Butterfly Summer. Arlene James

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СКАЧАТЬ there were two parlors, the front parlor, which contained her grandmother’s grand piano and a very good collection of antiques, and the family room, where the marble fireplace furnished the focal point for comfortable, overstuffed couches and chairs. The interior wall shared by the two rooms contained a pair of wide pocket doors that could be opened to make one enormous room for entertaining, making the library at the back of the house the most private of the public rooms.

      The dining areas on the opposite side of the foyer from the living area had once enjoyed a similar arrangement, but with the kitchen—complete with butler’s pantry and laundry room—rather than the library, beyond. Now, however, the formal and informal dining spaces had been combined into one large room with an enormous table handmade to accommodate six children and company.

      All of the bedrooms, six in total, were on the second and third floors. Two others had been sacrificed to private baths and larger closets, changes her great-grandfather probably could not have even envisioned when he’d bought and renovated the elegant old redbrick Greek Revival–style house on the very outer edge of north Davis Landing.

      There were larger, grander houses in the area, frankly, but not a single Hamilton would have traded this grand old place, with its expansive grounds, for any one of them.

      Rather than exit via the front door with its heavy leaded glass inset, Heather turned and quickly made her way down the central hall and out the back to the terraced patio, where her mother habitually took her morning tea, weather permitting. Nora sat there now in one of the heavy, wrought-iron chairs, the morning paper spread out over a glass-topped table and fluttering unheeded in the breeze that sang softly in the tops of the trees. Clad in silk pajamas and a matching robe, she stared unseeingly across the property.

      Heather dropped a hand upon her mother’s shoulder, feeling the frail bones keenly. Nora turned up a distracted smile, then twisted around in her chair as she got a good look at her middle daughter.

      “Just look at you! How I wish your father could see you this morning.”

      Heather bent forward to kiss her mother’s cheek. “I’ll go by the hospital later, give him a preview of this month’s Makeover Maven feature.”

      “It would do his heart good, I’m sure,” Nora told her. “It has mine. Goodness, you look so young all of a sudden.”

      “Not so dowdy, you mean,” Heather retorted, wrinkling her nose.

      “Funny what a haircut and a new wardrobe can do,” Nora mused, “or maybe I’m just feeling old this morning.” She sighed and made an effort to smile.

      Heather put down her bags and wrapped her arms around her mother’s slender shoulders. “It’s going to be all right, Mom. I just know it.”

      Nora nodded. “I’ve been thinking about the hundred-and-third Psalm.” It was one of Nora’s favorites, and Heather knew it by heart.

      “‘Bless the Lord, O my soul,’” she quoted softly. “‘And all that is within me, bless His holy name.’”

      “‘Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,’” Nora whispered, patting Heather’s arm. She looked up suddenly. “I don’t suppose your sister came in during the night, did she?”

      Heather shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

      “You don’t think Melissa’s in some kind of trouble this time, do you?”

      “I think she just can’t bear to see Dad in that hospital bed.”

      Nora’s gaze drifted away again. “I don’t blame her for that.”

      “Neither do I,” Heather agreed gently.

      “Get on with you, darling. I’ll see you later at the hospital.”

      Sensing that Nora needed solitude at the moment, Heather left her to her contemplation and hurried to her car, parked beneath the sheltered passage that ran between the main house and the old carriage house.

      The morning had a golden cast to it that Heather could attribute only to God’s goodness.

      Chapter Four

      Heather smiled at the Gordons, who gave her a thumbs-up and silent applause as she strode toward the elevator. Dropping a silly curtsy as the elevator door rolled closed, she felt ridiculously pleased and oddly happy.

      How strange that it should be so now, when her father was so desperately ill.

      Yet wasn’t that the Lord’s way, to bring joy in the midst of woe? Even a small joy was doubly welcome when cares were so heavy.

      Suddenly Heather remembered the verse between the ones she and her mother had quoted earlier that morning.

      Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits.

      She felt a decided zing pervade her steps as she strolled toward her office. It was early yet, so the receptionist was not at her desk. Heather could hear a few voices in muted conversation but saw no one as she made her way through the warren of cubicles.

      To her surprise, Ethan Danes sat perched on one corner of Brenda’s desk. Clad in khakis and a dark brown T-shirt, he was studying a print, the top one of a stack that he held in his hands.

      “Good morning,” she said brightly, aware of a shiver of excitement. Or was it trepidation?

      Ethan looked up, a smile at the ready. That smile stilled, then gradually grew as he took in this latest version of the “new” Heather.

      “Well,” he said, placing the photos on the desk, “I thought I’d picked my final shot.”

      “Oh?” She craned her neck, trying to look past him to get a peek at the photo he hoped would close the piece.

      He folded his arms. “The butterfly has not only broken out of her cocoon, she’s spread her wings, I see.”

      Heather inclined her head, laughing. She couldn’t help it. Who wouldn’t be pleased with such a statement from the best-looking man around?

      “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

      He winked at her. “And so you should.” Dropping his hands to the edge of the desk, he shifted around, crossing his ankles. “I think I’m finally seeing the real Heather, and that’s the ‘after’ photo I’d most like to see on the printed page.”

      Heather tried not to let that please her too much.

      “And what does Ellen have to say about it?”

      “I wouldn’t know. Haven’t seen her. Haven’t heard from her. Haven’t been able to reach her. That’s why I brought these straight to you.”

      Heather frowned at that. “I wonder what’s going on with her? Oh, well. I get the final say anyway.”

      Nodding, Ethan got to his feet and swept up the stack of photos, which he held out to Heather.

      “I’ve marked my picks, for what that’s worth. Let me know if you need anything СКАЧАТЬ