Almost Perfect. Сьюзен Мэллери

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      “Not with us,” Liz stated lightly. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen and get you two something to eat? I picked up a cooked chicken and some salads on the way into town. Then we’ll get to know each other a little and you can tell me what’s been going on.”

      She had more to say, but both girls ran into the kitchen, as if desperate for food. Based on how they’d been living, they probably were.

      She served them each a large portion of the chicken, along with coleslaw and potato salad.

      The girls fell on the food, practically shoving it in their mouths. Liz poured the milk she’d bought and they gulped two glasses each. As she watched them devour the meal, she felt herself getting angry. How could Roy’s wife have simply abandoned the girls like that? What kind of heartless cow left two kids on their own? The least she could have done was phone social services on her way out of town.

      She decided she would find out all she could about Bettina then kill off a character just like her in her next book. The death would be grisly, she promised herself. Slow and painful.

      Tyler watched the girls wide-eyed, but didn’t say anything. He seemed to sense they’d been hungry for a long time, which was sad but probably a good lesson for him. Not everyone got to have three meals a day.

      Liz took in their worn, not-very-clean T-shirts. Their jeans had seen better days, as well, and their sandals were in need of replacing. She knew most fourteen-year-old girls would be humiliated to be without stylish clothes and at least a hint of makeup. Was Melissa without both by choice?

      When the feeding frenzy slowed, Liz settled across from Melissa. Tyler stood by Liz’s shoulder and she wrapped her arm around his waist.

      “How long has Bettina been gone?” Liz asked.

      “A while. Nearly three months. She left us with one hundred dollars. When that ran out…” Melissa dropped her gaze to her plate, then pushed it away.

      Liz thought about the potato chip wrappers in the trash. The small apple on the counter. If there wasn’t any money and no one was taking care of them, there was only one way they could have survived. Melissa had been stealing from local stores.

      “We’ll talk about that later,” Liz offered. “Privately. We can talk to the store owners and explain. I’ll pay them back.”

      Melissa flushed, then swallowed. “I, um…Thanks, Aunt Liz.”

      “How about just calling me Liz? Aunt Liz is too long.”

      “Okay. Thanks, Liz.”

      “Did your friends know Bettina was gone?”

      Abby shook her head. “Melissa said not to tell. She said we’d be taken away and put in different homes. That we’d never find our way back to each other.”

      “I wasn’t going to let them take Abby from me,” Melissa claimed fiercely, her green eyes flashing with determination.

      An admirable sentiment, if slightly impractical when the alternative was starving. Of course Liz might be the wrong person to make a judgment on the issue. She’d adored her big brother and he’d taken off without a word, leaving her behind.

      “A couple of my friends figured it out,” Melissa admitted. “They would bring us food sometimes. It’s been hard. I really thought I could take care of us both.”

      “It’s a big responsibility,” Liz conceded. “You did the best you could, but the situation was impossible. I’m glad you e-mailed me.”

      Abby grinned. “She’s read all your books, just like Dad. He has them all upstairs. Can we go see him?”

      “Let me find out what’s going on first,” Liz explained, stalling for time. She didn’t even know where Roy was, let alone what he’d been convicted of or where he was incarcerated.

      “Dad’s really proud of you,” Melissa told her shyly. “He talked about you all the time.”

      Liz wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Roy’s pride hadn’t extended to getting in touch with her. As his daughters had proven, finding her wasn’t all that hard.

      Abby raised her face to the ceiling. “The lights are on.” She grinned. “It won’t be dark anymore.”

      “Everything’s back on,” Liz confirmed. “Even cable.”

      Their eyes lit up. “We can watch TV?” Abby asked.

      Tyler looked at Liz and grinned as if to point out he wasn’t the only kid who wanted to watch TV all the time.

      “Not until your homework is done,” Tyler informed them. “And not every night.” He sighed heavily, as if his life was pain.

      Liz laughed. “It’s true. I insist on reading nights every week, where we just sit quietly and read.”

      “I like to read,” Melissa said. “But Dad and Bettina let us watch TV all the time.”

      An issue she would address later, Liz thought. “If you two are done, why don’t you take your plates to the sink and rinse them? Then we can make a list and go to the grocery store.”

      When they’d rinsed their plates, she sent Tyler to see if the upstairs bathroom had toilet paper and Abby out to the garage to check if there was any laundry detergent by the old washer. She and Melissa sat back at the table and started to make a list.

      “We’ll get the basics,” Liz began. “But not too much. I’m not sure how long we’ll be here.”

      Melissa frowned as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder. “We’re not leaving. I’m not going to let anyone separate me and Abby.”

      Liz touched her arm. “I’m not suggesting anything like that. But you can’t stay here alone. You have to live with an adult or two. I’ll talk to your dad about the situation.”

      “What about you?” Melissa stared at the table as she asked the question.

      “I don’t know. If there’s other family, then we’ll have options to explore. If not, then you and Abby will be coming back to San Francisco with me.”

      Melissa sprang to her feet. “No. We won’t go. We live here. In Fool’s Gold.” Tears filled her eyes.

      Liz rose. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Everything is still new and we haven’t even gotten to know each other. Let’s not worry about anything more than today.”

      “I won’t go. Neither will Abby.” Melissa looked defiant, despite the tears. “I mean it, Liz. You can’t make us.”

      Liz knew that if she ended up with custody of the girls, she could and would, but there was no point in pushing hard now.

      “I understand,” Liz assured calmly. “As I said, let me talk to your dad and figure out where we are. I won’t do anything without talking to you first. Can we put this on hold for a bit?”

      Melissa looked as if she wanted to argue, but nodded slowly.

      Liz СКАЧАТЬ