Read When Love Finds a Home for Free Online Page B

me."
    "Well, it's not really a
reading book. It's a catalog that you order flower seeds from."
    "But there's words."
She pointed with her tiny finger. "Read this part here to me."
    A fine sweat broke out along
Rona's hairline. She had completed high school, but reading had never been easy
for her, not like reading music, which
seemed as natural as breathing. The numerous hours she'd spent reading at the
library since she'd been on the streets had helped improve her reading skills,
but she still wasn't comfortable reading aloud. Knowing Karla wouldn't know the
difference, she read the words she knew and made up words for the ones she
didn't recognize. She was saved from her misery when Tammy came out of the
bathroom wearing a dark green sweatshirt and the gray sweatpants.
    Rona jumped up. "Are you
ready?"
    Tammy looked up, a surprised
expression on her face. "You seem awful eager to get back down
there." She smiled teasingly. "Has something or someone caught your
attention?"
    Rona felt the blush run up her
neck and across her face. Tammy knew she was a lesbian, but she had never made
mention of it before. "I don't know what you're talking about," she
sputtered.
    Tammy chuckled. "Okay. You're
just hungry."
    "You bet I am," Rona
said, stuffing her hands deep into the pockets of the sweatpants.
    Tammy moved closer to Rona and
slightly lowered her voice. "Check out the magnets on her refrigerator.
You'll probably find a couple of them interesting." She gave Rona a wry
grin. "Katie, put your shoes back on."
    "I don't want to. I like
the way the floor feels," Katie said as she dug her toes into the carpet.
    "Well, I would like for
you to put your shoes on," Tammy replied.
    Katie gave a great heaving
sigh as she plopped down and put her tennis shoes back on.
    They walked back to the
kitchen together. As soon as Rona picked up the smell of food, her stomach
began a wild churning rumble. When Tammy's hand flew to her own stomach, Rona
knew they were all as hungry as she was. It took every ounce of her willpower
not to bolt into the kitchen.
    Anna was setting the table
when they entered the room. "Oh, your timing is perfect," she said.
"I was about to take the soup off the stove. I hope everyone likes tomato
soup. Since it's so late, I didn't want to fix anything too heavy, so I made
some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches." She waved to the kitchen
table where plates and bowls waited. "Please, sit down."
    "You don't have to feed
us," Rona protested as they sat. A sharp pain radiated up her shin as
Tammy kicked her.
    "I told you. I'm Greek.
It's in my blood to want to feed you. Entire cemeteries filled with my Pagonis
ancestors would spin in their graves if I didn't feed you." She began to
ladle soup into the bowls. "Of course, they'd also be spinning over what
I'm serving."
    "How's your head?"
Tammy asked.
    "A little headache."
Anna returned the pot to the stove, grabbed the plate of sandwiches and sat
down. "I guess they scared me more than they hurt me. They came out of
nowhere. I mean, one minute I'm in the parking lot alone, and the next, they
were right there beside me."
    Rona's stomach grumbled
loudly. Karla, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table, grinned. Rona
didn't know if she had heard her or was just being sweet. She almost shouted
with joy when Anna finally stopped talking and passed the plate of sandwiches
to Tammy.
    For the next few minutes,
conversation was at a minimum as everyone, Anna included, dug into their food
with relish. Rona couldn't remember a grilled cheese sandwich tasting so good.
When the last of the plates were pushed away, they all leaned back with a
contented collective sigh.
    "That was a fine meal.
Thank you, Anna," Tammy said.
    Anna smiled. "I just wish
my brothers could have heard you say that. They are forever giving me grief
over my lack of cooking skills."
    "My mama cooks
good," Katie said as she gave a large yawn.
    "I think someone's about
tuckered out," Anna said as she glanced