Unchained Hearts (Baxter Family Saga) Read Free Page A

muttered.
    “Suit yourself,” Virgilia said.
    She vacuumed the carpet and dusted while fielding clandestine questions from Quinn, who tested her on the story and other works of literature. Eventually, Virgilia learned that Quinn wanted to be an actress on Broadway. She was already heavily involved in the drama club at school, but no one had really seen her act except for her older brother, Newton. He would come to her plays whenever he could and then take her out for ice cream afterward. 
    In spite of Virgilia’s best efforts, she liked the girl. Quinn reminded her of herself when she was her age. She would sometimes take a little longer cleaning the library.
    One day, Milly overheard the two talking and laughing. She decided to take matters into her own hands later that evening in the kitchen.
    “I hear you talkin’ all familiar with Quinn. Like you’re her equal.” Milly’s hand was on her hip and she leaned against the counter.
    “She is a smart young girl and we talk. So what?”
    “All you young people want all that history to go flyin’ out the window because some people stayed on the bus too long or marched with their fists in the air. It ain’t that easy to forget what it was like when a mere look meant some poor Negro was hanging from a tree. This may be a new decade, but the same rules apply. That girl is a Baxter. She is your boss, not your friend.”
    “She’s thirteen, Milly. All she wanted to do was talk about literature and acting.”
    Milly snorted, “So you figure that because you’re educated, you’re qualified to talk to her any which way?”
    Virgilia turned to Milly, mirroring her stance. “Milly, you and I live in two different worlds, and I can’t help that. But what I do know is that this is a job to me, nothing more. I read, I write, I have my own thoughts and I don’t know if you hate that I can think or just that I refuse to think like you.”
    The older woman seemed taken aback by Virgilia’s summation and felt a bit contrite. “I don’t hate you, Virgilia,” she said, “but I feel like you need to remember your place.”
    “You mean at the back of the bus?” Virgilia said, as she softly laughed. “Milly, at some point, we just have to give ourselves permission to own the bus.”
    Milly shook her head and sighed heavily. There was no getting through to this girl, she thought and just said, “Your uniform is ready for the party on Sunday. Be here at nine A.M. and we’ll get everything started.”
    With that Virgilia left. She had a full day of classes tomorrow and two days to get her projects done before Sunday. 
    She worked her way through those two days, surviving on little sleep and managed to get her projects done early. As a reward, she decided to treat herself to a matinee movie on Saturday. She’d heard of a movie about a shark from some friends. They said it was scary, but good. She decided to check it out. 
    At the theater, the line was a bit long and everybody was gearing up to see the shark movie. Must be good, she thought.
    When she finally got her ticket, she stood at the door, digging through her purse. Just as she reached for the handle, her hand touched someone else’s. She looked up at him and a sudden jolt flashed through her body. Their eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity. 
    Virgilia was suddenly lost in his warm emerald green eyes. He looked at her brown eyes and caught his breath. 
    “After you,” he said, as she suddenly remembered where she was and why.
    “Thank you,” she managed to get out as she walked through the door he held open.
    Neither of them had ever felt that way before and didn’t know what to make of it. Was it a case of static? It was a little too good to be just a random shock.
    Virgilia tried to shake it off as she made her way into the theater. It was packed and she craned her head to find a possible seat. There were a couple of vacancies close to the front. Virgilia hated being that close to the screen, but