The Second Family. Janice Carter

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ bosom buddies, but—”

      A deep resonant chuckle sounded from the other end. “Well put, Miss Wheaton. Sorry about all the blathering there. The name’s Alec Malone and I’m—”

      “Mr. Malone, what can I do for you?” Tess snapped impatiently.

      “I’m a social worker here in Boulder. I guess Walker’s already contacted you about your father. That right?”

      Tess closed her eyes. Here it was. “Yes, I got a letter from him yesterday.”

      “A letter? And just yesterday? He’s known about you for more than a week.”

      “Look Mr. Malone—”

      “Alec. We don’t stand on formality down here.”

      “Whatever. Alec, then. My father left my mother years ago and I haven’t seen or heard from him since. So if his estate owes anyone any money, you can forget—”

      “Money’s definitely part of it but that’s not why I’m calling. Your father and his wife—well, I suppose she’d be his second wife—”

      Wife! Tess took a deep breath. Her past was snowballing toward her and she had no place to leap.

      “She was killed in the car crash, too, with your father. Maybe you didn’t know that.”

      The snowball doubled in size. Tess tried to speak, but couldn’t. A commotion from beyond her closed office door distracted her. She heard Carrie’s voice pitch indignantly.

      “You can’t go in there! She’s on the—”

      The door burst in and two people shot into the room. Two small people. Children. They lurched to a halt a few feet beyond the door and stared at her. Carrie, standing in the doorway behind them, raised her shoulders apologetically.

      Tess pressed down the hold button. Her gaze shifted from the taller boy with thick chestnut hair that edged the collar of his jacket to the little girl clinging to his leg. There was something familiar about her. The large, vibrant green eyes and the raven tousle of hair. The same heart-shaped face and a smaller version of a delicate nose. Tess could have been looking at a mirror image of herself at the same age.

      She released the hold, keeping her eyes fixed on them. Alec Malone was still talking. “Anyway, the reason I’m calling is that they left behind two kids who’ve just—”

      Tess jabbed the hold button again. “Who are you?” she asked them. “What do you want?” But she knew what the boy was going to say even before he spoke.

      “I think—well, uh—that you’re our sister.”

      CHAPTER TWO

      “TESS?” Carrie asked.

      Their sister? Me? Dazed, Tess looked from the two youngsters to Carrie, standing behind them. Her secretary’s eyes were wide with surprise.

      “I’ll take any calls,” Carrie said at once, backing out of the room and closing the door behind her.

      The office was dead quiet. Tess’s labored breathing competed with the drumming at her temples. The little girl, clad in denim overalls and a nylon windbreaker, looked anxiously up at her brother, whose brown-eyed gaze never wavered from Tess’s face. He was a handsome boy on the verge of adolescence, his lanky frame awkwardly thin for the baggy jeans and jacket he wore. Without thinking, Tess released the hold button in time to hear Alec Malone drawling, “Somethin’ wrong at that end, Miss Wheaton?”

      Tess moistened her dry lips and cleared her throat to ask, “Would those two kids be a teenaged boy and a little girl?”

      A whistle of relief sounded from the other end. “They there?” His voice was low and urgent.

      “They just walked into my office.” Tess caught the sharp glance sent from boy to girl. A reassuring signal, she wondered, or a warning?

      “Thank God,” he said. “I’ve got foster parents on standby here, chomping at the bit to call the police. Those two put together one heck of a runaway plan and managed to bamboozle everyone.”

      “I think you’ve got some explaining to do, Mr. Malone,” she said.

      “Right you are. I’m getting to that. I don’t know if you’ve got to the introduction stage yet, but their names are Nick and Molly. He’s thirteen and she’s six. I’ve had their case file since they were placed in foster care right after the accident and—”

      “Why was that?” Tess interrupted.

      “No next of kin and no one close to the family able to take them. We didn’t know about you until several days ago.”

      Before Tess could respond, an exchange of hissed whispers interceded.

      “Excuse me,” the boy said, “but is there a washroom here? And a water fountain?”

      Tess frowned, clamping her palm across the receiver. “Are you thirsty?”

      He nodded. “And hungry, too. We only had some apples and crackers early this morning.”

      “One minute, Mr. Malone,” she snapped into the phone, then put him on hold while pressing the intercom button. “Carrie? Could you come back in here for a sec?”

      “She’ll take you to get some lunch…or dinner…or whatever it is for you,” Tess explained to the children. The door flew open as she was speaking. “Carrie, would you mind taking these two down to the concourse for a bite to eat? Hit the washrooms up here first—that may be the more urgent need.” She eyed the girl, hopping from one foot to the other.

      “I’d love to take them. C’mon, kids. So, I’m Carrie and you are…”

      “Nick,” the boy said. “She’s Molly.” A pause, then, “We’re Wheatons, too. Her brother and sister,” he added huskily, his voice trembling slightly.

      In case Carrie missed that bit of information the first time around, Tess was thinking. As soon as they left the office, she released the hold button.

      “Okay, Mr. Malone, how soon can you get here to pick up these kids and what am I supposed to do with them in the meantime?”

      There was a slight pause, punctuated by a heavy sigh. “I was afraid you might say that.”

      Tess felt the stirrings of a migraine. She closed her eyes, massaging her temples. “I don’t know what you mean by that, Mr. Malone, but obviously if people there are looking for the children, they have to be returned as soon as possible. You’re their social worker, surely you must have a plan. So what is it?”

      She thought she heard a low chuckle before he said, “Maybe we’re not as busy down here, ma’am, as you seem to be up there. Guess I was half hoping you’d offer to come back with them or, at best, keep them till someone can get to Chicago.”

      “What am I supposed to do with them? I’m at work right now and my day doesn’t usually end until eight at night. I don’t know much about kids, but I suspect that’s too СКАЧАТЬ