd need and decide on the best way to divide up the space into exercise and examining rooms as well as living quarters.
Then her glance fell on Xan's medical bag. What she should do immediately was track him down and exchange bags with him. But remembering her breathless passion of the night before, she'd feel uncomfortable doing that. She was sure that by this time Xan knew he had her bag.
He'd seek her out because he needed his bag more than she needed hers right now. She'd explain the situation to Kathleen the best she could, and when Xan called, she'd let Kathleen, who was unfailingly adept in awkward social situations, make the exchange. This plan would save Maura the embarrassment, after last night, of seeing Xan again.
In a hurry to get to the cool beach, Maura drove toward Teoway Island as fast as the speed limit allowed, pausing briefly at the Intracoastal Waterway as the old sideways-swinging drawbridge swung closed, then continuing to the Teoway Island entrance, magnificently landscaped with showy red and
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