The Greatest Gift by Diana Palmer

Author:Diana Palmer [Diana Palmer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781408904374
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon Ltd.
Published: 2008-12-05T20:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

MARY FELT LIKE A NEW WOMAN as she went to her job the next day. It was too soon to become romantically involved with any man, at the moment. But Matt was a wonderful person and she was drawn to him. Her children seemed to feel a connection to him as well, which was terrific.

One of her employers, a middle-aged society hostess named Billie West, was married to old money and dripping diamonds. She was particularly interested in Mary’s project.

“You mean these restaurants are actually willing to just give you food?” she exclaimed.

“At the end of the business day,” Mary replied with a smile. “It’s only the leftovers, not the full meals.”

“Oh. I see.” The woman shook her head. “And you call them up and they give it to you.”

“Well, I do have to pick it up and deliver it to people.”

“Deliver it? Hmm. Is Chez Bob one of your clients?” she persisted.

“No, ma’am. I asked, but they weren’t interested.”

The older woman smiled. “Suppose I ask the owner for you?”

Mary was surprised. The elderly woman wasn’t usually talkative. Often, she wasn’t at home when Mary cleaned for her, using a key that was kept in a secret place. “You would do that?” Mary asked.

“There are two others whose owners I know, Mary’s Porch and the Bobwhite Grill. I could ask them, too.”

Mary just stared at her.

“You’re suspicious,” the blonde replied, nodding. “Yes, I don’t blame you. I’m filthy rich. Why should I care if a lot of society’s dropouts starve. That’s what you’re wondering, isn’t it?”

Mary perceived that only honesty would do in this situation. “Yes, ma’am, that’s what I’m wondering,” she said quietly.

Billie burst out laughing. “Honey, I grew up on the back streets of Chicago,” she said surprisingly. “My old man was drunk more than he was sober, and my mother worked three jobs just so my brothers and I could have one meal a day. She could barely pay the rent. When I was sixteen, she died. It was up to me to take care of Dad, who had liver cancer by then, along with three young boys and get them and myself through school.” She sat down on the sofa and crossed her long legs. “I wasn’t smart, but I had a nice figure and good skin. I had a friend who was a photographer. He shot a portfolio for me and showed it to a magazine editor he did layouts for. I was hired to be a model.”

That was news. Mary had never heard the woman speak of her background at all.

“Overnight, I was rolling in money,” her employer recalled. “I got the boys through school and never looked back. Dad died the second year I was modeling. The third, I married Jack West, who had even more money than I did. But I never forgot how I grew up, either. I donate to the less fortunate on a regular basis.” She stared at Mary curiously. “Your other client Debbie and I are friends. She said that after your divorce was final, you were on the streets with three kids to raise.

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