Taming Natasha(2)

"Well, you're not and they're mine. Don't lose them."

Rachel rolled her eyes, then studied the results. She was positive the earrings made her look older. Maybe as much as ten.

"If you're going to wear them, let's fix your hair." Natasha plucked off the ball cap and began to run the brush through Rachel's long, loose curls. "We'll tie it back so the earrings will show."

"I can't find my clip."

"You can use one of mine."

"When you were eight, did you look like me?"

"I don't know." Considering, Natasha bent so their faces were side-by-side in the mirror. "We have the same eyes almost, and our mouths, too. You have a nicer nose."

"I do?" The idea that she had anything nicer or prettier or better than her big sister was a towering thrill. "Really?"

"Yes, I think." Because she understood, Natasha rubbed her cheek against Rachel's. "One day, when we're grown up, people will look when we walk down the street. 'There's the Stanislaski sisters,' they'll say. 'Aren't they a striking pair?'"

The image had Rachel giggling and prancing around the room they shared. "Then they'll see Mikhail and Alexi, and say: 'Oh-oh, here come the Stanislaski brothers and that means trouble.'"

"They'd be right." Natasha heard the back door slam, glanced out the window. "And there they are! Oh, look, Rachel. It's perfect."

The two boys, heads lowered in mortification, dragged their feet on the way to the clothesline while the dog raced in circles around them.

"They look so embarrassed," Natasha said with satisfaction. "Look how red their faces are."

"It's not enough. Let's get the jersey!" Earrings dangling, Rachel grabbed her cap and raced out of the room.

Boys would never defeat the Stanislaski sisters, Natasha thought, and rushed after her.

For Gayle Link Welcome to the fold





Chapter One


"Why is it that all the really great-looking men are married?"



"Is that a trick question?" Natasha arranged a velvet-gowned doll in a child-sized bentwood rocker before she turned to her assistant.

"Okay, Annie, what great-looking man are we talking about in particular?"

"The tall, blond and gorgeous one who's standing outside the shop window with his nifty-looking wife and beautiful little girl." Annie tucked a wad of gum into her cheek and heaved a gusty sigh. "They look like an ad for Perfect Family Digest."

"Then perhaps they'll come in and buy the perfect toy."



Natasha stepped back from her grouping of Victorian dolls and accessories with a nod of approval. It looked exactly as she wanted—appealing, elegant and old-fashioned. She checked everything down to the tasseled fan in a tiny, china hand.

The toy store wasn't just her business, it was her greatest pleasure. Everything from the smallest rattle to the biggest stuffed bear was chosen by her with the same eye for detail and quality. She insisted on the best for her shop and her customers, whether it was a five-hundred-dollar doll with its own fur wrap or a two-dollar, palm-sized race car. When the match was right, she was pleased to ring up either sale.

In the three years since she had opened her jingling front door, Natasha had made The Fun House one of the most thriving concerns in the small college town on the West Virginia border. It had taken drive and persistence, but her success was more a direct result of her innate understanding of children. She didn't want her clients to walk out with a toy. She wanted them to walk out with the right toy.

Deciding to make a few adjustments, Natasha moved over to a display of miniature cars.

"I think they're going to come in," Annie was saying as she smoothed down her short crop of auburn hair. "The little girl's practically bouncing out of her Mary Janes. Want me to open up?"#p#分页标题#e#

Always precise, Natasha glanced at the grinning clown clock overhead. "We have five minutes yet."

"What's five minutes? Tash, I'm telling you this guy is incredible." Wanting a closer look, Annie edged down an aisle to restack board games. "Oh, yes. Six foot two, a hundred and sixty pounds. The best shoulders I've ever seen fill out a suit jacket. Oh Lord, it's tweed. I didn't know a guy in tweed could make me salivate."

"A man in cardboard can make you salivate."

"Most of the guys I know are cardboard." A dimple winked at the corner of Annie's mouth. She peeked around the counter of wooden toys to see if he was still at the window. "He must have spent some time at the beach this summer. His hair's sun-streaked and he's got a fabulous tan. Oh, God, he smiled at the little girl. I think I'm in love."