A Mother at Heart Read Online Free PDF

her.
    Each evening he thanked God for the precious gift entrusted to him. And as he did most evenings, he promised he would do everything he could to make sure she would have a home as secure and loving as the one he had received through Fred and Tilly.
    â€œâ€¦and be with Miriam, my mommy’s friend.” Jake felt a start at the sound of Taryn speaking Miriam’s name, but he said nothing, not wanting to draw any more attention to Miriam.
    He waited until she was done, then bent over and kissed her gently. He paused at the door to look once more, closed it behind her and went downstairs to face Miriam.
    He heard them laughing, and stopped just behind the door, listening, remembering other times.
    Like the first time he had seen Miriam.
    He had been sitting on Fred and Tilly’s picnic table, staring out at the view below—a young boy of fourteen, a foster child being brought to his third foster home in as many years and recently separated from his brother Simon. The social worker had been inside the house, talking to Fred and Tilly. He hadn’t wanted to hear what she had to say.
    So he had stayed outside, appreciating the flow of the land that stretched out below him, yet wondering how he was going to survive in a house with only two old people for company.
    Then a skinny girl had ridden up on her horse and jumped off. She’d tied it to a post by the back gate and boldly walked up to him, retying the shoelace that held her ponytail in place. She’d asked who he was and what he was doing sitting at Uncle Fred and Aunt Tilly’s picnic table.
    When he ignored her, she just shrugged and waltzed on into the house, like she lived there. She came out a few minutes later and sat beside him on the table. She said nothing, this time. Just sat there.
    Together they watched the sun going down, felt the soft chill that accompanied the fall evenings drifting onto the yard.
    The social worker came out later, accompanied by Fred and Tilly. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Miriam, and spun around, asking Fred and Tilly who she was.
    â€œJust the neighbor girl,” they said. “She comes over a lot.”
    The social worker nodded and then stopped by Jake. Laying her hand on his shoulder, she bent down to his height—an older woman talking to an angry, young man. “This is a good place, Jake. Don’t wreck things for yourself.”
    Jake had ignored her, staring past her at the setting sun. Social workers were always full of advice and, as far as he was concerned, misconceptions. The fact that he had been in so many homes had more to do with Simon’s constant running away than with his behavior. But he didn’t want to get into that. It hurt to think of Simon. It was the first time they had been separated. So he only nodded and said nothing, wondering where his brother had ended up and when he would see him again. He knew it was a waste of time to ask the social worker. She would give him some vague answer about waiting to see if they settled in. Then she left.
    Fred and Tilly went back to the house.
    To his surprise and dismay, Miriam stayed beside him. He had wanted to be alone, but she wouldn’t leave. After a while, though, it didn’t matter as much. She had been pretty quiet.
    Tilly brought them a glass of orange juice and then walked back into the house.
    Miriam turned to him and started talking. He had known her silence was too good to be true. She askedquestions, the basic ones—What’s your name? How old are you? Where did you live before?
    His replies were terse. He had answered enough questions before this placement to add twenty more pages to his already thick file. Everyone knew everything about him, so the trick was to hold back as much as he could for as long as he could.
    Miriam chatted about the school, the town, Tilly and Fred. She said nothing about her own mother. In fact, at first he thought she didn’t even have a mother.
    Miriam came