When Love Finds a Home (22 page)

"Is it time to get
up?" Anna asked in a sleepy voice.

"We still have a few
minutes."

"Good. Someone kept me up
last night. I didn't get much sleep."

"I know the
feeling," Rona whispered as she kissed Anna's shoulder.

"Someone kept you up,
too?"

"Yes. There was a little
nymphomaniac who wouldn't let me sleep."

"You lucky devil
you," Anna muttered. "Did you get her name and number?"

Rona hugged her. "You're
not going to believe this, but I'm starving."

Anna sat up quickly. "Me
too. Let's scramble some eggs."

"Do you think we should
shower and dress first?"

"Why?"

"It would be awkward if
Tammy came down and we weren't dressed."

"Good point." Anna
gave her a quick kiss. "I'll meet you in die kitchen in twenty minutes."

Anna turned the bedside lamp
on and smiled as Rona jumped out of bed and began to yank her clothes on.

"First one done starts
the coffee," Anna said.

Rona leaned over and gave her
another kiss. "I'll put it on before I go up to my room."

"You're so sweet."

"No, I'm not. I just
don't like your coffee."

"Ouch. Too much honesty
isn't a good thing," Anna said.

"Don't worry about it.
You have other qualities that are much more important than coffee."

Anna's eyes sparkled.
"Like what?"

"I'll have to postpone that
demonstration until tonight."

"How am I supposed to
spend the day trying to concentrate on investment returns when all I'll be
thinking about is tonight?"

Rona slipped her hand beneath
the cover and caressed Anna's breast. "You've got a point. Maybe we
should—" The alarm clock clicked on and the sound of Boy George howling
about a chameleon filled the room. Rona looked at the radio and grimaced.
"I've never been able to figure out what the heck he's singing
about."

"Go shower," Anna
said and laughed. "We'll talk about it over breakfast."

Rona tiptoed up the stairs.
She felt like singing and dancing a silly jig. No noise came from Tammy's room
as Rona slipped into her room. She managed to control her jubilation until she
was in the shower. She sang and whistled until her jaws ached.

It was closer to twenty-five
minutes before she walked into the
kitchen
and was greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee and frying bacon.
"Sit down and enjoy your coffee," Anna said as she popped two slices
of bread into the toaster. "I'll have the eggs scrambled in a jiffy."

"Such service. I could
get spoiled by this."

"Good. Everyone deserves
to be spoiled occasionally," Anna said as she broke eggs in a bowl and
began to whip them.

Rona found herself smiling as
she watched Anna work. "Does that mean I'm supposed to spoil you in
return?"

Anna winked at her. "You
already have."

"How?"

"I could tell you in
great detail, but then we'd probably be late for work." Anna poured the
eggs from the bowl into a preheated skillet. "Maybe we should limit our
conversation to something less stimulating."

The toaster spat out the
bread. Anna grabbed it and divided the eggs onto the plates already containing
strips of crispy bacon. After setting the plates on the table, she topped off
their coffee and gave Rona a quick kiss. They both ate with gusto.

"Somebody was hungry this
morning," Tammy called from the kitchen doorway.

Rona glanced up and smiled.
"We left you some coffee."

"I'm the chief cook this
morning," Anna said cheerfully. "What'll you have?"

"Coffee is fine for now.
Something sure put you two in a cheerful mood."

Rona felt a blush race up her
neck and for once even Anna seemed at a loss for something to say. She could
feel Tammy's gaze moving back and forth between them.

When neither of them spoke,
Tammy said, "I have a job." That got everyone's attention.

"Congratulations,"
they both replied at once.

"Where are you
working?" Rona rushed on.

"Mrs. Pagonis offered me
a job working at the restaurant. One of their waitresses on the lunch schedule
had to leave. Her husband is in the military and he was transferred to
Kentucky. I'm starting today."

"What about the
kids?" Rona asked.

"The church Anna's
parents attend has a pre-kindergarten program. Mrs. Pagonis thinks I'll be able
to get the girls enrolled, and there's a room at the restaurant where they can
stay until then."

Anna leaned back with her
coffee. "We practically grew up at the restaurant," she said.
"My parents couldn't afford to hire a babysitter when they first started
out. Dad converted a small room off the kitchen for us to stay in. We had a
television, books and games. He even put a couple of bunk beds in so we could
rest if we were sick or tired. Over the years, they've let employees with small
kids use the space. It's sort of a mini-daycare."

"Wow. That's nice,"
Rona said as she came back to the table with Tammy's coffee.

"I think it's time I
started contributing to the household expenses," Tammy said. "With
both jobs, I can afford to help out some."

Rona nodded. "I could
too."

Anna started to protest but
was quickly overruled. It took them a few minutes to all agree on what was a
fair percentage. They finally agreed that Anna would pay fifty percent of the
household expenses and Tammy and Rona would contribute twenty-five percent
each.

"Aren't you worried about
your husband finding you? I mean, my parents will insist you file the necessary
employment records."

Tammy stared into her coffee
for a moment before meeting Anna's gaze. "I'm tired of running and hiding.
I'm tired of my kids having to suffer for my cowardice. If Wayne finds me, then
I'll have to face whatever happens. I can't keep running."

"I appreciate your
courage," Anna began, "but I don't want my parents caught between you
two."

Rona's gaze shifted between
the two women as a whisper of tension eased into the room.

Tammy took a deep breath.
"I wouldn't do anything to put your
parents
or you in any kind of danger. If you're not comfortable with me working at the
restaurant, I'll look elsewhere."

