Broken Rainbows Read Online Free PDF Page A

that good.’
    â€˜Or shoulders that broad. That fair one looks like a young Leslie Howard.’ Jenny craned her neck in an attempt to see around the cocoa advertisement that blocked out most of the window. ‘Prepare to die, Judy. They’re coming this way.’
    Handing Jenny her tea, Judy left hers on the counter and pulled up a stool just as the door opened.
    â€˜Good morning, ma’am.’ Kurt Schaffer tipped his hat to Tina, before looking to Jenny and Judy. ‘Ma’am. Ma’am.’
    They had heard the accent before, but only in the pictures.
    â€˜You’re American?’ Jenny stared him in the eye as she carried her tea to the counter and climbed on to a stool.
    â€˜Guilty.’ He beamed at her as he studied her slim figure and cool, blonde features. The colonel’s directive was already proving difficult to obey. ‘Lieutenant Kurt Schaffer, US Army at your service.’
    â€˜Isn’t that a German name?’ Judy demanded suspiciously, scanning the KEEP MUM, SHE’S NOT SO DUMB poster Tina had pasted on the kitchen door. Given the dearth of men in Pontypridd, it didn’t take much imagination to picture the handsome American as the blonde siren, and replace the crowd of infatuated servicemen with admiring women.
    â€˜My German grandfather emigrated to the States in 1890. I hope that’s far back enough for you to think of me as one of the good guys.’
    â€˜Just about. What can I get you?’ Tina enquired brusquely.
    â€˜From where I’m standing I can think of a whole lot of things, ma’am.’
    â€˜Can you now?’ Fully aware of the effect she was having on him, Jenny deliberately hitched her skirt higher as she crossed her legs.
    â€˜Isn’t your friend coming in?’ Judy asked, watching the second officer, who was hovering outside the shop.
    â€˜Tea, coffee, cocoa?’ Tina interrupted, giving Jenny a hard look.
    â€˜At the moment I’d settle for information, ma’am. Can you point us in the direction of the Council Offices? I was there yesterday afternoon, but we came in from the other end of town this morning and I seem to have lost my bearings. I tried asking in the train station, but they weren’t at all helpful.’
    â€˜Probably thought you were spies.’ Jenny smiled seductively.
    â€˜Are you looking for anyone in particular?’ Tina picked up Jenny and Judy’s cups, wiped the counter beneath them, and replaced them closer to the edge, but neither girl took the hint and moved to a table.
    â€˜The billeting officer, Mr Williams, and a -’ he reached into the top pocket of his shirt and pulled out a slip of paper – ‘Mrs Llewellyn-Jones? I can never remember which order to put those names.’
    Taking no chances, Tina gave clear and precise instructions that would lead directly to the police station. She glared at Judy and Jenny, daring them to tell him otherwise as he opened the door.
    â€˜The billeting officer?’ Jenny raised her eyebrows as she lifted her cup. ‘Does that mean Americans are moving into Pontypridd?’
    He pointed to the poster behind her. ‘You guys have been in this war longer than us. What’s that saying you have? “Careless talk costs lives.”’
    â€˜Is that a yes?’ Judy called after him as he stepped outside.
    He flashed another smile. ‘That’s a maybe, or a maybe not, ma’am.’
    â€˜Imagine a whole regiment like him in Ponty.’ Judy went to the window so she could watch them walk down the street.
    â€˜I can imagine what the thought might do to the men at the front,’ Tina commented tartly.
    â€˜Not all the women in Ponty are married or spoken for, Tina.’ Judy started guiltily when she saw Jenny walk back to the table. Jenny’s husband, Eddie Powell, had been killed at Dunkirk, but because Jenny never mentioned him, Judy generally forgot that he had ever existed