In a Mother’s Arms Read Online Free Page B

Noelle’s house to help with the baby and the house chores.
    Yes, she had been running for the good part of twelve hours. And it wasn’t over yet. She glanced at the two baskets of sewing work she intended to tackle the rest of the week. It would help with the mortgage she had against her dear Ruth, the last of the debt accumulated from her marriage and illnesses. Needless to say, her late husband Fred had not been good with money.
    The cart rattled down the lane, bringing her shanty into view. A blur of red and a streak of yellow in the lush green grasses caught her eye. Whatever could that be? She was too far away to see clearly, but it looked like the rounded top of a little girl’s sunbonnet. It looked like—
    The Frost twins. That could only mean one thing. Sukie was on the loose again.
    “Miss Molly!” In tandem, the girls raced through the wild grasses. One in bright yellow calico, the other in bright red, they burst up the rise and through the wildflowers, panting as if they had run a hundred miles. “You’re not supposed to be here—”
    “—cuz it’s supposed to be a surprise—”
    “—’cept we had to pick flowers—”
    “—and it took longer than we thought.”
    Molly reined her mare to a stop and set the brake,gazing down at the pair of them. How welcome to see their round button faces shining with goodness and life! Their sweetness refreshed her weary spirit, that was for certain. “I’m worrying about Sukie and you girls are picking wildflowers?”
    “Oh, we’re not here because of Sukie.” One of the twins—Penelope?—swiped an ebony curl from her eyes. “She decided to stay at home.”
    “We’re here because of the surprise.” The other twin skipped in place, apparently too excited to stand still.
    “Surprise?” Curious, Molly hopped down from the cart, landing with a swish of her skirts. “What on earth have you girls been up to?”
    “All sorts of trouble,” Penelope assured her as she took Molly’s hand.
    “Lots of trouble,” Prudence concurred as she took Molly’s other hand.
    Was it her imagination that the sun shone more brightly? Or just her lonely mother’s heart delighting in this connection with children—even though they were not hers? Molly felt her loss and loneliness like the shadows cast at her feet, but they were small compared to the great sunlit world around her, shimmering with color. The purple foxglove nodded in greeting along the path, the yellow faces of daisies waved and the buttercups smiled as they skipped by. With small hands tucked in her own, happiness seeped into the cracks of her soul.
    “We hope you’re not mad we came.” Penelope smiled up at her, using both dimples.
    How on earth could Dr. Frost deny these girlsanything? Molly melted at the sight. “Mad? No, but I am worried about your housekeeper. Does she know you girls are here?”
    “She was busy peeling potatoes for supper,” Prudence answered.
    “Yeah, so we didn’t want to bother her with asking.”
    Molly chuckled; she couldn’t help it. “You two are definitely trouble. You aren’t going to worry the poor lady, are you?”
    “Nope.” Penelope stopped skipping, bringing all three of them to a halt. “Mrs. Finley says we have to tell her where we are, and we did. She can’t run after us.”
    “She’s got tired bones,” Prudence explained seriously. “But she reads to us and she’s nice.”
    “She’s almost like a grandma.”
    “We like her a lot.”
    “Since we don’t have a ma.”
    “We sure would like a ma.”
    They walked the last few yards with the grass rustling their hems and crunching beneath their shoes. One question did happen to bother her. Now seemed like a good time to ask the girls. “Why hasn’t your pa remarried?”
    “He doesn’t want to disappoint some nice lady.” Penelope’s hand gripped her more tightly.
    “It’s because of us,” Prudence confessed. “Nobody wants so much trouble.”
    “No, that can’t be. Where did you