A Mother For Cindy. Margaret Daley

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      “There’s just times I wish I had a mommy, but I can’t tell Daddy that.”

      Jesse’s heart constricted. There were times she was sure Nate wished he had a father, but she could never see herself married again. She had been lucky once.

      Please, Lord, help me be there for Cindy as I was for Nate. Guide me in the best way to help Cindy.

      With her arm still loosely around Cindy’s shoulder, Jesse asked, “Does your father have any lady friends?”

      “He’s always too busy working when he should be resting.”

      A plan began to materialize in Jesse’s mind. “Maybe we can do something about that.”

      THE LADIES OF SWEETWATER LAKE:

       Like a wedding ring, this circle of friends

       is neverending.

      GOLD IN THE FIRE (LI #273)

      A MOTHER FOR CINDY (LI #283)

      LIGHT IN THE STORM (LI #297)

      MARGARET DALEY

      feels she has been blessed. She has been married thirty-three years to her husband, Mike, whom she met in college. He is a terrific support and her best friend. They have one son, Shaun, who married his high school sweetheart in June 2002.

      Margaret has been writing for many years and loves to tell a story. When she was a little girl, she would play with her dolls and make up stories about their lives. Now she writes these stories down. She especially enjoys weaving stories about families and how faith in God can sustain a person when things get tough. When she isn’t writing, she is fortunate to be a teacher for students with special needs. Margaret has taught for over twenty years and loves working with her students. She has also been a Special Olympics coach and has participated in many sports with her students.

      A Mother for Cindy

      Margaret Daley

      MILLS & BOON

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      For I know the plans I have for you,

       declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to

       harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

       Then you will call upon Me and come and

       pray to Me and I will listen to you. You will seek

       Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your

       heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord,

       and will bring you back from captivity.

      —Jeremiah 29:11–14

      To Judy Pelfrey

       Thank you for twenty-five years of friendship

       and for your guidance and grace. May you reside

       in God’s loving arms always.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Letter to Reader

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Peace at last.

      With a deep sigh Jesse Bradshaw sank into the chair at her kitchen table. After the hectic past hour getting her son off to visit his friend Sean O’Brien, she now had time to read her daily verses from the Bible and collect herself before starting her day.

      Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to make it through—

      Honk! Honk!

      Jesse bolted from her chair, nearly toppling it to the tile floor, and raced for the door. Not again. Stepping outside, she scanned her backyard and found that her geese had a large man who was holding a crying little girl, trapped by the edge of the lake. As Jesse hurried toward her pet geese, the one overriding impression was the anger carved into the stranger’s face. He tried to shield the child from the irate birds that flapped their wings, hissing and honking their displeasure at their space being invaded.

      “Step away from the nest,” Jesse shouted across her yard that sloped to the lake behind her house.

      “What do you think I’ve been trying to do?”

      The man’s anger was momentarily directed at her as she neared him. His dark gaze drilled into her while Fred darted at him and nipped his leg. The stranger winced and held the little girl up higher to keep the geese from attacking her.

      “I’ll get their attention. You run.”

      “My pleasure,” he agreed between clenched teeth at the same time Ethel took her turn at his other leg.

      “Daddy, Daddy, make them go away! I’m scared!” The child hugged her father tighter and curled her legs around him so they weren’t a dangling target for the geese.

      “Everything’s okay, Cindy.” He awkwardly patted the child’s back while glaring at Jesse, clearly conveying his own displeasure.

      “Fred! Ethel!” Jesse put herself between the geese and the man with the little girl. She waved her arms like a windmill and jumped up and down, yelling the pair’s names in her sternest voice, hoping none of her neighbors saw this undignified display.

      Thankfully Ethel calmed down and waddled toward her nest. Fred, however, would have nothing to do with her. He focused on the stranger, who was trying to back away. Flying around Jesse, Fred went for the man’s leg again. Jesse threw herself in front of the goose. She got nipped on the thigh.

      “Get out of here,” she whispered loudly. Pain spread from the sore place on her leg as she continued to come between Fred and the intruders.

      Carrying his daughter, the man hurried across the yard, a limp to his gait. At the edge of her property, he threw a glance over his shoulder, an ashen cast to his dark features. Jesse shivered in the warm spring air. This man was definitely not happy with her geese—or her.

      Fred settled down as the two people moved farther away. After giving one final loud honk, he toddled back to Ethel and stood guard, his beady black eyes watching the pair disappear inside the house next door.

      So those were her new neighbors, staying in the Millers’ summer home.

      Jesse headed for her back door, rubbing the reddened area on her thigh. Everyone in