Taking Tiffany Read online

  That was a lot to take in. We walked in silence for a few minutes. The forest line was dense, and the foliage had turned into shades of red and gold, reminding me of home. Here, in the forest, the air was cooler. I inhaled the clean autumn air, and it felt like a cleansing for my mind and soul.

  Everything about your life wasn’t horrible. Another thought struck. Your life wasn’t horrible; you were.

  Why was I thinking so much? What was it about this place?

  “So, that’s why you’re so grumpy all the time,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood while giving him an elbow to his side.

  He grabbed my arm and held it for a moment. Looking down at my lips and back to my eyes, he released his hold and said, “I’m not grumpy. It’s just, when I’m around you…” His glance lowered to my lips again.

  “I make you cranky?” I asked, smiling. I wasn’t sure why, but I enjoyed knowing that I did.

  “Among other things,” he replied.

  I counted on my fingers. “Grumpy, cranky, angry, frustrated, exasperated… Am I leaving anything out?”

  I managed to coax a smile out of him. “Yeah. There are five more things, but I can see your other hand is occupied.” He shot a look to where Ivy’s hand entwined with mine.

  “That’s probably good,” I muttered.

  I got another one of those full-wattage grins from him, and it was breathtaking. When he smiled, it changed his face to striking, can’t-look-away handsome. I was staring again.

  He cleared his throat. “We’ll take a swing around to the south and west side and get some lunch in the cafeteria.” He stopped and bent down to speak to Ivy. “Would you like to come eat with us?” he asked.

  She observed the landscape, seeming to take little interest in our conversation, but when he spoke to her, she smiled and nodded.

  “Good,” he said, and broke out his dangerous smile again. Smiles like that should come with a warning label. That thing was lethal, and it needed to be avoided. I knew how to make him scowl. I’d just keep that up.

  When we got back to the cafeteria, I realized I’d been so distracted, I forgot to look for an escape route.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Tiffany

  I MOTIONED TODD into the kitchen and asked him to sit in one of the chairs in front of the island. Before I had a chance to offer him anything, my dad and the sergeant entered the room.

  Todd stood and held out his hand. “Sir,” he addressed my dad. He turned to greet the sergeant. “Sergeant Campbell, nice to see you again.”

  I finally got a chance to look at Todd. I’d rushed him through the house earlier and hadn’t notice his appearance. His hair was adorably messed up, and he wore a smudge of pink lipstick on the corner of his mouth. I made a valiant effort not to laugh, but he heard my squeak and narrowed his eyes.

  “Sorry,” I whispered. I walked over to him and wiped the lipstick off.

  He knew exactly what he looked like. Eyes turned heavenward, it looked like he wanted to disappear. “This is twice now,” he muttered.

  I let my eyes creep over to the two men, focusing on my dad. To my surprise, they were both trying to keep a straight face.

  Dad looked back and forth from me to Todd, still smiling. “It looks like this might be a challenge keeping you two apart.”

  Todd’s eyes widened before he nodded his agreement. “Yes, sir. It will be.” There’s that honesty again.

  “You can call me Jerry. Especially since you’ll be here a lot.”

  “Oh, Dad! I love you!” I flung my arms around him so I could give him a big hug.

  “I trust your judgment,” he assured me.

  Sergeant Campbell cleared his throat and asked, “Everyone ready to get started? I have a lot of questions. We’ll need to see if we can come up with a list of suspects.”

  Two hours and a couple hundred questions later, Todd and I were able to take a break on the back deck. We sat next to each other in two lounge chairs pointed out toward the lake. He reached over and held my hand.

  “It’s beautiful here. I can see why you didn’t want to move.” He grinned and winked, which made my stomach do all sorts of fluttery things.

  “It was pure laziness,” I confessed. “But, in my defense, I haven’t had a reason until now.”

  “Oh?” he asked.

  “Well, we’ll need some privacy…after all this is over.”

  “We could always hang out at my condo.”

  “Are you trying to talk me into staying here? You like this view that much?” I joked.

