Finding Home Read Online Free PDF Page A

his hip. This was her second call in the past twenty-four hours, and he’d let it roll to voice mail last night. Might as well deal with this latest appeal for emergency funds while he was still hot under the collar and less likely to cave.
    Pressing the talk button, he walked toward the edge of the headland, where a fine mist rose from waves crashing against the rocks below. “Good morning.”
    “It’s noon here.” He heard her stifle a yawn. “But it feels like morning.”
    “Late night?”
    “Some of us got free tickets to a new play and we went out for pizza afterward. I decided to sleep in for... What’s that noise? Are you at Gram’s?”
    Scott had grown so used to the barking seals that he’d tuned them out. “No. I’m on the job site. We have a seal colony on the rocks below us.” One of his excavator operators gestured him over, and he walked toward the man. “I’ve got to run. Did you have a specific reason for calling?” Like he didn’t know.
    “Uh...yeah.” She gave him the same story she’d relayed to Gram about being up for a new part and having less time for her waitress job. “So I was hoping you could spare a few bucks to tide me over.”
    It was her usual breezy request. More assumption than appeal. He’d heard it a hundred times. In the past, he’d just forked over whatever amount she needed. Like Gram and Gramp, he’d been so grateful she’d been spared in the car accident that had taken the lives of their parents that he’d spoiled her rotten through the years. As a result, she’d come to believe cosseting was her due.
    But for some reason today her attitude rankled him. Maybe he should follow Gram’s example. Tell her to take some responsibility for her life. Everyone else handled their own problems. Even Cindy Peterson. He might not be happy about her complaint to his boss, but when she’d told him at the Orchid on Friday night she’d make sure her son didn’t trespass again, he knew she’d meant it. Although her negligence had caused the problem to begin with, she took responsibility for fixing things. Devon could learn a lesson or two from her.
    “Sorry, sis. Not this time.”
    Dead silence stretched between them.
    He waited her out.
    “I only need a few bucks.”
    “What’s a few?”
    “Two hundred. I’m short for my portion of the rent.”
    “Why don’t you pick up some extra waitressing hours?”
    “I told you why.” There was an edge to her voice now.
    Scott stopped a few feet from the excavator, held up one finger to the operator and angled away, his own temper flaring. “I have a lot of expenses, too. Seaside Gardens costs a fortune. In fact, I wouldn’t mind some help with those bills. Maybe you ought to think about getting a real job so you could contribute toward Gram’s care.”
    “Man. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or what?” Irritation nipped at her words.
    “Life isn’t a picnic out here, Devon.”
    “Yeah? Well, it isn’t here either. This business is cutthroat. But I’m on the verge of making it big with this new play, and I’m not going to blow my chance. Keep your money. I can always go to a homeless shelter if I can’t come up with my share of the rent.” The line went dead.
    A muscle clenched in Scott’s jaw as he jammed the phone back into the holster on his belt. Not even nine o’clock yet, and he was already down two strikes.
    As he turned toward the crew awaiting his instructions, Devon’s parting shot echoed in his mind. A homeless shelter. Like she’d ever follow through on that threat. What a dumb ploy.
    But even dumber than that, he knew he’d end up wiring his sister the money before the day was over.
    Just in case.
    * * *
    “Mom...it’s that man from The Point!”
    At her son’s urgent tug on her sleeve, Cindy stopped reading the label on the can she’d pulled from the shelf at the Mercantile and looked toward the front door, where the jingling bell was announcing a new arrival.
    Her gaze