Read Online When Love Finds a Home by Megan Carter - Free Book Online

since she was heavier than
Tammy. By mixing and matching the clothes from both boxes, the women were able
to put together a wardrobe that certainly wouldn't fool anyone, but at least it
wouldn't be blatantly obvious they were both dressed entirely in hand-me-down
clothing.
    As Rona pulled on a
turtleneck, she was again grateful she didn't have big breasts and could go
braless. It was one thing to wear someone else's shirt, but she sure as hell
wasn't going to wear a used bra or underwear. She pulled a gray sweatshirt on
over the blue turtleneck. Looking in the mirror, she tucked her hair back
behind her ears. Except for the dark circles under her eyes, she looked like a
normal person.
    She found herself wondering
about Anna. The clothes in the box with the word bitch written on the
side might belong to Anna, but she didn't think so. Her rainbow magnets were a
good indicator, but having a rainbow magnet didn't necessarily mean she was
gay. The woman was such a contradiction. At first, she'd pegged her as one of
those do-gooders, but she didn't really seem to fit the mold. And there had
been a couple occasions when Anna's temper had surfaced.
    There was a light tapping on
her door. She opened it to find Tammy wearing the bright yellow sweater from
Anna's box over a navy blue shirt and navy blue sweatpants. She could see the
twins sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed talking.
    "You look nice,"
Rona said. She needed to get back on Tammy's good side.
    Tammy blushed and pushed a
thin lock of hair behind her ear. "What are we supposed to do?"
    "Build a snowman,"
Rona whispered, mimicking Karla.
    "How long do you think
she'll let us stay?" Tammy persisted. "I mean, is it for the two
weeks that she'll have work for you or what?"
    Rona shrugged. "I don't
know. I don't think she would cancel her other cleaning service if she only
intended to let us stay for two weeks. Maybe she wants to see how it goes. I
think she'll let us stay until it starts getting warm."
    Tammy gnawed on her thumbnail.
"Why is she doing this? You don't think she's trying to trick us into
staying until the authorities come, do you? I mean, with the snow and the city
being shut down, maybe they weren't able to come out right away." She
seemed genuinely worried.
    "I think if they were
coming, they would have already been here."
    "Maybe the snow has
slowed them down. You heard what they said on the television. The entire city
has shut down except for emergency personnel."
    "Why are you worrying? I
thought you had become Anna Pagonis's number one defender."
    Tammy wrapped her arms around
her thin waist, hugging herself tightly. "Stop it. I don't want my girls
to get hurt. You know how hard it is to go back out there."
    "Then let's make sure
they never have to go back."
    "What do you mean?"
    Rona pulled her deeper into
the room. "It's simple. She's giving us jobs. We'll have an address, a
place to wash our clothes and ourselves. We could start looking for real jobs.
If we can stay here long enough for one of us to find a decent job, then we'll
be able to find a small place of our own. You have to start thinking about
getting the girls into a school. We could work different shifts so that one of
us is always there to take care of diem. We can get ourselves off the
street."
    "How long would it take?
Do you think she'd let us stay that long?"
    Rona was tempted to reveal her
plan, but Tammy had become so protective of Anna that she decided against it.
The only thing she knew for certain was that she was not going back to die
streets. This house was full of things that could be taken to a pawnshop. One
way or another, when she left here she was moving into a place of her own.
    At that moment, the girls came
running over to join them. Karla was wearing a pair of pink pants and a
matching top with a cuddly bear on the front. Katie was in a bright blue
sweater and jeans. The blue brought out the color of her eyes.
    Rona forced a smile.
"Everywhere I look I see beautiful