  “I enjoyed getting to know your father today. He’s a great guy.”

  “He is pretty wonderful. You remind me of him in a lot of ways.”

  “Really?” He squeezed my hand.

  “Yes. You’re both determined and successful with a strong work ethic. You both have a great sense of humor. I think you saw a little of that today. He comes off gruff sometimes, but he enjoys a good laugh. But what I really appreciate is the way he loves my mom. It’s always been that way. He’s all in.”

  “I’m all in, too, Tiffany.” He leaned over and brushed his lips over mine. The tingles started again. I moved closer, needing just a little bit more. Maybe a lot more, but out here in the open, I’d have to settle for less.

  “Hello!” My mom’s cheery voice echoed down to the lake where we were seated.

  “Are you ready for Mom?” She'd been at a friend’s house, helping in her garden.

  “Bring it on,” he joked, but he didn’t know what he was in for.

  My mom was a whirlwind of activity and emotion. I never knew which side of her I’d get at any given hour.

  “Todd!” She opened her arms and rushed him. It looked like we’d be getting the emotional mom today.

  He stood quickly and greeted, “Mrs. Thompson, it’s so nice to meet you.”

  He didn’t even have a chance to hold out his hand before she grabbed him in a hug. I hoped he wasn’t getting overwhelmed.

  “No! You must call me Clara! I hear you’re a special friend of Tiffany’s.” She looked at me to make sure what she said was okay. I nodded, so she continued. “We’ve been hearing all about you for ages. It must be a year, right, Tiffany?”

  I shouldn’t have nodded. She thought she had full power to speak.

  “Oh, Mom, it hasn’t been that long.” I tried to communicate with my eyes—you need to be quiet now.

  “Oh, yes. It was last year after the Valentine’s Day charity event, when Braydon stood on the table and won his Jain back. Oh! That was so romantic. You two worked together with the cards, remember? All we heard about afterward was Todd this and Todd that.” She paused and said, “We’ve been expecting you for some time now.”

  I put my head into my hands. It was a good thing I loved my mother so much, otherwise, I might have planned her demise.

  Todd laughed and said, “Tell me more, Clara,” and shot me a smirk. He was enjoying this.

  “No! No more, Mom,” I pleaded.

  “Maybe I could get out your baby pictures instead?”

  “You’re joking.”

  “But you were so beautiful. I’d bet Todd would enjoy seeing them.”

  “I would, Clara,” he assured her.

  Mom looked back at me, trying to gauge how angry I’d be if she brought the pictures out. She took in our relaxed positions on the lounge chairs, the two half-full glasses of wine, and our happy demeanor. Decision made, she said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes!” and headed back to the house.

  “You encouraged her,” I accused.

  “I did.”

  “You will suffer for this, you know.”

  “Nah. Looking at pictures of you will not be suffering.”

  “No, I meant I’ll make you suffer.” I laughed.

  He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it softly. “I think I’d like your brand of suffering.” He was being naughty, and I liked it.

  “So, what shall I do to you?” I had so many ideas.

 
“This one is my favorite!” Mom returned and flopped into a chair next to Todd, settling in for the viewing show. Her timing was suspiciously like Dad’s. They always seemed to interrupt right before the good stuff got going. “Tiffany is three in this album. She just started preschool at a beautiful little school on Mercer Island called Creative Learning Center Montessori. Have you heard of it?”

  He shook his head.

  Please don’t tell him to take our future children there.

  Instead, she said, “The teachers and the staff were wonderful. They doted on Tiffany and took all these pictures during the school day. Look, in this picture she’s doing abstract division at four years old! Tiffany’s always been smart, you know.”

  “I did. I knew she was smart the first time I met her.”

  Mom looked at me and smiled. I knew that smile. She liked Todd. A lot. And now, I was sure she was picking out the names of her future grandchildren. Mom needed to pull back on the reins. Maybe I could distract her with Jain’s baby.

  “Did you hear Jain named her baby Tiffany?” I asked.

