“What about your credit card?”
“I had to cancel it,” Wren said under her breath.“He ‘borrowed’ my card without telling me and…”
“Charged it up,” Raven finished her sentence.“That’s theft.”
“I know.What am I going todooo?”Wren hadn’t wailed since she was about nine.Raven thought of her child, the nine-year-old and the grown woman, and went into solution mode.
“Give me half an hour, and I’ll get home to my computer and buy you a ticket home.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks, Mom.”Wren gulped and sounded calmer now.
“Do you have any money at all?”
“Not really.About twenty bucks left.He…”
“He borrowed that as well?”
“Yeah,” whispered Wren.“He took money from my wallet last night.I feel so stupid for trusting him.”
“Well, better to find out early in your relationship,” said Raven.“I’ll call you as soon as I’m home, and we’ll get you a flight.And I’ll e-transfer you some cash.Okay?”
“Thanks, Mom.I’ll pay you back, I promise.”
“Hang tough.I’ll be home soon.”
She hung up the phone, started the car, and took the most direct route home so she could prepare a soft landing place for Wren.At least now she knew why her daughter hadn’t been calling.She was embarrassed to tell her mother what had happened.
And embarrassment, Raven could work with.
ChapterFifteen
Sarah arrived to pick up Riley from the recreation center just after four thirty and found Simon sitting at a table near the coffee stand.
“Can I buy you a coffee?”he asked when she stopped to say hello.
“No, thanks.I can’t have caffeine in the afternoon or I won’t sleep.”She sat down in the chair across from him.“How did the visit with Raven go?Did she have any concerns?”
“She came in around noon, and the girls showed her the setup we have in the back with the playpen.She came out and asked me how the kittens got on when separated, and then she left.”
“So, no concerns.”Sarah smiled.“Good.Thanks for stick-handling that.And I do think things are going well, as long as the kittens have some time together.”
“So do I,” said Simon.“We can continue this for the next couple of weeks if you like.I have two more weeks of classes to teach, and the cats are out of the way in the storeroom.The girls have two weeks of volleyball camp, so they’ll be down the hall.”
“If you’re sure it’s not too much,” said Sarah.“I can take them on the weekends.”
“It’ll give me some time to do chores around my place.I have a room I want to paint this summer.”
“Maybe I can talk the girls into helping me weed the garden,” said Sarah.“Speaking of which, where are they?”
“I sent them to put the kittens into their carriers.”He glanced down at his watch.“They should have been back by now.Maybe we should hurry them along.”
He screwed the lid of his coffee cup tight and stood.Sarah walked with him to the pottery studio, only mildly concerned.Her daughter tended to take the scenic route in life.
When they arrived at the studio, they found the girls scampering around the empty room, looking under shelves with worried looks on their faces.
