Heaven Sent Read Online Free PDF Page A

Her mother and father went to great pains to pick
out everything just the way they wanted it.”
    This news surprised Callie. “Her
father helped?”
    “ Oh, my, yes. Why, the poor
man used to dote on his wife and Becky. He indulged their every
whim. He even took them to San .Francisco to pick the fabrics for
little Becky’s tester and counterpane—all pink-and-white gingham
checks, don’t you know, with white cotton lace edging it all. Mrs.
Lockhart’s death crushed him “
    It must have. “I had no
idea.”
    The housekeeper sighed soulfully.
“There ought to be three or four little children playing in this
grand house. Then Becky wouldn’t be so lost and alone and neither
would her papa. But it pleased the good Lord to call Mrs. Lockhart
to a new home.” She shook her head.
    Perhaps, Callie thought, she ought to
go a little easier on Aubrey Lockhart. At least until she got to
know more about the family as a whole.
    On the other hand, Callie didn’t think
she could ever really forgive him for abandoning his daughter. She
didn’t doubt for a minute that his wife’s death had hurt him and
broken his spirit. But he owed it to his wife’s memory and his
still-living daughter to be of solace to the child, blast
it.
    Her firm and negative opinions about
Mr. Aubrey Lockhart flew smack out of her head as soon as Mrs.
Granger opened the door to the room Becky had picked for
Callie.
    “ Good heavens!”
    Mrs. Granger beamed. “Lovely, isn’t
it?”
    Callie swallowed and slowly entered
the room. “It certainly is.” She set Monster’s wicker basket down
next to the fireplace. The animal set up a yowl that faded into a
hiss of fury, but Callie paid him no mind.
    “ Jumping cats, Callie, this
is a sight better than anything you’ve ever lived in before.”
George stomped into the room and dumped her luggage on the
bed.
    Darting over and retrieving the two
small bags, Callie whispered, “George! Don’t put them
there!”
    He laughed indulgently. “Callie-coe,
sweetheart, your two little bags aren’t going to ruin that
counterpane, even if it is a fine one.”
    She set the bags on the magnificent
blue-and-white Chinese rug laid before the fireplace, precipitating
a low grown from Monster, next to the bags. “I suppose not, but . .
. well, it seems like sacrilege to me.” She laughed at herself and
her silliness.
    So did George. Mrs. Granger looked
sort of shocked. Callie hastened to reassure her that the two
Prophets weren’t complete heathens. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Granger. It’s
only that I’ve never even seen a room as beautifully furnished as
this one. I never expected to be sleeping in one, and that’s a
fact.”
    Her words seemed to soothe Mrs.
Granger’s feelings. She folded her hands under her apron and beamed
as her gaze swept the room. “I know. Isn’t it
something?”
    “ It is, indeed.”
    Callie’s gaze went from the
spectacular Chinese rug before the fireplace to the equally lovely
and much larger one that covered most of the rest of the polished
cedar floor. Evidently Mr. Lockhart’s Chinese imports weren’t all
sold to create income, but many of them had been diverted to his
own home. Callie was glad of it. She wasn’t going to mind in the
least being able to live in the middle of such luxury and only
hoped she wouldn’t get too used to it. She sure liked it so
far.
    The furniture was all made of a
gleaming dark wood, covered with ornate carvings. The pearl inlays
in the dressing table and mirror accented the beautiful designs
worked into the wood.
    “ Lord love us, Callie,
you’ll never want to go home again,” George said.
    Detecting a slight edge to his
words—or perhaps the edge was in his voice—Callie dragged her
attention away from the blue-and-white goddess residing on the
mantelpiece and focused on him. He looked worried. “What’s the
matter, George?”
    He shrugged. “Nothing, I guess. I
just—” He stopped speaking suddenly.
    Bemused, Callie said, “You what?