A Husband for Margaret Read Free

disappointment crossed
Joseph’s features but he nodded. “That’s fine. What do you think,
Margaret?”
    She swallowed the lump in
her throat. A week. In that time, she could possibly adjust to this
situation. Maybe. She examined the four boys. Or maybe
not. Then she looked at Joseph who was a
handsome man who obviously cared for his children and would
probably make a good husband. So
maybe. Then one of the kids named Bob or
Doug—she couldn’t remember which—sneezed into his hand before he
wiped it on his brother’s shirt. She cringed. Or maybe not.
    “ Well,” her father
interrupted, “we don’t have to make a decision right now. We should
give Margaret time to think about it.”
    “ Yes,” Margaret quickly
said. Her eyes grew wide when she realized they might misunderstand
her to mean that she’d marry Joseph and take on the responsibility
of four—four!—boys. “Yes, I’ll think about it.”
    It wasn’t the answer he wanted,
Margaret realized when she looked from the boys and back to their
father, but in no way was she prepared for this. Beside her,
Jessica smiled at the boys. Had this been Jessica, Jessica would
have married Joseph right away—if for no other reason than to be a
mother to the children. Well, there was no doubt about it. Jessica
was, and always would be, better than Margaret. Margaret simply did
not have it in her to embrace this right away...if ever.
    Her father turned to Joseph and the
boys. “You all must be tired after the long trip. Let’s go find
your luggage and get you settled into a motel. I can’t have you
sleeping under the same roof as my daughter unless you’re married
to her.”
    Jessica shook her head. “You can’t
confine children to a motel. I know! They can stay with Tom’s
parents. They have enough room for all of you, and since they live
on a farm, there’s plenty of room to play.”
    “ A farm?” one of the older
boys asked. “Uncle Paul had a farm. Are there horses out
there?”
    “ There sure are,” Jessica
replied.
    “ I don’t know,” Joseph said.
“There’s a lot of us.”
    Jessica laughed and waved her hand.
“The Larsons are used to a lot of people. Why, there are five kids
in that family, except most of them are grown up and have their own
places. And they are planting beans and corn. If you want to do
something in return for food and lodging, I’m sure they could use
the extra help.”
    Joseph relaxed. “If we can earn our
keep, then it’d work. Doug and Bob used to help their uncle in the
fields.”
    She clapped her hands and laughed.
“Then it’s settled.”
    One of the boys jumped up and down. “We
get to stay on the farm! Can we ride horses too?”
    Jessica nodded. “After all the work is
done, Bob.”
    It was official. Jessica was better
than her, Margaret thought. She even knew which kid was which. No
wonder all the men wanted to be with Jessica instead of her.
Jessica was more likeable, more attractive, more... Well, just more
everything!
    But she couldn’t compare herself to
Jessica. No matter how tempting it was, especially at times like
this.
    “ We got to meet Tom’s
parents at the wedding,” Margaret’s mother told Joseph. “They adore
children. They have a couple of grandchildren. I believe their
oldest son has twin boys.”
    “ Richard has two boys and
one girl. The twins are three and the girl is only five months
old,” Jessica clarified. “Tom’s sister, Sally, just found out she’s
expecting her first child.”
    “ No older kids?” one of
Joseph’s boys asked Jessica.
    She shook her head. “I’m afraid not.
But you’re seven and Bob is six, so you already have someone close
to your age to play with.”
    As much as Margaret liked her friend,
she was starting to wish she hadn’t brought her along. The boys
were already falling in love with her. She sighed in despair. It
was a sign. Paul’s death, Joseph coming out with a bunch of kids,
and Jessica getting along wonderfully with them... It was all