Waiting to Believe by Sandra Bloom Read Free Book Online Page A

cornfields. The 1955 Ford station wagon was hot and stuffy carrying the eight of them. Kenneth’s cigarette smoke hung in the car, mixing with Rose’s Tabu.
    â€œHow much farther, Dad? Aren’t we almost to Canada?” Young Kacey complained.
    Kenneth shot her a small smile in the rearview mirror. “About five minutes, honey.” The children knew the tone, and Annie gave Kacey a small kick on the shin.
    Fifteen minutes later, he swung off the highway onto a county road marked “GG.” He slowed his speed to accommodate the loose gravel stretching ahead. The clench of Rose’s jaw increased with every mile. Three miles now on the dusty road. They had not seen one house since turning off the highway. An unplanted field rippled with weeds on one side of them. Small, water-starved stalks of corn struggled on the other.
    Finally, Bridget could not hold back. “Is this a joke, Dad?” she questioned from the rear of the lumbering station wagon. Kenneth did not reply.
    One more turn to the north, and the road smoothed out into a long driveway. Rose could see a white clapboard house ahead, tucked into the heavily wooded landscape. Apple trees lined the driveway. Farther back into the woods stood silver maples, gnarly oaks, Norway pines. An occasional stand of paper birches.
    Kenneth slowed the car as he came to a turnaround in front of the house. Three stories tall and square, the structure loomed over them. The Doyles sat in the car, staring in silence. The white paint was chipped, flaking in spots. Some of the boards had a bluish tinge, betraying years of unforgiving sun and neglect. A faded, overstuffed chair sat on the wraparound porch that spanned the width of the house. The screen door slapped against the door frame as a burst of wind caught it.
    Still, no one spoke. Kenneth swung open the driver’s door. “I’ll grant you, it isn’t the best looking house right now. But my God, look at the size of it! Think of all the bedrooms!”
    Annie and Kacey turned to each other with an astonished meeting of the eyes. Annie pushed Kacey to open the door and get out. “It looks like the set of a horror movie!” Annie whispered. One by one, all six children tumbled out. Rose sat motionless in the front seat.
    Kenneth made an impatient sweep of his arms, hurrying the others toward the porch. “For Christ’s sake,” he yelled, “don’t be so shortsighted! This place has great potential!” He yanked Rose’s car door open, pulling her out by her hand. “I can see it, Rose! I can see it right now!”
    Shading her eyes from the unrelenting sun, Rose took in the sight before her. Behind the house, a yellow barn leaned to the west. Off to one side was a corral, intact. Kenneth headed for it. “C’mon, c’mon!” He continued to urge everyone along. “Hey, Joseph, look here!” He reached for his youngest son. “How’d you like me to buy you a pony for this corral?”
    Joseph squealed with delight. “A pony!” he shrieked.
    â€œOh, Kenneth,” Rose murmured. He was too far ahead to hear.
    But her father had been right. They loved that house.
    Kacey willed herself not to be shortsighted; to see the potential in her new home, the convent. It wasn’t easy. The grounds surrounding the building were trimmed with precision. Only gnarly oak trees broke the wide expanse of grass. A tumbling spirea hedge marked the far end of the property. There were no flowers, Kacey noticed. And no people.
    Kenneth eased the wagon alongside the curb. The children piled out, but, then waited, uneasy, standing in the brilliant fall sunshine.
    Kenneth pulled open the rear door. Lifting out the small trunk, he thought, what an insignificant container to carry someone from one life to another .
    Rose rummaged in her purse and pulled out a small leather address book. “Here, honey, you almost forgot this! You left it on your