The Hostage Bride Read Free Page A

muscles weren’t able to maintain it. Yet therewas a definite twinkle in her eyes, blue like her daughter’s.
    Each day Tamara asked a similar question and always received a similar response that dismissed any discussion of her mother’s day. It had to be utterly boring to be confined in the four walls of one room, but it was typical of her mother not to complain. Only once had Tamara ever heard her mother cry out in protest. Then it had been a simple and poignant “Why?” when the doctor had informed her she had a debilitating disease that was slowly but surely killing her muscles. That had been three years and innumerable medical bills ago.
    With each passing day, Tamara had observed that as her mother grew weaker, her spirit grew stronger. It was impossible to pity someone who didn’t pity themselves. Her mother was a source of inspiration. As long as she didn’t wail in despair, neither could Tamara.
    These last few months, her mother’s condition had deteriorated rapidly, as the doctor had warned them it would. She couldn’t even do the simplest things for herself anymore, which was why Tamara had employed a nurse to stay with her mother while she was working.
    The endless treatments, the drugs, Sadie’s salary, the doctor’s bill had long ago exhausted their meager savings. The house was mortgaged to the full extent of its worth. Even the inheritance her mother had received eight months ago from some distant relative was gone. Three months ago, Tamara had been at her wits end, not knowing which way to turn, until a solutionhad presented itself to her. She would have to come up with another answer now, but she had been given intelligence as well as beauty. She was confident she would find it—somehow.
    She pushed that problem aside for the time being. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving, Mom. Is there anything special you’d like for dinner tonight?”
    “A steak, medium rare. A baked potato, heaping with sour cream. And a slice of cheesecake,” her mother ordered in her carefully concise voice.
    “One steak, ground and medium rare, coming up,” Tamara joked. It had been so long since the grocery budget had been able to buy a steak that Tamara doubted if she recalled what one would taste like. Hamburger and stew meat was about the only beef she purchased, balanced by fish and chicken. “First, I’m going to change clothes.”
    “Relax awhile first. You don’t have to rush right out to the kitchen to fix supper,” her mother insisted.
    But Tamara just smiled. She returned to the living room as Sadie was about to leave. “Thanks for staying late,” Tamara offered.
    “You don’t have to thank me. Nurses are supposed to become involved with their patients, but you know how fond I’ve grown of your mother. I would stay with her for nothing.” Sadie brushed away the gratitude.
    “I hope the day never comes when I might have to ask you to do that.” There was a painful tightening of her throat.
    Sadie clicked her tongue. “Keep your chin up,” she instructed sharply.
    With a quick smile, Tamara obediently lifted it an inch. “See you in the morning.”
    When the nurse had left, Tamara went to her bedroom to change into a pair of brushed denims and a long-sleeved sweater of cinnamon velour. She had managed to keep her wardrobe fairly up-to-date by paying regular visits to the bargain counters and garage sales. Ingenuity and a skillful needle and thread were usually all she required to hide material flaws or adapt a dress to the latest style. She shook her hair free of its coil to fall with leonine thickness about her shoulders. It changed her image from cool efficiency to one of earthy sensuality, but Tamara was unconscious that the transformation was in any way startling.
    While the hamburgers were cooking on the grill, she helped her mother back into the bed and went back to the kitchen to prepare the tray. It was simple fare, consisting of the hamburger patty, mashed potatoes,