Teresa went straight to the kitchen and put the old folks’ orders on a tray. Sam and his wife, Delia, had always been kind to both Teresa and Kayla as next-door neighbors. Teresa had always loved those two old folks for being so open and accepting when it came to them—Teresa was at least half-Mexican and Kayla was half-black. As she headed down the hallway to take a tray out to the porch, she smiled at the memories of them coming to Miss Janie’s to play dominoes or canasta on Sunday afternoons.
“Is part of that for me?” Noah asked as he stepped out of the living room and held the door for her.
“Nope,” she answered. “It’s for Mr. Sam and Miss Janie. She seems to be doing good today. She knows Sam.”
Teresa went straight over to the porch swing and stooped down far enough that Sam could take his beer and a couple of cookies. “How’s Miz Delia doin’?”
“Lost her to cancer last year.” Sam’s voice cracked.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she sat down beside Miss Janie and held the tray in her lap. “I didn’t know.”
Dammit! Every time she turned around, something emotional happened to put tears in her eyes. She reached up and wiped them away with the back of her hand.
What did you expect? the voice in her head chided. You’ve been gone eleven years. Babies that were born the year you left are almost teenagers, and folks have died. If you’d been coming home regularly, or even called Miss Janie once a month, you’d know these things.
“Well, honey, I reckon you didn’t get much news from home what with the way things are. When did you get back?” Sam turned up the bottle and gulped several times.
“Couple of days ago,” Teresa said.
“You should’ve been here the past two years,” he scolded.
“I realize that now,” Teresa said.
“Where’s Kayla?” Sam asked.
Miss Janie’s chin began to quiver. “I want my other child to come home to me. I can’t die until she’s here. I need to tell her how much I love her. You’ll have to go inside and see the babies before you leave, Sam. They’re beautiful.” She lowered her voice. “I think Aunt Ruthie talked to someone, because I got to keep them.”
“Ruthie can be a handful when she wants to be.” Sam chuckled. “My Delia and Ruthie pretty much ran this part of Texas when . . .” He stopped and bit off a chunk of cookie.
“. . . Still chokes me up to talk about them women,” he said when he’d swallowed. “They was both so happy when Janie came to live here. Neither of them had kids, so they kind of treated Janie like their own. Delia would’ve been lost without Janie when Ruthie passed on so young.”
“Hi, Sam.” Noah brought a beer out and joined them. “Think we’ll get a snow tomorrow?” he teased.
“Sure we will, soon as pigs sprout wings and fly,” Sam said. “We are goin’ to have a hard winter, though. Y’all can depend on that.”
“Kayla needs to get home before it starts snowin’ and winter sets in, Noah,” Miss Janie said. “You found Teresa, so you can find her. And I want to see Greta again, too.” Miss Janie picked up another cookie with one hand and the glass of milk with the other. She dipped the cookie into the milk and said, “I wonder if Maddy Ruth and Mary Jane will like to dip their cookies.”
“I’m sure they will,” Teresa said. “When they get old enough, they’ll do all kinds of things.”
“Like build a snowman,” Sam said. “How big was that one you and Delia built the winter that you came to live here?”
“Taller’n you,” Miss Janie giggled.
“That ain’t sayin’ much.” Sam laughed with her. “I should be gettin’ on down the road. I’ve got to pick up a few things at the feedstore for them worthless sheep I keep around the place. Y’all need anything?”
“Nope,” Noah answered.
“Why don’t you come over about five and have supper with us?” Teresa asked. “I’m making enchiladas, black beans, and Mexican rice. There’s plenty for all of us.”
“I’m so glad you dropped by to see Teresa,” Miss Janie said. “Noah is going to find Kayla real soon. My babies are all grown up now and coming home to stay with me, and Greta will come visit if she can. I’m so happy.”
Poor old darlin’. It has to be exhausting for her to live with a mind like that, Teresa thought. One minute she is sixteen and the next she’s either jumped forward or backward to another time or place. Even though dementia wasn’t anything new to Teresa, it was tougher seeing it afflicting a family member like Miss Janie. There were those blasted tears damming up behind her eyelashes again.
