Snowfall Read Online Free Page B

the farm. But don’t worry, I’ll come in first to make sure you are all set.”
    â€œThat won’t be necessary.” Making a shooing gesture with her hands, she said, “Go on now, we’ll be fine.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œVery much so.”
    â€œAll right. I’ll return in three hours.”
    â€œWait—is there anything I need to know?”
    â€œYeah. There’s six of ’em. Make sure when I come back that’s still the case.”
    Unable to help herself, she laughed. Maybe being here wasn’t going to be so bad after all. Maybe, just maybe.

Chapter 4
    I talk more than Karin. That’s how you can tell us apart. Plus I’ve got a freckle on my left pinky.
    Brigit, Age 5
    Still feeling hopeful after her promising conversation with Martin, Ruth picked up her wicker hamper and trotted into his home. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a difficult job, after all.
    Perhaps the kids would be just as appreciative and kind as their father. Maybe they wouldn’t realize she had little experience with people their age, or they wouldn’t hold it against her.
    Perhaps she would actually like being with them, and they would like being with her. It might even be fun teaching the children to make some Christmas crafts.
    Plus, she could be around all of them during the Christmas holidays. And wouldn’t that be something? Though she enjoyed her days at the retirement home a lot, being with a family was exciting. It had been a long time since she had felt included, really included. She hadn’t been in an actual home in more than a year. She hadn’t been in a home where she’d been happy for longer than she cared to remember.
    Especially since she always tried her best not to remember.
    The Rhodeses’ door needed a fresh coat of paint. Okay, it needed more than that. It needed to be sanded and painted a bright, glossy black. Currently it looked as if it had once been stained brown or maybe gray. It looked dark and dismal against the house’s white siding. The whole outside of the house would look much better if a coat or two of paint were applied.
    If the weather warmed a bit, perhaps the children could help her paint the door. They could sand the wood and then carefully paint the door black and the trim around it a fresh, bright white. She seemed to remember hearing that children liked projects.
    Now filled to the brim with good intentions, she turned the handle and walked through a small mudroom into a spacious kitchen. At first glance, it looked just as neglected as that front door. Though everything looked clean enough, there was a tired air about it that made her think no one had given it anything but minimal attention for a quite a while.
    Just as she set her basket on the center of the kitchen table, a line of children entered the room. They were beautiful kinner , four blessed with dark brown hair and green eyes, two with blond hair and brown eyes.
    Every one of them was watching her intently. Not a one was smiling. Instead, they were looking at her the way she might look at a stray cat in her yard. She wouldn’t be mean to it, but she wouldn’t especially want a strange animal living in her midst, either.
    And in that instant, all her optimism fled as reality set in. This wasn’t going to be all that different from her life with all of those distant relatives.
    â€œHi,” she said. “I’m Ruth.” When no one replied, she cleared her throat. “I’m going to be looking after you until New Year’s Day. I expect your father already told you this.”
    When they continued to eye her silently, she started to think that this Christmas could be even worse than the ones she’d known. Feeling dismayed, she attempted to joke. “I know this is hard, having a new sitter and all. But I’d like to make the best of things. I’d like to get to know you, and I’m hoping that you all can tell