Wish 01 - A Secret Wish by Barbara Freethy Page A

difficult enough to explain what she’d done to Colin.
    “Of course. Your mother makes enough food to feed an army,” he replied, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
    “Let’s get some dinner, girls,” she said, heading toward the kitchen. “My mom made three kinds of lasagna. I hope you like Italian.”
    “What’s lasagna?” Kimmie asked.
    “It’s like spaghetti with big flat noodles,” Angela answered. “You can wash your hands, and I’ll heat up some pasta for you.”
    Laurel pulled a kitchen chair over to the sink for Kimmie to stand on and then turned on the water.
    Angela quickly pulled out salad, lasagna and bread, acutely aware of Colin standing in the doorway. “As soon as I get them settled, I’ll talk to you,” she told him.
    He gave a helpless shake of his head and then left the room.
    She made up two plates of food and set them on the table while the girls took a seat.
    “Is this for us?” Kimmie asked in wonder.
    “Eat as much as you like,” Angela told them.
    The girls dove in before she had finished speaking. It was clear they’d been hungry for a while.
    “You don’t have to rush,” she added. “There’s more where that came from.” She watched them for another minute and then returned to the living room.
    Colin had a trash bag in one hand and was collecting used paper plates and cups, a reminder of the birthday party she’d run out on.
    “Where should I start?” she asked, twisting her hands together.
    He set down the trash bag and planted his hands on his hips. “Why don’t you start with where you’ve been for the last three hours?”
    “I drove around for a while. I never meant to be gone so long, but I needed to think.”
    “We were worried about you. Your mother and sisters were very upset.”
    “I’ll apologize to them tomorrow.”
    She sat on the sofa and drew in a breath. Colin took a seat on the ottoman in front of his favorite armchair. He stared at her for a long moment. “I feel like I don’t even know you anymore,” he murmured.
    She was feeling a little that way herself. She’d been restless for months, but her birthday had brought everything to the boiling point.
    “Tell me again what happened,” he said. “You drive around and then stumble upon two homeless girls and decide to bring them home?”
    She hadn’t told him that Laurel had attempted to mug her, something she intended to leave out of her story for the time being. “They need help. Their mom is away and there’s no electricity at their apartment.”
    “Then you should have called the police.”
    “Laurel said when the police come, they always split them up. Kimmie is scared and has a cold and needs to be with her sister.”
    “Angie, this is not our problem.”
    “I know that, but I couldn’t look the other way, Colin. I saw two young girls who needed someone to help them. So I did.”
    “You should have taken them to the police station.”
    “I thought about it, but it’s late, and I didn’t think one more night would make a difference.”
    “What if their mother comes home and finds them gone?”
    “I considered that. I left a note with our phone number.”
    “Oh, that’s great. The mother could be a crazy person, a drug addict. She could be a criminal and now she has our phone number.”
    “I didn’t know what else to do. Laurel said she thought her mother would be back by Sunday, or that her aunt would come.”
    He shook his head. “Angie, these kids need professional support. I know you want to be a mother, but this is ridiculous. You can’t just grab two kids and bring them home. You’ve lost your mind. I’m calling the police.” He stood up.
    “Wait. Just let them stay until the morning, Colin. I made them a promise, and I want to keep it. What are a few hours? It’s not like we don’t have the room.”
    His gaze narrowed. “Will you really call tomorrow? Or will you have another reason for keeping them just a little longer?”
    “I just want