“They grew up, didn’t they?” Miss Janie said. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to see them again when they took them away from me at the home, but Noah found Teresa. Now he’ll find Kayla, and we’ll be the family we should’ve always been. They were raised up out around El Paso. Just think”—she paused long enough to get a third cookie—“they were that close all this time and I didn’t even know it. But in those days they wouldn’t tell us who adopted our baby. We had them, got to hold them for a few minutes, and then they were gone.”
Times had sure changed since Miss Janie had had her babies. Teresa couldn’t imagine being told that she couldn’t keep a child if she wanted to, no matter how young she was when she gave birth.
“I’ll be back for supper around five,” Sam said. “I love good enchiladas. Did your mama teach you to cook?”
“Nope,” Teresa answered. “Mama didn’t like the kitchen so well. She used to say that my grandmother did, but I never got to know her or any of my other relatives. Miss Janie taught me to love cooking.”
Miss Janie waved goodbye to Sam and then smiled up at Teresa. “Did I tell you that I named them Maddy Ruth and Mary Jane? But the folks who got them changed their names, I’m sure,” Miss Janie said. “I’m sleepy. Nurse, would you help me back in bed? I’m really sore, and I need to rest.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Teresa stood up. “I sure will. You can get a little nap before Sam comes back for supper.”
By the time Teresa got her settled, Sam had gone and Noah was back in the living room looking over what appeared to be legal documents.
“Need something?” He looked up.
“Are you even searching for Kayla, or have you given up?” she asked.
“The way you two fought and bickered, I’d think you’d want me to give up,” he challenged.
“There’s not an ounce of love lost between us, but if Miss Janie wants to see this Greta or her before she dies, then I’ll tolerate Kayla.” Teresa bit her tongue to keep from adding, “Like I tolerate you.”
“Greta’s not coming. She was her roommate in the home where Miss Janie had the twins. She had me search for her a couple of years ago, and we found out that Greta had died from a heart attack when she was seventy. She’d gotten married when she was thirty and had two boys, who are still living and running the horse ranch in Virginia. From what Miss Janie told me, Greta was pretty sassy. She said that you reminded her of Greta, but I always thought that Kayla could beat you for sass any day of the week. You might have some spunk, but that girl was hard as nails.”
“Don’t underestimate me”—Teresa sat down on the sofa—“or you might wind up in trouble.”
“Right back at you,” he told her. “I’m still looking for Kayla. I traced her to San Antonio, but her trail has gone cold. She’s off the grid. No credit cards. No job that pays social security. Nothing.”
“Did you check the morgues?” Teresa asked.
“Yes, I did,” he answered. “And the hospitals. I even had a fellow PI put a man out on the streets to see if she is a working girl.”
“She’s a survivor and don’t you forget it. Most of the time she’s meaner than a constipated cougar, but I don’t think she’d stoop that low.” Where did that defense of Kayla come from?
“Like you said, she’s a survivor. I met her one time, and she had a lot of anger in her, even after living here with Miss Janie those years,” Noah said.
> Teresa frowned at Noah. “When were you back here?”
“Right after you left for college. My folks and I had finished a four-year stint in Germany, and they were on their way to Japan. We stopped by to see Miss Janie, and then they dropped me off in San Antonio for college and they left,” he answered. “Kayla was starting her senior year, and she was wound tighter than a two-dollar watch, as Miss Janie used to say.”
“You got that right, but don’t waste any more of your time and money looking for her on the streets. She used to be an excellent shoplifter, so she’d turn to stealing first.” Teresa stood to her feet and took a couple of steps toward the hallway. “Try looking at housekeepers. She might do that, and lots of folks pay housekeepers in cash, so that might be the reason you’re having trouble finding her.”
“I never thought of that. I didn’t know that she liked to do that kind of work. Thanks for the tip,” Noah muttered.
Teresa stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face him. “You are welcome. I want Miss Janie to leave this world in peace. The only time I ever knew Kayla to knock the chip off her shoulder was when she was around elderly people. She adored Delia and Sam. I bet you find her doing a job that pays cash and maybe living in a homeless shelter.”
