shocked to see you?'
'Very. But happy, I'm glad to say. And she looks wonderful. This treatment is working.'
'That's great.' With no idea what was coming next, Jenna waited uncertainly.
'She'll be leaving the hospital on Sunday,' he continued. 'And I don't want either of you living in that apartment anymore. I'm going to buy a house.'
She blinked. 'A house? For me and Mom?'
'For all three of us. To live together, as a family.'
Jenna couldn't speak. The lump in her throat was almost painful, and at the same time, she'd never felt so happy.
'Your mother is going to give me another chance,' he said. 'I don't deserve it, but she wants this, too. I hope you feel the same way.'
She felt pretty sure that her expression answered for her. But just in case, she said, 'Oh, I do. I do.'
He smiled. 'Good. Now, we have to be practical. I don't want us spending even one night at Brook side Towers. This morning I saw a house I want to buy.' He leaned across Jenna and pointed. 'What do you think of it?'
It was like the house of her fantasies. White, with blue trim. Boxes at the windows spilling out red geraniums. Big hanging baskets of flowers on each side of the front door. A manicured lawn. It wasn't a mansion, or even a large house like the Devons'. It was cozy and sweet. It wasn't just a house--it was a home. The perfect little home for a family of three.
'It's beautiful,' she breathed.
'I wish you could see the inside, but the owners are out for the day.'
'Are you sure it's for sale?' she asked. 'I don't see any sign.'
'They're nice people,' he told her. 'Even though I couldn't give them any money up front, they took down the sign. I have until Friday to pay them.'
'Friday,' she repeated. 'This Friday? You mean this week?'
'Yes.'
She was mystified. 'But it must cost thousands and thousands of dollars. How are you going to get that kind of money? Can you borrow it from the bank?'
He smiled ruefully. 'Not with my credit history. No, honey, I'm going to pay cash. And I'm hoping you'll help me.'
'How?'
'I'm going to get a few bucks together today and tomorrow,' he told her. 'Enough for a couple of plane tickets and a little more. On Wednesday, you and I could fly to Las Vegas. The casinos there are open twenty-four hours a day I could join a poker game, and with you by my side, I could win the cost of that house by Friday morning. We fly back, I hand the folks the money we move in on Saturday. We pick up your mother on Sunday and bring her home. Here.'
He'd completely taken her breath away. She wasn't even sure she'd comprehended what he'd just said.
'Do you think you can handle it?' he asked. 'Staying up all night reading minds?'
'I don't know. I guess.'
'Of course you can--you're a tough cookie. You're my girl, right?'
'Right.' It wasn't the staying up all night that was bothering her, though. 'But . . .'
'But what?'
She made a little face. 'We'd be cheating.' Deep inside she knew it was wrong.
He didn't disagree. 'Yes, you're right. And as a father, I suppose I should be ashamed of myself, asking my daughter to help me cheat. But I'm looking at the big picture, Jenna. I'm thinking about saving your mother, making us all happy. Being a real family. It would take years and years for me to save up the money for this house. I don't think your mother can last years and years at that place where you've been living.'
He was right, and she knew that. Brook side Towers was no place for a recovering alcoholic. There was just too much temptation to go back to her old ways.
'Do you know the expression 'The end justifies the means'?' he asked her.
She shook her head.
'It means that sometimes you have to do things that aren't one hundred percent right in order to reach a goal that's more important. We're talking about your mother's health and our future as a family. Don't you think it's worth doing something a little unethical for that?'
She still didn't feel good about it, but he was right.
'Yes.'
He leaned over and gave her a quick hug. 'Excellent. I'll call your principal tomorrow and make arrangements to take you out of school on Wednesday'
'I think you'd better come up with a different reason for it,' she cautioned him.
He chuckled. 'Not to worry, Jenna. Your old man can spin a tale. I'll say you've got a sick grandmother who wants to see you. We can use the same line with the Devons.'
'Okay.'
He started up the car. 'Now, I have to go scrape together the money for our tickets and enough for me to get into a game. I'll drop you off at the Devons'.'
It wasn't far. When they moved into this house, she'd still be in the same school zone. As he drove, Stuart talked about job possibilities for him in the town, but Jenna was in too much of a fog to listen.
It was happening. It was really happening. Her dreams, her fantasies--they were going to come true. Like in a fairy tale. She had no idea something like this could happen in real life.
At the Devons' house, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and told her that he'd let her know what time they'd be leaving on Wednesday. Still feeling dazed, Jenna went inside.
'I'm in the kitchen,' Tracey called out.
'I'll be there in a minute,' Jenna called back. First, she needed a little time alone. She ran up the stairs to Tracey's room.
It was a funny thing about emotions, she thought. They never seemed to be precise--at least, hers weren't. She was never 100 percent happy or 100 percent miserable. Right now, for example, she'd just heard the best news she'd ever heard in her life. She should have been ecstatic.
Okay, so she'd have to do something she really didn't like doing, but so what? She just had to keep telling herself what Stuart had said about the ends and the means. And it wasn't as if she was so virtuous about her gift anyway. She'd certainly read minds for more stupid reasons than this! Madame was always scolding her for eavesdropping on people's thoughts.
She wasn't sure how the Devons would react, though. They were responsible for her, as her foster family. They might not want her flying off to Las Vegas, even if they believed it was to see a sick grandmother. They might want to get permission from social services, and then it would turn into a big deal. Stuart would have to fill out forms--there would be little chance they could get permission by Wednesday. Which would mean they wouldn't have the money for the house on Friday. Which would mean her mother would come out of the rehab program on Sunday and go straight back to Brook side Towers.
Jenna had an idea. Instead of telling them, she'd leave them a note that they'd find only after she'd gone. Tracey would be furious with her for not telling her the truth, but when she saw how happy Jenna was in her new home with her new family, she'd have to forgive her.
Jenna needed paper. Tracey kept school supplies in a cabinet under her desk, and Jenna found a pad there. Then she opened the drawer to get something to write with.
Her eyes fell on an envelope, sealed, addressed, and apparently waiting for a stamp so that it could be mailed.
But this looked like something official. Jenna knew she was being nosy--it was none of her business--but so what? If she could read minds, she could look at envelopes. And it wasn't as if she was going to open it.
She picked it up and examined the address.
