of the old man's sad smile as he turned away. "They're putting me in a nursing home this afternoon. Said I can't take care of myself properly anymore. Can't say that I ever have, but there's no sense arguing. I'll talk to William."
Maya watched as he gingerly stepped into a battered station wagon waiting at the curb. She caught a glimpse of a woman in a faded cotton dress before the car drove off. He didn't look back.
Old Man Pfeiffer knew her grandmother. Maybe there were other people in the town who knew her family.
Not that it mattered, she decided with a shrug. She could remember various "Aunt Janes" and "Uncle Bobs" through her growing-up years, as they'd traveled from Tennessee to Arkansas to Texas, usually one step ahead of the child welfare services. Nobody had ever bothered explaining the family tree, so she had no recollection if the aunts and uncles were her mother's or her father's relations. She just knew none of them had bothered to fight for two lonely little girls after their parents broke up and they'd ended up cold and hungry and stranded in California.
She didn't have much faith in family. Love wasn't something that arose out of blood relations. It was either in a person's heart or it wasn't. It was just curious seeing Old Man Pfeiffer inquiring about Cleo. His question about Matty made her wonder if he'd been the one who sent the telegram warning of Cleo's conviction. Cleo certainly hadn't had any other friends come forward.
Maya didn't have Axell's curiosity however. Life happened in strange ways and one just swam with the flow. She'd ask Cleo next time she wrote.
She studied the stairway behind her. It needed painting and additional lighting to look welcoming. She wanted Cleo to come home to something nice. But when her sister returned, would she want Maya and Alexa cramping that tiny apartment? Their lifestyles had never been particularly similar. Cleo might have imagination, but she liked managing things, and Maya didn't like being managed. The friction might jeopardize Cleo's recovery.
She was making excuses. She could live anywhere, with anyone. She'd proved that for years. She didn't want to do it anymore. She wanted her own home. Axell said she could have his. Axell was insane.
And she loved him for his insanity.
Crossing her arms on the table and lowering her head to rest on them, Maya quit throwing up smoke screens and stared clearly at the facts. She would lose her school if she ran back to California and friends. She could lose Matty if she stayed here. Axell Holm offered her a chance to keep both.
Axell Holm represented the kind of authority figure she loved to hate. But that very same Axell Holm had cried as he delivered her daughter, had suffered anguish so deep it had nearly bent him double at the thought of hurting Constance, had chosen to keep a child possibly not his own without argument, and had surrendered his own peace of mind in the process. That was the kind of man she hated to love, because it could be dangerous and lifelong.
Her tea cups were the only thing she'd been able to hold onto for a lifetime. Her heart was more fragile than china.
Chapter 19
Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.
"Axell Holm! Have you lost your mind? Gossip is flying all over town! Surely, you're not really going to marry that little tart?"
Axell turned away from the new busboy he was teaching to store bar glasses. Thank God Maya didn't come equipped with a mother. "Sandra," he replied without attempting to bite back his fury, "if you were a man, I'd pop you one right now. As it is, I'll just ask you to leave. I won't deny you access to Constance, but I damned well don't have to listen to your insults in my own bar."
Sandra's carefully lipsticked mouth fell open. Maybe he should have yelled at her long before this. Maybe keeping a careful curb on his temper was a mistake. Grabbing Sandra's elbow, Axell steered her toward the front doors.
"We'll duke it out in court. Judge Tony has already assured me he has no problem with Maya Alyssum in Constance's life. His daughter goes to that after-school program too. All the kids think she walks on water."
"Her sister is a drug addict and convicted felon!" Sandra cried angrily, shaking off his hold on her. "The woman's had a baby out of wedlock! Who knows