Free Seasons of Sugarcreek 02. Spring's Renewal by Shelley Shepard Gray

just wasn’t ready. Slumping back against her pillows, she made a feeble call for more time. “I’ll get up tomorrow. I don’t feel well,” she said, though to her surprise, it wasn’t really true. The pain that had taken hold of her midsection had lessened considerably. Many of her other aches and pains had vanished, too. Now all that remained was a numbness that seemed to constantly float over her mood and her spirit.
    A look of concern flashed in her mother’s eyes as she approached the bed. “Still sore?”
    Lilly shrugged. “Some.”
    “The doctors said your body should be healed by now.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “Perhaps we should go in for a checkup? I could take off the whole day.”
    The last thing Lilly wanted was to be poked and pulled and inspected again. “I’ll be fine. I’m getting better. Like I said, tomorrow’s probably the right time to start doing things.”
    “You know, I don’t think so.” After pausing for a moment, her mother went to her dresser. After pushing a few bottles of water and a container of painkillers to one side, she uncovered a brush and a hair clip. “As soon as you get cleaned up and take care of yourself, you’ll feel like leaving this room.”
    Before Lilly could defiantly tell her that, no, brushed hair was not going to help a thing, her mom sat right back down beside her, gently turned Lilly so her back faced her, and, with a little sigh, pulled the brush through Lilly’s maze of knots and tangles.
    “Ouch,” she said, though even to her ears she sounded incredibly whiny.
    Immediately the brush stilled. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    “I know. It didn’t hurt that badly. I’m sorry.” Gosh, how many times had she said “sorry” over the last two weeks? She’d felt like she’d been apologizing to everyone. Her family. To Alec. To herself. To God.
    She must have done something incredibly wrong to have miscarried.
    Gently, her mother continued brushing again. When the worst of the tangles were combed out, the rhythmic motions soothed her. Over and over the brush went, massaging her scalp, skating through her curls. Taming them.
    Little by little, Lilly felt her neck muscles relax. Her shoulders loosen. She hated to admit it, but perhaps her mother was exactly right. Taking care of herself and moving around a bit could only help.
    “Thank you,” she said as her mom gently clipped her hair back into a ponytail. “I do feel better.”
    “Brushing your hair brought back some nice memories,” her mother mused. “Remember when you were six and your hair was halfway down your back?”
    “I do. You’d have to help me brush it every morning. And I’d fuss.”
    Behind her, Lilly heard her mom’s soft chuckle. “How many times do you think I threatened to cut off that hair?”
    “At least once a day.”
    “At least.” Squeezing her daughter’s shoulders, she said, “Lilly, you have some things you need to do today. You need to call the Sugarcreek Inn and let them know when you’re returning to work. They need you.”
    “But I don’t know…”
    “Maybe after you take a shower and do a load of laundry, you’ll have a better sense of when you can help out. When she called yesterday, Mrs. Kent said you could return part-time. But that she definitely does need you…or someone else.”
    “She’d fire me?”
    “Don’t make this into something it’s not. She’s given you two weeks off. She’s willing to give you a couple of more days. But the other girls have been taking your shifts and, frankly, they’re tired.”
    “I’ll call.” After she made the pronouncement, Lilly felt like boulders had been placed on her shoulders. Responsibilities threatened to engulf her. Make her weak with it all. She slumped against the bed.
    But her mom didn’t even notice.
    “Good,” she said, looking pleased. “As soon as you make that call, I have a project for you.”
    This all felt like too much. She was going to have to