Read Online Your Heart's Desire by Melody Carlson - Free Book Online

eh?”
    “Did you do this? All by yourself?” Marjorie went over to the bright sofa, picking up a pillow and examining it. “This is really pretty.”
    “I found those at Fuller’s Department Store yesterday,” Caroline explained. “Marked down for their year-end sale.”
    “I can’t believe you did all this.” Marjorie continued walking around, studying everything and commenting in disbelief. “How did you do all this?”
    “With a little planning and a lot of hard work.” Caroline set Lulu down while she filled her teapot with hot water. “Care for a cup of tea?”
    “This is just amazing.” Marjorie peeked into the bathroom. “Truly amazing!”
    “Joe helped me paint that room.”
    “But it’s all so clean and orderly and pretty.” Marjorie returned to the little kitchen area, picking up Lulu. “Did you know your auntie is a miracle worker?” she said to Lulu.
    Caroline set the rooster teapot and matching cups and saucers on the table, then returned with a small plate of wafer cookies. “Sorry I didn’t have time to bake.” She giggled.
    “I am just stunned.” Marjorie continued looking around the room as she sat in the kitchen chair. “Utterly stunned.”
    “Oh, it wasn’t that hard.” Caroline quickly described some of the things she’d done, trying to play down how much work it had been or how she’d stayed up late last night after Marjorie and Rich got home, working on it.
    “But you did all this in less than three days. I have been in my new house for a month now and it doesn’t look nearly as nice as this.”
    “Of course, it does.” Caroline poured their tea as Marjorie broke a cookie in half for Lulu. “Besides that, you’ve had your hands full with two little ones. I honestly don’t know how you managed to paint those rooms with—”
    “Rich’s mother watched the kids for me. For almost two weeks. And the most I accomplished was to paint two rooms. Rich’s dad did all the rest of the painting.” Marjorie looked somewhat upset.
    “But you sewed curtains and—”
    “But there’s so much more to do. Our house looks so bare and boring compared to this, Caroline. It’s not fair.”
    Caroline laughed as she reached for a cookie. “Your house is about six times bigger than this. It should take at least six times longer to fill it up.”
    “But everywhere I look—it’s just so perfect. Everything looks like it belongs together. It’s so warm and inviting. My house will never look like this.”
    “Don’t forget that Joe and I were married more than ten years ago. I’ve still got our wedding gifts, and over the years I’ve collected other household items. Give yourself time, Margie.”
    Marjorie let out a sad sigh. “I don’t want Rich to see this,” she said quietly. “He’ll think that I’ve been lazy.”
    Caroline laughed heartily at this. “I seriously doubt that. Chasing after two little ones, pregnant with the third, I don’t think that’s exactly lazy.”
    “You should get married again,” Marjorie said suddenly.
    “Married?” Caroline set her cup down. “Where did that come from?”
    “Well, look at how domestic you are. I mean, here I’ve always thought of you as this career girl, but you have a very domestic side to you, too. You would make someone a good wife.”
    Caroline chuckled. “Perhaps I think there is more to life than being a good wife.”
    “But you’re thirty-one ,” Marjorie reminded her. “If you don’t get married soon, you’ll be too old to have more children. And think about it—if you hurried up and got married, you could have a baby not too long after I have mine. The cousins could play together and—”
    “Oh, Marjorie.” Caroline tried to hide her exasperation. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I really have little interest in marrying again.”
    “Why?”
    “Why…?” Caroline got an unwanted image of Terry just then.
    “Yes,” Marjorie insisted, “why?”
    Caroline twisted her wedding band, trying