Firestone by Claudia Hall Christian Read Free Book Online

prostitute?”
    “ No, that was me,” Yvonne
said.
    “ You’re the filthy
prostitute?”
    “ Yep,” Yvonne said. “Just
like you were the filthy boy. We both got cleaned up.”
    The boy seemed to like that idea. He
splashed the water, and Yvonne laughed. She ran to the elevator and
sent it down to the bottom for Dionne.
    “ Now hush,” Yvonne said.
“I have to make an important call.”
    The boy nodded. Yvonne called Tannie’s best
friend Heather’s house.
    “ Mrs. Smith!” Heather
said. “Are you on your way to get Keenan?”
    “ Are we picking up Keenan
too?” Yvonne asked.
    “ Risa’s here to facilitate
his transition to the Castle,” Heather said.
    “ Risa is your social
worker?” Yvonne asked. “The one who works with the state and isn’t
too stupid?”
    “ Right,” Heather said.
“Good remembering.”
    “ I was wondering if Risa
could come over,” Yvonne said.
    “ What happened?” Heather
asked.
    “ Just another lost boy
coming home,” Yvonne said. The little boy watched her with intent
interest.
    “ Where are you?” Heather
asked.
    “ At Jer’s old house,”
Yvonne said.
    “ The condo?” Heather
asked. Yvonne heard Heather say something in the background. “We’ll
be right over. Risa has to call the police.”
    “ You’re coming too?”
Yvonne asked.
    “ I’m an emergency
placement,” Heather said with pride in her voice. Yvonne smiled.
“If you’ve found a lost boy, then I will probably get to have him
here until everything is settled. You’re about five minutes away.
Do you need Blane? Otherwise, he can stay here with the
kids.”
    “ The child seems healthy,”
Yvonne said. “Just hungry.”
    “ I’ll bring something,”
Heather said. “We’ll be right there. Send the elevator
down.”
    Yvonne smiled and hung up the phone. She
nodded to the little boy.
    “ What?” the boy
asked.
    “ Everything’s working out
perfectly,” Yvonne said.
    “ For who?” The boy’s sour
tone made Yvonne give him a long look.
    “ You,” Yvonne
said.
    “ You sure?”
    “ I am,” Yvonne
said.
    The boy gave her his first real smile.
    “ Now settle back and
rest,” Yvonne said.
    The boy nodded and lay back in the tub. He
sat up again.
    “ What?” Yvonne
asked.
    “ I just want to see you,”
the boy said. “You’re the angel who saved me.”
    “ Angel?” Yvonne
smiled.
    “ I was praying and
praying, like they say in church, for a nice person to help me.”
The boy nodded. “And you showed up. You’re my angel.”
    “ Well, thank you.” Yvonne
smiled. “There’s going to be a lot of people here soon. Probably
the police too.”
    “ The police?” the boy
asked. “Do I have to go to jail?”
    “ No,” Yvonne laughed. “But
I’ll tell you what.”
    “ What?”
    “ I’ll be right here with
you the whole time,” Yvonne said.
    “ Like an
angel?”
    “ Sure,” Yvonne said. “Now
rest.”
    The boy nodded. After a few minutes, he
started to play in the water. He gave each of his hands voices and
they swam through the water. The two of them were so caught up in
his play that they didn’t hear the elevator come up to the condo.
When the door opened, they both yelped with surprise.
    Dionne and Bumpy stood in the doorway. The
moment the boy laid eyes on Bumpy, his entire demeanor changed. He
squealed with laughter. Bumpy walked past a stunned Yvonne over to
the boy. He lifted the wet boy from the bath and held him
tight.
    “ You found me,” the boy
said over and over again. “I prayed and prayed and you found
me.”
    Dionne put her hand on Bumpy’s arm, and he
looked at her. Bumpy smiled, but did not let go of the boy.
    “ Is
that . . .?” Dionne asked in a low voice.
    “ He says he’s Jeraine’s
baby,” Yvonne said. “Says he’s from Atlanta. He was waiting at the
elevator. His mother put him on a plane to Denver.”
    Dionne looked so angry Yvonne thought she
could see steam coming from her ears.
    “ We’ve been fighting to
get a chance to