The Deputy's New Family. Jenna Mindel

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ months, Susan’s parents had kept Corey safe and sound with them while Nick finished a delicate undercover case that took him out of town most nights. He’d had few days off and they were erratic at best.

      He watched Beth cross the street and slip inside the modest home where she lived while her mother made a feeble attempt to rake up dead leaves from last fall.

      Nick needed to step up. He wanted to be the kind of father his boy deserved, only he wasn’t exactly sure how. He slipped behind the wheel and looked at his son. “Hungry? There’s a café in town or the mini-mart and then we have to hit the grocery store.”

      Corey wasn’t listening. He watched where his second-grade teacher had gone like a hawk. “Is that where Miss Ryken lives?”

      “It is.”

      Corey looked at him. “Why can’t I go there after school?”

      Nick coughed. Not exactly something he could ask his son’s teacher and she certainly hadn’t offered, but that sure would make things convenient. “You really like your new teacher.”

      Corey nodded, looking deadly serious. “She’s kinda like Mom, on her good days.”

      “I know.” Nick felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. Corey had noticed the resemblance, too.

      How did he handle that one? Ignore it, as he’d tried to do with his wife? She’d had too many bad days, and some days Susan barely bothered to get out of bed. Nick and Corey had been a team then. A silent partnership of protection against Susan’s mood swings.

      Nick hoped Miss Ryken’s blond hair and blue eyes were as far as the similarity to Susan went. Corey’s teacher had a sunny demeanor as well as good looks, but the instant attraction that had sliced sharp through him made him nervous. He’d fallen hard before, before he saw the darkness that lay underneath Susan’s cheerful facade.

      If love was blind, then Nick had been deaf, too.

      * * *

      “Who was that you were talking to earlier?”

      Beth picked through her mother’s latest shopping bag on the kitchen table, sorting out things to keep and return. “Do you have the receipt for these?”

      “In my purse.”

      “Mom, you really need to stop buying stuff you don’t need.”

      “But they were on sale.”

      Beth rubbed her eyes. Everything on sale ended up in her mother’s tiny house. “We’ve got to stick to your budget.”

      Her mother gave her that look of tried patience. They’d been over this before. Several times in fact. “You didn’t answer my question.”

      “What question?”

      “Who was that tall man you were talking to?” Keen interest sparkled from her mom’s eyes. Her dishwater-blond hair was covered with a flamboyantly patterned silk scarf, another “on sale” purchase. Who did yard work wearing Ann Taylor?

      Beth waved her hand in dismissal, but her heart skipped a few beats at the mere mention of Nick Grey. “Oh, he’s the dad of a new student in my class.”

      “Married?”

      Okay, so every one of her friends was either married or getting married and her mom hoped the same for her. At twenty-six, it wasn’t as if Beth was beyond hope, but she’d always been the proverbial bridesmaid. In a couple weeks, she’d repeat that role for her best bud and ex-roomie, Eva Marsh. Beth didn’t need a reminder of her very single status, nor did she need her mother ferreting out prospects. Not that Beth had much success on her own.

      She let loose a sigh. “Mom...”

      “Well, is he?”

      “No. He’s widowed.”

      Her mother’s smile grew even wider. “Interesting.”

      Yeah, very. Who wouldn’t be moved by a handsome widowed man and his adorable son? “Can I have that receipt?”

      “You’re awfully bossy since you moved back home.” Her mother bustled for her purse and then handed over the offensive slip of paper totaling the merchandise from a department store in Traverse City.

      “Just trying to keep you out of bankruptcy.” Beth smiled sweetly. She’d moved home over Christmas after she’d gotten wind of her mother’s dwindling bank account. Something had to be done.

      “You’ve got a smart mouth just like your father, God rest his soul.” Her mom stripped off her work gloves and washed her hands. “What do you want for dinner?”

      Beth shrugged.

      Her mother used to get in hot water with her father over spending habits, too. On a cop’s salary, they could afford only so much and her mother had expensive tastes. But she’d never been this bad with her shopping sprees before, had she? Maybe now that Beth saved every penny, her mother’s spending glared brighter.

      Beth’s dad used to say the key to happiness was being content with what you had. He used to tell Beth to do whatever she loved and be grateful to God for everything. God had given her a passion. It was teaching. Her dad’s had been for police work. It got him killed.

      “Beth?”

      She shook off her thoughts. “What?”

      “Dinner?” Her mom cocked her head. “My, my, that man really got to you, huh? What’s his name, this father of your new student?”

      Nick. Nicholas Grey. The name kind of rolled easily around in her brain. “What about the leftovers from last night? Let’s eat those and I’ll make a salad.”

      Her mother made a face. “I suppose.”

      Beth chuckled. She’d called a halt to throwing out food, too. Her mother was a wonderful cook who loved to create masterpieces in the kitchen, but she made too much and then left it in the fridge too long. Since moving in, Beth never had to worry about packing something good for lunch.

      Beth got up to make that salad while her mom reheated the chicken carbonara from Sunday’s dinner. Beth glanced at the woman who worried her. Ever since her mom’s work hours had been severely cut back at the airport in Traverse City, her mom’s handle on her finances had slipped. Even with Beth’s rent payments for living here. The shopping trips increased. Was she bored? Or was something else going on?

      Nick Grey’s question about after-school day-care providers filtered through Beth’s mind. Could watching Corey bring meaning back to her mother’s daily routine? Something about that little boy’s reserve made Beth think her mom’s flamboyant style might be good for him. It didn’t get any more convenient than walking across the street from school.

      The fact that Beth would get to see more of Nick Grey when he picked up his son brought a heady flip in her belly. Followed by guilt. This couldn’t be about exploring the immediate attraction she’d felt for Corey’s dad. Although it might be a nice side benefit.

      Beth stopped cutting a carrot and looked at СКАЧАТЬ