furnishings were low-key, tasteful, but high quality. “It’s not the Hilton, but it ain’t Motel 6 either. Anyhow, Faith pumps a lot of her own money into this place. Payback, she always tells me.”
“How’s that?”
“She was orphaned herself when she was a teenager, though she never had to go through the welfare system. She had a guardian, but he was little more than a stranger. I guess that’s why she relates so well to the kids. I hate to think where they’d be if not for Faith. She takes on even the worst. Or she did.” Bradley rubbed at his tired eyes. “I just hopethings run smoothly while she’s off trying to get herself together.”
“What happened?”
“One of our kids was killed a little over two weeks ago by a drunk driver. It devastated Faith. She was really close to this particular girl. Jane—that’s what we called her—wasn’t like the other kids. Before she came to Faith’s House, she went through some terrible incident where she was severely wounded. The trauma caused amnesia. Nobody knew who she was. Somebody had wheeled her into the emergency room and left her there. It was about this time last year, and school had just let out for the summer, so there were no reported absences, nobody calling in about a missing child. Nothing. CPS didn’t have a clue as to her name, so they started calling her Jane Doe.
“I don’t know what it was about her, but Faith took to her right away,” Bradley went on. “Maybe it’s because the girl was just about the same age as Faith when she’d been orphaned. Anyhow, Faith helped her through some pretty rough nightmares those first few months.” He shook his head. “To nurse Jane through such a hard time, then lose her in the blink of an eye devastated her. She hasn’t been the same since. Yesterday was the first time she’s set foot here since the funeral, and I was surprised she even did that. I was hoping that seeing the kids might make her stay, but I guess not.”
“It’s only been a couple of weeks. Maybe she just needs a little time to come around.”
“And maybe Ricky will win the good citizenship award.”
Jesse smiled. “Miracles do happen.”
“I hope you’re right.” Bradley got to his feet and headed for the doorway. “You don’t know Faith. Sheeats and sleeps this place. For her to give it up for over this long is a terrible sign. It’ll take nothing short of a miracle to bring her around after what happened to Jane.”
That it would, Jesse thought as he listened to Bradley’s fading footsteps. A door creaked shut, and silence closed in.
It would take a miracle, but then that was why Jesse was here. Tomorrow he would go back to Faith’s and resume his mission. Nothing, not even the lingering memories of his untimely death, would spoil what he had to do. He wouldn’t let them.
Jesse closed his eyes and tried to ignore the image that lurked at the far edges of his mind—the brilliant green eyes, the full, kissable lips. He had to think of her in purely professional terms. This was business. A means to an end.
Linked. Connected
.
If only the pull of her wasn’t so strong. So potent. If only …
Jesse shifted his thoughts away from Faith and concentrated on the sound of raised voices that came from upstairs.
“I’ve got five minutes more bathroom time, you pighead, so stop bothering me.”
“You’ve been in there thirty minutes, Em. I’ve got to go.”
“You’ll just have to hold it.”
“And you’ll just have to hurry up….”
A smile tugged at his lips as his memory stirred a similar scene. The voices faded as time pulled Jesse back until he found himself in apartment 3B.
He stared across the living room to the teenage girl and boy playing tug-of-war with a black leather jacketemblazoned with a Harley Davidson logo on the back
.
“It’s mine, Jason,” the girl said in a hiss, pulling and tugging, her soft brown hair slapping against her pale cheeks
.
“Jess gave it to me,” Jason
“How’s that?”
“She was orphaned herself when she was a teenager, though she never had to go through the welfare system. She had a guardian, but he was little more than a stranger. I guess that’s why she relates so well to the kids. I hate to think where they’d be if not for Faith. She takes on even the worst. Or she did.” Bradley rubbed at his tired eyes. “I just hopethings run smoothly while she’s off trying to get herself together.”
“What happened?”
“One of our kids was killed a little over two weeks ago by a drunk driver. It devastated Faith. She was really close to this particular girl. Jane—that’s what we called her—wasn’t like the other kids. Before she came to Faith’s House, she went through some terrible incident where she was severely wounded. The trauma caused amnesia. Nobody knew who she was. Somebody had wheeled her into the emergency room and left her there. It was about this time last year, and school had just let out for the summer, so there were no reported absences, nobody calling in about a missing child. Nothing. CPS didn’t have a clue as to her name, so they started calling her Jane Doe.
“I don’t know what it was about her, but Faith took to her right away,” Bradley went on. “Maybe it’s because the girl was just about the same age as Faith when she’d been orphaned. Anyhow, Faith helped her through some pretty rough nightmares those first few months.” He shook his head. “To nurse Jane through such a hard time, then lose her in the blink of an eye devastated her. She hasn’t been the same since. Yesterday was the first time she’s set foot here since the funeral, and I was surprised she even did that. I was hoping that seeing the kids might make her stay, but I guess not.”
“It’s only been a couple of weeks. Maybe she just needs a little time to come around.”
“And maybe Ricky will win the good citizenship award.”
Jesse smiled. “Miracles do happen.”
“I hope you’re right.” Bradley got to his feet and headed for the doorway. “You don’t know Faith. Sheeats and sleeps this place. For her to give it up for over this long is a terrible sign. It’ll take nothing short of a miracle to bring her around after what happened to Jane.”
That it would, Jesse thought as he listened to Bradley’s fading footsteps. A door creaked shut, and silence closed in.
It would take a miracle, but then that was why Jesse was here. Tomorrow he would go back to Faith’s and resume his mission. Nothing, not even the lingering memories of his untimely death, would spoil what he had to do. He wouldn’t let them.
Jesse closed his eyes and tried to ignore the image that lurked at the far edges of his mind—the brilliant green eyes, the full, kissable lips. He had to think of her in purely professional terms. This was business. A means to an end.
Linked. Connected
.
If only the pull of her wasn’t so strong. So potent. If only …
Jesse shifted his thoughts away from Faith and concentrated on the sound of raised voices that came from upstairs.
“I’ve got five minutes more bathroom time, you pighead, so stop bothering me.”
“You’ve been in there thirty minutes, Em. I’ve got to go.”
“You’ll just have to hold it.”
“And you’ll just have to hurry up….”
A smile tugged at his lips as his memory stirred a similar scene. The voices faded as time pulled Jesse back until he found himself in apartment 3B.
He stared across the living room to the teenage girl and boy playing tug-of-war with a black leather jacketemblazoned with a Harley Davidson logo on the back
.
“It’s mine, Jason,” the girl said in a hiss, pulling and tugging, her soft brown hair slapping against her pale cheeks
.
“Jess gave it to me,” Jason
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