Read Online Daddy's Home by A. K. Alexander - Free Book Online Page B

historic neighborhood. For a little while at least, she would not have to think about the madman stalking single mothers and their children, how his crazed mind worked, or where he might strike next.
    As much as she hadn’t thought that she’d want to come here tonight for dinner, she realized that her stressful day had changed her mind. It was nice to actually have a place to go after work other than the cop bar or home.
    She knew that tomorrow would be another kicker, as they were all working overtime on this case. She didn’t know what she would do with Chloe. Her regular babysitter had a new boyfriend and hadn’t been available much lately. Knew that was coming once the girl hit sixteen and got those braces off. She’d have to find a new sitter, and soon. She considered her only recourse might be to ask Brendan again. God, she hoped she wasn’t overstepping the boundaries. That he would think that she was using him.
    She could hear Brendan and the girls laughing loudly, so loudly that between their noises and that of a dog barking in the background, they didn’t even hear the doorbell. She cracked open the door and couldn’t help but smile at the sight before her. There were Brendan and the girls, dancing like mad in the living room to the latest Britney Spears hit. The barking Labrador looked as though he was cheering them on, his tongue lolling out of a big grin.
    Holly yelled, “Hello!”
    “Oh, jeez,” Brendan said and rushed to turn down the stereo.
    “Da-ad,” Madeline whined.
    “Mommy!” Chloe came running over and wrapped her arms around her.
    “Hi, baby.”
    She glanced up at Brendan, who was standing there red-faced and soaking in sweat, the result of the workout with two seven-year-olds and the embarrassment of Holly catching them.
    “Thought you might ring before you got here,” he said.
    “I’m glad I didn’t. I would’ve missed the show.”
    His face turned another shade of red. “They’re such dorks,” a voice from behind Holly said.
    She turned around to see Brendan’s oldest daughter, Megan, standing in the hallway entry. Holly had only met her twice before at the school. She was a striking girl with long dark hair that waved like her father’s, but the color she surely got from her mom, as Brendan was so blonde. Her eyes definitely came from her father, though—that intoxicating bright green. The kind of eyes that could study a person and unnerve them if that was the desired effect.
    “Nuh-uh, you’re the dork,” Madeline chimed in, making a face at her older sister.
    “Girls, girls,” Brendan pleaded, trying to catch his breath. “Megan, say hello to Ms. Jennings.”
    Megan looked Holly over with a scowl on her face, finally uttered a disinterested, “Hello,” then turned on her heels and strutted down the hall.
    “Wait a minute, Meg. Could you excuse me for a moment?”
    Holly nodded and watched as Brendan went after the fifteen-year-old girl.
    “She is so busted,” Madeline said. “She and Daddy haven’t gotten along lately. He says that she needs to be nice to his guests. I think it’s because she misses our mommy.” The little girl flipped back her long hair, the same blonde as her father’s. She was the spitting image of him. Holly couldn’t help but wonder what their mother looked like and where she was. Better not to ask. She also couldn’t help but wonder about the reference to his other guests. Did he bring home a lot of women? That would change her mind about him. What could be worse than flashing all kinds of women in front of his daughters? If that were the case, then she was someone that the girls wouldn’t want here.
    “My mommy left us, you know. I don’t think she liked us anymore.”
    Holly looked down at the little girl. What to say to something like that? She racked her brain.
    Chloe saved the day. “I bet your mommy loves you very much. Sometimes mommies have a lot to do. Maybe she’s at work for a long time.”
    Okay, so the save was