hospitals in the D.C. area.
She set the groceries on the counter and began to unpack. “Ramon still likes the university and sends his love. He’s taking classes through the summer to catch up but will have a break in early May. We’ll have a party.”
“I’ll look forward to that.” Kendra meant it.
“There’s nothing fancy in this bag. Bread, cheese, fruit, some deli salads. Enough to keep you for a few days.” Elisa looked up. “You’re not up to going shopping yet, are you? I don’t want to nag, but it won’t help if you push too hard.”
“I did a little gardening today, that’s all. And I stopped well before I was ready to collapse.”
“Make sure you do, okay? I don’t want to lose my good friend.”
Kendra crossed her heart. “I promise.”
They joined Sam on the sofa, and he put his arms around both of them. He was dark haired, blue eyed, and so appealing in his clerical robe that the attendance of young women in his congregation had increased. “This place is pretty basic. Are you getting along here? The parsonage has a guest room.”
“Isaac thinks I’ve lost my mind.”
“I think you’re trying to find your heart, and this is the kind of place where you can listen to it beat for a while. Just don’t forget we’re only a few heartbeats away if you need us.”
“You’ve been so good to me.”
“We could never be good enough. Your story changed the course of our lives.”
Kendra’s story about Elisa and Ramon’s separate escapes from Guatemala and their long search to find each other had only been one link in the chain of events that had freed them from the nightmare of their past, but the story had also helped Kendra move from features into investigative reporting. Elisa and Ramon had fled false murder charges, the result of political oppression, but had since been cleared to find new lives in Virginia.
“I have to meet with the deacons in just a little while.” Sam gave Kendra’s shoulder a squeeze before he stood. “Have you driven the car yet?”
“You ought to see me slide behind the wheel.”
“Ready for something more?”
She had been relaxed, and now she wasn’t. “You want me to take Elisa home?”
“If you think you’re up to it.”
It seemed like a good way to start, even though Kendra was now breathing faster and her hands were no longer steady. “Elisa can take over if I can’t do it.”
“That’s what I thought. So I’m taking off now. If you don’t want to drive home alone, you can stay at our place until I get there, and we’ll drive you back.”
Elisa got up to see her husband out. When she returned, she went to the refrigerator. “Did you eat yet?”
“I was gathering strength.”
“Will you let me put something together for both of us?”
“I feel so helpless.” Kendra was surprised at the edge in her own voice. “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was nine and the nanny started passing out regularly after dinner.”
“Sounds like there’s a story there.”
“She had a bottle of scotch hidden under the sink with the cleaning supplies. I had to put her and my baby sister Jamie to bed.”
“That’s a lot of years.” Elisa took out plastic containers, opening them to peek inside. “You never told your mother?”
“Riva wasn’t much of a judge of people. I knew the possibilities weren’t good that the next nanny would be any better.”
“The devil you know?”
“I’m not trying to be maudlin. Just to say that it bothers me a lot that I need help now.”
“We are not talking about taking food out of the refrigerator, are we? I suspect we’re discussing the car.”
“I’ve driven coast to coast practically nonstop, on narrow winding roads where I might meet a car and have to back up a mile before I could pull over. And it’s not like the carjacker shot me while I was inside.”
“Which is not to say that if you get back inside, someone else will want your car and try to take it from
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