LITMIR.BIZ

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Turning on the central air-conditioning would have helped, too, but Jane was too busy watching her pennies to realize her thriftiness was going to cost her lots of dollars in the end.

      “Poor little house,” Cindy whispered. “It just needs a little TLC.”

      Paul groaned. “And lots of elbow grease.”

      Cindy looked up at him and smiled. “You have great elbows.”

      “And the price is right,” Andrea added. “In fact, there are a number of options we can explore together to help you get the extra money you’d need to do some cosmetic repairs. The house is sound structurally, and it’s a good starter house. You could settle quickly, too.”

      Cindy beamed and rested her hand on her tummy.

      Paul cocked his head. “How quickly?”

      “Quickly enough to get you into the house before the baby is born. Why don’t we go back to my office where the air-conditioning is running, and go over the details?”

      The day certainly had taken an upswing. By four-thirty, Andrea had a deposit and a signed contract in hand, and she had called in almost every favor she was owed, just to make this sale happen, but now she had to see Jane at home. The thrift shop closed promptly at four. She returned calls, sorted through the mail, decided there was nothing that could not wait until tomorrow, grabbed her briefcase and locked up the office.

      Determined to finish the day’s rescue, she acted on sudden inspiration and walked a block down the avenue to Blackburn’s. Once inside the jewelry store, she saw the owners, Ray and Georgina, were busy waiting on customers, so she went straight to the display case along the right wall. She studied the watches inside the case and decided the prices were a little too steep for her needs. When she turned to leave, Georgina was approaching.

      “Don’t tell me we don’t have something you like,” she teased.

      Andrea chuckled. “Actually, I’m just looking for a workday watch. Something with an alarm on it?”

      “But not something that’ll cost a week’s salary. Hmm…” Georgina walked around Andrea, leaned over the display case and studied the contents. She shook her head. “I thought I had something…Ray, what happened to those Flick watches? The ones all the kids were buying?”

      Ray looked up from the register and nodded. “They’re in the back. What’s left of them, anyway. Haven’t sold one in weeks. We needed the space.” He let out a sigh, pushed his glasses lower on the bridge of his nose and peered over the rims. “We talked about it last night, remember?”

      Georgina grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “You talked. While I was trying to sew, remember?” She winked at Andrea. “Wait here. I’ll bring them out. Since they’re in the back, I can knock the price down for you, too.” When she came back, she had a single watch in her hand. “It’s got an alarm in it, just like you wanted, along with all kinds of other nonsense the kids like.”

      She held it out to Andrea. “See? You can even program the tune you want to play on the hour.” She pressed one of the tiny buttons on the side, and the instant Andrea heard the tinny melody, she laughed out loud. She had to have this watch.

      “Sorry about the color. Pretty garish shade, isn’t it? I was hoping we had one of the white ones left—”

      “No. It’s perfect,” Andrea insisted, and this time she did laugh out loud and promptly bought the watch.

      Swinging her briefcase, she hummed the catchy melody as she walked around the block to get back to her car. On first glance, she thought someone was inside the car, but immediately dismissed that possibility. The closer she got, however, the clearer the image became. She stopped several feet from the rear of the car and waited, heart pounding, as the familiar figure emerged from the car and approached Andrea with outstretched arms.

      She dropped her briefcase and stepped into the waiting embrace, uncertain whether or not she should strangle Madge or return the watch and buy a gag to keep her quiet, instead.

      Chapter Five

      J enny wrapped her arms around her big sister, briefcase and all. “You should know you can’t use the word ‘good’ and the word ‘cancer’ in the same breath with Madge, so don’t get in a huff or holler at her for telling me. Russell isn’t coming home for another two weeks. She had to sit down and talk to somebody. She just came to me to try to understand what you had told her.”

      She gave Andrea a squeeze. “Your office was closed. I figured even if you had an appointment nearby or went shopping, you’d have to come back for your car eventually, and I waited for you.”

      Andrea’s body went slack for a moment. She gave Jenny a one-armed squeeze and stepped back. “I only told Madge because she caught me at home in bed. Another ten minutes, and I’d have been heading back to the office.”

      “She’s scared.”

      “Me, too.” Andrea sighed.

      “Me, three,” Jenny whispered. “You know that you’re going to beat this, right?”

      Andrea squared her shoulders. “That’s what Dr. Newton tells me.”

      “She’s right. I made a few calls earlier this afternoon and talked to two of the oncologists at the hospital. They both said—”

      “You look exhausted,” Andrea interrupted, changing the subject. “You’re supposed to sleep during the day, remember? It’s Thursday. You have to go to work tonight. Madge had no right to wake you up. Why didn’t Michael stop her?”

      Jenny grinned. “I switched with another nurse and worked a double on Tuesday, so I was off today. I don’t have to go to work again until Sunday night, although I’ve got a zillion errands and appointments between now and then. Michael’s got a great barbecue planned for six o’clock tonight—ribs, Silver Queen corn and a tomato-basil salad. Come for supper? The girls would love to see you.”

      Andrea toyed with her briefcase. “I have a stop to make. I can try, but I’m not sure if I can be there by six.”

      “We’ll wait for you.”

      “I don’t want to be a bother. Maybe another time would be better. I’ll grab something at home.”

      Jenny tilted up her chin. “Maybe you should think about being a little less independent. Or maybe, big sister,” she added with a grin, “you should think about the Blueberry Boy Bait that Michael made this afternoon for dessert.”

      Andrea groaned and switched her briefcase to her other hand. “Mother’s cobbler recipe, I gather. The one Sandra loved so much?”

      Jenny chuckled. “Is there another?” She turned around, closed the passenger door, walked around and opened up the driver-side door. “I’ll tell Michael six-thirty would be better,” she offered. She watched the indecision on Andrea’s face give way to acquiescence.

      Andrea leaned into the car, tossed her briefcase to the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel. As soon as Jenny closed the door, Andrea lowered the window halfway, cranked the engine and turned the air-conditioning on full blast. A deep frown creased her cheeks. “Does Michael know?”

      Jenny shook her head. “I wanted to ask you if I could tell him, first.”

      Andrea chewed on her bottom lip and nodded. “It’s okay. He’s your husband. You shouldn’t keep secrets from one another. Just…just tell him not to say anything to anyone else. At least not for now, okay?”

      Jenny swallowed the lump in her throat, but her smile went straight from her heart to her lips. “Okay. Thanks.”

      Andrea reached through the open window and tugged on Jenny’s ponytail. “You’re not always going to get your way, you know. I…I have to do this my way, and sometimes that’s going to mean I’ll need to be alone.”

      Jenny lifted

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