Read Online Spirit of the Wolf by Loree Lough - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Loree Lough
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of Mrs. Cunningham's difficult delivery, Mary had volunteered Bess to help with the cleaning and cooking, and to mind the Cunningham's three children while the new mama recuperated. It saddened Bess to see the youngsters duck and flinch at Mr. Cunningham's every move , as if they didn’t know when he might have a mind to whack one of them for talking out of turn, making too much noise, or n ot completing a chore to his satisfaction.
Mary and the children flinched around Micah...but only because they never knew when he might be inspired to tickle or pull them onto his ample lap for a big hug, a noisy, wet kiss, or both! Even as a young girl, Bess had seen the difference between Mr. Cunningham and her pa.
With Mary at his side, Micah had been a man of unbounded faith. Nothing worried or frightened him. Once, when a severe thunderstorm destroyed an entire corn crop, he's simply shrugged and said, "Well, we can thank the Almighty that we had us a good potato crop this season." By comparison, just last week, when the skies over Foggy Bottom darkened, he paced from window to window, peering outside and sighing, stroking his grey beard. "What will become of us if those winds flatten the corn?"
Oh, he put on a mighty show for the farm hands, standing tall, strutting like a Bandy rooster, bellowing orders with the sure clear voice of a man in charge. But alone in the manor house, where no one but his daughter could witness his grief and misery , Micah's voice trembled with doom and gloom.
Bess hoped the burden of grief would one day lift from her father's shoulders. If only Pa would look around him , she'd tell herself, he'd see he's surrounded by hundreds of things to be thankful for: He had his own good health. The farm had been productive , even in the worst of times . The boys were healthy —why even Matt's injuries were healing faster than Doc had predicted !—and Bess had never suffered so much as an ingrown toenail. His employees were honest and hard-working and devoted to their boss. What more could he ask ? Bess wondered time and again.
She loved her father. But his behavior these past years had been slowly chipping away at the respect and admiration she'd felt for him while her mother was alive. Most of all, she pitied Matt and Mark, for they needed a father who was a pillar of strength, who could give them security, comfort, and a man they could imitate as they grew from fine strong boys into good decent men.
He hadn't been there for her, either. Take the night of Matt's surgery, for example, when she'd been forced to assist Doc Beck and comfort Matt and Mark , and Micah, too. If it hadn't been for Chance that night....
Bess sighed. She'd stepped into Mary's shoes quite willingly. After all, Mary hadn't chosen t o leave them. Micah, on the other hand, had chosen to leave them , emotionally . And if the truth be told, his kind of leaving hurt far worse. There wasn't a blessed thing anyone could do to bring Mary back, but Micah...Micah was alive !
She resented his helplessness. Bess missed her mother, too, yet her father's grief had forced her, barely twelve at the time, to take on his responsibilities in addition to Mary's. If Bess had refused to assume those roles, bills would have gone unpaid, fields wouldn't have been plowed or seeded or harvested....
Many times, it took all the strength and self-control she could muster to keep from telling him, face to face, exactly what she thought of his self-pitying, hang-dog ways. Ironically, Mary saved him even from that: "Your pa and me, we're just flesh and bone," she'd said, "and from time to time, we'll make mistakes, some of them big ones. When we do, it'll test your mettle, Bess my love, because that's when you'll find it hardest to treat us with respect as our Father commanded ."
Bess sighed deeply and set aside her exasperation toward her pa . Her mother had been right, after all; Bess reminded herself that the Fourth Commandment didn't say "Honour thy father
Mary and the children flinched around Micah...but only because they never knew when he might be inspired to tickle or pull them onto his ample lap for a big hug, a noisy, wet kiss, or both! Even as a young girl, Bess had seen the difference between Mr. Cunningham and her pa.
With Mary at his side, Micah had been a man of unbounded faith. Nothing worried or frightened him. Once, when a severe thunderstorm destroyed an entire corn crop, he's simply shrugged and said, "Well, we can thank the Almighty that we had us a good potato crop this season." By comparison, just last week, when the skies over Foggy Bottom darkened, he paced from window to window, peering outside and sighing, stroking his grey beard. "What will become of us if those winds flatten the corn?"
Oh, he put on a mighty show for the farm hands, standing tall, strutting like a Bandy rooster, bellowing orders with the sure clear voice of a man in charge. But alone in the manor house, where no one but his daughter could witness his grief and misery , Micah's voice trembled with doom and gloom.
Bess hoped the burden of grief would one day lift from her father's shoulders. If only Pa would look around him , she'd tell herself, he'd see he's surrounded by hundreds of things to be thankful for: He had his own good health. The farm had been productive , even in the worst of times . The boys were healthy —why even Matt's injuries were healing faster than Doc had predicted !—and Bess had never suffered so much as an ingrown toenail. His employees were honest and hard-working and devoted to their boss. What more could he ask ? Bess wondered time and again.
She loved her father. But his behavior these past years had been slowly chipping away at the respect and admiration she'd felt for him while her mother was alive. Most of all, she pitied Matt and Mark, for they needed a father who was a pillar of strength, who could give them security, comfort, and a man they could imitate as they grew from fine strong boys into good decent men.
He hadn't been there for her, either. Take the night of Matt's surgery, for example, when she'd been forced to assist Doc Beck and comfort Matt and Mark , and Micah, too. If it hadn't been for Chance that night....
Bess sighed. She'd stepped into Mary's shoes quite willingly. After all, Mary hadn't chosen t o leave them. Micah, on the other hand, had chosen to leave them , emotionally . And if the truth be told, his kind of leaving hurt far worse. There wasn't a blessed thing anyone could do to bring Mary back, but Micah...Micah was alive !
She resented his helplessness. Bess missed her mother, too, yet her father's grief had forced her, barely twelve at the time, to take on his responsibilities in addition to Mary's. If Bess had refused to assume those roles, bills would have gone unpaid, fields wouldn't have been plowed or seeded or harvested....
Many times, it took all the strength and self-control she could muster to keep from telling him, face to face, exactly what she thought of his self-pitying, hang-dog ways. Ironically, Mary saved him even from that: "Your pa and me, we're just flesh and bone," she'd said, "and from time to time, we'll make mistakes, some of them big ones. When we do, it'll test your mettle, Bess my love, because that's when you'll find it hardest to treat us with respect as our Father commanded ."
Bess sighed deeply and set aside her exasperation toward her pa . Her mother had been right, after all; Bess reminded herself that the Fourth Commandment didn't say "Honour thy father
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