Girl to Come Home To Read Free

that was ridiculous. He, the son of a quiet farmer, living outside the village, on a staid old farm that had been in the family for over a hundred years, without any of the frills and fancies that the modern homes had. And she the daughter of a most influential banker, who lived in a great gray stone mansion, went to private schools, then away to a great college, dressed with expensive simplicity, and never even looked his way. Beryl Sanderson! Even now the memory of her stirred his thoughts, although he hadn’t been pondering on her at all, he was sure, since he went away to war. Well, that was that, and he wasn’t mooning around about any of his childhood fancies. He had a big job to do for his country, and there wasn’t time for anything else then.
    Suddenly Rodney broke the silence. “How about you, kid? Did you pick up some pretty girl across seas, or was there a girl you left behind you? Come, out with it, and let us know where we both stand now that we’re getting home.”
    Jeremy grinned. “No girl!” he said.
    “No kidding?” said the older brother, turning his keen eyes a bit anxiously toward the younger man, with a pleasant recognition of the goodly countenance he wore, his fine physique, his strong, dependable face. There was nothing of which to be ashamed in that brother.
    “No kidding,” said Jeremy soberly. “Not after the line of talk Mom gave me before I went away. She didn’t exactly hold you up as a horrible example of one who had got himself engaged before time, but she did warn me that it was a great deal better to wait for big decisions like that till one was matured enough to be sure.”
    “Hm! Yes, well maybe Mom felt a little uncertain about what I’d done, though she never batted an eye about it. Of course I went away so soon after Jessica and I thrashed things out, and Mom was always fair. She never jumped to conclusions nor antagonized one of us. Probably she didn’t want to have me go away with any unpleasantness between us. She took her worries, if she had any about us, to God. She was that way. She had a wonderful trust that God could and would work
any
thing out that she couldn’t manage. Mom was wonderful that way. It somehow strengthened me a couple of times when I had a close call, just to remember that Mom was probably on her knees putting a wall of her prayers around me, maybe right at that time.”
    “Yes, she’s been a wonderful mom,” said Jeremy thoughtfully. “That’s why I don’t want anything to upset her now. I gotta go slow and let her know I haven’t got away from her teaching. But say, aren’t we coming into our station? Isn’t that the old Clark place? Yes, it is. Now it won’t be long before we’re home. Boy, but I’m hungering for a sight of the old house and Mom and Dad and Kathie and even old Hetty. Won’t it be good to eat some of her cooking again? I’m hungry enough to eat a bear.”
    “Here, too,” said Rodney, looking eagerly out the window. “But a bear wouldn’t be in it compared with Hetty’s fried chicken. Nobody ever fried chicken to beat old Hetty. Maybe we ought to have let ’em know we were coming. It takes time to go out and kill a chicken and cook it.”
    “Have you forgotten, brother, that they have an ice plant in the cellar? Ten to one Mom’s had chickens galore, frozen and ready to fry, just in case. You know Mom never got caught asleep. She’s probably been getting ready for this supper for the last two months. She won’t be caught napping.”
    “No,” said the older brother with solemn shining light in his eyes. “Well, here’s our station. Shall we go? It’s time to get our luggage in hand.”
    “Here, I’ll reach that bag, Rod. You oughtn’t to be straining that shoulder of yours, remember. You don’t want to go back to the hospital again, you know.”
    And so, laughing, kidding, eager, they arose and gathering their effects, trooped out to the platform.
    Casting a quick glance about, they made a dash