Endless Chain Read Online Free PDF Page B

program.”
    She spoke before she had time to think. “ Puedo ayudar cuantas veces me necesiten. ” She bent and placed the book back on the shelf.
    “My Spanish must be better than I thought. You just said you wished I would dye my hair green and hire out my services as a belly dancer.”
    She laughed. “I said I could help any time I’m needed. I think that’s a good example. There will be moments when fractured Spanish and good intentions might not be enough. I would be happy to translate.”
    “Be careful what you volunteer for. We say yes with alarming frequency.”
    She straightened. “So it’s part of the sexton’s job to clean La Casa? ”
    “Just a lick and a promise once a week, which is all we can afford. The volunteers will do some of it. I suspect I’ll do some of it, too. But even the little the sexton will do extends the job. And you haven’t seen the rest of the church plant. There’s a lot of work here, Elisa.”
    She didn’t have the job yet. She knew it and wondered how to convince him. “If I were a man, would you warn me so many times…Sam?”
    “No.”
    “Then you shouldn’t do it now. I’m capable and willing, and I have excellent references. I hope that’s what you remember when you make your decision.”
    He looked at his watch, then back at her. “Let’s go find that ride. In a couple of hours a horde of caterers and volunteers are heading this way. There’s a party tonight, a Mexican fiesta to raise money for La Casa. It’s something of an unfortunate afterthought, which is why it’s on a weeknight, and it’s going to be chaotic, especially if the rain continues. You’ll want to escape all the prep work. I wish I could.”
    She followed him out, and he locked up. She had said she knew when to be silent, and she did. She didn’t speak, and neither did he. She hoped he was using the time to favorably consider her application.
    When they approached, the quilters were already coming out to the parking lot. Sam stopped just short of the asphalt.
    “Are you working at the nursing home tonight? Or would you be free to come back about seven-thirty to talk to Marvin and shadow him for the rest of the evening?”
    “I don’t work tonight. But either way, I could be here.”
    “We’ll talk again, after you’ve had a chance to see everything the job requires and I’ve had time to organize applications.”
    For the first time she felt real hope that she was going to be hired. Only a small part of her found her own reaction ironic. The part that was not Elisa Martinez seemed to shrivel with every decision she was required to make.
    Several yards in front of them, a woman in a blue sundress got out of a car parked near the others. Sam saw her and gestured. “That’s Tessa MacRae, Helen’s granddaughter. Helen is the woman who insisted I hire you. I’ll ask Tessa to give you a ride. She won’t mind.”
    Elisa had made her statement on the subject. Later they would have to deal with his need to take care of her, but for the moment she was not sad to be offered a ride. The rain had stopped, but she was afraid it had only stopped to gather forces.
    Sam started across the lot, and she followed, skirting puddles. They stopped beside Helen and her granddaughter, who was admiring the quilt Elisa had seen earlier on the frame.
    Sam greeted both women, kissing Tessa on the cheek before he introduced Elisa. “Elisa walked here, and she insists she doesn’t need a ride out to the trailer park on Ella Lane, but I’m insisting otherwise. Would you mind?”
    Elisa spoke up. “Only if it’s no trouble. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”
    “I’m taking Gram into Woodstock to buy groceries. I’m sure we go right past the turnoff,” Tessa said.
    Elisa liked Tessa’s voice, which was modulated and low. She was an attractive woman, with brown hair as long as Elisa’s own and a thin face with wide cheekbones. She looked tired, and as they stood in the lot, she put her palms