“Miss Janie said she left a note and ran away with some kid named Denver. I did think for a while that maybe she had four or five kids by now and is a stay-at-home mom,” Noah said. “But with what you just told me, I’ll tell my PI to look in the other direction.”
“Kayla swore she’d never have kids,” Teresa said. “She practically raised her younger siblings, and she said she’d never trust a man to be a good father.”
“She must’ve had a tougher life than I even imagined,” Noah said.
“You don’t know anything about how either of us lived before Miss Janie took us in.”
Teresa left the room, checked on Miss Janie, and then went upstairs.
Teresa remembered Denver from high school. He’d come from a good family, but he had always been worthless. He was one of those tall, dark, and handsome boys who could sweet-talk a girl into the back seat of his car with no problem. Teresa wasn’t a bit surprised that Kayla had run away with him right after she graduated.
Given her foster sister’s temper, she would be surprised if they were still together. Denver didn’t take orders well, not even in high school. He was constantly in detention for being late, swearing at teachers, and fighting. His parents went to bat for him every single time he got in trouble—nothing was ever his fault. He wouldn’t be able to hold down a job.
Kayla might’ve supported him for a while, but she’d begin to see through him before long, and she wouldn’t be able to hold her temper, either. The reason that Noah couldn’t find her might be that she’d found another man who’d treat her right and had taken his name.
That wouldn’t change her social security number, the voice in her head said.
Before she could argue that point, she heard Miss Janie crying and hurried back down the stairs to see what she could do to help. “What’s the matter, darlin’?”
“I want Kayla to come see me. I’m dying, and I’ve got things to say to her,” she sobbed. “She was such a tormented little soul. I need to talk to her.”
“Noah is doing his best,” Teresa said.
Miss Janie sat up and slowly slung her legs off the side of the bed. “Noah is building an ark. He doesn’t have time to look for Kayla. You need to do that for me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Teresa extended a hand to steady Miss Janie when she stood up. “I’ll do that as soon as I make supper. You want to go to the kitchen and help me?”
“I want to go to the front porch. I need to be sitting there in case Kayla comes home. She might forget which house to go to, but if I’m right there, she’ll see me.” Miss Janie groaned when she took the first step. “My legs ain’t what they used to be.”
Teresa looped Miss Janie’s arm in hers like she’d been taught in the nursing home. “Use me to lean on, and your cane for support on the other side.”
“You’re a good nurse,” Miss Janie told her. “I wonder what Kayla turned out to be.”
“Probably someone who can boss everyone around,” Teresa said.
Miss Janie frowned. “Don’t judge her, honey. That’s the way she copes. She had a hard life.”
Like I said to Noah, we both did, Teresa thought as she helped Miss Janie out to the porch swing and got her settled.
“Could I get you something to drink or a little snack?” Teresa asked.
“Don’t need a thing right now except to see my other baby girl,” she answered. “Were y’all identical twins, or could they tell you apart?”
“We were different. Her hair is curlier than mine, and she has green eyes,” Teresa answered. But those weren’t the only differences between us, Teresa thought as she sat down beside Miss Janie. Kayla had already built a hard shell around herself when she arrived at Miss Janie’s house. The only time that Teresa ever saw her soften was when she talked to Miss Janie, Sam, or Delia. In the years that they were foster sisters, Teresa had never been able to chip a bit of the hard shell away, so after a while she’d given up trying. The day that Teresa left for college, Kayla didn’t even come down to the porch to wave goodbye.
“I can’t wait to see her.” Miss Janie sighed. “Every car or truck that goes by, I keep prayin’ it will turn into our driveway.”
For her foster mother’s sake, Teresa hoped the same, but for her own sake, Teresa dreaded the day.
Chapter Four
Teresa awoke on Thursday morning in a cold sweat. She had dreamed that Luis showed up in Birthright with a sad story about how his second wife had left him, and he wanted another chance with Teresa. When she told him that wouldn’t happen until the devil sold snow cones in hell, he shot her right between the eyes. Everything went dark, and she felt as if she were falling into a black abyss. When she came to herself, she was sitting up in bed with a death grip on the pillow.
