A Nest of Sparrows: A Novel - Softcover

Raney, Deborah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1578565782 ISBN 13: 9781578565788

Verlag: Waterbrook Press (A Division of Random House Inc), 2004

Inhaltsangabe

His Fiancée Was the One Woman He’d Loved.
Her Children Are All He Has Left.

Reserved contractor Wade Sullivan never expected to fall in love with Starr Parnell or to love her three small kids as if they were his own. But that’s exactly what happened. As their wedding draws near, however, tragedy strikes–and Wade must put aside his own grief in order to help Starr’s children cope.

As Wade focuses his efforts on caring for the children, he discovers that their tender, young lives give tremendous meaning to his own broken one. Then Starr’s abusive ex-husband shows up to claim the offspring who barely remember him–and Wade prepares for the fight of his life.

Will Anyone Believe His Claim to Love the Children More than Their Father Loves Them?

A powerful novel of loss and discovery, courage and grace, A Nest of Sparrows masterfully illustrates one man’s struggle to know when to fight, when to let go, and when to simply wait.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Deborah Raney is an award-winning author known for her sensitive portrayal of family struggles and relationships. Her many novels include A Scarlet Cord, Beneath a Southern Sky, After the Rains, and A Vow to Cherish.

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Chapter Four

Sophia Braden dropped the phone into its cradle and covered her mouth
with her hands, trying to absorb the bombshell Wade had just dropped.
Her throat constricted, and she struggled to catch her next breath.

A tug on her shirttail made her look down.

“Aunt Sophie? Was that my mama?” Danica looked up at her with
woeful puppy-dog eyes–eyes so like her mother’s. How did you explain
something like this to a four-year-old? Sophie could barely make sense of
it herself.

“No, sweetie”–she took a deep breath and put a hand on her niece’s
head, smoothing back the silky yellow hair–“that was Wade. He–” She
swallowed back a sob that felt like a boulder. “He’s going to pick you guys
up in a little bit.”

A glint of suspicion crossed Danica’s delicate features, and she looked
hard into Sophie’s face, then ducked out from under her caress and ran back
to the living room, where her brother and sister were watching a video.

What on earth was Wade going to tell these kids? And what would
happen to them? No way in the world was Wade going to take on three
kids and raise them. And she sure as Moses wouldn’t do it.

Her big sister was gone. Dead. Sophie was jolted all over again by the
thought. It brought back too many memories that were better left buried.
But one thing couldn’t be ignored. She was totally alone now.

What could have happened to Starr? Wade said they didn’t know yet,
but good grief, a twenty-nine-year-old woman didn’t just drop dead for no
reason. She and Starr had had their differences over the years, but in spite
of it all, Sophie loved her sister. Starr was the only family she had left.
Now she was gone too.

And where was her sister’s God now? She strangled a derisive snort. If
Starr had one fault, it was that she was always trying to cram her religion
–her faith, she called it–down Sophie’s throat. Well, it didn’t take a
psychologist to see that Starr had God and Wade mixed up. Just because
things had finally gone right for Starr, just because she’d finally found a
man who treated her like a princess and loved her brats as if they were his
own, Starr was ready to jump up and shout hallelujah and give God all
the credit. Well, where was God now?

Sophie hoped Starr knew…wherever she was.


Wade stood six feet from Starr’s body and answered the questions the
emergency personnel–and later the medical investigator from the coroner’s
office–threw at him. But Wade had no light to shed on what could
have caused Starr’s sudden death. Numb, he told them everything he
could think of: She’d spent long hours working at the house, using all
kinds of paints and varnishes. She’d been fighting a cold for several days,
but that hadn’t seemed to slow her down. No, she wasn’t on any regular
medications, though he thought she might have been taking something
for the sinus headache. But he couldn’t be certain. He racked his brain for
anything else that might help and came up blank.

Finally they covered Starr’s body and carried her from the house. Like
an automaton, Wade locked up the house, climbed into his truck, and
drove over to Sophie’s place. He trudged up the sidewalk to the run-down
apartment. It took supreme effort to put one foot in front of the other.
How could he tell those kids their mama was dead? They’d had so many
struggles already in their short lives.

He rang the doorbell. Almost immediately the door swung inward,
and two featherweight little girls swooped on him. “Wade! Wade’s here!
Wade’s here!”

Oh, Father, give me the words. “Hey, half pint.” He hoisted Danica up
with one arm and pulled her seven-year-old sister close with the other.
“Hey, Lacey Daisy. Hey, Dani Banany.”

Beau waited in the wings, with the newly acquired aloofness of an
almost-nine-year-old. “Hey, buddy.” Wade put up a hand for their ritual
“give me five” greeting.

Beau slapped Wade’s hand hard with his small palm, then dipped his
head and tossed Wade a crooked grin.

“Where’s Mama?” Dani asked, looking past Wade to the front door.

He felt his spirit falter. “Come here, guys.” He started toward the living
room, Dani still in his arms, herding the other two beside him. “I…I
need to talk to you…about your mama.”

From the corner of his vision, Wade saw Sophie grab the remote and
switch off the television. She leaned on the doorjamb.

He sat down on the shabby sofa and pulled Danica close, breathing
in the sweet baby shampoo scent of her hair. Beau and Lacey stared at
him, waiting. What were they expecting him to say? Surely not the terrible,
devastating words he was about to utter.

He cleared his throat and fought for control. “Something happened
to your mama this morning. We…we’re not sure what yet, but she had an
accident–or maybe she was sick–we don’t know for sure,” he repeated.
“The…the doctor is going to try to find out. But your mama…she’s in
heaven now.”

“She died?” Beau’s voice cracked, and his face contorted. He stood
like a statue for a long minute before his angry outburst split the air. “No!
You’re a liar!”

Wade reached for him, but Beau wriggled out of his grasp and ducked
between the sofa and the wall, whimpering.

“I’m sorry, Beau. We don’t know why, but, yes,…your mama died.
And she’s in heaven with Jesus now.”

“You’re a liar,” Beau spat again. “I hate you! I hate Jesus! I want my
mama back!”

Danica began to whimper. “I want Mama. I don’t want Mama to go
up to heaven.”

Wade held the little girl close, drawing strength from her birdlike
weight on his lap. Her thumb went to her mouth–a habit that had been
broken last year before she started preschool. He pulled Lacey into the
circle. She snuggled close to him, dazed and silent.

Wade looked to Sophie, wondering why she didn’t help him out
somehow. Why didn’t she go to Beau, try to comfort him. Or talk to the
girls? But Starr’s sister stood apart, removed from the scene. Wade
reminded himself that Sophie had just lost a sister. They were all in shock.

Gently Wade eased the little girls from his lap and went to kneel
beside the sofa where Beau crouched. He put a firm hand on the boy’s
shoulder. “Hey, Beau. C’mon, buddy, look at me.”

Beau jerked away from his touch.

“Come on, Beau. I need your help here. I know it’s tough. I miss your
mama too. But we need to be strong…for the girls. Help me out here,
okay?”

Beau sat stock-still, but Wade could tell by the way his sniffling quieted
that he was weighing his words.

Finally Beau turned, still squatting on his haunches. He glared at
Wade. “Why did she die?”

Wade risked reaching out to him again. This time Beau let him rest a
hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know, buddy. I don’t understand it either.
We’re just going to have to be patient until the coron–” He stopped
himself, not wanting to have to define the word coroner for an eight-year-old.

He started over. “We’ll...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Waterbrook Press (A Division of Random House Inc)
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1578565782
• ISBN 13: 9781578565788
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 336
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar