Read Heidi Vanlandingham - Lucie: Bride of Tennessee (American Mail-Order Bride 16) for Free Online Page B

then slammed the front door as he entered Martha’s home. “Lucie!”  He burst into the bedroom with a huge grin on his face and shoved his small tablet at her. “Look what I did!”
    She took the tablet and held it back from her face so she could read the neat rows of numbers. At the top of his work was a large red plus sign. She smiled. “That’s fantastic, Alex! You are doing so much better with your numbers. You must have a very good teacher.”
       He nodded, his shaggy hair bobbing around his face. He blew a lock of hair off his forehead. “She is. Pretty too.” He snickered. “My friend Bobby has a crush on her.”
    Listening to her brother laugh with excitement, talking and joking about things a boy his age should be, filled her chest with a bittersweet pain. He was finally getting to act like a twelve-year-old, which made her happy. Alex dropped the tablet into his lunch pail then curled up against her like they used to do before their parents died. How she missed those times.
    “Charles was tellin’ me about a big flood Chattanooga had when he was little. He said half the town was underwater! Did you know they brought in huge piles of dirt and buried this whole area?” He glanced around the room, a look of wide-eyed wonder on his face. “This would’ve been the third floor, not the second.”
    She raised one eyebrow. “Really?”
    “Really,” an amused voice said. Lucie met Martha’s blue gaze. The grandmotherly woman held out a plate filled with a large piece of rhubarb pie. Alex jumped off the bed and took it with a loud whoop .
    “Thank you!” He scooted into the other room to eat it at the small table.
    “Take your plate downstairs when you’re done, please—and do your homework!” Lucie called, but his response was garbled.
    “He’s happy.” Martha laughed and took Alex’s place on the edge of the bed. Uncurling Lucie’s fingers from the cover, she held them between her palms.
    Staring at the smooth-skinned hands cradling hers, Lucie realized just how much she missed having someone take care of her. It was nice, but she knew she shouldn’t get used to it. Martha wasn’t her mother. She probably just felt sorry for her because of what happened.
    Lucie didn’t want her pity. She wanted to stand on her own two feet— to support herself, and to provide for her brother like he deserved. But still, she liked Martha…and at that moment, she needed a bit of tenderness. “So, the first floor is buried from previous floods? That explains the sidewalk windows.”
    “Most of this area has been completely filled in, almost up to the second floor, but there are still a few buildings across the street and, I believe, a few blocks over that are still using their first levels as storage. One merchant is living in what’s now his basement and what used to be their home as business space.”
    “That’s just so strange.”  
    Martha shrugged. “It is what it is. Now, tell me what’s put that dark frown on your face? You look as if you carry the world on those thin shoulders of yours.”
    Lucie sighed, and to her chagrin, tears filled her eyes. “I’m just tired of lying around in bed.” She hesitated, adding in a whisper, “And I’m scared.”
    “Hmmm. I think I have just the thing for that. We need to have a little talk.” Martha patted her hand. “You don’t have to do everything yourself, you know. That’s what friends are for—to help carry your burdens. I would like for you and Alex to move in with me on a permanent basis. I have plenty of room. I’ve enjoyed having the both of you here. It’s lonely by myself. I’ve asked Sebastian so many times to move back here with his daughter, but he keeps refusing me. I even have a job in mind for you once you’ve healed, if you’re agreeable.”
    Dumbfounded, she stared at the woman who had just offered them such a wonderful gift. “Why, Martha? Why would you do this for us? You barely know my brother or me.”
    Martha