High Plains Hearts Read Free

unchanging, not an angel whose halo refused to stay put.

Chapter 2
    T ess woke as a thought broke into her dreams with the clarity of a fire alarm. She had told Jake Cameron to come back for the angel today. But this was Thanksgiving! She was going to help serve dinner at her church.
    She found his phone number in the telephone book and whistled at the address. Panda’s must do a fairly decent business, she realized, for him to be able to afford a home in the Pines. It was the newest housing development in town, far down along the river, and houses there began at more than she could make in fifteen years even if she saved every penny she earned.
    She waited until ten o’clock to dial the phone. He answered on the second ring, but his voice was thick with sleep.
    “Oh, I’m sorry—I woke you up,” she said, her words falling over each other.
    “No, well, yes, but that’s all right. I had to get up now anyway. What time is it?”
    “And how do you know you have to get up now if you don’t know what time it is?” She couldn’t resist teasing him.
    “The sun is up,” he responded, the grogginess clearing from his voice. “I’m always up at the crack of dawn.”
    “Well, dawn has cracked. About four hours ago.” She grinned at Cora, who lifted one exhausted eyelid in response.
    He muttered something she couldn’t understand and probably didn’t want to. “The roaster blew a bearing last night around midnight. Wouldn’t you know it, just as we head into our biggest season. So I stayed up to work on it.”
    “Did you get it fixed?”
    “Oh, I cobbled it together to last until I can get a replacement part.” His voice softened. “So how are you today, Angel Lady?”
    “You recognized my voice!” Tess couldn’t hide her astonishment.
    “Sure. Even the combined voices of the guy at the post office yesterday, telling me that ‘Sorry, sir, these boxes need extra tape,’ and the college student at Panda’s, notifying me that ‘Hey, dude, your big machine has just gone blooey,’ couldn’t erase the memory of your angelic tones. Seriously, I do have a good ear for voices.”
    His dead-on imitation of the postal worker and the Panda’s employee caught Tess off guard, and she laughed. “Have you considered comedy?”
    “Some people say that’s what I’m doing at Panda’s, but they’re just jealous. So how’s my angel doing? Is Faith’s halo askew again?”
    “I don’t think it would stay on straight if you glued it on,” she said. “It seems destined to go off to the side no matter what I do.”
    “I’m anxious to get her here.”
    “That’s what I called about. I said you could take her today, but I forgot—this is Thanksgiving.”
    “Oh, that’s right. I guess I could pick her up tomorrow, but I’d kind of hoped to have her already in place when I opened on Friday.”
    “You could take her this afternoon,” Tess suggested, “unless you have other plans.”
    “No, I don’t. I was just going to loll around the house and watch ball games on TV, but now I’ll probably go in and tinker with the roaster. I don’t want to interfere with your plans.”
    “Well, I do need to be at the church by three.”
    “Church? They have services on Thanksgiving afternoon?”
    “We serve an open dinner. I’m in charge of salads and desserts this year. Plus I’ll be going in to make sure everything is in place and set the tables, put up the chairs, that kind of thing.”
    “Sounds like fun. Can you use an extra pair of hands?”
    “You’re volunteering?” Tess couldn’t believe her ears. “Of course we can! But what about your roaster?”
    He laughed softly. “It’s undoubtedly safer without my hammering and fiddling around on it. I’m not exactly Mr. Handy, unfortunately. All around, the best choice—the wisest choice—is for me to help out at your church. It’ll make me feel useful.”
    “Fair enough. Can you be here at Angel’s Roost shortly before three?”
    “With bells