A Husband for Margaret Read Free Page B

back
at the ceiling. Like she needed a pep talk right now! What she
needed was to go back in time and warn Paul not to ride his stupid
horse.
    “ I know this is hard for
you,” her mother continued. She reached out and lightly rubbed
Margaret’s arm. “I certainly didn’t expect a widower with four
children to come off that train either. It caught us all by
surprise.”
    There her mother went again—referring
to the surprise. Margaret figured by now, her mother had done that
a good ten times. Mostly on the way home and now in her bedroom.
Well, she might as well add to it. “Yes, it was a surprise.” One
huge, gigantic, colossal surprise! She dared a look in her mother’s
direction. “Do you think I’m mean for not wanting to marry
him?”
    “ I think you should get to
know him before making that decision.”
    “ What’s there to know? He
wants a mother for his kids. Did you see how many there
are?”
    She chuckled. “Of course, I did. I’m
not blind.”
    “ I’m not heartless, Ma. I
feel sorry for him. I can’t imagine trying to take care of four
children all by myself. He does need a mother for them.”
    She smiled. “He’s been married before
so he knows there’s more to a marriage than taking care of
children.”
    “ Oh, I know. There’s having
a woman who’ll cook and clean and do his laundry too.”
    “ Paul would’ve asked you to
do the same thing.”
    Margaret groaned and threw the pillow
over her face. “I don’t want logic right now. I just want to wallow
in misery.”
    “ I know.” She lifted the
pillow from her daughter’s face. “And I’ll let you enjoy every
second of it for the rest of today. But—” she gave her a pointed
look—“I expect you to wake up tomorrow with the notion that you
will at least get to know Joseph when you see him. Marriage isn’t
all about chores and children. It’s about the sharing of your life
with someone else.”
    “ I knew you wanted
grandchildren, but I didn’t realize you wanted a whole lot of them
at one time.”
    Laughing, she gently placed the pillow
back over Margaret’s face. “It’s more than children or
grandchildren. It’s about seeing my daughter happy. I think Joseph
is a nice man.”
    “ He’s old.”
    “ Thirty isn’t
old.”
    “ He’s ten years older than
me.” She gasped and sat up. The pillow fell to her lap. “His oldest
child is seven. I was thirteen when that kid was born.”
    “ That means you’re still
older and able to provide a stern look of authority over the
youngster.”
    Grumbling, Margaret laid back in the
bed and returned the pillow to her face. She was beginning to wish
she hadn’t posted an ad at all. This was a mess. Her mother
wouldn’t be happy if she decided not to marry Joseph. But so what?
It was Margaret’s life, not her mother’s.
    “ Give it a good night’s
sleep,” her mother advised.
    Margaret felt the bed shift, notifying
her that her mother stood up.
    “ Things always look better
after a good night’s sleep.”
    When her mother left the room, Margaret
pulled the pillow off of her face and let out a sigh of
despair.
    ***
    The next afternoon, Margaret glanced at
the clock above the fireplace and cringed. Joseph was due any
minute. She turned her gaze to the window and peered out of it.
There was no sign of him yet. She exhaled, relieved.
    Her mother entered the parlor. “It’ll
be a nice day to go for a walk.”
    Margaret turned from the window and
asked, “Will you come along?”
    Her mother chuckled. “Of course not.
You need to get to know him, and that isn’t going to happen unless
you two can talk alone.”
    Margaret fought the urge to groan and
sat down in a chair. She put her face in her hands. She had no idea
what she could say to him that might be of any interest. After all,
she had no experience with children. What in the world could she
possibly have to offer him? Well, except for being a mother to his
brood of offspring. She shuddered. Four boys. Not even a