Heaven Sent Husband. Gilbert Morris

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ would be in your hospital. Did you talk to him at all?” she asked eagerly.

      “Oh, he came over and said hello.”

      “And what did you say?”

      “I said, ‘Hello, Jared.’”

      “Is that all?” Lucille was plainly disappointed. “After all, you’re old schoolmates.”

      “Not really. He was in the twelfth grade when I was in the tenth. That’s like two different species. He was about as interested in me as he was in the carvings on Mount Rushmore.”

      “Oh, don’t be silly! You and Jared played together all your lives.”

      Ket did not answer for a time, then she said, “Well, I will say he’s still fine looking. So tall. I thought Maggie and Debbie were going to faint when they saw him.”

      “Well, he’s dating someone. Irene told me that. Oh, you’d know her!”

      “How would I know her?”

      “Why, she’s one of your old schoolmates. Lisa Glenn.”

      “He’s dating Lisa?”

      “Yes. You know she’s Miss Texas now.”

      “I knew that. She was always Miss Something. Miss Mudpie or Miss Ingrown Toenail.”

      “Now, that’s not kind! She’s a pretty girl, and she just naturally likes beauty contests.”

      “I know, Mom. I just never got along with Lisa very well. I always thought she was pretty stuck-up.”

      Her mother missed the pun, Ket noticed, but Ket didn’t bother explaining it.

      “Well, I suppose she may have been but, in any case, she and Jared are dating.”

      “Are they engaged?”

      “No. Not yet. Irene said she’s hoping they will be. She’s very fond of Lisa.”

      Suddenly Ket came to her feet. “Here. Let me finish that ironing. Most of it’s mine anyway.” She ignored her mother’s protests and picked up the iron. Lucille gathered up a pile of neatly folded clothing. “Don’t forget. You’ve got a date tonight,” she reminded Ket as she left the room.

      “I know it,” Ket said shortly. She almost added, “And do I dread it,” but she did not. Her parents were always excited when she went out with someone. Both of them longed to see her find a nice boyfriend but Ket felt as if she was constantly disappointing them.

      “Well, it’s a date anyhow, and that’s more than I’ve had lately,” she told herself as she pressed down viciously on the blouse and then suddenly lifted the iron. “No sense taking it out on you.” She thought of Jared Pierce then, and murmured, “Hmph. He was a real pest when he was a kid, and I expect he’s about the same deep down. Lisa is welcome to him!”

      Chapter Two

      “Well, at least I’m not quite six feet tall—guess I should be grateful. Another quarter of an inch I would be.”

      Why couldn’t I have been petite and beautiful like Carol and Jenny instead of tall and plain? Ever since she could remember, Ket had longed to look like her two older sisters. Both of them had taken their size and beauty from their mother—exactly five foot four with dark auburn hair and sparkling, dark eyes. Both of them had attracted more suitors than Quaker has oats. Ketura had a sharp memory of the time when she was an adolescent, coming into her full growth and her father had admonished her sharply. “Ketura, for goodness’ sake, will you straighten up! You look like Quasimodo!”

      Ket had finally been cured of stooping over to minimize her height by recognizing that it did not help. Also by realizing that God, in His infinite wisdom, had chosen to make her different from her mother and sisters. Different from most women, in fact. She knew by now there was no use complaining about it.

      Now she stood straight and tall and put her attention fully on the dress that she had bought for tonight. At one time in her life she had envisioned herself going out for dates as often as her sisters, but somehow her shyness with men—mostly because of her height—had brought her to a strange situation in which she had almost stopped dating completely. She refused to date anyone shorter than she was, which eliminated fifty percent of the male population, and the other fifty percent were put off by what they considered her haughty manner. She was not haughty actually, but hid her real feelings. She feared rejection and did all she could to avoid embarrassment and humiliation.

      She examined the dress critically, for she had bought it especially for her date with Charlie Petrie. Petrie was not handsome, but he was six feet three inches tall. True enough, he was thin, almost to the point of disappearing if he stood sideways. His colleagues at the accounting firm where he worked called him Ichabod behind his back, for his stooped, thin frame reminded one of the character in the classic by Washington Irving.

      “This stupid dress makes me look awful!” Staring at herself, Ketura turned around and studied it. She had paid more for it than she had ever thought she would spend for a dress. Indeed, her trip to Neiman Marcus in Dallas had been her first. She had felt like a poor relation and was certain she had seen disdain in the eyes of the cool-voiced saleswoman who had waited on her.

      As she recalled how embarrassing the trip to Neiman Marcus had been, Ketura flushed. She did have one outstanding trait, and that was her beautiful complexion. It was as smooth and clear as a woman’s skin could be, but she never saw that quality and remained distracted by the few faint freckles across the bridge of her nose that she considered unsightly. Now she looked again at the dress and tried to find something good about it. She had not liked it much at the store, but the saleswoman had talked her into buying it. “With your height, you have to wear a style like this, dear,” the woman had said.

      “Like what?” Ketura wondered aloud now. “Like somebody’s spinster aunt?”

      That’s who the dress seemed suited for, she thought, despairing as she studied her reflection. The short-sleeved button-front chemise, made from a smooth, pale yellow fabric, fell just below her knees. The demure oval neckline was outlined with satin appliqué, and the tiny buttons covered in satin, as well.

      Maybe it wasn’t that bad, she decided, but so out of sync with her usual, sporty style that she felt as though she were dressed in a costume.

      Ketura finally turned and sat down at the edge of her bed to put on her shoes. The shoes were also new and rather attractive, and Ketura had surprisingly small feet for her height. The shoes were overpriced though, and now she wished she’d put her hard-earned money toward something more practical, like a good pair of jogging shoes. Or better yet, used the money for a donation to people who had no shoes at all.

      While slipping them on, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. “Time for Cinderella to go to the ball,” she muttered darkly.

      She went downstairs and found her parents in the family room. Her father greeted her with a smile. “Well, now,” he said with appreciation, “don’t you look nice, Ket.”

      He came over to stand beside her, and no one seeing them together could mistake their relationship. Roger Lindsey was six foot three with blue eyes and blond hair that had gone mostly gray. For a man of fifty, few lines marked СКАЧАТЬ