Miracle for the Girl Next Door Read Online Free Page B

in homes on the outskirts of Monta Correnti. Now when they gathered for meals three times a day, there were only twelve at their noisy table.
    Her father cast her an anxious glance. “Ah, good. You’re up.”
    Clara kissed him on top of his balding head. “I’m up and hungry.” She turned to her mother, who waited on everyone. “I’ll get my own breakfast. Sit down, Mamma. You work too hard.”
    “No, no. You must preserve your strength.”
    “I have plenty of strength this morning.”
    “That’s good to hear. Now you sit and eat!”
    “Yes, Mamacita .” She took her place across from Silvio, smiling secretly at his three children aged seven, five and three who giggled to hear their nonna get mad at her.
    Silvio’s pregnant wife, Maria, darted her a friendly glance. “You look better this morning.”
    “I feel good enough to run the stand today.” She drank the freshly squeezed orange juice waiting for her.
    “Absolutely not!” Silvio barked, so overprotective of her these days she felt smothered.
    “Do you think you should?” her anxious mother questioned as she put the hot omelet in front of her. Her devoted mother who did the work of a dozen people went out of her way to make certain she was well fed.
    “Of course I do. Thank you, Mamma.”
    “Are you telling us the truth?”
    “If I weren’t, I would stay in bed.” Clara was getting desperate and wanted to scream, but only because everyone was so good to her and worried about her continually. More than anything she hated being a burden, yet within the last three months that was what she’d become to her hard-working family.
    “So you really feel up to it?” Her father stared hard at her.
    “ Sì , Papa,” she answered in a controlled voice. “Some days I wake up feeling worse than others. Right now I feel good and want to do my part around here on the days when I can.”
    His eyes grew suspiciously bright before he nodded. “Then it’s settled.”
    Grazie , she murmured inwardly, but Silvio set his mug ofcoffee down too hard, telling everyone his opinion. He was the sibling who stifled her most with his concern. As a result, he was the most difficult member of the family to be around.
    The hot liquid splashed on the table. Maria told seven-year-old Pasquale to run and get a cloth for his father. While the mess was getting cleaned up, Bianca’s husband, Tomaso, walked in the back door in his overalls. He’d been out early setting up the fruit stand for Clara before doing his own work.
    His gaze shot straight to Clara. “You’ve got a visitor.” By his awestruck countenance, it told her this was no ordinary person.
    “Who is it?” She struggled to keep herself calm, already anticipating the answer with far too much excitement.
    “Valentino Casali. He’s driving the latest Ferrari 599.”
    Amidst the audible gasps, Silvio jumped to his feet, letting go with a few colorful expletives their household hadn’t heard in a long time.
    “ Basta !” their father admonished him.
    “Clara hasn’t had anything to do with him in years, Papa. He’s no good and he’s not welcome on our farm. I don’t want him here!” Silvio muttered angrily.
    Aghast at her brother’s venom, Clara felt a sudden feeling of weakness attack her body, but she fought not to show any vulnerability. She’d thought of course Valentino had only come to Monta Correnti for a few days and might even have left Italy as early as this morning.
    In all the years growing up, he’d never once come to the farmhouse to see her for any reason. Every time he’d given her a ride home on the scooter on his way to the lake, she’d insisted on getting off once they reached the road leading into the farm.
    “I’ll go outside and see what he wants.” Out of necessity she’d brushed him off too abruptly at the bus stop yesterday. Since then she’d been suffering guilt…and also regret for missing out on spending more time with him. There was no onelike him! Because she’d