Wish 01 - A Secret Wish by Barbara Freethy

unmade, and the couch was messy with pillows and blankets. “Where is your mother?” she asked.
    “She’s been gone a long time,” Kimmie announced.
    Laurel glared at her sister, then looked back at Angela. “Not that long, and she’ll be back. She always comes back eventually.”
    “Is the electricity off?”
    “We like candles,” Laurel said defensively.
    “Do you have heat?”
    “It’s not that cold. We have blankets. We just need a little money for food and some cough medicine,” Laurel added as Kimmie gave a congested cough. “We’ll pay you back.”
    “How on earth would you do that?”
    “I’ll find a way,” Laurel said, lifting her chin.
    “I need to call someone to help you.”
    “You can’t,” Laurel said quickly. “They’ll split us up, and Kimmie needs me.”
    Angela stared at the two little girls clinging together and couldn’t help but be reminded of herself and her sisters. But they had grown up in a loving family, a beautiful home. They’d had so much more than this. It was criminal the way the girls were living.
    “My aunt said she’d come on Sunday,” Laurel put in. “We’ll be okay until then if you can give us a few dollars.”
    She didn’t know if there was an aunt, but she seriously doubted it. Laurel would do anything to keep her and her sister together. Angela debated her options. This wasn’t her problem. She could call the cops and hand the girls off and know they’d be taken care of, maybe not the way they wanted, but they would be safe and fed and provided with care. That was the most important thing.
    “Please,” Laurel said, obviously sensing she was losing the battle. “Don’t turn us in.”
    “You can’t live here alone, honey.”
    “We’ve been alone before, and we were fine.”
    “You’re not fine. You’re hungry, and Kimmie is sick.”
    “You don’t know what it’s like in the homes they send us to. It’s horrible.”
    Kimmie started to cry, and Angela wasn’t sure if it was because she knew what was coming or she was just picking up on her sister’s fear. Her sobs were mixed with coughs and big sniffs.
    “Okay, stop crying,” she said. “You’re going to make yourself feel worse.”
    “I don’t want to leave Laurel. She takes care of me,” Kimmie whined. “She holds my hand when it’s dark, and it’s really dark outside now.”
    It was dark. It was very late. She’d been gone for hours, driving around feeling sorry for herself.
    Well, she wanted to be a mother, and right now there were two children in front of her who needed some nurturing. “I won’t call anyone tonight,” she said, making an impulsive decision that she hoped she wouldn’t regret. “I’ll wait until the morning, but you two are coming home with me. I can’t leave you here alone, and you need food. You can come to my house. We’ll leave your mother a note and tell her where you are in case she comes back.”
    The girls were too desperate to ask any questions, even though they probably should have. She was a stranger, but obviously in their world they had to take a chance on who to trust, and right now they were trusting her.
    She jotted down her name and phone number and a quick note of explanation while Laurel grabbed some clothes for her and Kimmie.
    When they left the apartment, Angela had no idea if she was doing the right thing, but she was doing something, taking action, and it felt good. She just hoped Colin would agree.

Chapter Six
     
    “Are you crazy?” Colin asked as Angela finished telling him that Laurel and Kimmie were going to stay with them for the night. “You can’t just take someone else’s kids and bring them home.”
    “I’ll explain more in a minute.” She glanced down at the girls, who were practically hiding behind her. Colin’s anger had obviously scared them. “The girls are hungry. I hope there are leftovers.” She was more than a little thankful that the party had ended before she got back. It was going to be