The Trouble with Angels (Angels Everywhere #2)(12)

"Los Angeles could use a bit of our help,” Mercy said, thinking about all she’d seen in those brief moments allotted her.

"I don’t think California’s prepared for the likes of you three,” Gabriel grumbled.

"None of these prayer requests should take long,” Mercy said, feeling confident. As far as she could see, all she had to do was subtly steer Ted Griffin’s interest toward a certain service director and leave the rest up to the two of them. She’d do it, Mercy vowed, without causing Gabriel any grief, either. She was, after all, an angel of her word.

"I need all three of you back here soon,” Gabriel reminded them.

"How soon?” This came from Shirley.

Mercy didn’t know the full extent of her friend’s assignment, but the case seemed to be troubling Shirley. When she’d finished with hers, which shouldn’t take any more than two or three days, she’d give her friend a hand.

"Before Christmas,” Gabriel told them sternly.

"Before Christmas?” Goodness repeated. "But that’s impossible.”

"Nothing is impossible with God,” the archangel reminded them.

Shirley released a long sigh. "I wonder how long it’s been since he visited L.A.”

4

Maureen tossed a frozen entrée into her grocery cart with a decided lack of enthusiasm. One of these days, when her legal fees were paid in full, she was going to enjoy the sheer luxury of eating in a restaurant again. One with waiters and real plates.

"I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your keeping Karen for me,” Maureen told her mother, who pushed the cart next to her own.

Beverly Shields leaned over the frozen-food counter for a can of orange juice. "Any time, Maureen, you know that. The child’s a delight.”

"I don’t dare ask Brian to keep her. Which reminds me,” she said, craning her neck to look one aisle over, "I need antacid tablets.”

"Why couldn’t you ask Brian?” her mother asked, following her over to the next aisle.

Maureen was sorry she’d mentioned her ex-husband’s name. "Because.”

"That makes no sense,” Beverly said. "He is Karen’s father.”

"Don’t remind me.” Karen was the only good thing to come out of her sick marriage. "Might I remind you he hasn’t asked for his court-appointed visitation rights in over a year? I can just imagine what he’d say if I called him out of the blue and asked him to watch Karen for three days while I was away on a business trip.”

"He just might surprise you.”

Maureen snickered. "I’ve had about all the surprises I can take from that man. Trust me, Mother, the less I’m in contact with Brian, the better.”

"Perhaps.”

Beverly was quiet, too quiet. It had surprised Maureen when her mother invited herself along on this grocery shopping expedition. Shopping wasn’t Maureen’s favorite task. Not when she was struggling to make ends meet. It didn’t help matters any to have Karen constantly dragging how much she wanted a horse into every conversation, as if Maureen could afford such an extravagance. As it was, she could barely squeeze enough for Christmas out of their already tight budget.

"Karen had another one of her nightmares,” Beverly said casually as they rounded the corner to the shelves of cereals.

"When?” Maureen asked, which was a good indication of how frazzled this information left her. Karen had awakened screaming the night Maureen arrived home from her Seattle trip. It had taken the better part of an hour to calm her daughter. The twelve-year-old had clung to her until Maureen was afraid the youngster had cut off the blood circulation in her arm.

"The second night she was with us,” Beverly answered. "She shook something fierce.”

"Did she tell you what the dream was about?”

"Not a word.”

Maureen bit down on her lower lip. Karen refused to tell her, too. What she should have done from the first was schedule an appointment for Karen with a counselor. A phone call to her attorney would tell her if she could get Brian to share the expense. It wasn’t fair that she should have to shoulder it alone, the way she did everything else. Brian did pay child support, when the mood struck him, which unfortunately hadn’t been lately.

"Your father and I talked—”

"I know what you’re going to say,” Maureen interrupted, angry and defensive. "And before you ask, I’ll tell you I’m taking care of it.”

Her mother’s eyes widened at the unfairness of the attack. "Taking care of what?”

"Counseling for Karen.”

"I wasn’t going to suggest any such thing,” her mother said with an injured air. She reached for her favorite bran cereal and placed it in the cart, her spine as stiff as a metal lamppost.

Maureen felt duly chastised. "I’m sorry, Mom, it’s just that I’m worried about her. I don’t know why Karen’s having these nightmares. I feel so helpless.” She rolled her cart a bit closer to her mother’s. "I didn’t mean to snap at you. Now tell me what it was you and Dad discussed.”

"We were thinking it might help if we picked Karen up after school and kept her with us until you got home from work. I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be alone so much of the time.”