Down by the River by Lin Stepp Page B

before she married. It was hard for Grace to match that. Jane hadn’t even married until thirty-three, and then she’d only had the one child: Charles. Her expectations for him, naturally, had been high. It hadn’t taken Grace long to realize she didn’t exactly measure up with Jane.
    Jane hobbled over on her cane to put an arm around Margaret. Jane was a blond, like Grace and Margaret. But she was a bottle blond now with a pencil-thin body and a hard, tight face. There had always been an arrogance and outspokenness about Jane that intimated Grace. Grace liked peace. She was no match for Jane’s sharp words and biting criticisms.
    Jane gave Grace a critical look down her nose. “So now you’re going to sell your home right out from under your own child, here, before she’s even grown and gone. How do you think that makes Margaret feel, Grace? She came to the door crying. I saw it, even though she tried to hide it.”
    Margaret was obviously more upset than Grace had expected her to be.
    â€œYou know I’ll make a place for Margaret at the bed-and-breakfast, Jane.” Grace had never been able to call Charles’s mother by a more intimate term. “It’s not as though she won’t have a home anymore. And the inn is quite large.”
    â€œIt will hardly be the same, though, will it?” Jane’s tone was condescending. She patted Margaret on the cheek and spoke to her fondly. “Your dear father would turn over in his grave if he knew what your mother had done.”
    Jane turned a hard glance on Grace. “It’s thoughtless and selfish of you—going off and leaving all your family here. I have often been disappointed in you, but this time definitely takes the top prize.”
    Grace sighed. Jane would certainly miss bossing her around in the future—that was for sure.
    As if reading her thoughts, Jane narrowed her eyes and gave Grace a hard stare. “I’m sure Margaret can stay on here with Elaine and Frank in her own home.” She patted Margaret’s arm affectionately. “I’ll talk with Elaine. There is no reason you should be forced to leave your family home until you’re ready to have one of your own.”
    As Margaret wept then, Jane gave Grace a glowing look of triumph. Jane had been trying to turn Margaret against Grace ever since the girl had shown the first spark of musical talent. This was simply another little victory for Jane.
    Nevertheless, it hurt Grace to have her entire family angry with her. And as the weeks of preparation and packing went by, Margaret decided she would not move with Grace. Jane Conley had talked to Elaine and Frank, and they’d offered to let Margaret stay on with them over the summer until it was time for her senior year at college. Grace felt a little surprised Margaret agreed to this decision, since she and Elaine had never gotten along very well. Furthermore, Margaret didn’t get along with Frank well, either. He was too outspoken to suit her, while Elaine was too quiet and practical to complement Margaret’s artistic temperament. Plus Margaret got tired of Ava and Sophie quickly, both still so small and demanding. With some amusement, Grace had watched Margaret make a concentrated effort to entrench herself in Elaine’s affections these last weeks—determined to stay behind with her and to not move away with Grace.
    When moving day finally came, few in Grace’s family were there to see her off. In fact, most of them had avoided her as much as possible after Margaret’s birthday dinner in early May. When they did call or come by, they tried again to talk her out of moving. Their overall sentiment was that she was sure to fail in trying to run a bed-and-breakfast and that she would come crawling back to them all in Nashville then, repentant and embarrassed. It angered Grace and made her more determined than ever to succeed.
    By the time she moved, Grace found