Read Online Heaven Sent by Alice Duncan - Free Book Online

“G-good
evening, Papa. Mrs. Granger fixed chicken and dumplings for us
tonight.”
    “ Ah,” said Aubrey as he
tugged one of her braids, “your favorite, I believe.”
    The tension seemed to vanish from
Becky’s small body, and she grinned like the imp she could be—or
used to be, when her mother was alive. “Oh, yes! I love chicken and
dumplings. I asked Mrs. Granger to fix it special, for Miss
Prophet.”
    Aubrey glanced at Callie.
“Indeed.”
    Callie said, “Indeed. Good evening,
Mr. Lockhart.”
    “ Good evening.”
    If the world were a just place,
thought Aubrey, Miss Callida Prophet would be an ugly, bucktoothed,
weak-chinned, gangly specimen of womanhood, and well past her
prime. As he’d been made aware of long ago, however, the world was
far from just, and she wasn’t any of those things.
    In reality, Callie Prophet was a
lovely young woman—well, to look at, he silently amended. Her
personality was another matter. If, Aubrey brooded unhappily, one
were merely to look at her, one might judge her to be a cheerful
girl with a friendly personality to match her bright eyes and
gleaming blond hair.
    Oh, but life could be a cruel deceiver
sometimes, as Aubrey well knew. He had railed at God more than once
for the many unkindnesses He had visited upon him. And
Becky.
    Dash it, there he went again,
forgetting about his daughter, and the struggles she had gone
through as well. After holding a chair for Callie, Aubrey did the
same for Becky, and tipped her a wink at the same time. She goggled
up at him, and he had to fight a frown. Good God, was the poor
child so unused to her father’s jolly side that she perceived his
wink as something rare and unseemly?
    Well, and why shouldn’t she? he
instantly thought. He’d been mooning around the house like a lost
soul for a year and more.
    Hell’s bells. As Aubrey sat at the
head of the table gazing at his beautiful daughter, he was swamped
with a sudden sense of hopelessness. He wanted so badly to reach
out to her, to heal the damage he had inflicted upon her tender
psyche, but he had no idea where, let alone how. to start. Aubrey
sighed inwardly as another thought hit him, Although it pained him
to admit it, he was honestly glad that he hadn’t dismissed Miss
Prophet when she’d lectured him. If he had, he’d have made Becky
even more unhappy than she already was, and that would have been
ghastly,
    “ Would you like me to say
grace, Papa?”
    His daughter’s trilling voice dragged
Aubrey out of the pit of despair he’d managed to get stuck in. He
glanced at her and forced another smile, “That would be very good
of you, Becky.”
    It touched his heart when his little
daughter obediently folded her hands, bowed her head, and said in
her sweet, piping voice, “Thank you, God, for our chicken and
dumplings. And thank you for sending Miss Prophet to live with us.
God bless Mama in heaven, and Papa, and Miss Prophet. And Mrs.
Granger,” she added in something of a rush, leading Aubrey to
understand she’d only just then realized she ought to bless the
lady who’d cooked the food. “And thank you, God, for letting the
Pilgrims come to America. Amen.”
    The first thing Aubrey noticed when he
opened his eyes was the smile on Miss Prophet’s face. He wished he
hadn’t. Her smile was lovely. Wrenching his gaze away from her, he
said to Becky, “That was a very nice blessing, Becky. Thank
you.”
    He’d suffered a slight pang when she’d
mentioned the. Pilgrims, recalling his temper fit earlier in the
day. He’d been wrong to shout at Becky and Miss Prophet, although
he’d sooner beat his head against a brick wall than apologize to
Callie Prophet.
    Callie seemed unfazed when she said,
“Yes, Becky, that was a very nice prayer. It’s good of you to
remember our founding fathers, too.”
    Becky, who was seated across from Miss
Prophet at the large and imposing dining table, gazed at her with
interest.
    “ What’s that?”
    “ What’s what?” Callie