Read Online Serendipity by Cathy Marie Hake - Free Book Online Page A

expression warned Maggie the woman had dug in her heels. “Once you’ve eaten, we’ll wash you up and sit you in my wheelchair. Just think how much that will please your son.” Those words earned her instant cooperation.
    After his mother successfully ate some breakfast, Mr. Valmer helped set her in the wooden wheelchair. A deep, pleased chuckle rumbled out of him as he stepped back. “Look at you!” Almost immediately, she sagged to her left. “Ma!”
    In less than a blink Maggie propped her with a pillow in a strategic spot. Next, she took a wide strip of cloth and draped it across her patient’s shoulder and tied it to a thick grosgrain ribbon by her hip. Now Mrs. Crewel wouldn’t slump and slide straight out of the chair. “You look regal as a queen a-wearing her ceremonial sash.”
    “I can’t believe you have a wheelchair.” Mr. Valmer stared at the back of the wooden, cane-seated premier model.
    “The mark of a professional barterer is that they anticipate needs. If I waited until someone got hurt, they’d have to wait two weeks to get one.”
    Mrs. Crewel stared out the window and gasped. “The storm blew over someone’s house! How heartbreaking. They’ve lost everything they owned. Just look at that pathetic mess out there.”
    Mr. Valmer went ruddy. “Uh, Ma?”
    Maggie raised a hand and shook her head. No need trying to correct the poor, misguided woman. Her heart was in the right place.
    Combing the woman’s hair, she reassured, “In time, everything out there will wind up right where it belongs.”

    Each day for five days, Todd grabbed every opportunity to pass time with Miss Rose, exchange stories, and pitch in with anything Ma needed. Convinced Miss Rose was the one for him, he strove to give her cause to trust and rely on him.
    He needed her, if any hope remained of keeping his farm. He could picture his winter wheat withering, weeds abounding, and wolves eating his chickens – or worse, preying on his hogs or horses. He’d almost lost his colts to the wolves weeks ago. Though the vet had discounted his fees significantly, it drained what little Todd had stashed away. He needed bumper crops this year to keep his head above water.
    At any moment he could state how much time had elapsed since he’d worked his own land and how much more time remained before he’d return. Two more nights, two more days, and he’d finally be on the train for thirty-one hours. Somehow, he had to convince spry old Bo Carver to give his blessing, appeal to Miss Rose with a proposal she’d accept, and marry her – all before the train came.
    One step at a time. Tonight, the consent. Tomorrow, the proposal. Then Monday, we’ll marry and depart. Todd knew he’d petitioned the Lord for a string of miracles. Heal Ma. Keep the farm going and the animals well. And now this desperate timeline . . .
    Todd had noted that occasionally, Mr. Carver helped him wrangle a little time with Miss Rose. He’d think of something urgent to tell his niece, then send Todd as his messenger. No matter where Miss Rose sat at the table, one of the men beside her would move – allowing Todd to take his place. Those things ought to have boded well.
    They didn’t. For every instance when Mr. Carver assisted his courting efforts, there was another when he just as surely blocked it. Today Miss Rose’s uncle volunteered him to repair a neighbor’s roof. That reeked of keeping him away from his niece. It worked, too.
    Absence didn’t just make the heart grow fonder; it made Todd more stubborn. Miss Rose’s stunning appearance caught his attention, and her kind ways and spirited nature charmed him. Most of all, her Christlike heart captivated him. He’d waited for the right woman. Now that he found her, Todd wasn’t going to let go.
    Barely quelling a snort, he cast a rueful glance at Mr. Carver as they headed toward the barn. Those trips to carry messages were probably his way of providing Todd with an excuse to check on Ma. And