Anna stared into her coffee.
"Take the job. I know they'll treat you right, and you'll be able to keep
the girls nearby. You understand I'll have to talk to my parents and warn them
about the possibility of Wayne Daniels showing up."

"I've already told your
mother," Tammy admitted.

Rona noticed a look of respect
in Anna's eyes as she nodded at Tammy.

The evening Rona stood on a
slightly elevated section of the street a few doors down from Julian and Gina's
and gazed at the distant glow of the city. Julian had offered to drive her home
after the kids' piano lessons but she declined. She wanted to walk. The weather
was cool and the air crisp. A sharp fragrant scent teased her nostrils. It took
her a moment to recognize it as wood smoke. She glanced at the surrounding
rooftops until she located the telltale signs of a wood fireplace.

As she walked on through the
sedate neighborhood, she thought about the thousands of homeless people
scattered across the city. Her hands closed around the twenty dollars she
earned from the piano lessons. A strong gust of cold wind blew a scattering of
dry leaves past her and worked its way through her clothing. Hunching her
shoulders against it, she made up her mind that tomorrow she would start
searching for Malcolm. Maybe there was some way she could help him. She stopped
when she started up Anna's driveway and saw the warm glow of light from the
kitchen window. It felt good to know someone was waiting for her inside. She
didn't have a key and had to ring the doorbell. Anna answered it so quickly,
Rona wondered if she had been watching for her.

"Hi," Anna said as
she closed the door behind them. "Welcome home." She leaned forward
and kissed her.

Rona returned the kiss quickly
before asking, "Where are Tammy and the kids?"

"Upstairs. Tammy was
exhausted after working today. She said she was going to take a long hot bath
and crawl into bed."

"I think she's figured us
out," Rona said as she removed her jacket and draped it over a chair.

"Before I forget it, I
have something for you." Anna pulled out a small box of candy. "It's
Valentine's Day. Since we just. .. well, with last night being the first time
..." She finally gave up and removed a key from her pants pocket. "I
had a key made for you." She handed it to her.

"Thank you." Rona
didn't know what to say. It hadn't occurred to her to buy Anna anything for
Valentine's Day. "I didn't buy you anything."

"Don't worry about that.
I shouldn't have either. It was a spontaneous gesture. Please, don't think of
it as anything other than a box of candy."

"Maybe I should go
outside and come back in. Then we can start all over."

"I don't want you to
leave." Anna hugged her. "I missed you at dinner."

Rona ran her hands down Anna's
back. "I'm here now," she said and kissed her.

"Aren't you hungry?"
Anna asked as Rona slipped her hands beneath her shirt.

"Yes, I am." The
clasp on Anna's bra sprang free beneath Rona's hands. "Do you have work to
do this evening?" Rona's lips were moving slowly along Anna's neck.

"No."

"Good, because I have a
lot of things I need to get taken care of."

Anna's voice betrayed her
disappointment. "Like what?"

"This." Rona's mouth
claimed Anna's nipple.

Anna pulled her closer.
"We can't do this here."

They slowly made their way to
Anna's bedroom.

Chapter Twenty-four

Rona began searching for
Malcolm during her lunch breaks. She was glad Matt Devers had agreed to her
unorthodox schedule. On Tuesday, she started by looking in their usual haunts.
No one had seen him. On her way back to work, she stopped by the Taco Haven, a
small hole-in-the-wall taco joint that allowed the rougher-looking elements
among the homeless to come inside to buy and eat their food. Most other places
wouldn't permit them inside. Anytime she and Malcolm acquired a couple of
dollars, they would head to the Taco Haven, where a dollar bought a taco and a
small cup of coffee.

When she arrived, Domingo, the
owner, was sitting in his usual spot behind the counter reading
La Prensa,
San
Antonio's bilingual newspaper. Only two of the booths were occupied with other
customers.

"Hola,
Domingo," Rona said as she sat at the counter
near him.

"Buenas tardes,
senorita.
I was beginning to wonder
if you were okay," he replied, without lowering his paper.

"I found a job."

He folded the paper slowly and
placed it under the counter before turning to look at her.

She found herself wondering
how old he was. His back was stooped, but his hair was still glossy black. The
extensive network of wrinkles on his face seemed to indicate that he was well
advanced in years, but when he moved there was a quickness and sureness that
indicated a much younger man.

"That's good," he
said. "People should work. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." She ordered
two tacos and a cup of coffee. "Have you seen Malcolm recently?"

He shook his head as he poured
her coffee. "Last time was when he was here with you," he said as he
disappeared into the kitchen to get her food.

She was trying to think of
other places she could look tomorrow when he returned with the two steaming
carne
guisada
tacos. He returned to his newspaper while she ate. As soon as she
finished she stood. He again folded his paper and made his way to the cash
register.

"If you see Malcolm, will
you tell him I'm looking for him? Tell him . . ." She hesitated. How could
he contact her? "If he could just tell you where he's hanging out, I'll
find him."

He nodded and returned her
change, then returned to his paper. Rona put down a tip larger than the amount
of her bill and left.

On Wednesday, she called the
Taco Haven just before leaving the office. Domingo still hadn't seen Malcolm.
She expanded her search to areas where she thought he might have moved to. She
passed on a message to everyone she spoke with asking Malcolm to contact
Domingo.

That night, long after Anna
had drifted off to sleep, Rona lay staring at the bedroom ceiling. She felt
guilty for not trying to contact Malcolm sooner. They had watched out for each
other. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

Anna's voice startled her.
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Rona asked.