A Husband for Margaret Read Online Free PDF Page A

someone he could enjoy the kind of
friendship and love he had enjoyed with Hannah.
    All he had to do was get through the
awkward stage of not knowing exactly what to say. Taking a deep
breath, he steadied his nerves and turned his attention to the
screaming children downstairs. Those children, of course, were his.
The Larson children were all grown up. They might have had
grandchildren who were as full of energy as his own kids, but those
kids went home with their parents. Sometimes, Joseph missed the
quiet.
    He went down the stairs and saw that
Mrs. Larson was playing with his youngest two. His older two boys
helped Jenny Larson, the fifteen year old, with
breakfast.
    Mrs. Larson looked over at him and
motioned to the chair. “I was just getting ready to call the men
in. It’s going to be a busy day again.” She ruffled Charles’ and
Ben’s hair. “I just love being a grandmother. I can’t wait for
Jessica and Tom to have their first child.”
    Jenny rolled her eyes. “Ma, you already
have grandchildren.”
    “ I know but what’s the harm
in having more?” She winked at the boys. “A woman can never have
too many grandchildren.”
    Jenny let out a low groan before she
turned back to the skillet.
    “ You have some fine boys,”
Mrs. Larson told Joseph.
    “ Thank you, ma’am.” He saw
that Doug and Bob were setting the dishes out. “Good job,
boys.”
    “ Pull up a seat,” she said
as she set Ben and Charles in their chairs.
    Ben squealed with glee and banged the
tray on his highchair.
    Charles climbed onto Joseph’s lap and
grabbed a fork from Doug before he could set it on the table.
“Ork!” he proudly stated while he waved it around.
    Joseph dodged it and took it from him.
“The fork goes on the table until we eat, Charles.” He set it next
to the plate.
    “ This brings back so many
memories.” Mrs. Larson dabbed her eyes with the edge of her apron.
“Jenny, don’t you remember the time when Joel was a baby and you
taught him the word ‘fork’?”
    “ That’s when I was thinking
of being a teacher,” Jenny said, her exasperation evident in her
voice. “Ma, this is ridiculous. Everything these kids do remind you
of when the rest of us were little.”
    Bob sneezed and wiped his nose on the
back of Doug’s shirt.
    “ Gross!” Doug pushed him
back.
    Jenny motioned to them. “I saw Joel and
Tom doing the very same thing last month. You don’t have to worry.
Your sons will always be little kids.”
    Mrs. Larson sighed. “It’s been awfully
quiet in this house since Tom left.”
    “ He still comes by.” Jenny
clapped her hands. “Oh, Jessica’s bringing Margaret out. Jessica
will want to see the new pattern for the shirt I want to make
her!”
    Joseph’s ears perked up. Did that mean
he’d get some time alone with Margaret? He hadn’t had that
opportunity since he walked with her at the park. The other times
he’d seen her, her parents had been there. He hoped the others
would find something else to do while Margaret was there. Of
course, the boys would be with them, but it would be the six of
them after they got married. And as long as the boys played nicely,
then it might happen.
    Glancing at Doug and Bob, he said, “You
remember what I told you about being on your best behavior when
Miss Williams is here?”
    Doug nodded. “Course we will, Pa. We
want a ma.”
    “ Good. That means there’s no
fighting, and you have to help keep Charles and Ben out of
trouble.”
    “ We can do that.”
    “ We want a ma so she can
make pie!” Bob said.
    “ Your new ma isn’t only
there to make you pies,” Joseph replied.
    “ Oh, we know that.” A sad
look crossed Doug’s face. “We remember our real ma. Will Miss
Williams be like her?”
    “ Not exactly like her,”
Joseph told him. “Some things will be the same. Others will be
different. No two people are alike.”
    “ But she does make pie,
right?” Bob asked.
    “ Yes, she does.”
    Doug’s mood brightened. “Can she