A Light in the Window Read Online Free PDF Page A

us too. We’ve missed you.”
    Tears misted Marcy’s eyes. Being an only child had never been easy for her, but Julie and the O’Rourkes had eased the loneliness considerably. “Me too, Mrs. O’Rourke—more than I can say.”
    “Sleep in as late as you want, girls, and we’ll catch up in the morning, either over breakfast or lunch, all right?” Julie’s mother blew them a kiss and traipsed down the hall with her husband and daughters in tow, the creaks and groans of the polished staircase rousing even more wonderful memories in Marcy’s mind.
    Melancholy laced Marcy’s tone as she transferred the last few cookies from a cookie sheet to a platter already stacked high. “Goodness, Julie, I just love your family,” she whispered with a sigh of longing.
    “Mmm … even Sam?” Julie teased, licking icing from her finger.
    Marcy slipped her a patient smile. “I like your brother, Jewels, you know that.” Her lips crooked to the side. “I just like him a whole lot better when he’s not around.”
    “I doubt that,” Julie said with a wink. “Hey, I have tons of icing left, so how ‘bout one more batch, but iced sugar this time?”
    Marcy’s gaze darted to the clock and back. “I don’t know, what if Sam comes home?” Her tongue swiped her teeth in nervous habit. “I really don’t want to be down here if he does.”
    “Come on, you little chicken, you have to see him eventually, and you may as well get it over with, right?” She fetched a clean bowl. “Besides, I already told you, Sam is always out late on the weekend.”
    Marcy puffed out a sigh. “Okay, but if he comes waltzing through that door while we’re baking cookies …” She threatened her with a spatula. “You are in big trouble, Miss O’Rourke.”
    “I’ll say,” Julie said, mischief twinkling in her eyes. “Because you know who will be with him.”
    Marcy shook her head and laughed. “You are incorrigible, you know that?”
    “Nope, that would be my older brother, so I suggest we get a move on before you find out firsthand.”
    Marcy chuckled. Whether it was the lively chatter of her best friend, the O’Rourke’s homey kitchen, or the steamy warmth of a summer night laden with smells of cinnamon and vanilla, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was she hadn’t felt this relaxed and happy since before Papa had taken them away to New York. Overnight she’d been thrust into a stiff and snooty society in which Marcy had no desire to fit in. Debutante balls and society teas were not her idea of home, and she found herself craving the simple and unpretentious life she’d left behind in Boston. A life where family and faith meant more than money and prestige, and where she could be who she was meant to be—Marceline Rose Murphy, a woman who loved family, friends, and faith with a passion.
    And Sam O’Rourke?
    No! Marcy jumped up to slide the last of the sugar cookies into the oven with shaky hands, then carried dirty bowls and utensils to the sink, eye on the clock. “Okay, Jewels, all done. Let me help with those dishes so we can get to bed.”
    Julie handed her the milk bottle she’d just rinsed. “Here, set this out on the porch, then you can help dry the last of these dishes, okay?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Marcy said with a smile over her shoulder as she opened the door, “and then I’m ready for sweet dreams—”
    “Oh, me too …” a husky voice said.
    Marcy bounced back into the kitchen with a tiny squeak after colliding with an immovable object so tall, her face was flush with his chest.
    “Do I know you?” Sam asked, and Marcy was sure she’d melt into the floor. And oh, sweet saints, how she wished that she could! Her limbs and lungs had ceased upon impact, rendering her helpless to do anything but stare unblinking into a pin-stripe shirt open enough at the collar to expose a hint of dark hair. She tried to respond, but all words adhered to her tongue, the air rasping from her throat in thick, heavy breaths that