Page 3 of Home Team Advantage
Elsa’s hand waved, shushing them as her wizened old eyes turned to Anna. “Don’t mind Blanche. She’s the suspicious sort. Thinks everyone is after her collection of velvet Elvis paintings.”
“They’re collector’s items!” Blanche said.
“No,” said the carrot top, “they’re not. Let it go.”
Elsa rolled her eyes. “Go on, girl. I’m listening.”
“My name is Anna Black. I’m a fully certified LPN, specializing in elder care. I drove six hundred miles for a full-time position at Willow Haven, but my car was stolen on the way, and I had to find alternate transportation. I missed my starting date because of it, and they gave the job to someone else.”
“Heartless bastards,” the purple-haired lady said. “Poor child.”
Refusing to let hope grab hold too tightly, Anna said, “Full disclosure: I’m down to my last five hundred dollars, with no job and no place to go. I’m willing to provide personal care, medication management, meal prep, mobility assistance, housekeeping, companionship, and transportation—assuming you have a vehicle because, as I said, I no longer do.”
Anna stopped talking and took a breath. Silence followed as the four women stared at her, and she was certain she’d blown it. After all, who in their right mind would hire a perfect stranger into their home with nothing more than a rambling case of word vomit?
Then, Elsa smiled. “When can you start?”
Anna blinked. For the second time that day, she was certain she’d heard wrong. “Seriously?”
“Yes, dear. You have a good soul, and I admire your spirit. Now, just let these ladies take a picture of you and your license, and we can be on our way.”
“What about Eddie?” Blanche asked. “He’s not going to like this.”
Elsa waved her hand. “Good thing it’s not up to him then.”
Chapter Two
MATT
It felt good to be on US soil again, although Matt could have done without the throng. What he needed was some serious downtime with family and friends in a peaceful setting.
Like Pine Ridge, for example. The mountain valley town in Northeastern PA, where trees outnumbered humans a hundred to one, the water was safe to drink, and it was still possible to see a blanket of stars on a clear night.
He had six months. Six months to experience it all again and do everything one last time before he walked away for good and ascended to the next level. Or descended, as the case might be.
Matt was aware of the looks he got, walking through the Atlanta airport, primarily from females but from some males too. Even in jeans and a thermal, he stood out. Six-four, with his shoulder-length hair, multitude of piercings, and a deep tan that brought out the silver in his gray eyes.
Those attributes had served him well in his job. No one looked at him and thought, Special forces.
He wasn’t working now, however, and he had no desire to spend the next—he checked his watch—seven hours getting gawked at.
He set a course for the USO. Chances were, it was also filled to capacity, but preferable to the public waiting areas. Quieter too. Would he stand out among the typical military crowd? Probably. But it was the lesser of evils.
“Welcome to the Atlanta USO,” greeted a cheerful middle-aged woman. “I’m Blessing. Please sign in, and we’ll find you a nice, quiet place to wait for your connecting flight.”
“Don’t you want to see my military ID?” Matt asked, reaching for his wallet.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Trusting, aren’t you?” he murmured.
She laughed softly. “I don’t need a card to recognize a special forces man.”
It was his turn to smile. “What gave it away? The piercings? The tan?”
“Your eyes,” she said simply, meeting them head-on.
Hers, while warm and kind, were also fathoms deep and appeared to swirl slightly in a way that reminded him of his aunt Maggie.
