Christmas Cake by Lynne Hinton Read Free Book Online Page B

waswrong. She liked how normal it felt to be asked to babysit her best friend’s great-granddaughter.
    â€œI only have to take this test and then I can come right back. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours. I have some extra clothes for her in case something happens, and here’s some juice and a couple of toys.” She handed Margaret the bag.
    Margaret took it from her and began waving her out the door. “Go, it’s all right. Hope and I will be fine, won’t we, sugar?” she asked.
    Lana waited and then felt her daughter’s brow again. “I think the fever is gone now. I gave her a couple of Tylenol and she feels cooler to me.”
    Margaret nodded. “I’m sure it’s just that bug going around. I know a few of the other children from church were sick Sunday.” Margaret had stopped by the nursery before the worship service to speak to one of the workers. She had commented how low the number of children was that morning. That was when she heard about the virus going around.
    â€œOkay,” Lana responded. “Thank you, Miss Margaret. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Miss Jessie.”
    Margaret smiled. “Just make a good grade on your test and promise to take care of us all when we’re sick, and that will be a plenty.”
    Lana smiled. “That’s a promise.” She squeezed her daughter on the shoulder. “I’ll be back real soon, sweetie,” she said.
    Hope nodded slowly and watched as her mother walked out the door and down the back steps. Margaret stood with her on her hip for a few minutes. She liked the feel of the child in her arms. She rocked her a bit from side to side as they heard the car pull away. She felt Hope’s brow too and noticed that the little girl seemed a bit warm to the touch, but not too hot.
    â€œWell, I think I have a couple of Popsicles in the freezer. Do you think you might like to have one of those?” she asked.
    She felt the little girl nod her head against her neck.
    â€œHow about you sit here at the table and I’ll get us a couple.” She slid the little girl into a chair. “You like cherry or grape?” she asked.
    â€œCherry,” the little girl replied, and placed her hands on the table.
    Margaret walked over to the refrigerator and opened the small freezer door on top. She searched inside and found the box of Popsicles. She had bought the box over the weekend as she was preparing for the surgery and the treatments. She knew she would appreciate them when she was home from the hospital. She pulled a couple out and shut the door.
    â€œHere’s cherry,” she announced to her guest and handed the Popsicle to her. She grabbed a napkin and wrapped it around the end. “I think I’ve got orange,” she announced, sitting down beside Hope. She unwrapped hers and smiled at the orange treat.
    â€œNothing like a good Popsicle when your stomach hurts,” she said.
    The little girl nodded as she licked.
    After they finished and had washed their hands, Margaret walked with Hope into the den and turned on the television. Hope picked a channel that was showing cartoons and sat on the floor. Margaret grabbed a pillow from the bedroom and a quilt from her linen closet. She made a nice place for Hope to lie and watch television and then walked back into the kitchen to clean up. She peeked in the room a few minutes later and noticed that the little girl was already asleep.
    It wasn’t long before she saw the car drive up and watched as Jessie hurried up the steps. Margaret met her at the door. She held her finger to her lips to let her friend know that Hope was sleeping close by. Jessie nodded.
    â€œI’m so sorry,” Jessie whispered. “I just turned on the phone,” she added, walking in beside Margaret and then leaning so that she could see Hope asleep in her friend’s living room.
    â€œI hate that this happened,”