Read Online When Mercy Rains by Kim Vogel Sawyer - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kim Vogel Sawyer
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Mother Zimmerman. And you …” Tanya pinned Suzanne with a pleading look.
Suzanne touched her mother’s knee. The sharp contour of the bone startled her, and her tongue turned clumsy. “C-Clete said you needed a nurse’s care.” She certainly needed something. This gaunt, ancient frame couldn’t possibly belong on her independent, stalwart mother. “That’s why I came. To take care of you.”
Her mother huffed out a heavy breath. “I have three people already taking care of me. Why do I need yet another?” She aimed her glare at Suzanne—the same glare she’d worn when Suzanne confessed she’d missed her monthly period. “I thought you had a nursing job in Indiana. Did they fire you?”
“No, I asked for time off. So I could …” Suzanne hung her head. Why bother to explain? Her mother hadn’t wanted her twenty years ago, and she didn’t want her now. She pushed to her feet. She’d performed her duty. She’d come at her brother’s request. She’d tried, but it was pointless. The hurts were too deep to heal, the chasm too wide to bridge. She gave Tanya a pointed look. “Maybe it would be best if I returned to Franklin immediately.”
Tanya shook her head, dismay playing on her face. “No. Please, Suzanne. I’m sure she just needs time to—”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room!” Mother snapped out the command so harshly, both Tanya and Suzanne drew back. She glowered at Tanya. “I won’t take Suzanne away from the mission hospital. She loves her work. In every letter, she told me she loves her work. She’s already given up enough for—” She clamped her jaw closed and hunched low. AlthoughSuzanne and Tanya waited in silence for her to continue, she kept her lips set in a firm line.
Tanya sighed. Her sad gaze met Suzanne’s. “I suppose we—”
“Mom?” Alexa entered the kitchen. She’d brushed her sleek hair into its familiar ponytail. The simple hairstyle along with her straight denim skirt and white blouse gave her a mature appearance. But in Suzanne’s eyes she was a little girl again—a helpless child in need of protection. She couldn’t subject Alexa to her mother’s venomous rejection.
She hurried to Alexa’s side and turned her toward the entryway. “Go upstairs, honey,” she whispered. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Her mother caught the wheels of the chair and spun it to face Suzanne and Alexa. With a strength that shocked Suzanne, she rolled herself directly into their pathway. She stared at Alexa. “You … Did you call my Suzy ‘Mom’?”
“Yes, ma’am, I did.” She tipped her head inquisitively, her ponytail swishing across her shoulder. “Are you my grandmother?”
Mother’s mouth dropped open. Her face turned ashen. Then, before Suzanne had a chance to react, her eyes rolled back in her head and she slid from the chair onto the floor in a dead faint.
Paul
Paul opened the screen door to the enclosed porch at the back of the Zimmerman farmhouse. The door scraped along the floor, following the path it had carved in the tongue-and-groove boards. He shook his head. Stubborn woman. Why wouldn’t Mrs. Zimmerman allow someone to repair the things that needed fixing? A readjustment of the hinges and the door wouldn’t drag along the floor anymore. This fine old house would fall to ruin in another few years at the rate it was going.
He stepped around the wringer washing machine, which had drifted to the center of the sagging porch, and lifted his hand to rap his knuckles on the kitchen door. Scuffling noises along with the high-pitched chatter of a worried voice escaped from the other side. Instead of knocking, he called, “Hello in the house! Is everything all right?”
The pound of approaching footsteps gave a reply, and then the door swung wide. Clete’s wife gestured him inside, gasping, “Oh, Paul, thank goodness you’re here. Mother Zimmerman passed out!”
Paul jogged to the opposite side of the kitchen, where two
Suzanne touched her mother’s knee. The sharp contour of the bone startled her, and her tongue turned clumsy. “C-Clete said you needed a nurse’s care.” She certainly needed something. This gaunt, ancient frame couldn’t possibly belong on her independent, stalwart mother. “That’s why I came. To take care of you.”
Her mother huffed out a heavy breath. “I have three people already taking care of me. Why do I need yet another?” She aimed her glare at Suzanne—the same glare she’d worn when Suzanne confessed she’d missed her monthly period. “I thought you had a nursing job in Indiana. Did they fire you?”
“No, I asked for time off. So I could …” Suzanne hung her head. Why bother to explain? Her mother hadn’t wanted her twenty years ago, and she didn’t want her now. She pushed to her feet. She’d performed her duty. She’d come at her brother’s request. She’d tried, but it was pointless. The hurts were too deep to heal, the chasm too wide to bridge. She gave Tanya a pointed look. “Maybe it would be best if I returned to Franklin immediately.”
Tanya shook her head, dismay playing on her face. “No. Please, Suzanne. I’m sure she just needs time to—”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room!” Mother snapped out the command so harshly, both Tanya and Suzanne drew back. She glowered at Tanya. “I won’t take Suzanne away from the mission hospital. She loves her work. In every letter, she told me she loves her work. She’s already given up enough for—” She clamped her jaw closed and hunched low. AlthoughSuzanne and Tanya waited in silence for her to continue, she kept her lips set in a firm line.
Tanya sighed. Her sad gaze met Suzanne’s. “I suppose we—”
“Mom?” Alexa entered the kitchen. She’d brushed her sleek hair into its familiar ponytail. The simple hairstyle along with her straight denim skirt and white blouse gave her a mature appearance. But in Suzanne’s eyes she was a little girl again—a helpless child in need of protection. She couldn’t subject Alexa to her mother’s venomous rejection.
She hurried to Alexa’s side and turned her toward the entryway. “Go upstairs, honey,” she whispered. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Her mother caught the wheels of the chair and spun it to face Suzanne and Alexa. With a strength that shocked Suzanne, she rolled herself directly into their pathway. She stared at Alexa. “You … Did you call my Suzy ‘Mom’?”
“Yes, ma’am, I did.” She tipped her head inquisitively, her ponytail swishing across her shoulder. “Are you my grandmother?”
Mother’s mouth dropped open. Her face turned ashen. Then, before Suzanne had a chance to react, her eyes rolled back in her head and she slid from the chair onto the floor in a dead faint.
Paul
Paul opened the screen door to the enclosed porch at the back of the Zimmerman farmhouse. The door scraped along the floor, following the path it had carved in the tongue-and-groove boards. He shook his head. Stubborn woman. Why wouldn’t Mrs. Zimmerman allow someone to repair the things that needed fixing? A readjustment of the hinges and the door wouldn’t drag along the floor anymore. This fine old house would fall to ruin in another few years at the rate it was going.
He stepped around the wringer washing machine, which had drifted to the center of the sagging porch, and lifted his hand to rap his knuckles on the kitchen door. Scuffling noises along with the high-pitched chatter of a worried voice escaped from the other side. Instead of knocking, he called, “Hello in the house! Is everything all right?”
The pound of approaching footsteps gave a reply, and then the door swung wide. Clete’s wife gestured him inside, gasping, “Oh, Paul, thank goodness you’re here. Mother Zimmerman passed out!”
Paul jogged to the opposite side of the kitchen, where two
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