She pushed back the cover and shivered as the cold breeze from the vent above her bed rushed over her sweaty skin. Her legs were still shaky from the dream, but she made her way to the bathroom at the end of the hall. She drew the curtain around the tub, adjusted the water, and took a warm shower.
The evil look in Luis’s eye when he pulled the trigger kept coming back to her as she fixed breakfast that morning. Like most days, she kept the food warm on the top of the stove, and everyone ate when they were ready. That morning was different, though. For the first time, Miss Janie used a walker instead of a cane, and she arrived just as Teresa was flipping the last pancake out of the cast-iron skillet.
“Look at you with new wheels.” Teresa tried to keep her tone light and encouraging, but her heart sank. From cane to walker, then to a wheelchair, and last, bedfast. She’d seen the progression in her line of work too many times to think that this new thing was just for a day.
Miss Janie inhaled deeply as she sat down in the chair that Teresa pulled out for her. “I love the smell of coffee and bacon all mixed up together when I wake up in the morning. I’m glad you still like to cook. I loved it when you spent time in the kitchen with me.”
Noah came inside from the screened back porch and went straight for the coffeepot. “Did you have a good night’s rest?”
“Yes, I did, but it’s getting harder for me to get in and out of my bed. Seems like the floor is ten feet away from my feet,” she said, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Who is that woman cookin’ breakfast?”
“That’s your daughter Teresa,” Noah told her.
“My daughters are Maddy Ruth and Mary Jane. I would never name one of them Teresa,” she said.
“Why not?” Noah asked.
“Because Teresa was a girl in our church that was mean to me,” Miss Janie answered.
Why did you even take me in? Teresa wondered as she put a pancake and two strips of bacon on a plate.
“How old are you today?”
Noah asked.
“I’m seventeen.” Miss Janie tipped her chin up defiantly. “I’m not old enough to keep my babies, but I can have coffee.” She picked up her cup and took a sip. “Mama and Daddy don’t let me have coffee, but Aunt Ruthie says anyone who can give birth to babies is old enough to drink it. I wanted to add cream and sugar to it the first time I had a cup, but Aunt Ruthie said life didn’t come all sweetened up, and neither did her coffee.”
Truer words have never been spoken. Teresa’s nightmare came back, and her hands shook so badly that she almost dropped the fork she was using to turn the bacon. Teresa’s life hadn’t simply been black coffee—it had been bitter, burnt espresso. She took down plates from the cabinet and got silverware from the drawer.
Miss Janie frowned. “Why are we having bacon for supper?”
In the blink of an eye, Miss Janie had jumped into the time machine.
“This is morning,” Teresa gently reminded her, “and we’re about to have breakfast.”
“I get confused. Of course it’s morning. The sun is coming up in that window.” She pointed. “And it goes down in my bedroom window. Have you found Kayla? I need both you girls to be home with me. I need to die, but I can’t until y’all are here with me like I was with Aunt Ruthie and with Delia.”
“I’m doing my best,” Noah said.
“Well, do better,” Miss Janie said sternly. “I want to see what she’s done since she left me. Before Mama and Daddy sent me away, I dreamed about being a nurse, but I went to work at the school with Aunt Ruthie and never did do that. I’m glad one of my girls grew up to be a nurse, and I need to see what Kayla has made of herself.”
A nurse’s aide was a long way from what Miss Janie had said, but if she wanted to think like that, Teresa wasn’t going to correct her.
“Hello!” Sam’s gruff old voice rang out as he came in through the back door. “I’m letting myself in. Is breakfast ready?”
“You bet it is,” Teresa answered. “Come on in and help yourself.”
“I hate to cook, and you said I was welcome over here anytime, so I decided to take you up on it.” Sam went to the stove and filled a plate, then took a seat next to Miss Janie. “How you doin’ this mornin’?”
Miss Janie’s Girls Page 6