  “Yes! Brian, Braydon’s dad, told us on our fishing outing. What a nice compliment to you, honey.”

  “I’m sure they had other reasons besides just me. They said they loved the name. So, I guess the compliment goes to you in the first place.”

  She smiled and her eyes lit up. “I just thought of something!”

  “What?” I asked with trepidation. When my mom had that look in her eyes, there was no stopping her.

  “Let’s have a baby shower for Jain! She didn’t have one, right?” Her eyebrows lifted, waiting for my answer.

  “No. Little Tiffany came a bit early. I think they had a small one for her at her work, though.”

  “Pfft.” She waved me off. “We’ll throw a big party for them. We could have it here at the house. I can invite everyone from…”

  All I heard was white noise after that. I peeked at Todd. He kept a respectful, interested expression firmly in place while my mom went on and on about the party.

  “And, your dad said I needed a hobby, so this is perfect!”

  Jain would be my mom’s new hobby. I wondered how I was going to break it to her.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Angela

  Three Months Earlier

  THE DAYS TURNED into months and had taken on a rhythm, like a song that started out slow and soft, went crazy hectic in the middle, and ended softly again. I heard the classic song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen playing in the office, and it made me smile, because it was a perfect example of the tempo of my day.

  I’d wake up, get Ivy out of bed, and we’d hit the showers in the main building. Dr. Keep-Info-To-Himself neglected to tell me there was a water heater at the orphanage, just not in the huts. Dottie filled me in during my orientation, and a few choice words were directed at the doctor soon after.

  Once we were showered, we’d walk together to the cafeteria to get my required cup of tea and Ivy’s bowl of cereal. That’s when the pace picked up. I was in charge of gathering the five-to-eight-year-olds together for their first class that started at nine. Strangely enough, I found teaching them to read almost…fun. Once they memorized the sounds, it was just a matter of blending them together. Their little faces would brighten when it all came together. It was hard, at first, to comprehend the joy of such a simple accomplishment, for both the children and myself.

  We’d break for lunch in the cafeteria then go right back to class. The afternoons were dedicated to math, my favorite subject. Sometimes, we’d go outside and count rocks and use them for addition and subtraction. Paper was scarce, so we made the best of it. The kids didn’t seem to mind.

  My next assignment entailed dinner prep, an entirely new skill for me. My parents always employed a professional chef to prepare our meals. The only time I could remember going into the kitchen was if I wanted a drink of water, otherwise we were served by the staff.

  The first time cutting carrots, I almost chopped off my middle finger. Dottie quickly dispatched me to Dr. Stefan for stitches. He offered to kiss it to make it better with his usual smirk, but I left the injured finger up for a moment, giving him my answer. He chuckled and rolled his eyes again. He seemed to do that a lot with me.

  After dinner, the nighttime prep began. Getting fifty children ready for bed was a huge undertaking. For the most part, they were agreeable, but some needed the extra glass of water or another hug.

  By nine p.m., I was done for the day. This was the special one-on-one time I enjoyed with Ivy. She opened up and started talking a few weeks after she arrived. As it turned out, English was her first language, which indicated she’d been in a state-run facility for a long time. She had bits and pieces of Romanian, but one of the other teachers worked with her to develop her skills.

  Ivy finally trusted her surroundings enough to let go of my hand for longer and longer periods of time. She even had a little friend, Ava. But she still needed to sleep in my hut. We tried to move her in with the other children, but when she had a melt-down of epic proportions, everyone decided it would be harmful to her development if she were to move. She had trust issues that wouldn’t go away anytime soon. If I were honest with myself, I liked her rooming with me. The soft sound of her breathing lulled me to sleep. Not that I had any problems going to sleep; the days exhausted me, but in a healthy type of way.

  If my eyes weren’t closing on their own accord, I’d pull the blankets over my head, turn on the flashlight, and read a little. Dottie had a full library, and she loaned me some of her favorite books. I’d never thought to read for pleasure before, but I delved into the classics and loved every minute of it. Reality TV was a thing of the past.

