Big Sky Family. Charlotte Carter

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ morning had been even more difficult.

      He hadn’t been at all pleased to see her. Anger had simmered right below the surface of his detached manner toward her. Rightfully so, she admitted.

      She’d been the one to leave. She’d started a new life hundreds of miles away. She’d felt so guilty about what she had done, she’d made some foolish mistakes.

      None of which meant she had forgotten Arnie.

      He’d told her to leave more than once.

      Torie popped open the back door of the car. “I gotta tell Grandma BarBar about my horse.” Slamming the door closed, she raced up the steps and into the house to relate her adventures to her grandmother Barbara.

      Briefcase in hand, Ellie followed at a more leisurely pace.

      “… rode a horse named Patches around and around. I kept saying ‘Giddy up,’ but the man wouldn’t let Patches run fast.” Torie paused only briefly to take a breath. “Then another man gave us brushes, and we brushed and brushed a horse. The horse was very dusty. That made Carson sneeze.”

      Sitting in the kitchen, at the long white-pine table, Grandma BarBar listened to Torie’s tale, nodding where appropriate and making encouraging noises. A little overweight, Barbara wore wire-rimmed glasses, and her hair had lost most of the auburn color it once had. The permed curls were nearly all gray.

      Ellie set her briefcase on the counter and idly checked the day’s mail, which her mother had dropped in the woven basket.

      “The man with the brushes showed us how to clean the icky stuff out of the horse’s hoof. He had a doggy he let me pet, and he said he had to sit in a wheelchair all the time ‘cause his legs didn’t work anymore. I told him Carson’s legs didn’t work, either, but I still liked him.”

      Barbara lifted her head. “Ellen? Where did the school take the children to ride?”

      Without glancing toward her mother, Ellie tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “Turns out it was the O’Brien ranch. I’d been so busy all week, I hadn’t thought to ask Vanna where we were going.’“

      “The man in the wheelchair was real nice, Mommy.”

      “Yes, honey, I know.” Ellie returned the mail to the basket. Bills and a newsletter from the agricultural extension service were of no interest to her.

      “It was Arnie O’Brien, wasn’t it?” Barbara said, a stunned expression on her face.

      A guilty flush warmed Ellie’s cheeks. “Yes, Arnie was helping the children. So was his brother. Daniel’s married now, and they’re expecting a baby.”

      “Mommy, if I learn to ride a horse really, really, really good, can I have my very own horse? Please, can I? I would loooove to have my own horse.”

      “I’m sure you would, honey. But horses are expensive and take a lot of care.” Working in the child care business was not exactly a lucrative profession, though it should be. What made it ideal for Ellie was the opportunity to work with mainstreamed handicapped kids and live at home with her mother, mostly rentfree. Being near her mother, who’d been depressed since she’d become a widow, was an added bonus. Ellie hoped having an exuberant child around would lift her spirits.

      “We could ask the man in the wheelchair to come take care of my horse. He was very nice.”

      Ellie swallowed hard. Not a good plan, sweetie.

      “Little Miss Chatterbox,” Barbara said, “why don’t you go wash up? It’s almost supper time, and I want to talk with your mother.”

      Torie’s slender shoulders slumped. “I know. You want to talk about grown-up things.”

      “Go on, Torie,” Ellie said, although she wasn’t eager to pursue the topic her mother no doubt had in mind. “Wash your hands and face, and don’t forget to use soap.”

      Skipping and hopping, Torie did as she’d been told.

      “I’d better go clean up, too,” Ellie said, eager to avoid any discussion about Arnie.

      “I do hope you won’t be taking up with that young man again.”

      Ellie bristled. “No worries on that score, Mother. I doubt that he’d be interested.” Her actions eight years ago had shut that door permanently. Actions her mother had advised and encouraged.

      “Just as well,” Barbara sniffed.

      After Arnie’s accident, Ellie’s mother had encouraged Ellie to move away from Arnie. Barbara’s brother, Bob, had been born with cerebral palsy and was severely handicapped. Watching a loved one suffer pain and humiliation haunted Barbara. She didn’t want her daughter to endure the same difficult experience.

      To her shame and regret, her mother’s constant concern about Arnie’s future had added to Ellie’s ultimate decision to leave Potter Creek and move to Spokane.

      The first of a long litany of mistakes she’d made that had changed her life.

      With the Lord’s help, she’d turned her life around. But that didn’t mean that a proud man like Arnie would ever be able to forgive her for turning her back on him.

      Early Saturday morning, a gang of volunteer construction workers showed up at the O’Brien ranch. Most of the guys were from Potter Creek Community Church. As the half-dozen pickups pulled to a stop, Arnie rolled out to meet them.

      “I’ve got a big pot of coffee ready,” he announced. “And Daniel went into town early for fresh doughnuts. Help yourselves.”

      Like a pack of ravenous chowhounds, the men gathered around the coffeepot on what would someday be Arnie’s back porch. Their wives and girlfriends would show up around noontime with picnic baskets full of lunch makings. Building his new house was like an old-fashioned barn raising, and he was grateful for every bit of help he got.

      Since Daniel had announced he was going to marry Mindy, Arnie had planned to move out of the old ranch house and into his own home. Now that Mindy was expecting, providing his brother and his wife some extra space was even more important.

      Given the cost of construction, bringing the plan to fruition would have been impossible without the help of his friends. In fact, half the community had lent a hand in one way or another.

      Coffee and doughnut in hand, Tim Johnson, a licensed contractor and good friend, sauntered over to Arnie. “We’re gonna start putting up the exterior plywood sheathing today. If that goes well, next week we could be adding the siding.”

      “That’s terrific, Tim. You know how much I appreciate your help. All the guys’ help.”

      “No problem. If the situation was reversed, you’d be there for us.”

      “I’d sure try to be.” But Arnie knew he’d never have a chance to return the favor, at least not in the same way.

      “I got my chimney guy to say he’d come next week so we can get the flashings in before the siding goes up. He’s giving you a good price.”

      “Thanks, СКАЧАТЬ