Page 9 of When You Are Mine
Her small face fell. He knew that, for a little while, she had actually forgotten her reason for being in this hospital so far from home. Then she brightened and turned in Kerris’s loose embrace.
“Will you come again on Tuesday? We could make jewelry again.” Iyani’s eagerness and hope strained and stretched out of every pore.
“Sure will.” Kerris gave her a gentle squeeze and bent down to whisper in her ear, just loud enough for Walsh to hear. “And maybe I’ll see you before then. Would that be okay?”
Iyani offered a shy smile and nod, shuffling her feet under the stiff hospital gown.
“Iyani, we have to go,” Walsh reminded his small charge, glancing at Kerris. “I guess I’ll see you at the river later.”
“Maybe.” She pushed back a dark brown tendril that had slipped forward. “I have an appointment that could take a while.”
“What could be more important than lounging by the river?” Walsh knew he should just let her go, but between his genuine curiosity and his desire for a few more minutes with her, he couldn’t stop talking.
“Well, I’m opening a business.”
“Didn’t you just graduate last week?” His laugh provoked her to roll her eyes.
“Yes, but my roommate, Meredith, and I are opening a thrift store.”
“A thrift store? Like a Goodwill kind of thing?”
“Think a step above.” A defensive note entered her voice and pride tilted her chin. “Higher end, gently used stuff. Items that are excellent quality, and when first bought, were probably pretty expensive. When the wealthies are done with them, they pass ’em onto places like ours. And the wealthies’ gently used is usuallybarelyused.”
“The wealthies, huh?” Walsh glanced down at his jeans, which probably cost as much as a small car payment, and figured he’d fall into that category. “That’s your term?”
“Yeah, my term, but I don’t mean it in a bad way.” She offered him a smile that stole any sting from her words. “Your family’s the best kind of wealthies. Not snobs. Always looking to help. I don’t resent people who have money.”
“I’ve never felt guilty about it. My grandpa Walsh taught me you shouldn’t feel guilty about having money. You should feel responsible, and make sure you do the right things with it.”
“He sounds like a very wise man.”
“He was.”
“Well, I’d better run.” Kerris ran her hand over Iyani’s hair as the girl waited, twisting the beads on her new bracelet. “We’re scoping out a few locations, and I’m already late.”
Walsh watched Kerris until she’d disappeared down the hall, but the images of her from the afternoon they’d spent together lingered in his mind. Laughing with the children. Patiently showing them how to make their precious jewelry. In his circles, most of the women had led a pretty privileged existence. Other than his mom and Jo, he’d never met one who gave as much as this woman, despite her having been given so little in life. The combination of her kindness, beauty, and sweetness filled his thoughts after he left Iyani and drove to meet his friends by the river.
When Walsh reached the riverbank, Cam, Jo, and even Sofie, his childhood friend from New York, along with the rest of their usual summer entourage, headed farther down the Eno River, looking for the rope they’d used to dive into the icy water years ago. Walsh passed, saying he’d grab a few winks and be ready to play when they returned. He spread out a blanket on the verdant grass, succumbing to the rest he’d been denying himself since he’d departed Wilson Airport in Nairobi two days ago. A dark-haired girl awaited him in his dreams, and she set his pulse pounding even in his sleep.
Chapter Five
Kerris pulled her ancient car half in one space and half in another, barely pausing to lock the doors before dashing across the street to the bungalow where she saw her best friend’s Volkswagen. Something good was going to happen. She could feel it. Though you wouldn’t know it from Meredith’s face.
“Mer, you okay?” Kerris asked, thrown by the frown marring the delicate features of her usually optimistic friend.
“You’re late, and I’m about as nervous as a cat ready to be spaded.” Meredith held out one hand, loaded down with silver rings. “Look at my hands. They’re shaking, Kerris!”
“Calm down.” Kerris used the Zen voice she reserved for her friend’s high-strung nature, nothing she couldn’t handle. “We have a great concept. We have our business loan. And today, we’ll get our space. I have a good feeling about it.”
“We’d better.” Meredith ran a trembling hand down her face. “I want my parents off my back.”
Meredith’s parents wished their first-generation Japanese-American daughter had pursued one of the industries her siblings had obediently entered—computer programming, physics, or biochemistry. Meredith, to their dismay, had shown more interest inVoguethan the periodic table.
Freshman year, Kerris had been seeking work to pay her way through college when she’d seen the ad for hardworking, responsible students willing to clean. She’d been shocked to discover the owner of the cleaning business, Maid 4 U, was only two years her senior, and just as driven as she was. Now, between working together and sharing a small apartment not too far from campus, they were nearly inseparable.
“This will work, Mer. Your parents will be proud of you. I guarantee it.”
“Like I care about that.” Meredith rolled her eyes at Kerris’s knowing look. “Okay, so maybe I care alittleabout that.”