Read Online Dad's E-Mail Order Bride by Candy Halliday - Alaska Bound 01 - Dad's E-Mail Order Bride - Free Book Online Page B
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Romance, Contemporary, Teenage girls, alaska, Category, Single Fathers, Widowers, Advertising Executives, Alaska Bound
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was watching every move they made.
Of course, Rachel was so determined to get them together she probably would have fluffed the pillows for them. His daughter was the real little witch in this situation: trying to work some mojo magic with her damn candles; carefully handpicking the right songs; forcing him to ask Courtney to dance.
Note to self, Graham thought. Ban Rachel from watching romantic-comedy movies for life.
The next thing Graham did was blow out each and every one of those candles that had been tormenting him all evening. Then he headed for the swinging doors that separated the dining room from the kitchen. But he didn’t push through the doors. Not yet. He wanted to make it clear he knew his little witch had been eavesdropping the entire time.
“Good night, Rachel.”
He heard her gasp. She popped out from behind the wall and stood staring at him over the top of the half doors. “What do you mean good-night? I thought you were going to help me clean up.”
“I lied,” Graham said simply.
“But, Dad,” she whined. “That’s not fair. I cooked.”
“I cook every night of the week. And most of the time I clean up, too. So get used to it. Now that I know you have such a fondness for cooking, I’ll be assigning both cooking and cleaning up to you from now on.”
“And that’s going to be my punishment?” she shrieked.
Graham said, “Along with doing all of the laundry. And cleaning the bedrooms and changing the beds after the guests leave. And anything else I decide to add to your new list of duties.”
Rachel’s mouth dropped open.
Pleased that he’d left his daughter speechless for once, Graham pushed past her, and headed down the hall to his own bedroom. He could hear her banging around in the kitchen as he undressed and got ready for bed. And though he did feel a little guilty for making Rachel clean up after cooking him that great dinner, Graham pushed that guilt aside.
He was tired of walking on eggshells around Rachel, letting her do as she pleased in order to avoid another confrontation about her returning to New York to finish high school. By his doing so, she’d had too much free time on her hands to plot and scheme and get in trouble.
Well, those days were over.
From now on he’d see to it that Rachel answered to him for every minute of her day. Never again would he give her the opportunity to breathe without him knowing exactly where she was and what she was doing.
Graham turned back the covers and got into bed. But as he reached over to switch off his bedside light, he accidently knocked the folder he’d left on his bedside table onto the floor.
Graham leaned over and picked it up.
And instead of turning out the light, he repositioned his pillows and sat up. Courtney said she’d given him her e-mails to clear up any doubts he had about her motives. Maybe finding out more about her was what he needed to get his own emotions in check.
Turning to the page where he’d stopped reading, Courtney’s next words were:
Rachel told me how busy you are when you have a fishing party at the lodge, so please don’t worry that she’s bothering me when she calls at night while you’re entertaining your guests. I don’t have any siblings, so I’ve never had the opportunity to play the role of a big sister or an aunt. I thoroughly enjoy talking to Rachel. She provides me with a good excuse to take a break from this ad campaign I’m working on that consumes every second of my time.
Graham read through several other e-mails.
He learned that Courtney’s best friend Beth had been living with her for the past two years after a nasty breakup with the guy Beth thought she was going to marry. And he knew that Beth was an aspiring actress, which meant she was between jobs more often than she was employed—another reason he suspected that Beth hadn’t moved out into a place of her own.
The big shock, however, was learning that Courtney was Lisa Woods’s daughter. The woman
Of course, Rachel was so determined to get them together she probably would have fluffed the pillows for them. His daughter was the real little witch in this situation: trying to work some mojo magic with her damn candles; carefully handpicking the right songs; forcing him to ask Courtney to dance.
Note to self, Graham thought. Ban Rachel from watching romantic-comedy movies for life.
The next thing Graham did was blow out each and every one of those candles that had been tormenting him all evening. Then he headed for the swinging doors that separated the dining room from the kitchen. But he didn’t push through the doors. Not yet. He wanted to make it clear he knew his little witch had been eavesdropping the entire time.
“Good night, Rachel.”
He heard her gasp. She popped out from behind the wall and stood staring at him over the top of the half doors. “What do you mean good-night? I thought you were going to help me clean up.”
“I lied,” Graham said simply.
“But, Dad,” she whined. “That’s not fair. I cooked.”
“I cook every night of the week. And most of the time I clean up, too. So get used to it. Now that I know you have such a fondness for cooking, I’ll be assigning both cooking and cleaning up to you from now on.”
“And that’s going to be my punishment?” she shrieked.
Graham said, “Along with doing all of the laundry. And cleaning the bedrooms and changing the beds after the guests leave. And anything else I decide to add to your new list of duties.”
Rachel’s mouth dropped open.
Pleased that he’d left his daughter speechless for once, Graham pushed past her, and headed down the hall to his own bedroom. He could hear her banging around in the kitchen as he undressed and got ready for bed. And though he did feel a little guilty for making Rachel clean up after cooking him that great dinner, Graham pushed that guilt aside.
He was tired of walking on eggshells around Rachel, letting her do as she pleased in order to avoid another confrontation about her returning to New York to finish high school. By his doing so, she’d had too much free time on her hands to plot and scheme and get in trouble.
Well, those days were over.
From now on he’d see to it that Rachel answered to him for every minute of her day. Never again would he give her the opportunity to breathe without him knowing exactly where she was and what she was doing.
Graham turned back the covers and got into bed. But as he reached over to switch off his bedside light, he accidently knocked the folder he’d left on his bedside table onto the floor.
Graham leaned over and picked it up.
And instead of turning out the light, he repositioned his pillows and sat up. Courtney said she’d given him her e-mails to clear up any doubts he had about her motives. Maybe finding out more about her was what he needed to get his own emotions in check.
Turning to the page where he’d stopped reading, Courtney’s next words were:
Rachel told me how busy you are when you have a fishing party at the lodge, so please don’t worry that she’s bothering me when she calls at night while you’re entertaining your guests. I don’t have any siblings, so I’ve never had the opportunity to play the role of a big sister or an aunt. I thoroughly enjoy talking to Rachel. She provides me with a good excuse to take a break from this ad campaign I’m working on that consumes every second of my time.
Graham read through several other e-mails.
He learned that Courtney’s best friend Beth had been living with her for the past two years after a nasty breakup with the guy Beth thought she was going to marry. And he knew that Beth was an aspiring actress, which meant she was between jobs more often than she was employed—another reason he suspected that Beth hadn’t moved out into a place of her own.
The big shock, however, was learning that Courtney was Lisa Woods’s daughter. The woman
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