A Flower for Angela Read Online Free Page B

side apartment.
    She glanced up at the clock. An hour to go and she still had so much to do. At least tomorrow was Friday. The weekend was almost here and she'd be at her folks’ on Sunday. That would cheer her up.
     
    FRIDAY AFTERNOON , Ricardo sat in front of the school waiting for Angela. She was late. School had let out an hour ago. He drummed his fingers on the leather casing of the steering wheel. Wouldn't the Cholos , the gang he'd grown up with, laugh at him if they saw him now—hanging around a school . Ricardo de la Cruz—junior high dropout.
    Ricardo shook his head at the memories. His parents had been disappointed when he decided to quit school, especially his father. But at thirteen, he thought he knew it all. What was the sense in going to school when his olive skin and heavy accent barred him from achieving the American Dream? But he'd been wrong. Dead wrong. His attitude had really just been a copout to avoid the work and effort it took to “make it.”
    The engine of the black Ferrari roared when Ricardo pressed the pedal. He loved his car, and, true, at times acted like a teenager with it. But he'd never had a decent car as a kid. Finally, when he was in his twenties and making money, he'd put all of his earnings into the older-model sports car, figuring he deserved his fun. He gunned the sleek machine again. Was it because he was showing off or because his muscles had tensed at the sight of Angela as she came through the school gate? Both , he admitted.
    She walked toward him and smiled when she spotted him.
    "Quite a car. It suits you." Her voice sounded like velvet. Just as he remembered.
    "I'm not sure I want to know how you mean that." He watched her slender fingers skim over the shiny finish of the passenger door and suddenly imagined them tracing across his skin. "You don't mean my vintage age, I hope."
    "Bold. Daring." A hint of teasing twinkled in her eyes. "Showy, too."
    "You're not implying that I'm a showoff, are you?"
    She grinned.
    Ricardo felt an urge to pull her down into his lap. Instead, he opened his door.
    "I didn't expect to see you until Monday," she commented, her expression serious now.
    "After we talked yesterday, I went to the station." He stepped out of the sports car. "It took some maneuvering, but we're set for Monday."
    "Great."
    "Yes and no." He walked around the front of the car. "They released me for Monday but not for the whole week." He lifted his hand against her expression of protest. "We compromised. I can come every Monday for a month—providing the station doesn't have any emergencies to cover."
    "That's fair."
    "How about going for a drink and discussing the details?" He took the heavy bag from her hand, never expecting her to refuse.
    "I can't." She tugged on the handle but Ricardo didn't let go. "I have to visit a student at home."
    "It's Friday," he stared in surprise then gestured at the empty parking lot, "and past time to go home."
    There was no way he'd let her get away. He'd been waiting for half an hour. She looked around and appeared annoyed that the hour had grown so late. Her grip on the bag loosened and Ricardo quickly set it in the backseat of his car.
    "Hop in.” He could see it was time someone reminded her that there was a time for work and a time for play. "Surely you won't be working anymore today."
    "I'll go,” she conceded. "But first I need to drop these off at Mariana's house. She's a student of mine and lives just around the corner."
    "Stubborn," he accused her.
    "She's been sick and I promised I'd bring her some homework."
    He settled her on the cream leather seat and closed the door. She looked terrific sitting in his car, her blonde hair contrasting with the shiny black exterior.
    It only took minutes to drive to Mariana's. The house was dilapidated, but that wasn't where Angela headed when he stopped at the curb. A shed in even worse shape than the house stood to one side of the dirt backyard.
    Several bare-chested men lounged under