  “Angela! Angela! Wake up! You won’t believe it!” Dottie sat on the end of my bed.

  “It’s Saturday. Go away!” I pulled the blankets over my head. This was my one day to sleep in.

  “It’s not just Saturday, it’s Christmas Eve. There’s a huge truck outside filled with gifts for the children.” She was so excited, I was sure she would hyperventilate.

  “Calm down, Dottie." I laughed and said, "Take it easy, girl.”

  All the commotion woke Ivy. Excited voices from outside filled the room. I grabbed my boots and warm jacket and headed out to take a peek. When the weather turned in Romania, it came hard and fast. It was freezing cold outside, minus-two degrees, and a couple inches of snow blanketed the ground.

  “An anonymous donor sent gifts for everyone! Even all the staff!” She fanned herself, even though it was cold. The huts had battery operated heaters, but they only cut the chill by a fraction.

  Dottie grabbed my hand. “Oh, Angela. Gifts for the children!” she said before bursting into tears.

  I hugged her and rubbed her back. “Now, now, Dottie.” Dottie and I had become close in the past few months. I hated to admit it, but my parents were right. Both Dottie and her husband, Jerome, were the most honest, hard-working people I’d ever met. “This is a good thing.”

  “I know! I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I was just so…so worried this year. As you know, things have been tight. The gifts of pencils and paper weren’t enough. The children have been through so much and deserve so much more.”

  “They have you.” I straightened in surprise. That wasn’t something I’d usually say. I didn’t give compliments.

  “Aren’t you sweet!” She placed her hand on my cheek.

  Don’t say that; you don’t know what I’ve done.

  “Let’s go.” I didn’t want to talk anymore. I reached over and took Ivy’s hand and we went outside. A huge truck with its ramp down parked in front of the main building. Two men were unloading what looked to be hundreds of gifts. The kids surrounded the men, and their happy squeals of delight could be heard for miles, I was sure.

  Dottie directed traffic, shouting orders to keep everything organized. “Okay, everyone, pick up a gift and bring it into the main room next to the tree.”

  An
hour later, all of the packages were stacked neatly by the tree. The children, though, were out of their minds with excitement. Except for Ivy. She stared at the gifts as if she didn’t know what they contained.

  “Do you think Ivy’s ever received a gift?” I asked Dottie.

  Her face clouded, and with a lowered voice she said, “I don’t think so. Look at her. She’s not excited like the others.”

  Oh, Ivy.

  “Okay, well, there’s a first time for everything, right?” I said.

  Dottie’s smile was a little sad, but she said, “That’s right.” Then added, “Should we start now or after lunch?”

  We looked back into the room, and the children were like those Mexican Beans, jumping up and down and sideways, out of control.

  “Call the doctor. We need sedatives,” I joked.

  “You called?”

  I jumped about a foot. “You startled me! I thought you were working in town?”

  Stefan donated his time to the orphanage, but he operated a practice in the small town of Rau Sadelui.

  “I took today off, because, you know, it’s Christmas Eve?” He arched a brow.

  “Don’t you have patients?” He was irritating me again.

  “Yes. Lots of them.”

  “You enjoy annoying me, don’t you?” I asked

  He shrugged and walked farther into the room.

  I turned to Dottie. “He’s infuriating!”

  Giving me a pat on the shoulder, she said, “I know, honey.” A wink and a smile followed.

  “Angela?” I could barely hear Ivy’s voice over the shrieking children.

  “Yes, Ivy?”

  “What are gifts?”

  It was confirmed. My stomach sank, and I felt like my heart was breaking. I was angry, too. I wanted to scream and cry at the unfairness of it. I had so much at her age. Anything I wanted or asked for—it was given to me. If it didn’t come quick enough, I’d throw a fit, and, sure enough, it would appear within a day. I hadn’t deserved any of it. Ivy deserved everything, but received nothing. She was a gentle spirit, a lovely person, and became lovelier each day that passed.