Read Online A Mom for Callie by Laura Bradford - Free Book Online

rewrite all of those? I dropped my writing folder on the floor of the bus the other day and someone stepped on it. That’s why they’re so messy. And if I did them over, I could work extra hard to make my writing look neat and pretty.”
    â€œSure. I think that’s a great idea, though your handwriting looks neat and pretty to me already.”
    The slam of a car door made them both look up. “Oh no, it’s Daddy! I wanted to get started on his poem.”
    Betsy dropped her feet to the ground as Kyle headed in their direction, a slash of anger where a smile had been just the day before. “Why don’t you go inside? I have paper and pens on the sunporch. You can get started while I talk to your dad for a few minutes.”
    â€œDo you have any pencils? ’Cause I make mistakes.”
    â€œThey’re in with the pens…I make mistakes, too.”
    â€œOkay.” Callie scooted off the settee, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Don’t tell Daddy ’bout my surprise, okay?”
    Clamping her lips shut, Betsy curved her thumb and index finger against her lips and turned it in a locking motion. “Your secret is safe with me.”
    As the little girl disappeared inside, Kyle’s pace quickened. “Where is she going?”
    â€œShe’s working on a surprise. For you.”
    He stepped onto the porch, his uniform from yesterday replaced by a pair of jeans and a Chicago Cubs shirt. “She can work on a surprise at home.”
    Betsy placed a gentle hand on his chest as he approached the door, the feel of his skin beneath hers unleashing the butterflies in her stomach. “Please, I want to help her with this. It was my fault she was upset yesterday afternoon and I’m sorry about that.”
    â€œMy daughter is none of your concern.”
    She winced at the anger in his voice but stood firm. “I’d like her to be.”
    â€œShe doesn’t need you riding in, trying to fill some void you perceive in her life only to turn around and ride out as quick as you can. She’s fine.”
    â€œA void? In her life?” Betsy jerked her head in thedirection of the closed door and held a finger to her lips to quiet his rising voice. “I’d be blind not to see that’s one well-adjusted little girl in there. If there’s a void in someone’s life…it’s mine.”
    Shock chased anger from his face. “Yours?”
    She shrugged. “I’ve felt more pangs of healing in the three days I’ve been in this town than in the twelve months prior in New York. And spending time with Callie…talking about her poetry and listening to her innocent observations on the world around her is healing. For me. ”
    â€œI don’t know what to say.”
    â€œThen don’t. Just accept my apology for being rude yesterday. It’s what I was coming over to tell you when I found Callie on my front porch. My rudeness wasn’t a reflection of anything you did or didn’t do. Not the you that’s standing in front of me right now, anyway. It’s what comes along with you…when you’re dressed the other way.”
    She met his gaze, felt her defenses cracking at the raw emotion splayed across his face. “Dressed the other way? What does that— Wait! You don’t like the fact that I’m a cop?”
    â€œI admire the fact that you’re a police officer. I respect what you’ve decided to do with your life but it’s what comes with—”
    Callie appeared on the other side of the door, her face stretched nearly ear to ear by a grin that magnified the sapphire-blue eyes she shared with her father. “Daddy, guess what?”
    She felt his eyes leave her face, swallowed at the break in the scrutiny as he addressed his daughter with an air of distraction. “What’s that, pumpkin?”
    â€œMiss Anderson put my flower exactly where I said. It’s right