Christmas at Timberwoods - Fern Michaels [80]
“I wish you’d try telling that to the husband. When I tell him, somehow it loses something in the translation.”
“You worry too much. We have the whole year to pay it off. Think of the fun we’re going to have. No kids, lunch and dinner out, and a dozen or more charge cards between us. Do you have any cash?” Mary asked craftily.
“Nope. You’ll have to buy me lunch. I’ll skip dinner.”
“You’re lying, Cheryl, I can tell. Or else you’re trying to sidetrack me. How much money do you have?”
“Okay, so I won fifty dollars at bingo.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Mary screeched. “You’re buying lunch and dinner.”
“I knew I’d never be able to keep it to myself,” Cheryl grumbled.
“We’ll buy the Jordan almonds for Susie’s wedding favors with my money, and we’ll eat with yours. We’ll even buy some of that peanut butter fudge you like so much. You know how hungry you get when we’re traipsing around all day.”
“Just what I need,” Cheryl mourned, looking down at her more than ample figure. “I can eat my weight in Jordan almonds and peanut butter fudge.”
“Shall we get spiffed up or go in our regular clothes?”
“If you mean those worn-out jeans and sneakers you wear, we’d better get dressed up. If I’m taking you to lunch and dinner, I don’t want you to look tacky,” Cheryl said tartly.
“Smart-ass. Fifty bucks, huh?”
“So, all right, it was seventy-five. I spent twenty-five dollars.”
“I knew it, I knew it!” Mary yelled. “Nobody wins just fifty bucks at bingo. I’m glad you told me. You’re all heart, Cheryl.”
“I hope I still feel that way after I’ve fed you. See you Thursday.”
Angela happened to spot Charlie as he was heading for the restrooms and stopped him. “Hey! Where have you been? Why haven’t you answered your phone? I’ve been calling you for days. I wanted to—”
Her barrage of questions seemed to startle him. His plain features contorted with anger. The sight made her wonder again why on earth she’d found herself drawn to him in the first place—and trusted him enough to sleep under his roof.
Then, he had been nothing but kind to her.
Now . . . she had to try to get him to talk to her, for reasons that weren’t clear to her. Then again, nothing was clear after she had been put into a hypnotic state by Dr. Noel Dayton. He’d said she was safe; he’d said she would awaken. Neither seemed precisely true. A sense of foreboding, stronger than all the rest, assailed her as she looked into Charlie’s eyes.
“Get out of my way!” Charlie cut her off rudely and pushed past her.
“No, Charlie, wait.” Angela grabbed his arm and held on to him. “At least give me a chance to explain what happened. Once you hear, you’ll understand—”
“Nothing you can say will change my mind.” Charlie stared at her with cold, malevolent eyes. “You ruined everything, Angela. We were going to have such a wonderful Christmas, and you blew it. To hell with you. You’re just like all the rest of them. I never should have taken you in, for starters. You’re a user.”
“I’ll follow you into the men’s room if I have to, Charlie,” Angela threatened. “So you’d better listen to me. Besides, there’s something even more important that I have to tell you—this mall is gonna blow up. I don’t know when. I just know it will. You have to get out of here, Charlie.
“Please, I beg you. You’ve got to get out!”
He wasn’t listening to her, she could tell. He was too angry to hear a word she was saying. When she met his gaze, she was taken aback. She had never seen such hatred in a person’s eyes in her life. Short of getting down on her knees and begging him, there was nothing else she could do. His face was grayish white as he stared at her, and his eyes hadn’t blinked once. That frightened her more than his stony silence.
Angela looked at him, feeling like a wounded animal, mute and hurt. Then she walked away. What was the use? He was too angry to listen to anything she had to say, even when what she was saying was meant