When Love Finds a Home Read Online Free PDF Page B

situations
are and it's none of my business. I feel as though I've somehow made them
worse. I don't know you and you don't know me, but I don't think you mean me
any harm or you wouldn't have helped me tonight. If you'd like to spend the
night here, there are three spare bedrooms upstairs. My room is down here. In
fact, I rarely even go upstairs."
    Rona practically shouted in
glee, but she carried out her act perfectly. She stood so suddenly that Karla
must have thought she was falling because she grabbed on to her and gave a
small squeal. "We don't need charity," Rona protested.
    Anna frowned at her. "I
wasn't offering any. I was trying to return a favor." Without waiting for
a response, she stood. "Besides, my mother would disown me if I sent
company away without a meal." She smiled down at the twins. "Is
anyone other than me hungry?"
    Rona's feet itched to dance.
She held her breath, terrified Tammy would insist on leaving. Her gut twisted
sharply as the girls looked to their mother for some guidance on whether they
should accept the food or not. When Tammy turned to her, Rona gave what she
hoped sounded like a sigh of resignation.
    Anna nodded and turned to
leave. "The rooms are at the top of the stairway. If you would like to see
them, the food won't be ready for at least twenty minutes. I think you'll find
everything you need. If not, there's a supply cabinet at the end of the hallway
just outside this door." She pointed toward the den's entryway. As she
walked out of the room, she stopped a moment. "Rona, could you help me
with something, please."
    Rona's heart flew to her
throat. Had Anna seen through her? She set Karla down and followed her out into
the hallway.
    Anna started to speak and as
she did, she held her hand up. "Before you yell, it's not charity. I just
wanted to let you know that in the big closet at the end of the upstairs
hallway, there's a box that has the word ..." She hesitated and took a
deep breath before continuing, "It has the word bitch written on
the side. In it, you'll find some clothes. If there's anything you or Tammy can
use, you're welcome to it." She took off before Rona could reply.
    Chapter Four
    Rona and Tammy stood at the
open bedroom door and stared at the vast, sterile space. The walls and ceiling
were white, as were the headboard and dresser. The carpet was a darker ivory
shade. There were no knickknacks or photos to soften the harsh decor. The room
was almost as big as the one-room efficiency Rona had shared with Mary in
Austin. She closed her eyes and let her memory take her back to those four
short years—the laughter, the love and the music—always the music, Mary's
powerful voice accompanied by Lenny's soul-wrenching lead guitar and punctuated
by Eric's pounding rhythm and Zac's thumping bass. Rona could almost feel the
smooth yellow pencil in her hand scribbling desperately to record the lyrics
that had poured so effortlessly from deep within her during those few golden
months. The band had been on its way. If only . ..
    Her eyes flew open as her body
began to topple. Tammy grabbed her and eased her to the floor.
    "When was the last time
you ate?" Tammy asked.
    Rona lowered her head to the
floor and waited for the room to stop spinning. "Yesterday morning."
    Tammy kept her hand on Rona's
shoulder. "Just breathe deep; you'll be okay in a few minutes."
    Rona closed her eyes and
waited for the dizziness to pass. Normally, she could find enough change,
dropped by people in a hurry, to buy a breakfast taco and on good days a cup of
coffee. Once she had been able to buy a taco every morning for over a week
after finding a ten-dollar bill caught in the debris clinging to a security
fence around a construction site. The past week had been rough. No one seemed
to be losing money. She and Malcolm, a seven-foot giant of a man who claimed he
was from Kenya and had come to this country to play professional basketball,
had finally gotten desperate enough to pick a few pockets.
    During the