The Hostage Bride Read Free Page B

Jell-O salad, and creamed peas. Tamara set her plate aside to keep the food warmed while she carried the tray in to her mother and sat on the edge of the bed to feed her, since her coordination was such that she could no longer feed herself.
    “Tell me what happened at the office today,” her mother requested between bites.
    Tamara hesitated, then decided it might be wise to lay some groundwork for what might become an eventuality. “Mr. Stein stopped by my office this afternoon to tell me that thecompany is going to merge with Taylor Business Machines.”
    Her mother looked at her in surprise. “When?”
    “The end of the month, I guess.” She carefully schooled her expression to conceal her inner trepidations. “It came as a complete surprise to me, too. I knew Mr. Stein wasn’t happy about running the company,” she admitted as she spooned peas into her mother’s mouth. “To be truthful, he isn’t very good at it. He never even hinted that he was considering a move of this kind.”
    “Will it mean a promotion for you?”
    “It could.” A faint smile touched Tamara’s mouth. Leave it to her mother to find something good. “Or it might mean I won’t have a job. The new management might sweep me out when they take over.”
    “Do you think so?” her mother frowned.
    “It’s possible. But I’m not worried about it if they do,” Tamara insisted. “There is always a column in the classifieds filled with openings for experienced bookkeepers. I won’t have any trouble finding work.”
    “That’s true.” There was a pause before she asked, “When will you know?”
    “Not for a while. Probably not until next month.”
    Tamara didn’t mention her employer’s assurance that she would be guaranteed a job. There were certain things he didn’t know. Just as there were certain things she didn’t tell her mother, because she didn’t want her worrying—especially about their finances. Her mother stillbelieved there was a little left from the inheritance she had received. She didn’t know Tamara had already gone through almost twice that sum, paying the various bills they owed.
    Her salary and the money she earned typing nights didn’t cover the mortgage payment on the house, the utilities, Sadie’s wages, and the groceries. But Tamara pretended to her mother that it did, with a little left over to pay toward the medical expenses. It eased her mother’s mind, and Tamara didn’t want her worrying about something she couldn’t help.
    “I feel very guilty sometimes,” her mother declared with an unexpected sadness in her usually cheerful expression. This statement took Tamara by surprise and the forkful of meat was stopped halfway to her mother’s mouth. “You are missing so many of the joys of being young because of me.”
    “Mother, please.” There was a lump in her throat that she had to swallow before she could continue. “I’m not complaining. I have the rest of my life to date, go to parties and dances.” She left unspoken that she might have only a few months more with her mother, the disease was progressing so rapidly.
    “I have been very blessed to have you.”
    Tears sprang into Tamara’s eyes and she turned her head to hide them from her mother. “I certainly hope so,” she declared, attempting to joke her way out of the very emotional moment.
    “You are conceited.” Her mother laughed as Tamara’s remark achieved the desired result.

Chapter Two
    “It’s going to be a beautiful day.” Adam Slater sighed wistfully as he gazed out the window of the car. “I wish I were spending it on the golf course.”
    Bick Rutledge let his gaze slide from the flow of traffic to lazily rest on the accountant’s profile. “Instead of going over Signet’s books with Stein’s spinsterish paragon he keeps raving about.”
    “You sound skeptical of her ability. All the balance sheets and statements I saw looked like they were drawn up by a highly skilled professional,” Adam remarked with